Sometimes We Sing Jacob Robicheau 21

Sometimes We Sing

Jacob Robicheau

Sometimes We Sing, Sometimes we don’t. Either from the outside, Or just because we won’t.

Sometimes we make the time go by To see the closest sun. Sometimes we have it last so long That time itself won’t run.

In times we need to get away, When all people need to feel free, Sometimes we get straight to the chase - Sometimes we sing - Sometimes we sing.

Lucy

Zachary Grann

The door was almost closed. The din of endless conversation filled the room. The baby next door slept upon a wooden barred bed. A few steps away was another room, a bathroom with a basin that could not be turned on by any child being. Next to me, a girl nearly three years of age sat on her blanketed bed and listened as I spoke the words to a little book. “Hush little baby, don’t say a word, Mama’s going to show you a hummingbird.” I remembered that song from when I was a child. A little golden dress and a small rainbow tutu, she wore. Mommy to her and Aunt to me stood below the creaking. Lucy, her name stands and so does she. The throwing of a burning potato and the rolling of a gifted green dinosaur. Long puzzles of weird shapes, longer than the carpet floor. The putrid smell of an old box of Calico Critters rips the mind. “Protect Otty from the monsters,” she cried. In my smallest form, it was still an arduous entering of the tent. It was my mind that made me into a baby again. Fictitious leaves covered the tent and frail poles supported it. It was my turn to pretend. “I’ll take Otty, you get whiskers.” I reached out my hand and clutched a wrong-whiskered stuffed kitten that she loved. It was then that we began playing hospital. A toy shot and a nurse named Zach, we sat for a long while. Goodbye little jungle tent. We sauntered down the timber. When we reached the nethermost, a woman was standing, smiling. We embraced. Nana is her name in that house. A small house it was. Bricked and plastered, the drainages were being washed while we ate. No. I ate. She just watched like an effigy. The few things that she does guzzle are peanut butter, ice cream, clouds (peppers), trees (broccoli), oatmeal, popcorn, lollipops, frenchfries, and pretzel twists (her favorite). The television turned on. “Beat Bugs,” her favored television program. Of all the slipshod narratives that have come into being in the decade, the story of this series ripened a swine song sleep of tedium. To her, it was marvelous. This was a musical child. She always had a melody for living. There is a dynamic aspect of the show that captivates me. It follows the music of the forebears of British music: The Beatles. I did not appreciate what parents did until I became one. I did not give birth to the child. I did not raise the child. She did not suck milk from my bosom. But at that moment, I knew that someday, someone would call me father. 4

Elizabeth Hurley Photography

Temidara Colpa

I stared into the cow’s large chestnut eyes, filled with pain and suffering as it averted its gaze, walking towards the splintered cedar fence with jagged edges and a rusted silver latch. Its white and brown hair had a layer of dirt and its skin was covered with fresh sores foaming with pus and blood. I jerked back as it let out a strangled cry, begging, pleading for me to take it out of its misery. I’d never seen an animal so broken, at least not until I arrived at Silver Lake. This animal was the embodiment of this town. Maybe if I would’ve taken more than a glance at what was right in front of my eyes... the filth, the loneliness, the desperation. Maybe I would have left but when I looked into Pearl’s eyes, everything felt different. She was happy, when everything around her wasn’t. When I looked into her beautiful brown eyes as she laughed wildly without a care in the world, I laughed too, a real laugh, and I felt happy, something I haven’t felt for a while, so I didn’t care. I didn’t care about the broken down buildings, the grass that looked as though it hadn’t been tended to in years, and the skeletal trees that lined each and every backyard. I didn’t care about the stray dogs too riddled with illness to even beg for scraps, because she reminded me of the good. She reminded me that although the houses are old and the paint is peeling they were once elegant Victorian homes that housed families. She reminded me of the new mothers breastfeeding their babies on the front porch with tiny children running in and out of doorways, and most importantly, she helped me to forget the bad. I think that’s what they were banking on. I took one last look at the cow before it collapsed into the dead grass beneath it, staring weakly in my direction. It bellowed out one last cry of pain before closing its eyes indefinitely as we turned around and left. “It doesn’t make sense to me, Pearl,” I sighed, shaking my head as I adjusted the white mask covering my mouth and nose. They sell them everywhere in town in the little boutiques that line the streets because the air quality here is so poor that everyone has to wear them. I remember the first time I saw these masks worn by a group of children rushing down the street practically laughing in the face of the death and destruction that surrounded them. It gave me an eerie feeling that I was never quite able to shake. “The animals are so sick and the town, it smells of death”. “What town doesn’t have a few strays, Rose?” she smiled as she looked over at a young dog with black and white spots on its sparse fur sitting in the corner of an alley covered with newspapers and blankets next to a dumpster. I followed as she walked down the alley before stopping in front of the puppy. It looked like it had only been born weeks before yet, it still managed to look so exhausted. Pearl bent down and reached out her hand apprehensively and lightly placed her hand on the dog as it flinched from beneath her touch before letting out a quiet sigh, and warming up to her touch, fell asleep. “I remember when I was little,” she sighed. “Me and my mother would feed a cat that would come to our house everyday. That’s what’s so beautiful about having animals roam the town. You see them so often it feels like they become your family.” “B-but why are they sick? They all look so sick,” I sighed shaking my head

