by Gary Starta
Officer Ramirez seemed intrigued and looked up from his scribbling. “You said you weren’t home, Mr. Ray.”
“Yes, I wasn’t. I entered the house and I think I startled them. I presumed them to be two girls, probably not teens, but early twenties from the sound of their cackling.”
Ramirez waved his pen. “You presumed, huh?”
Timothy scratched at his beard stubble. “Yes, I heard their laughter coming from the woods. I’m sure of it.”
Timothy flushed when he heard Chen clearing his throat from the other room. “Find something, Officer?”
Ramirez explained it was procedure for Chen to investigate for any signs of evidence. “So Mr. Ray, what is missing here? Was any cash or credit cards taken?”
“No, Officer. I always carry my paper and plastic with me.” He pointed to his wallet and laughed nervously.
“And this here, did you inventory this yet?” Ramirez pointed to the DVD’s.
“Not yet. I didn’t want to disturb the scene. Actually, I am most concerned because many of my discs are on Blu-Ray.” He scoffed and raised a hand. “The good thing is I left my iPad and phone in the car. At least they didn’t get those.”
“I see.” Ramirez scribbled.
“They entered from the bathroom window. Do you want to see?” Timothy rubbed his thumb against his middle finger. He willed his breath to even.
“Sure. Officer Chen will dust the window for prints. But I got to be honest Mr. Ray, this is the first report we’ve received of an invasion in the area. We will however try to match any prints found with our database, be rest assured.”
“Oh. I shouldn’t have disconnected my alarm.”
“You had an alarm?”
“Oh yes. From the cable company but I cancelled it because I’m losing my job, need to cut corners.”
“Maybe that wasn’t a corner you should have cut.”
Timothy was taken aback by the officer’s editorializing. He inhaled to remain calm. “Well, it may or may not have deterred them. I mean it took you nearly an hour and a half an hour to arrive here. They had plenty of time to loot the place either way.”
Ramirez gave an indignant grunt. “We have other crimes to investigate, Mr. Ray. Seeing as you weren’t injured and you can’t report anything of value missing…”
Timothy waved his hand. His arm was cradled in his other hand’s palm.
“I might. I haven’t inventoried because like I said, I didn’t want to disturb the scene.”
“You can make a list and supply it to your insurance company. We would need a copy for our records as well.”
Chen appeared from the bedroom. “Sure, is a mess in there. Someone scattered all the bedding.”
Ramirez cleared his throat. “Are you sure of what happened, Mr. Ray? You said there were two young girls running from your home. There’s little or nothing taken. The bedroom is askew.”
“You really think I’m making this up. You should be out there in hot pursuit. I told you the two thugs were women and they were running away through the forest.” Timothy stopped, realizing his voice was raised.
Ramirez arched an eyebrow. “Okay, Mr. Ray. We’ll file the report and let you know if we find the intruders. I would recommend you secure that bathroom window.”
“I will once you’ve dusted the screen.”
Chen shook his head. “I can’t guarantee we’ll get much off a screen.” He headed for the bathroom with pursed lips.
Timothy balled a fist. He probably won’t even do it. Some crime fighters we have here.
“Oh, damn it. I almost forgot.” Timothy rushed toward the kitchen with Ramirez in tow. “See that spoon there. I would appreciate if you submit it into evidence.”
Ramirez nodded several times slowly.
*
Timothy smothered his face into his hands.
“Hey, some decorum here would be nice.” His buddy Kevin Pierce tapped his arm. “You’re not a turtle and you’re in public.”
Timothy emerged from hiding and employed his hands as parentheses. “Ah, yes. Alisha’s Bar & Grill, some public.”
“I thought this was you and Cathy’s favourite place.”
Timothy nibbled on a tortilla chip. “Favourite dive is more like it. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why she bailed on me.”
“Well at least you broke it off before the wedding.”
“But I was still engaged and news flash, engagement rings are expensive trivial things that tend to depreciate very fast.” He dusted salt off his hands.
