Showcase ~ Sara G & A. Mac's Authors Challenge Number One

The First Sara G & A. Mac Authors Challenge on The NewsTalkers was based on the image above. For those not familiar with the Challenge, authors/poets were given the following information

"Something" happened in that building -- i t's up to you, the author/poet to use your imagination, creativity and writing skills to tell what happened

To Create the "Something" -- that will be your submission to the Challenge.

The authors were not given any prior information about the building which is the Seminarium Episcopale, a Seminary in Cefalu, Sicily, Italy. While the building name appears above the doorway in the photo, incorporating any researched, related information was in no way a factor.

Sara G & A. Mac decided that Larry Crehore's "We're Home" was the best entry, and appears positioned herein above the other entries, each of those distinctly different from one another and each, good, solid writing.

The Challenge 1 Showcase

"It looked much different" Gina, back in 1942 when we came through. The air was thick with the smoke from all the fires caused by the artillery and smoke grenades. Every breath tasted of gun powder and cordite. I remember running from doorway to doorway trying to find the sniper picking off our men."

I was standing about where that table in the caf is looking everywhere, while I was checking the roof tops I saw an angel standing on the balcony pointing to the window to the right, I looked into the window just in time to see the glint from the snipers scope. I dropped to my knee, took aim and the sniper never fired again. My men were clear finally to enter the town and begin to clear the enemy.

We used the caf as a base and while we were working I saw a young woman beckoning me to the doorway just below where I had seen the angel earlier. As I walked towards her I couldnt help notice that her face had a beauty that only comes with innocence. She made it very pain that she wanted my men to use her home to sleep and rest even eat while we were there. We were happy to have a dry place that was secure to rest in. We gave her what foods we had to share and she would turn those rations into meals fit for kings. She and I would sit in the evenings and talk of how things were going. I learned that the war had taken her family early on and that she was hoping just to survive. Her name was Leonora and she looked so lost and alone it almost broke my heart when we were ordered to move forward.

As we prepared to move out I could see the fear creeping back into her face. We exchanged postal addresses and as I took my first steps away from her I turned and promised to return when the war ended. To my surprise she waved goodbye and said shed wait for me.

The war lasted a lot longer than any of us had thought it would. But three years later in 1945 when the war ended my thoughts turned to the angel who had saved me and my men that day. I knew that I had to at least try to keep my word to Leonora and so when my time came I took a months leave in country and turned my feet towards her village.
After a week of catching what rides I could and walking the empty roads I found myself outside her village and wondering to myself if even the building had survived over the past three years. Afraid of what I would find I spent the night in an abandoned barn talking myself into walking those last few yards to the village.

In the morning as I walked towards the unknown I wondered if I was fooling myself in thinking it might be possible that she had survived. As I entered the village I couldnt help but notice the blown out fronts of the buildings and the enormous amounts of rubble still in the streets. It almost seemed to be a ghost town it was so quiet. Dogs would dart between the buildings looking for scraps anywhere they could find them. As I turned onto Leonoras street I could see the building was still there and in fair condition for having been through a war. From nowhere a small child was at my side asking for food, I gave her what little I had and then she ran off up the street and I watched as she ran into Leonoras door. I stood there thinking I should go and leave things alone when I saw a very thin woman step into the doorway. Even though the war had stolen her health Leonoras angelic face was still there as she ran down the street to me.

As I held her tight she wept as though she couldnt stop. She looked up into my face and through the tears said I always knew you would come back. As we sat and talked over the next few hours I realized that this was my angel and I had to marry her. The house was now home to three different families besides Leonora and when the time was right I asked her to marry me and to my surprise she said yes. We were married a month later and the rest as you know is history.

"So a few months ago when your mother died and you asked me what I was going to do now, I knew that we would be making this trip. Gina you have always asked where you came from, well here is where you came from so to speak, and tomorrow we will lay your mothers ashes with the rest of her family here in the village cemetery. Were Home!!"
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In Alphabetical Order by Author/Poet's Names

Honorable Mention Entries

"Get out!"

The Stones of the house stood as they always had since being torn from the earth and placed, one atop of the other, in this little scandinavian town. The balcony of wrought iron sat outside in the rain, pigeons roosting in it's shadow to stay dry. No children shuffled or strutted their way past the door below with it's Roman arch and Gothic imprimatur ofseminarium episcopalecalling down the centuries in large block letters to smite those who would do harm, who would not learn.

"Get out!"

