The Doorway
“What’s cooking, Zee?”
“Hey Moose,” I said with a smile, as Tag “Moose” Mussogey wandered into the kitchen. “Seafood casserole, but only if you’re good!”
Moose, 6’4” and a muscular 280 pounds, came by his nickname honestly. Of course, feeding Moose took a lot of work. Almost as much as the rest of the shift, I thought with a smile.
He wandered over and put his head over the saucepan where I was prepping the seafood, inhaling deeply. “Goddamn,” he exclaimed appreciably. “I was hoping for some chicken when I got here. Set my sights too low!”
“That’s ‘cuz you thought Freddo was on shift tonight, and that’s about the best he can do!” I chuckled.
“Ain’t it the truth!” he said, shaking his head. “I wish you were still on my regular crew, Mom!”
I threw a towel at him, but honestly, I was used to it. One of the few things that still gave me a sense of joy and accomplishment on the fire department was making sure my shift had a real meal – a good meal. Something to compensate for the insane schedules . . . the long hours . . .
The bodies.
Moose must have caught something in my expression – something that didn’t match the banter we’d just been trading. “Another OD today?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Third one this fucking month. I . . . “
I stopped myself. If I kept going, I might not be able to. It would all come out. I never should have joined the department. Never.
It was a hard job. An important job. Something worthwhile, and jobs like that weren’t so easy to come by in the aging cities of America’s Rust Belt in the glorious 21st century.
It was a man’s job, and I had been desperate, twelve years before, to prove that I was a man. So I’d pushed and pushed and pushed myself to qualify. The written exam had been easy enough, but the CPAT – the Candidate Physical Ability Test – had been a real challenge for a scrawny, undersized 20-year old kid.
But I had done it. Had scored well on the tests, gotten a pretty high placement on the hiring list, and been brought aboard back in 2011. I had been so proud of myself. Convinced that I had finally arrived.
Moose broke in on my thoughts. “Zee,” he said quietly. “I know you don’t want to do it. But . . . you need to talk to someone. Bro . . . it’s eating you up.”
I nodded. “I know, I know.” I did, too. I could feel it. “Look, I got a couple weeks coming. Gonna go down to Georgia. Get some sun, you know? Maybe do a little fishing . . . .”
Moose looked uncomfortable. He knew – like I knew – that a week or two away wasn’t going to cure what was eating me up. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again.
It wasn’t our way.
The department was a brotherhood, in ways both amazingly good and occasionally dysfunctional. We were there for each other, on the job and off. Someone’s ex’s kid’s girlfriend needed help with her plumbing, and the guy who knew his way around pipes was there. Putting on a new roof? Guys were there. Making some home brew? You had a crew, share and share alike.
But there were lines. Important lines. Words you didn’t speak. You did not show weakness or admit it. You did not intrude when your brothers were getting their shit together. Moose had walked right up to that line, but he wouldn’t cross it.
“It’s okay,” I said, and started to reassure him.
But the loudspeaker from the central dispatch ended our conversation. "CHURCH STREET STATION, ENGINE SIX, ENGINE SEVEN, SQUAD FOXTROT: DISPATCH TO 11 MILL ROAD. FIRE AT THE THOMAS WORKS. ENGINES SIX AND SEVEN, SQUAD FOXTROT.”
I shut off the fire under the saucepan with a flick of my fingers, threw a cover on the food – not much hope, but it was what it was. Pushed it over to a free burner and shut off the oven. I was still only three steps behind Moose as we burst into the garage area and suited up with the whole rest of the shift.
Any additional ODs today will just have to wait.
Seconds later, the big doors were open and we were jumping on our Quint, siren blaring, speeding through the cold night air. The old Thomas Works would be a bitch kitty in a fire. God only knows what kind of chemicals would be on site from way back when. If we were lucky, we’d have the MSDS information by the time we got there, so we would know what fire suppressants we could actually use without making things worse.
Cars were moving, sluggishly, to get out of our way. Tank was a good driver, but he had to make liberal use of the horn to clear a lane. I found myself thinking, Go, go, go!!!! Every second could make a difference, especially when we were dealing with an old 19th Century factory. As we got closer, I could hear the sirens of engines from other stations, all converging. Oh, this one will be bad.
Still, I found myself almost relieved. Firefighting was hard work, especially in dangerous environments like this one. But it was the kind of work I’d signed up for. I’d assumed, I guess, that it would toughen me up, like my old man had always wanted, before he’d died in that stupid crash.