“I’m sorry.” Kevin sipped at his ale gingerly.
“I am too.” Timothy sighed. “I shouldn’t be taking this out on you.”
“You shouldn’t be taking this out on anybody.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Don’t you think I have a right after what’s happened the past month, this super shit storm of despair?” Timothy’s brows knitted.
“A lot of people break up, lose their jobs.”
“Oh, and how many get robbed, especially ones with little to take.” Timothy chugged his Heineken. “You know the house is the only thing that’s worth anything.” He ran his hand through his chestnut brown hair. “I don’t know if I can afford the mortgage on unemployment and severance. I mean, not in the long run.”
“You better watch out, Timmy. I might have to move in to help.”
Timothy raised a hand in stop sign. “No, not yet, not that; there’s got to be other options, there’s just got to be.”
Kevin snickered. “I love you too, prick.”
“I just don’t know what I’m going to do. The job market isn’t exactly robust.”
“You could watch your DVD’s until they come to take the house.”
Timothy’s eyes were distant, ignoring Kevin’s barbs. “I should have never listened to Cathy about buying a home before the wedding. I can’t very well watch TV without power, Kevin.” He jiggled the beer bottle in his hand. “What if there’s something I could do that’s unconventional?”
Kevin pursed his lips. “I have some suggestions but you’re not going to like them.”
“Oh, wait a minute. You mean those new age cure alls?”
“They won’t cure everything, no Tim. But it’s a start in the right direction. You need to get positive energy flowing. I’m being honest here. I don’t even want to enter your home with the wall of doom you’ve erected in there.”
“It’s probably what startled the robbers, my horrible wall of terror.” Timothy splayed his hands spiderlike. “Ah, coming to get you!”
Kevin laughed. “That’s it, my friend. Try to keep your heart light but not sarcastic because the universe can tell the difference.”
“It is funny in a way. I mean I came home early because I was on a failed first date.”
“Get out. You’re trying to date again. Good for you.”
“Well, I actually tried several nights in a row, for the past several weeks. I don’t seem to have any problem initiating meetings. I just can’t seem to get to a second date. Maybe it’s my predicament that won’t allow them to give me a second glance.”
“You are wiser than you look.” Kevin bit into a chicken wing. “I can guarantee you aren’t getting a second look because of the baggage you’re carrying. Lose it and lose it fast before it swallows you like freaking Moby Dick.”
“You mean these women can tell what I’ve been through. Shit, I was so careful not to let on about my job loss or broken engagement.”
“What did I tell you?” Kevin wiped his lips with a napkin. “The universe can tell if you’re lying.”
“So, I’m supposed to read Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra?”
“Well, yeah.” Kevin cleaned the remnants off his chicken bone. “But let the solution come to you. It’s got to flow, my man.” He finished chewing his treat. “In time, in time…”
Chapter Three
Timothy responded to a faint sound in his sleep, it was distant and it caused him to turn. His hearing attun
ed to the discord, it was the damned giggling again. Forcing his eyes open, he listened intently. No sound other than a clock ticking. Then a cat cried. Tossing his covers off, he slipped into slippers, grabbed a flashlight from a drawer and bounded out his kitchen door.
They’ve got to be there. They even startled the neighbourhood cat. Timothy chugged along, breathing heavy, stabbing pains shooting through his barely protected feet. “I’ll get you, you bastards!” It was still dark and a few lights were on in houses across the woods, peering at him like eyes. He surmised it was early morning. His alarm hadn’t gone off yet. “Fuck it.” It was his usual catch phrase lately, for everything, whether it was burnt toast or another bill he feared he couldn’t pay. Timothy heard a stir in the woods to his right. He smiled but it wasn’t happiness that flashed across his face. He was invested in catching the bastards, his job be damned. He’d take a sick day. Why worry about serving out his last few days for a company that was shipping American jobs to India?
