Chapter 11
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I had the proudest look on my face as I entered Jack’s apartment.
“So I assume you got the puzzle figured out.”
“Did I? You bet!”
Jack Chuckled and smiled.
“You’re right, that one did test me… for several hours straight.”
“I figured as much.”
“It seemed easy thinking about it, but then I realized, I didn’t even know how much to have each circle sum up to.
My first thought was eleven. I sketched out a few times and it seemed too low. I tried twelve and it still seemed to be low. I tried thirteen and it seemed about the same. I sketched out a few dozen and then switched back to a sum of twelve.
I realized that the two ends only had two spaces each, and there was only three ways to have those sum twelve, which left eight possible outer circle numberings.
I checked what sum was needed on the next circles inward and checked if those numbers were already taken.
I thought the last one I tested worked, but I accidently used the number five twice. That was a sad realization, because I knew I would have to go through the process again, but with a sum of eleven.
I wanted to quit and tell you I had figured out how to find it, but I had already come so far.
So I started up my computer and set up formulas on a spreadsheet program to make it go faster. I think there might be more than one answer, but I finally came up with: 837164529”
“I’d have to say I’m very impressed. Was it worth it?”
“We’ll see how much those hours of possible homework or studying will affect my grades, but I think it was worth it.”
We both laughed.
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“So did you figure out what happens next to Jacky?” I asked.
“No, but we can find out.”
“Where did I leave off?”
“She just finally found water, and fell asleep in the sand.”
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“Oh that’s right. Okay" Jack continued, "I slept better than I would have expected. I did quite a bit of wiggling at first, but I kind of tucked myself into the sand and it formed to me. It was still dark and there were no stars.
I must have slept through the day again; although if I really had, I probably would have been sunburnt, but I wasn’t.
I had breakfast from my new favorite restaurant, the dessert melon… it seemed better today than yesterday. Maybe it was because my expectation of it was low… really low actually.
All seemed to be the same, but then it started to rain, and I mean rain. Well, the water had been helpful before, so I tried to be optimistic about it.
The downfall turned into a full-blown storm with wind and even a big bolt of lightning. As scary as it was, I was glad to be sure I wasn’t really blind.
I didn’t see much off in the distance from the lightning, which was discouraging, but I focused and the next bolt that touched down, I noticed it hit a big cactus. It didn’t catch fire, although it looked like it could. That got me thinking.
I made my way slowly in the direction to where I saw big cactus. By the time I reached it, the storm had for the most part petered out.
I wanted to find some tumble weeds to hang in the cactus so that with the next storm, it might catch fire. I was excited, but at the same time, I didn’t want to wander from the cactus and not be able to find it again.
I decided to mound up the sand and rocks behind me as I went away from it, that way I could always follow it back.
It worked! And I found tons of tumble weeds, there were a lot of them everywhere. I took off my shoe laces, and tied them together and strung up the tumble weeds as I collected them. I returned to my cactus and hung them up. Lucky the big cactus didn’t have spines or thistles.
The next day I waited anxiously for a storm, but it didn’t come.
Four more days I waited and still the storm didn’t come. I had been harvesting dessert melon every day; I had cleaned out three whole cactuses, which I was definitely tired of. I was about to abandon my plan and just continue on, when the storm came.
I was so excited I couldn’t stand it. It didn’t disappoint either. It was more of a lightning storm than anything, and sure enough, it struck the big cactus, which caught fire!
I had a stick, to keep the flame. It wasn’t very thick, but what stick in the dessert is? I caudled my makeshift torch from the rain and mostly the wind once it too caught fire, but to no avail. I couldn’t keep the flame going.
I just kneeled on the ground with my forehead in the sand and cried, meanwhile it continued to rain.
It didn’t rain forever-although it felt like it. Luckily I had halved a few cactuses I had already hollowed out, and they did collect water quite nice. Even collecting a lot of water, I felt I was no closer to getting light.
There I was building up my stock pile of tumble weeds, wishing I would have just continued moving forward and not worried about light, when it started to rain. Oh how my attitude quickly changed from bitter whining to childlike excitement!
My excitement continued to grow as lightning struck and caught the cactus on fire. I got my stick to catch fire, and I was passed elated when the kindling I collected in a hole in a cactus started to catch fire. The fire started, but there just wasn’t enough room for it to sustain itself.
I started to panic, but it was too late, everything I did just seemed to make it worse.
I didn’t even notice the rain this time I was crying so hard.
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The next day I ventured out even farther than I had before; I figured I could always follow the trail I was making back, if I didn’t find anything better.
It was a little over a week before I ran back into my trail. I didn’t think that was possible.
Apparently the cactuses had made it too hard to follow a straight trail in any direction. I was stubborn and pressed forward for a few more weeks until it happen again.
