One Out Of Many

This post was originally published on Yahoo Voices

ONE OUT OF MANY

Normally Henry resented beggars. He disliked having to walk by loitering beggars near a grocery store entrance. They were begging for money. But he’d always be in a charitable mood and toss a beggars a few quarters. He would not respond to the ‘thank you.’ One time he almost got into a fist fight when a beggar cursed him for not giving enough.

But this one afternoon was different. Henry was returning home from work. He was hot and sweaty. His pants and shoes were streaked with outdoor porch paint. His jacket bore the name of the company he owned. His long grey hair swayed in the cool breeze. He was wearing a baseball cap to hold his hair in place.

He stopped at a corner in the busy area waiting for a chance to cross the busy street. He spotted two people sitting on the ground enjoying the shade provided by the building: A scrawny middle age man and a skinny small boy. The first thought that entered his mind was ‘more beggars.’

The small boy was quietly playing with his toy soldiers. The middle age man was looking straight ahead. As Henry crossed the street, he observed more details. The middle age man’s clothes were thread bare. The shoes of both the man and the boy were thoroughly worn out. On each side of the pair were small cloth bags: the kind you would purchase to hold your laundry. As he walked closer to them, they paid no attention to him. But when he reached them, he caught the innocent longing look from the young boy: An innocent plea for help.

He stopped and looked directly at the boy. “Hi,” he said.

The boy responded meekly with the word “Hi.”

The scrawny man looked up at Henry and asked, “Could you give my boy some money for food? He has not had a bite to eat today.”

The boy’s pleading eyes made Henry look away for a moment. Should he ask questions, walk away or give the boy money? He reached in his pockets searching for his cell phone. ‘Dang it,’ he thought, ‘I left it at work.’ There was a drug store a few doors away. ‘They have a phone.’

He pulled a dollar out of his pocket and held it out for the scrawny man to grab.

“Not me,” the scrawny man said, “Give it to Jimmy.” He moved his head in the direction of the small boy.

After the small boy took the money, the scrawny man said, ”Jimmy.”

Jimmy looked up and said, “Thank you.”

Henry did not respond. He walked to the drug store and found the public phone booth inside. That boy needs a good home where he can be nourished properly. He phoned the police.

When he came out of the drug store, he looked back where the scrawny man and the boy had been sitting. They were gone. Henry ran to the corner and looked in all four directions. How could they disappear so fast?

The scrawny man and the boy had darted through store and exited on another street. They walked quickly down the street and got into a car. The scrawny man turned to the boy who handed over the hundred dollars they had collected that day. Then he drove the boy home and knocked on the boy’s door. The boy’s parents handed the scrawny man his rent. He gave them back $15 and thanked them for the use of their boy. Then he got back in the car and drove 20 miles. He turned into a driveway beside a raised ranch on two acres of land.

After he entered the living room, he made a phone call and arranged for another boy to be with him the next day. He would train the boy, teaching him the longing look while having the boy stand in front of a mirror.

Political comment:

This one beggar spoils it for the many who truly need help. 

Alien Insects From Outer Space

The full moon lit up the dirt road and reflected in the small stream running alongside the road.  The stars shined brightly in the sky.  A small bubble floated down from outer space.  It was not detected by radar or any human.  It landed in the stream. It was completely transparent and clear. The moonlight did not reflect off of it and it was invisible to the human eye.

The bubble became visible for a second.  It was one foot wide. Something was moving around inside it.

A mile away on the same dirt road, a short, young man named Joseph was walking home.  He was dressed in a white tee shirt, tan shorts and white sneakers.  He had an iPod clipped to his belt. He was wearing headphones and enjoying the song 'Never Say Never.'   He bobbed his head to the beat of the song.

Joseph no longer cared what people said about him.  As far as he was concerned, society reeked.  He often said 'The hell with people.'  All they did was make fun of him. They never believed a word he said.

Even the police ignored him.  Once he reported a bear and he remembered  the police officer said something about his being dilusional.  Dilusional? If that bear injured someone, they'd find out just how dilusional Joseph was. Some people would give Joseph a wierd look and stay away from him. Communication with others was rare and often undesirable.

