Penelope’s Tapestry S.W. Gordon
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any years later, as he faced the blank computer screen, Gabriel Macondo was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to see Star Wars. In that cold, dark theater, little Gabby was transported to a galaxy far, far away and his imagination never recovered. When they emerged, Gabby squinted in the bright sunlight, and a yellow butterfly landed on his shoulder. “Would you look at that?” his father said. “I think you’ve been claimed by the Jedi.” Gabby turned his head and blew gently on the creature’s delicate wings, making them tremble like an unfurled sail. “No,” he answered, “I want to write stories.” His father flicked the insect with the back of his hand. It fluttered to the cement sidewalk, where it foundered on its side, fanning its broken wings, trying to right itself. “Hey! You hurt it.” Gabby squatted down to help the injured creature, but his father casually stomped out its life. “Don’t be such a pussy.” He grabbed the back of his son’s shirt and yanked him up to his feet. “It’s just a bug.
I’ve got a whole collection on the grille of my truck.” Gabby put his head down and walked out into the hot parking lot, cowering in his father’s shadow. He only looked back once at the flattened smear that, moments before, had been so beautiful and now was gone… *** “Gone! Erased!” Gabriel slammed his fist onto his wooden desk, stirring the dust and spilling his coffee. Everything he’d written the night before had somehow disappeared. “What the fuck?” He clearly remembered saving the file and had left the program open. It should still be on the goddamned screen, except it wasn’t. He scrolled through the documents and couldn’t even find the file. A whole day’s work down the drain. And not just any day’s work. He’d hammered out the final chapter of his novel like he was taking dictation from the Muses themselves. It was the most inspired writing he’d ever done. Where did it go? Gabriel took a deep breath, sat down in his leather
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