Make a man out of me.
It hadn’t, really, but it hadn’t broken me, either. It was the EMT work – the calls to devastated homes, to the bedrooms that had become tombs. “Deaths of despair,” they were calling them, now. The overdoses. Opioids, mostly. Men, women, young, old . . . all of them, no longer able to cope with life in a dead-end town. I couldn’t take the deaths anymore. Couldn’t look into their cold, unseeing eyes, or the tormented eyes of the ones they’d left behind.
There were two engines on site when our three vehicles arrived. Dom Napoli, the Captain from the Elm Street Station, was coordinating and we got our orders. Thank God, he had details on what materials had been stored in each of the buildings.
Place shoulda been torn down years ago, I thought.
The smoke was billowing and Building One, where the old blast furnace had been, was already as good as gone – fully engulfed, the heat pulsing, angry and intense. Gramps had been the foreman there, I recalled, back in the early sixties. Back when this town still made things, and there were good jobs for men with strong backs. . . .
But there was no time for wool-gathering. The work was now focused on making sure that the entire complex didn’t go as well. We were assigned to Building Three, and started setting up our hoses. It was going to be a long night.
Thirty minutes later, I was outside the building when we got the alert. “MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY. FIREFIGHTER DOWN!” It was our Lieutenant, Jeff Dillon – he’d led a three man-team into the building. Moose and Liam ‘Macko” McCardy were in there with him, and I felt a stab of terror.
Tank was working the hoses. “Go, Zee, Go!!!!” he shouted.
I ran to the entryway where the team had done their insertion and arrived just as Dillon and Moose emerged from the billowing smoke, dragging Macko between them. He wasn’t moving. “Over here, over here!!!” I shouted, indicating a clear area with decent light and air. “Go, go, go!!!!”
We had him on the ground in seconds. I popped open his chest clip and checked his pulse while Dillon put Mac’s SCBA between his legs and opened the bypass valve. “No pulse!” I called out. “We need an AED up here NOW!” With a nod from the Lieutenant, I started chest compression, the rhythm depressingly committed to muscle memory years and years ago.
Sirens were screaming and I heard a “voooosh!!” from the building our team had just left. Part of my mind processed that a portion of the roof must have given way. I heard shouted orders, but tuned them out. Right now, our team had one job. Only one.
Dillon removed Macko’s helmet, mask and hood while Moose took the third position and started unbuckling his Turnout jacket from the bottom up, making sure not to interfere with the rhythm of my chest compressions. The Lieutenant moved Mac’s arms over his head, loosened then grabbed his shoulder straps, and checked to make sure Moose was ready. “Pull down!” he ordered.
Moose pulled Macko’s Turnout pants from the bottom and got him out of the gear without interrupting my compressions. Push, push . . . push, push . . . push, push . . . ..
Tank arrived with the Automated External Defibrillator. When he was ready, he barked, “clear!”
My hands came off and Tank delivered the shock. Back down . . . push, push . . . push, push . . .
“Clear!”
Off. Back. Push, push . . . push, push . . . .
Dillon was administering oxygen. I couldn’t see Macko’s face.
Minutes past. Precious minutes. I kept pushing. Sweat was pouring off me, despite the cold. We were doing everything . . . everything that we could.
The ambulance pulled right up to where we were and men were racing toward us with a stretcher. “Okay . . . go, go, go!!!!” They set it down and bent over, two to a side. “On three: one, two, three!!!” They lifted him, got him on a stretcher, hustled him into the ambulance. One of the four jumped in after the stretcher and took my place . . . .
The doors closed and they raced off.
My breath was ragged. Dillon looked gray. “El Tee?”
He shook his head once, sharply. “We’ll find out, Zee. Come on now, back to it!”
And back we went . . . . Napoli was nearby, shouting. “Jeff, we’ve got people in there!”
We ran.
We were at it for five hours. The fire was contained, then beaten back, and finally put out. Our relief arrived and we retrieved our gear, putting it back where it belonged.
Dillon was by the truck, his face blank. It didn’t look like mere fatigue. Snowflakes were starting to fall, landing on his soot-blacked face. He didn’t seem to notice.
“Lieutenant?”
He didn’t respond.
I got closer, spoke more softly. “Jeff? What’s the word?”
He looked at me then and shook his head. “We lost him, Zee.”