Joseph ran his hands through his unkempt hair.  So what if it was uncombed? Why should he comb it?  Would it make a difference in how people treated him? No way!  Let people stare at him. Maybe he should make people think he was dangerous. Maybe then they'd stop making fun of him.

Something streaked across the road. He barely saw it. He thought it must have been moving a hundred miles an hour. It was tiny like an insect.  He noted that it made a wierd whooshing sound as it went by.

He heard the wooshing sound once again and felt a sharp pain in his left ankle.  He stopped and sat down in the road to examing his ankle. There was a little blood around a small puncture wound.  It was sore. He got up and limped down the road.  He heard another whooshing sound and felt a sharp pain in his arm.

"Ouch!" Joseph yelled.  Then he noticed a puncture wound in his lower arm.  The whooshing sound became louder. He began running.   There were so many streaking insects, he could hardly see the road. He felt a sharp pain in his forehead and fell to the ground.  Blood streamed down his forehead. He got up and ran up the path to his front door.  He searched his pocket for the keys.  His headphones were lopsided. He felt another sharp pain in his ear lobe.

He was swearing as he opened the front door. He slammed the door shut and sank to the floor with his back against the door.  He still heard the distant whooshing sound.

"What the hell was that?" Joseph asked himself, "No insect could fly that fast.  What should I do?  If I go to the emergency room, they'll think I deliberately stabbed myself or something and strap me to one of those beds. But I didn't stab myself! How could I convince them? What could I say?  I have to catch one of those things and bring it with me. That's the only way. But how?"

The wooshing sound was getting louder. Joseph realized that it was only a matter of time before those 'insects' realized they could break the windows.  He had to do something and he had to do it quick.
Joseph went to the closet and took out a pull-over fall jacket with a hood.  He changed into a pair of blue jeans. He put on a pair of hiking boots and tucked the pants into the boots. Then he took out his old hockey face mask and put it on.  He also put on a pair of leather work gloves.

"They attacked at night.  I wonder if light affects them." Joseph thought about turning on all the lights in his house.  But he didn't.  Instead he seached for a weapon.  "Those things fly so fast that most weapons would be useless."

The only weapon he could think of that might be effective was  a blow torch. But that might set the house on fire.  The wooshing sound was loud now. The insects were crashing into his windows.  Joseph ran down the cellar and opened a metal cabinet.  He grabbed an old rag and rapped it around an old broom stick.  Then he poured some turpentine in the rag and ignited it.  He came back up stairs. The insects had not cracked the windows.

He needed help and he could not wait.  He took out his mobile phone. He was able to dial but there was so much static he could not hear the voice at the other end.  Then he tried the landline phone but there was no dial tone.

Sooner or later the insects would find their way in.  Joseph felt he had no choice.  He had to get help and fire was the only alternative. He went to the front door, poured some kerosene at the base of the door and torched it.  Then he backed away and watched the flames shoot up.  The room quickly become filled with smoke.  He laid down on the linoleum floor and waited.

The wooshing sound was drowned out by the sound of crackling burning wood.  He heard the sirens in the distance. He was not able to see the windows.

The fire was put out quickly. Joseph admitted he started the fire and told the police why he started it. The police did not believe his story.  They thought he was crazy wearing those clothes in the warm weather. They placed him under arrest for arson.  They suspected he would have attempted insurance fraud.  He argued them to no avail.  Then they all heard the wooshing sound. One officer was stung on the arm.  The other officers ducked as an insect streaked across the room.

Now they believed him. In spite of the danger Joseph was facing, he was happy. They knew he wasn't dilusional.  They would no longer ignore his phone calls.

The next morning the fire inspector reported finding partially melted insects near the burnt our portion of Joseph's apartment.  Partially melted?  Joseph learned that those so-called 'insects' were not insects at all. They were tiny robots.

The bubble, laying in the stream, once again became visible. All the tiny robots were gathered around the bubble. They entered the bubble in a single line. And as they entered, they became invisible.  The robots had completed their tasks. They would return to their planet and turn in their reports about this strange planet. Their report would be that the third planet from the sun can and does support life.