Feeling utterly dejected, I followed the trail back to the big cactus. I ripped the bottom part of my shirt and fastened it to the biggest stick I had found. That is one thing my wandering had done - I collected all the big sticks I found; an impressive three in total, none of which longer than my arm and definitely not as thick.
I was thinking of just using the one torch, but I decided to rip the lining out of my jacket and rig up the other two sticks. I was hoping I could transfer one to the other while I held it under my jacket.
Well, it didn’t work out exactly how I had planned. Once the storm came and the lightning struck, I held the torch under my little tent made with my jacked… which caught fire.
I figured I would go with it and I tried to lean over it to block as much rain from it as possible.
I don’t think I was breathing very much as I intently guarded the flame, and the smoke probably didn’t help, because I started to feel numb and light-headed.
All that mattered though is that it worked! Not only did it work, but I still had two more torches left; which was a good thing too, because I didn’t really plan how I was going to keep the flame going through the night. I watched as the second torch dwindled down and I hesitantly lit the third one. I was just laying there holding it, trying to think what to do next.
The wind started to blow and I knelt crouched over guarding the flame once more, but this time from the wind.
The wind blew hard, tumble weeds kept hitting me. One scratched my ear as it flew by, and I realized they weren’t that wet. I hadn’t noticed, but I guess the last storm didn’t carry that much water.
I concluded that the best way to be able to see, was to light the dessert on fire, and that is just what I did!
I lit everything on fire as I walked away from the big cactus I had come so accustomed to.
It was much easier to keep a straight line; I just made sure the fire was always behind me. I started to jog instead of walk, mainly
out of excitement, but also the fire grew really fast, and I could feel the heat behind me.
In a half an hour or so, I had made more progress than I ever had crawling on my stomach. I was forced to move forward because the fire was progressing very fast as well.
The whole dessert was ablaze and the heat was strong, but also the light it gave off showed much farther in the distance.
The fire extended in all directions. I still couldn’t see anything hopeful in the direction I was running.
I ran faster, but was soon out of breath. I looked all around, and as I stopped to pant, far off to the right I saw the fire stopped. I looked closely, and could just make out little silhouettes. Trees?
Whatever! I started running that way; sort of to the left because the fire pushed me that way.
The tumble weeds burned out quickly and so it was mostly just a wall of fire moving outward. The fire was pushing me too far to the left and so without even thinking about it, I jumped through the wall of flames. I didn’t get burnt as far as I noticed, but I did crash into a cactus.
I wanted to pick out the spines from my leg and side, but one look at my nearly exhausted torch, and I knew I had to keep running.
I ran and I ran, then I ran some more, and finally I made it to the trees at the end of the dessert.
It was so nice to step onto the grass, and best of all, I heard a brook very close nearby. I followed the sound to the brook and took a long drink of water. It was amazing.
I pulled the spines out of my leg and side and then saw there were blackberries in the bushes there. I ate as many as I could as quickly as I could. They were so sweet!
I wanted to keep eating, but I was exhausted. I looked over and there were a number of trees at the edge of the forest that were slowly burning, and so I figured I could rest for a little bit.”
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Jack had a way of always stopping without any ultimate resolution.
“So is it never going to be day for Jacky?” I asked.
“It was day plenty of times.”
“But who could’ve known? Because it was always dark.”
“Does it matter if someone knows?”
“It helps.”
“Helps what?”
“What do mean helps what?”
“You said it helps, so what does it help?”
“I don’t know. I mean, is she always going to be in the dark?”
“She’s not in the dark anymore, she has a flame.”
“Yes, but on earth, pretty much every day we have the sun to light up everything.”
“But she’s not on the earth any more, remember last week about the two planets colliding?”
“So you’re saying in that world, all the light she will ever get, will have to come from her?”
“It looks that way doesn’t it?”
“You and your crazy stories Jack.”
“It is a crazy story.”
“So when is Jacky going to get a happy ending?”
“How could an ending be happy?
“You know, like when will she make it to safety, or get saved?”
“What does it mean to be saved?”
“As in not have any worries.”
“Like when you were an infant?”
“No…”
“I can’t think of any other way to not have things to worry about, than, not having the capacity to worry. Which, the idea of that worries me.”
“Is this another one of your puzzles?”
“Not my puzzle,” he said with a laugh. “But that does remind me, I do have to make sure to give you one before you leave.”
“I’ll probably be stuck on what it means to be saved this whole week, but if you want to tack on another puzzle, go ahead.”
“If you do find an answer to the saved question, I really would be interested to know.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I replied.
“Okay here’s your puzzle:
What do you notice about this poem?
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I always go where light is found
Always stay where ground is surely there
Go where warmth leads steadily there beyond
Where ground leads up towards higher aware
Light is steadily towards day from dawning
Is surely there higher from anything me
Found there beyond aware, me, and harmony
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Jack Emerson Page 11