And like that, everything that had been building up hit me like a rock slide. I wanted to puke my guts out, but there was nothing inside anyway.
It was all I could do to nod and go back to the hoses, clenching my teeth to keep my screams from escaping. I could barely see what I was doing, my eyes stinging with tears.
“Zee.” It was Moose, beside me. His voice was quiet. Urgent. “You okay?
I could only shake my head. I couldn’t speak. But I hopped on the engine, and Moose jumped up behind me. Tank backed up out, turned us around and headed back. Soon we were going too fast to hear each other talk anyway.
My hands were shaking and I was weeping uncontrollably, the bitter air digging tears into my windburned cheeks. Why’d it have to be Wacko Macko – the happy one, the joker? The one with the nice wife who helped us make the IPA for the pig roast every year, and the three great kids . . . Brooke was going to start college next year. Why’d it have to be Mack?
Why not me?
A scream of pure, primal grief and rage, an animal howl of pain, tore through my defenses, ripping my already abused throat raw. The night absorbed it, uncaring, as snowflakes continued to drift down, pure white.
We got to the station and started the routine of putting things away. The next shift was already there, but the job’s not done ’til it’s done.
Except this time, Moose said, “El Tee, let me get him outta here.”
Dillon looked at me, then back at Moose. “Do it.”
“I’m okay,” I said.
Moose ignored me. “C’mon, Zee. I’ll drive you.”
I was too tired to fight. I followed forlornly behind him, feeling like a spring that has been bent so often that it has nothing left to give. I got into the passenger seat of Moose’s big F-150 and mechanically got my seat belt on. Then I just bent my head and began to sob.
Moose drove. I didn’t know where he was going, and I didn’t care. He didn’t ask me any questions or intrude on my agony, and I was good with that for just as long as it would last. I had no strength for answering questions.
When we had gone for probably an hour and a half, Moose pulled off Route 27 and onto an old, poorly maintained gravel road. I raised my head and looked around. In the moonlight, I could see little more than the dark of pine trees surrounding us.
Still I kept quiet. Quiet is good. Quiet doesn’t ask questions that can’t be answered.
After about fifteen minutes, we came to a clearing in the woods. There was a trailer parked off to one side. Something large enough to hold a kitchen, a small sitting area, and a place to sleep.
Finally, he spoke, though all he said was, “C’mon.” He shut off the truck and walked to the trailer, his boots crunching the hard ground, making dark prints against the dusting of snow that gleamed in the moonlight.
I sighed and hopped down, following in his wake. I didn’t have a better plan.
He fished out some keys, opened the trailer, and flipped on some lights. The interior was about what I’d expected, linoleum and Formica. He pointed to a low futon couch, then went into the kitchen. A minute later he returned with a bottle of JD and a couple of shot glasses decorated with scenes of Niagara Falls.
I dropped into the couch and Moose took a well-worn chair. He put the glasses on the coffee table, poured, and then handed me a shot.
“Not sure this won’t just come back up,” I said, apologizing.
“If it does, I’ll deal with it.”
I don’t drink that much, or that often. But I took it in one and he refilled it.
I figured I’d better say something. “Your place?” It was a stupid question, but . . . it was safe.
He just looked at me. After a minute, he said, “Let’s cut the crap, Zebediah. Forget about the rules. Talk to me.”
I thought, you don’t know what you're asking. “What’s to say? We did everything we could. Macko’s still dead.”
“And you’re still alive, and you wish you weren’t,” he said quietly.
My glass smacked the table, spilling a bit. “I’m not suicidal! Shit! What the hell do you know about it?”
“I didn’t say you were suicidal,” he said evenly. “I said that you wished you were dead, and you do. Shall I go on?”
I looked at him like he had three heads. “Oh, by all means, great Swami!”
The sarcasm rolled off his back. “Every time you deal with another death, another piece of you dies. You think you’ve failed. And then you think you’re weak. Not man enough. Like you don’t measure up.”
My jaw was on the floor. “What the fuck . . . .” Angry denials were on my lips. My hands wanted to ball into fists. I knew – from hard experiences that began in childhood – the importance of squelching any questions about my manhood.
But I couldn’t say the words. Couldn’t say any of them. Everything he’d said was true, and I was just too wounded, too tired, to keep pretending. “I don't measure up, Moose,” I said quietly. “I never have.”
“You think you’re weak, just because you feel the pain so deep?” He shook his head. “You’re better than all of us. It’s only killing you because you love so much.”
