Immortal Light: Wide Awake
Page 35
The room was a wide, open space that consumed nearly every square inch of the top floor of the building. A tall, four-poster bed sat on the far wall to Mr. Kaisen’s right. To his left, in the dark recesses of the far corner, sat a large, mahogany desk in front of a floor-to-ceiling wall of bookcases filled to capacity.
Kaisen’s shoes clicked with every step until he touched down on the carpet that surrounded the desk.
“Sit down, Mr. Kaisen.”
Behind the desk sat a man whose face looked to be late middle-aged. His hair was short and dark and looked as though it had only been groomed by ten fingers in recent days. But, the strangest thing about his appearance was the feebly withered hands he clasped together; they were ancient hands that had no business being attached to his arms. His voice was a low and deep Londoner accent and he spoke slowly and clearly.
“I am disappointed in you, Mr. Kaisen. That girl is no different than the others, yet you failed to get her. You had better have a plan going forward. I would truly hate to see you fail twice.”
Mr. Kaisen didn’t say a word, but retrieved a folded piece of paper from his pocket and slid it carefully across the desk..
The man at the desk unfolded the paper and read carefully. There was a momentary grim silence.
“This is your last chance, Kaisen. I certainly hope—for your sake—you can produce something tangible this time.”
Kaisen looked into the darkness of his employer’s eyes.
“You needn’t worry, Mr. Suen. I’ll take care of this one myself.”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to personally and public thank the following individuals for their many contributions in reading, editing, inspiring, and supporting this work of fiction. Without their help, I could never have accomplished this feat.
First, my wife, Sarah, without whom I would never feel inspired and would never have had anyone read this book so many times. My mother Patti Sperry, for she was my first inspiration in literature and she put in so many hours to dissect the content and grammar of this work. My children, Arwen, Eleanor, Jack, and Alice who are the characters in my real-life fantasy. My father, Ron Jr., who invested in me even when it was difficult to bet on my dreams. My siblings Ron III, Laura, and Kris: you have been there for me no matter how ridiculous my ambition seemed. My Grandparents, both living and passed; Ron Sr., Sandra, Kathleen, and John; you are the foundation upon which my life and dreams were built. To my surrogate family, the Sharps: you all have loved and supported me since the moment I joined you in marriage to your daughter and sister. Thank you.
To my many family and friends who read and gave valuable feedback: Dr. Laurence M. Sharp, Joleane Sharp, James Sharp, Libby Sharp, Jon Sharp, Lucy Sharp, Peter Sharp, Ben Sharp, Laura van der Horst, Katelyn Stokes, Erin Stokes, Jeannetta Stokes, Jeff Fuller, Tami Schamp, Patrick Hartsfield, Jared Fisher, Carol Vanderville, and Dena Holm who put her own writing aside to read mine.
To my students at ASMS who became the founders of my unofficial fan club: Abbey, Anice, Erika, Hayleigh, Izzy, Katie, Kayla, Liza, Maddi, Maddy, Maggy, Makia, Megan, Olivia, Paige, Sydney, and Teal.
A special thank you goes to Dave Elkins, Jacob Marshall, and Zach Gehring of MAE for allowing me the privilege of using your lyrics in this book. For years you have been a huge part of my musical inspiration and I look forward to hearing more from you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John D. Sperry was born in Bellflower, California in 1979, but relocated with his family in 1985 to the small town of Roseburg, Oregon, the place John would call home until he left on a two-year LDS mission to Italy in 1998.
In 2001, John married the love of his life, Sarah, and in the midst of going to school and teaching school, the couple had five children: Arwen, Eleanor, John Jr. (Jack), Alice, and
Caramina.
John has a B.A. in English and a M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning from the University of Oregon. He is currently a 7th Grade Language Arts and Social Studies teacher in Springfield, Oregon where he lives with his family.