The hunt continued, Timothy fumbling in the darkness. He nearly fell over a rock but grabbed a thin tree trunk to regain immediate purchase. Leaves chattered underneath his feet as if they were cheering him on. A bird of some kind wailed from above, mimicking human language as if a parrot. Timothy’s mind filled in what he thought the bird might be saying: Over there! Over there!
The pursuit continued until Timothy entered a small clearing. Trees and rocks circled the barren ground as if they respected it. Flashing his light on the ground, Timothy wondered about the unusual spot. Maybe it was just his mind getting the better of him but he imagined some kind of ritual taking place. Perhaps his intruders were into some kind of craft. Maybe they burned things in this circle. It was a horrifying thought and Timothy imagined the stray neighbourhood cat possibly falling victim. No! You’ll pay for your crimes. Desperate, Timothy shined his flashlight this way and that with no regard to the beam’s influence and that it was entering homes across the way. A few more lights clicked on in the homes, more eyes focusing on his crazed witch hunt.
Okay, why aren’t you helping me? Timothy’s face soured. He realized it was a selfish notion. What did these distant neighbours have to do with his robbery and decaying lifestyle? At that instant, Timothy recalled a phrase he heard in church as a boy. It was about helping yourself. If you helped yourself, you’d be helped. He wasn’t quite sure if it was even a phrase. He’d become disenchanted with religion and Kevin teased him about his agnostic stance on more than one occasion; one conversation became very heated. “Well how on the Earth do you think the birds, bees and plants got here? There’s a grand design, even right down to the beer you’re swilling.” They didn’t speak for a few days. Timothy had been taught to believe in evolution over creationism. Right now, standing alone in the woods, Timothy began to consider a third option, an intentional design possibly initiated by a creator such as a God or maybe by some grand purveyor of the universe which interweaved with everything and everyone but remained invisible and shapeless. Kevin might even have an explanation for this. But Kevin wasn’t here now to ease his despondency.
I’d sure like your assistance right about now. Not that I won’t do my part. Timothy shrugged his shoulders and clicked off the light, the beginning rays of dawn were cascading over the wooded area. Some spots glistened from the golden rays and it appeared as if leaves were on fire, glowing gold like small treasures. It was grand; possibly a grand design after all just as Kevin said.
What power the sun had, turning darkness into light! Maybe he hadn’t really noticed or appreciated it before because he was always dashing off to work, annoyed and immersed in traffic and other mundane ventures.
But where were the girls? He was certain he heard them, not in his sleep, but in his waking moments. His hand gripped the flashlight tighter with determination. Maybe they couldn’t exist in the light and were vermin who needed to scurry back into a dark, concealed vestige.
If so, it was a small moment of victory for Timothy Ray. He took comfort in thinking the evil couldn’t enjoy the golden moments of light. He dropped his flashlight and raised his hands skyward, inviting the light to wash over him. He mocked himself after a moment. Well, if this isn’t self-love I don’t know what is. He chuckled. If Kevin could see me, he still wouldn’t believe it.
Timothy walked with purpose back home, confident he had chosen a new, informed path; maybe not literally but figuratively. He felt transformed and wondered if the cackle of the girls was not a taunt but an invitation, in some roundabout way, to right his journey.
Everything happens for a reason. It was another favourite line of Kevin’s who believed in synchronicity and that there were no coincidences. Attuned to light, love and hope, Timothy entered his bedroom and rummaged through a drawer where his phone and iPad resided, switched off for the night. His ex had taken the big screen TV and computer. He reflected it was for the better because if she had left them the robbers would have stolen them. No coincidences.
He still had the means to connect with the outside world despite everything that happened and Timothy was determined to make use of it. He Googled, searching for every fact he could find about the sun. It was almost 93 million miles away but people had to wear sunscreen because its glorious rays were determined to reach them, no matter what. It gave us vitamins. It even gave us the intangible; it was a favourite metaphor for hope.