I scoffed. “That’s me, Don Juan.” His words cut all the more deeply because I lived alone and had never even had a steady girlfriend. I’d been a lonely only, and my folks had both been gone for years now. Mom, when I was six. Dad had died in my arms. Thirteen years ago, it was. Love? Be serious.
But again, Moose refused to be rattled by my sarcasm. “You love us – Mac and the El Tee and Tank and me and all the rest. You try to take care of us, and you don’t want us to know. You try so hard to be tough as Tank, hard as Dillon.”
Again, I couldn’t bring myself to refute his words. He was so deep in my head that denial seemed impossible. “How . . . .” I couldn’t finish the question.
“How do I know?” He put his glass next to mine, untouched. “Because I’m not human, Zee.”
“With all your crazy talk, I’m almost ready to believe you.” I tried to make it sound like a joke, but it didn’t, somehow.
“You should,” he said, sounding serious. “I’ll prove it if you need me to, though I doubt it’ll make you feel better. People tend to freak out when I change shape.”
“Uh huh,” I said. “Well, try turning into something non-threatening, like a kitten.” I was being facetious, but again . . . it didn’t come out that way.
He shook his head, smiling. “My species can change shape – we’re metamorphs – but conservation of matter and energy is a law, not a suggestion.”
I didn’t manage anything more penetrating than, “Huh?”
He chuckled. “I can look like a kitten, but I’ll still weigh about 280 pounds, so I’d be a frickin’ big kitten. Know what I’m saying? I doubt you’d think it was ‘cute.’”
“Try me,” I said, deciding to call his bluff.
It was a mistake. “JESUS!!!!” I screamed.
When the enormous tabby vanished, leaving Moose behind, I was standing on the far end of the couch, straining to get as far away from him as the small trailer would allow.
He stood up and came over to me. “It’s okay,” he said quietly.
I was shaking. “Bull shit it's okay!!!”
But he caught my shoulders in his vice-like hands and effortlessly lifted me up, then back down to the floor. Perhaps sensing that my knees might buckle, he loosened his grip but didn’t let go entirely. “Zee . . . it’s okay. It’s still me.”
“But who are you!” I found myself crying.
“Moose is a good name. I like it,” he said softly. He took a half-step forward, then folded me into a warm, and very human, hug. “As for what I am, I guess I’d say I’m a person. Just not a human person. I’m a full empath, and a weak telepath. It is the nature of my people.”
Part of me wanted to break from his embrace. I was a man; he was a man. Right? Brothers and all that. We might embrace, in greeting or in parting. But not like this.
But he wasn’t a man; he said he was some kind of alien. And, in my heart of hearts, I knew I wasn’t a man either. I never had been.
“You can read minds?” Being held allowed me the advantage of putting my head on his shoulder, so that I wouldn’t have to see his face.
“Feelings, mostly. Some thoughts, but only strong ones . . . Zoë.”
I shuddered. He knew my name – my real name – the one that I never spoke aloud, even in private. That was even stranger than seeing my friend turn into a huge cat. But somehow, I wasn’t scared. His light embrace conveyed, in a way that no words ever could, his acceptance of my inner truth.
“So,” I said. “You’re, like, from outer space or something?”
“Something like that.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “It’s more dimensional than spatial, but ‘outer space’ will do.”
I thought about that. “Why are you here, Moose?”
“Here in this trailer?” he asked, amused.
“No, jackass, here on this planet!”
“I’m here to learn. Nothing more. It’s our way.”
“Learn what?” I asked. “You’ve been a firefighter for six years. Will that help you, where you come from?”
He chuckled. “No. I’m here to learn about people.”
“By working shifts at a firehouse?” I was incredulous.
“Why not?” he asked. “Would I learn more, living with some bigwigs? Politicians, or doctors, or lawyers? I’ve learned a lot, living and working with all of you.”
“Like what?”
“I’ve learned about love . . . and its limits. You and Tank and Macko, even the Lieutenant . . . you love each other like brothers. Would lay down your lives for each other, and I’ve seen you do it, time after time. But . . . you don’t trust them to know who you are inside.”
I thought about what he said, and had no response. None but tears. It was the reason why I felt so walled off from them, why I could never share what I was feeling, never share my horror at the deaths. My fears. They might discover who I am, and if they ever did . . . .
“It’s okay, Zee, really,” he said softly.