“Everyone’s sick nowadays,” she sighed, running her fingers through her curly brown hair “But I remember what this town used to be like, it gives me hope. It makes me wanna fight for it, to make it better. That might sound stupid, but I love this place,” she said. I sighed, feeling almost guilty for mentioning my reservations. Silver Lake might not be in the best shape now, but there’s still hope for change. At least as long as there are people like Pearl around here. “I’m sorry, Pearl. It’s not stupid. It’s beautiful” I said, reaching out my hand to help pull her up off of the pavement. “ It’s fine, let’s get going,” she said as she gently placed the puppy’s head on the ground. “And let’s let you get some rest,” she said to the puppy and with that, we headed off to the direction of the party.

As I approached the party, I noticed a plethora of vibrant, warm glowing lanterns that were lining the perimeter of the large white tent piercing through the darkness of the night and attracting tiny moths that flutter their wings every so often on the frosted glass of the lanterns. I noticed a large mechanical ball at the very top of the tent that reflected the moonlight, making it difficult to look at. Its large shards came together in the shape of a star. Two big black speakers at the back ends of the tent emitted loud pulsating music but I could barely hear it over the chatter of people laughing. A savoury, rich smell hits me from the glazed ham on the center of a table outside the tent. The table is covered with ruby red apples, large fuzzy peaches, sweet grapes and pastries frosted in pastel pinks and blues. The table is encircled with chairs with name tags attached to them but it seems people are far too busy to sit. The men are drinking beers wearing perfectly fitted suits and playing darts while their wives danced wearing opulent gowns with shiny black ribbons, swaying their hips to the music while their dresses flowed behind them. The town seemed alive, better yet thriving. I couldn’t help but smile and my smile only grew as a large woman wearing a purple cocktail hat approached me and instead of a white mask worn on top of her mouth and nose, hers was purple and covered in large ruby red crystals. “Welcome to Silver Lake,” she laughed loudly giving me a big hug, swaying side to side. I glared at Pearl as she let out a muffled laugh from beneath her hand as the hug lasted far longer than I’d expected. The lady was too high on the joy of the festivities to even notice her. I moved back from the lady practically prying her arms off of me. She gave me a big smile before saying, “Make sure to eat lots and lots of food, the food is delicious and you’re far too skinny.” She laughed, eliciting a smile for me. Pearl suddenly burst into laughter from behind me, unable to hold it in anymore. “Back for more, Pearl?” she smiled, shaking her head.