It was too glorious to be ignored so Timothy set his mind to honouring it. He wondered how he could make a connection being so far away. Then he recalled people paid to have star systems named after them. It seemed a ridiculous idea. People paying for something they really couldn’t own. How could anybody own far away objects in the sky? He scratched at the stubble on his chin. Maybe it wasn’t so crazy because it gave the owner’s hope or gratification that they were connected to the grandness of the universe.
Timothy cupped his hands together as if in prayer. “I know I don’t have much to offer. I would like to buy the sun for a small sum. Would a dollar do?” Sun glinted through the window and onto his bedspread before disappearing. Timothy took it as a sign, a cosmic nod. “It was a pleasure doing business with you.”
The private negotiation would not suffice. Timothy needed to tell the world. What better way to self-broadcast than the social media sensation called Lifestream.
He posted: ‘I’m feeling great today. I just got a great deal on a wondrous light. I bought it for just a dollar.’
As soon as Timothy posted the declaration he felt anxious. Was it a good idea to broadcast the selling price? Now everyone would want what he bought. He read his post again and smiled. He had been cryptic, never referencing the sun by name.
A reply to his post appeared a few seconds later: ‘Sounds great. Wishing you all success the day may bring.’ The post was by someone named Maggie, a woman he barely recalled befriending on the site.
“Wow!” Timothy rubbed his hands together. Already people were sending him positive messages, near strangers at that!
Timothy phoned into work, made a veggie smoothie and changed into fresh clothing. When he returned to Lifestream, he was notified that fifty-three people had responded to his post. Lightheaded, he scrolled through the comments.
‘Some light! I wish I had bought it!’
‘Can I go shopping with you? I can’t find anything for a dollar, even at the Dollar Store!’
‘May the blessed light wash over you, Timothy.’
‘May the light be as glorious as you can imagine it to be!’
Timothy couldn’t place the responders as anyone he had ever corresponded with prior. He vaguely recalled befriending them but nothing other than a passing ‘hello’ was ever said between them.
Suddenly and miraculously all these positive people were on his side for a change. If only his ex could witness this. For a moment, he played with the idea of reposting his message on her Lifestream page, that is, if she hadn’t already deleted him from her ‘life’ network. The responses made him rethink. He should
be generous with his new find.
“I guess I seized the day.” Timothy clapped his hands together; it was a gesture he hadn’t made since he was a teen in reaction to some new experience he was introduced to when life really was a joyous adventure.
Feeling anything was possible instead of improbable; Timothy opened his front door and inhaled deeply. A cry came at his feet.
Timothy scooped the grey, mewling creature into his arms.
“So, are you finally ready for a home?” Timothy rubbed his chin against the cat’s furry face, feeling great relief the stray hadn’t met a fiery demise.
Tim grabbed the cat’s paw and made a waving motion toward the universe. “Together my new friend, we’ll transform our lives. Just you wait and see.”
Chapter Four
‘I bought the sun for a dollar and then things began to happen…’ Timothy hedged on hitting the enter button. The post would explain his glorious light to all and then they too would probably want a piece of that unfailing, golden pie in the sky.
Well, the sun is pretty big. I’m sure they could all get a share for a dollar too. Anyway, this isn’t about competition and greed. It’s about sharing the light. Feeling obligated to spread the word, Timothy rapped the enter key and posted to Lifestream.
But just posting on a social network didn’t seem sufficient. He had to spread his word further. He flipped through screens for a few moments and learned he could form his own online group. It would be a start. The first thing he needed was a name. “Ah, what to call…” His new roommate rubbed against his arm for attention.
“What do you want?” Timothy had just fed the cat organic cat chow. He felt it was the least he could provide for his previously abused friend. “I guess you want a name too. Well, give Daddy some time.”
Scenes flittered through his mind: running through the kitchen and slipping on the cereal; his ex, shouting at a decibel to break the sound barrier; Kevin teasing him about his DVD collection yet buying him another beer, consoling and taunting, just the way a brother might do. Timothy typed the first words that came to mind in the field labelled Group Name: Organized Dissonance.