Chapter Nine
Daniel Jackson lived in a shotgun shack in Lincoln Heights in Washington DC. His front porch overlooked the rolling green expanse of a cemetery. The wood siding of the house was painted white, and the windows and doors were all trimmed in black. The lawn was tidy, and was surrounded by a waist high chain link fence. The lawn was peppered with small statues and carvings, bird feeders and birdbaths.
Daniel beckoned them through the gate. He walked down to shake their hands. “Want a cold one?” He asked and saw Perry waiting in the truck. “You want to bring your dog in here? That’s fine with me.”
Perry started running around the yard and Amy and Robbie joined Daniel on the porch. Daniel was in his mid thirties. He was a big man, a little overweight, but tall, and moved with a relaxed ease. His hair was close cropped and he was clean shaven. He had a boyish face and a quick smile.
Daniel eyed Robbie, and said, “I was totally intrigued by your email and that picture of the statue. That blew my mind.”
Robbie took a sip of the beer. He said, “We were intrigued by the mural. Can you tell me how it all happened?”
“Sure!” Daniel said. “It was the most amazing thing. I was getting ready for work. I’m a house painter. I was loading up the van to head to a job, then I start hearing this hum.” Daniel started singing the note. “I thought it was coming from outside, maybe down the block, so I walked out on the road and looked. Nothing. It starts to get louder, like a roar. I started to feel all goosebumpy. My hair was all standing on end. Then I’m there.”
“There? Where?” Amy asked.
“At first, it was a desert. I saw two people standing there in this desolate place and this big black form, sort of like a river of shadows was billowing around. The woman kissed the man, She was a real beauty. The man started glowing, at first just like a yellow flickering light, then his skin became white like a light bulb and there was this cross shape around him, and then she started glowing, too, more like fiery red, with white light pouring out of her eyes.”
Amy gasped. She asked, “Were you afraid?”
He shook his head emphatically, no. “No! Not at all. It was really beautiful. All this light and warmth, and it felt good. I wanted to go be near them. I could see I was glowing, too. I noticed other people there. The sky started to turn blue and the desert transformed. Grass was there, trees, birds.”
Robbie was getting gooseflesh. He whispered, “Totally amazing, so what happened next?”
“She shouted something, it sounded like ‘Ick Vie Soweron!’ I couldn’t understand it. Then she blasted this creature. Light sort of crackled out of her hands and it fled.” He wiped a tear away. “The glowing man disappeared, and the light dimmed, but it was still a blue sky. I ran over to the woman. She was kneeling on the ground and just sobbing.”
Amy wiped her eye. “What does she look like?”
Daniel smiled wistfully. “She was wearing a sort of short coat, well it’s there in the drawings I’ve been doing.” He handed her a sketchbook. “She was really glad I was there. I helped her stand up. She gave me a hug and knew my name. She said I might see her in my dreams. Then I sort of snapped out of it.”
Amy flipped through the pictures. “These are really awesome!”
Daniel smiled in appreciation, “Thanks, Amy.”
Robbie asked, “So why did you do the mural?”
Daniel pointed emphatically. “That’s really the crazy thing. So, I notice people down the block are just going outside. I started asking did you see it? Nobody did, they just wanted to be out. I could just feel something happened, something big, so I decide to go to the Mall and paint the scene to see if anyone else saw it.”
Robbie asked, “Did they?”
Daniel nodded emphatically. “So I started painting and an audience forms. Most of the people are just curious, but a few people are saying they saw it too, just a random group of people, men and women, old, young, a Japanese guy, is saying he saw it, too. He helped with the mural. Then people on the Mall were singing, making songs up. Dancing. Running around naked. Sort of like a mini music festival.”
Amy asked, “So when did the people start coming out of offices?”
Daniel laughed a deep bass laugh. “That was awesome! Maybe within the hour. Just thousands of people were streaming out of their offices. They were talking and hanging out. It was complete beautiful anarchy. They weren’t angry, pissed off about work or anything, just realizing they had better things to do with their life.”
Robbie asked, “What about the police, the park service?”
“I saw this lady copy strip off her uniform and run around the park in her undies. There was no hassle.” Daniel held up his hands and said, “Let me turn the tables, if I might, and ask some questions.”
Robbie said, “Sure!”
“Who is this lady?”
Robbie said, “Her name is Samantha. As far as I understand it, she’s basically a wisdom or knowledge goddess. But, that word is so loaded I hate using it. I mean, you actually met her and saw her, right. She hugged you. You know more about her than I do.”
Daniel considered a moment. “Samantha... Not omniscient, nor distant, really pretty human. How do you know her? This statue looks pretty old. So is this something that happened to your, maybe, grandfather?”
Robbie shrugged. “I don’t really know. When I was growing up, I just thought it was a lawn ornament! My family has a lot of books, though, where she’s mentioned. It’s a very, very long story.”
Daniel raised his eyebrows and said, “Hey, speaking of books, we’re doing a graphic novel based on this experience, that is, me and two other guys who were at the Mall.”
Robbie patted Daniel’s shoulder. “If you want any support, don’t hesitate. Maybe you guys can head up to our farm sometime? You’re welcome any time.”
“I’ll do that! I would love to see that statue in person.”
“Yeah, you might enjoy reading what we’ve got, although, I don’t want to get in the way of your muse. If you’ve got a direct connection to her, maybe go with that.” Robbie suggested.
“It’s all good. I’m totally fascinated. This is my life, now!” Daniel picked up the sketchbook and started drawing Robbie and Amy. He asked, “What’s your dog’s name.”
Amy said, “Perry.”
EPISODE FIVE -- More Money More Problems
Present Day
The Chardon Chronicles: Season Two --- The Winter Page 35