“Absolutely” she said, “You don’t think I could go another year without seeing you, Gladys?” she questioned, narrowing her eyes comically. “Well” she said turning around and walking “Make sure to try the lamb this year, I heard it was delicious last year” she screamed over her shoulder, winking at Pearl before walking away. Pearl’s face seemed to shift to shock and maybe even disgust. She let out a sigh and plastered a big smile on her face, ignoring what had clearly caused her some distress. As Gladys turned, I noticed large dark spots on her neck surrounded with red inflamed skin, but it was hard to see from beneath the sheer neck piece covering the area. I turned to Pearl, shocked at what I had just seen. “Did you see her neck, Pearl?” I whispered to her. She looked at me completely unfazed. She shook her head and grabbed my hand as we walked off into the direction of the crowd. “It’s nothing, Rose,” she said, “Gladys has diabetes and she gets those sores on her neck sometimes.” “Oh,” I sighed looking off into the display table covered in food. Among all the sweet treats and savoury meat, I didn’t seem to spot any lamb as Gladys had mentioned. I was confused and among many other things concerned but, the rest of the night thankfully helped me to forget all of the things that initially bothered me as we joined in on the rest of the festivities of the town. We played darts and won against a group of arrogant men drinking champagne, practically snickering at the fact that we were even willing to try. I saw a side of Pearl that I loved. A part that didn’t care what those men thought and who laughed with a childish grin when we won, relishing the present moment, she was free and full of joy. That was until a man turned to Pearl as we walked away, with a snobbish grin “The lamb this year looks absolutely scrumptious,” he said, snickering. Pearl’s face twisted to a look of rage, but she held herself back, clenching her fists as the group of men laughed, regaining the sense of joy they had before we had won and turned, walking away as their dress shoes clicked against the concrete. A tear fell down her face but she wiped it away just as soon as it had appeared and turned to me, smiling at me as though nothing was wrong. “You wanna dance?” she said cheerfully, dragging me towards the dance floor in the white tent as though nothing had happened. I didn’t even have time to respond before the music was booming in my ears again as we swayed side to side with her hands on my hips and mine landing on her shoulders. My stomach was still turning from our encounter with the men, but the look on Pearl’s face made coming to the annual event completely worthwhile. She had a huge toothy grin on her face that outshined all the glitz and glamour of the night. As we swayed and swayed to the languid music, I completely forgot about my surroundings because I was too focused on the confident look in her eyes as she guided me. I was too focused on her beautiful brown eyes staring deeply into mine. She slowly leaned forwards pressing her lips to mine as my stomach filled with butterflies until the butterflies in my stomach shifted to a feeling of fear and anxiety. As I pulled away, her breath had a smell of death and decay, and that’s when I spotted them. The same sores on the cow and on Gladys were on Pearl’s neck peeking out from underneath her turtleneck sweater. As soon as I noticed them she quickly adjusted her turtleneck covering the skin. As she grabbed my hand I noticed her dry, peeling skin. My stomach sank. I looked to the front of the tent and noticed Gladys ringing a tiny handheld bell frantically as groups of people crowded from all sides.

“I have to go” I said, exasperated and looking frantically for an exit point. I turned to leave but she grasped my hand tightly turning me back towards her. “Stay for the speech” she pleaded squeezing my hand as the air grew warm and sickening as people crowded me from all sides, ready to hear Gladys’ speech. I didn’t have anywhere to go. I didn’t know my way around Silver Lake and by the time I find my way out of the massive crowd of people the speech would be over so I decided to stay. “I’m so glad that we’ve had such a large turnout this year but I’m especially glad to welcome the new lamb to our community” Gladys says turning to face me with a smile on her face as the crowd roared, cheering in my direction. Were they really looking at me? I thought. I looked to Pearl but her eyes were focused on Gladys, turned away from mine. “The lamb is here to breathe life into the community but there cannot be life without death and there cannot be sanctity without sacrifice and that’s why I welcome you all to the Night of the Sacrificial Lamb.” A feeling of panic rose in me. Something was clearly very wrong. The mood of the room changed. Everything went silent. I didn’t have time to think before I felt a sharp pain in my side and noticed a dagger driven into my flesh being held by Pearl. I can’t believe I trusted her. I was fooled. Fooled by her stories. Fooled by the lights and the beauty of the night, so much that I didn’t see what was right in front of me. “I’m sorry” she whispered into my ear as she pulled the dagger out of my hip. “You were my favorite” she said as every town member took turns driving a dagger into my skin, even the children. I stared deeply into Pearl’s eyes that were full of remorse and watched as each stab revitalized her. Her skin became smoother and her eyes even brighter and the sores on her neck healed leaving crusted blood remaining. The town members were full of energy, removing their masks and laughing with glee as they stabbed and stabbed and stabbed. I watched in complete shock until I grew weaker, staggering forward from the blood loss. My vision grew fuzzy and my body grew more and more numb until everything went black.