Breath tinged glass, fogged and dried as the air left and came again into my body unbidden. These two eyes stared out and saw nothing as it were at present, but reminiscent scenes flicked on and fleetly were gone, to be replaced by another of the dead past.

"Get out!"

The day had been bright, the weather warm and windy, the tops of the cumulous clouds tilting as they sped by, like New York pedestrians with a definite place to go: A purpose. We, however, had little place or purpose as we meandered through our day, ending up seated at the table under the arbor, drinking wine and planning out each day of the rest of our lives.

"Get out!"

This building had seemed so right, so apropos when we found it, a historical plaque out front along with a for rent sign. It embodied the idiosyncrasies of both our natures. The old and new combined and expressed, the freshness of the love that we felt combined with the timelessness that only one who isin lovecan understand. We called it theTranscendental Punch.

"Get out!"

Rain, driven on gusts of wind, peppers the glass only inches from my face. It can never be agian as it was. This love, once so fresh, had blossomed and ripened in the sunshine of youth and middle age. I turn and retrieve my coat and hat from their places by the door, then turn again to look once more at the memories, some fond, some bitter, of my life,ourlife in this place.

I nod.

"I'm Going."

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SEMINARY ORDINATION

Twas back in eighteen ninety-two

An Episcopalian service held

In Greece for seven clerics true.

The seminary where they dwelled

Was decorated through and through.


To celebrate their fare-thee-well

A table set up on the lawn

Refreshments served au naturel.

Their ordination thereupon

So few had come one shouldnt tell.


A couple on a bench did sit

Discussing matters of the day

While others stayed to benefit

And watch the ceremony gay

Within the hall all candlelit


Until the evenfall arrived

When everyone left misty-eyed.

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Lucas awoke in a cold sweat. Hearing his roommates steady but disjointed snoring, he quickly came to realize where he was, and that it was all just a bad dream. He was no longer trapped under the ice, facing his doom.

As he lay there in relief, it occurred to him how odd it is for someone in his position to be scared to die. After all, he had spent his entire life being as virtuous as he could possibly be. Even as a child, he didnt have it in him to hurt so much as a fly. While his peers would make a game of bashing flies out of thin air and trampling them under foot, he would eagerly amuse himself by using whatever tools were close to shoo the flies towards an open door or window, and escape the human prison they had inadvertently wandered into.

In consciousness, Lucas was convinced that his demise would certainly lead him into the kingdom of heaven. His profound devotion to Christ is what inspired him to enter the seminary, where he lay and ponder the strange juxtaposition of not being afraid to die in consciousness, but having a dream in which his impending death scared the daylights out of his unconscious self. Lucas slowly drifted back off into dreamland.

The dream that followed was so much more pleasant. His preceding thoughts of heaven had inspired a dream, where he had arrived there in person. Though it was not what he expected, it was stunningly beautiful and irresistibly comfortable. Whatever he wanted, simply materialized out of thin air to his liking. The best foods, the prettiest landscapes, the cleanest environment ... but where were the people? He could wish his deceased loved ones into existence, but they would eventually fade away like thoughts and have to be re-imagined back into existence as his will desired. Thats okay, he thought, as long as they were there when he wanted them to be there.

The other curious thing about this new realm, was that time seemed to be traversable. This became apparent with the realization that people here were fleeting rather than permanently fixed. When his Great Uncle Jay had dematerialized the moment he was out of view, wishing him back brought Jay back to a point in the conversation that they had already experienced. Lucas was also able to fast forward the conversation to a point he had yet to experience. This was amazing! How far into the future can he travel?

Lucas closed his eyes and traveled at seemingly light speed, to a point in time that must have been 200,000 years or so into the future, in a matter of seconds. The realization hit him and shook him to his core. This is eternal. There was no escape from his own mind, not ever.

Lucas woke up in a far worse state than the previous nightmare. The following day, he packed his things and left the building, and his faith, forever.

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Mercy Street

Michael met Ann when they were students at the St. Albans Grammar School. From the moment he laid eyes on her, he was smitten. As children he used to tease her to hide the fact that he was infatuated with her. She was onto his game and would coyly play along, teasing him by tickling the back of his neck with her pigtails in class. But that was a long time ago, and now life was filled with heavy work for both of them. Life in a fishing town wasn't easy, but made harder when everyone knows your business, and everyone knew of Anns fathers problems, though it was only Michael that she told.

Im sorry that you couldnt find me Michael. Weve been thrown out of our flat," she said as she choked back the tears. Daddy's trying to get enough money to pay back his debt on the seiner in time, so hecouldn'tmake this weeks rent. Mrs. Carole said that she knew of histroubles, but she had her own, and needed the rent, so we took our things and left. Truthfully, I doubt if papa will have the money in time for OShaughnessy. Last week's catch was much less than a year ago, and that boat hasnt bought in enough to cover its cost.

So where have you been staying these last few days?, Michael asked as he gently wiped her tears away.

In an abandoned building on Mercy Street. Were hoping that no one remembers that little ally of a street, especiallyO'Shaughnessy. Michaels mind swam as he thought of OShaughnessysgang. There was nary a person in St Albans that didnt know someone who OShaughnessy men had terrorized and the idea of Anns father being tied up with them scared him to death. OShaughnessy had a unique way of getting his payment. He never went after the debtor, but their family members instead, and Ann was all her father had left.

Ann, listen, youre not safe here. I have two hundred quid saved. We could be on a train out of St. Albans by tonight. We could go anywhere.... maybe even London. Think about it. A whole new life away from this rat hole of a town.

What about my daddy? I just cant leave him.

With what he has saved, he could come with us. He should want you to go. He knows how OShaughnessy operates.

Ann thought of this opportunity that Michael was offering. She also knew that her father was a foolishly proud man and would never run from another man. Michael, I doubt that papa would leave after putting everything on the line for that boat and how can I leave him? Im all he has.

Michael knew that her father had little common sense. It was what got him into this mess to begin with. With the waters barely had fish left, why would he buy a new boat? Worse, what kind of man places a boat before his child? Just the idea that he would rather risk his daughters life, in order not to lose a little pride, enraged him. But he knew how much Ann loved him, so it seemed that they were stuck in a hopeless situation. Michaels mind drifted back to a simpler time back at the St Albans school, when suddenly he remembered what the nuns had taught them. It was a last resort.

Ann, do you remember what the sisters told us about hopeless causes? Anne shuck her head no. The statue of the Blessed Virgin, shes supposed to hear the prayers of those in need. Why dont we go to the church, offer up a prayer and give her a kiss. Maybe a miracle will happen and your father will come with us. Michael had lost a lot of his faith over the years of living in St Albans, but he knew that Anns faith was deep, and so he hoped against hope that this would provide all of them with the miracle they all needed. She agreed that it couldnt do any harm and they went to the church hand in hand, through the back allies so that they wouldnt be seen. Once at the church, they both offered up prayers and in a final act of faith, Ann kissed the statue of Mary, lightly on the lips. As they left the church, Michael turned to Ann and asked her again if she would consider his offer.

I feel better now, Michael. Thank you for taking me to church one last time.

So then youll come?

She whispered, Yes. Meet me in front of the abandoned house on Mercy Street at 7, and well leave then. Michael overjoyed at her decision, kissed her passionately. They hugged for what seemed like a life time and then parted to gather their few belongings and finally leave the filth of St Albans.

It grew dark early in the late fall and by 5 pm the lights of St Albans were already lit. Michael set out for Ann at 6:30, but as he walked down the back ally ways of the town, he forgetting that some of the allies were not marked, it seemed like he was walking around in circles looking for Mercy St. He looked at his watch and noticed that he was running late and began to panic. He ran up and down the back allies frantically, till he finally found an odd little ally very far from the docks. On the side of the wall, barely visible, he could read the words Mercy Street. He entered the ally where there stood what once was a very grand house. It was unlike most of the other buildings in St Albans. It look rather Mediterranean complete with a balcony. But the house had grown shabby and there was barely any paint left on the facade. The house looked sad, as Anns eyes were when Michael last left her.

Not seeing Ann outside, Michael called out to her, and he half expected her to step out onto the balcony like from a scene in Romeo and Juliette, but Ann didnt appear. He called out to her again and again, but no Ann. It was then he noticed a note, left nailed on to the front door with his name on it. He quickly opened it up and read:

I will love you forever. Please forgive me, Ann. Michael broke down and wept. Holding the letter in his hand, he left the house and turned the corner where the street name was pained on the old building. He bitterly said, Mercy Street... thats a laugh. There's no Mercyhere.

Anns fathers boat had left dock at 7pm.

Anne with her father was out on the boat, riding the water, riding the waves on the sea.

Inspired by the song Mercy Street, Peter Gabriel