Inexplicably, I found myself clinging to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I cried even harder. “No, damn it. It’s not. It’s killing me!!!”
He pulled back to look at me, his expression tender. “I know. And I’m telling you, it’s okay.”
“But I can’t do it anymore,” I sobbed, burying my face into his broad chest. “There’s just dying, and more dying, and I can’t stop it. Any of it. I’ve gotta go to that funeral now, and they’ll play the bugle, and we’ll all be in ranks, and I’ll have to face Rose, and Brooke, Kaitlin and Little Liam . . . knowing that I failed them! I failed them, and Macko’s never gonna come home. Never see his little girls graduate! Never see his boy get his first homer. . . . Oh, goddammit, Moose!!! I can’t!!!”
His arms held me tight, in bands of steel. “I know. Really, I know.”
I couldn’t stop crying, remembering them all. Every death. Every person lost, one by one, a parade of death. I felt myself fraying, slipping away . . . unraveling, like an old sweater. “Moose,” I whispered. “Say my name. . . . Please!”
“Zoë.” His deep voice held conviction.
I closed my eyes.
“I can’t even talk about it . . . . I worked with Macko for eight years, and I could never tell him . . . I knew him, but he didn't even know who I am. It’s like I’m in this bubble that no one can see, and no sound gets out. No one can hear me.”
He held me like a child . . . or a woman. “I can hear you, dear one,” he said. “I always could. No, you can’t do your job any more. You can’t. You know it. I know it. I expect even the El Tee knows that much, now. It doesn’t matter.”
He wasn’t making sense. “It doesn’t?”
“No, Zoë. It doesn’t. I want you to come with me. And go far, far from here.”
“Go where?”
“It’s time for me to go home. And I want to take you with me. Away from all of this. Away from a life you can’t bear anymore.”
I looked at his face. So tender. Was this some sort of fever dream? I felt a crazy, impossible hope stir inside me. “Could your people change my body, like yours? Could I . . .” I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. “Could I become a real woman?”
He bent down and kissed my forehead gently. “Our shapeshifting ability is genetic, not engineered. We can’t change your appearance.”
He must have felt the wave of sadness that swept through me, killing my forlorn hope. He cupped my cheek with one hand and said, “But we can offer you something else.”
My eyes were welling with tears again. “What? What can match what I’ve prayed for every day since I can remember?”
“We can offer you a home where people accept you as you are. Love you, as freely and fully as you have always loved other people. You don’t see it – and, given the society you live in, I’m not surprised – but you are beautiful and perfect, right now. Just as you are.”
I thought of my grime-encrusted and tear-streaked face, my matted hair, my clothes that stank of smoke and chemicals and death. “Beautiful and perfect, huh?”
“Yes,” he said seriously. “More so now than ever. Will you come with me?”
I thought about it.
What's holding me here? He's right . . . I can’t do the job anymore. And what else is there? A dead-end job somewhere, or worse? Will I turn to drugs to numb the pain, like so many others have? Sometime soon, will my brothers respond to a call, only to find that I am just the latest "death of despair?”
What he was offering was a fantasy . . . but that sounded pretty good right now. I allowed myself to laugh a woman’s laugh, light and laced with mischief. “Sure, Moose. Carry me off to Never-Never Land!”
He picked me up effortlessly, bringing his right arm under my knees and scooping me up. I knew that Moose was strong – I’d seen proof many, many times – but I’d never had it brought home like that.
I clung to his neck.
Walking to the door that led to the sleeping area, he pushed it open with his knee.
I looked and saw, not the small compartment I had expected, but warm, sunlit fields under a velvet sky, and trees in the distance with pale peach leaves . . . . A warm breeze caressed my damp cheeks, carrying an elusive smell, fresh and clean, like orange blossoms.
“Oh my God,” I said, wonder in my voice. “I . . . I want to go there!”
He stepped through the Doorway, carrying me like a bride.
The end.
For information about my other stories, please check out my author's page.
Comments
goddammit Moose, where are you?
OMG Emma, how many classics are there rattling around in that beautiful brain of yours! Thanks for sharing this one. You have a rare gift of reaching our emotions and letting us see through the eyes of your heroines. There is a Zoe hiding inside many of us, waiting in vain for our own 'Moose' to let them out. Bless you, my friend. :DD
DeeDee
What the world needs . . .
Are some empaths. But I’d settle for just a bit more empathy, all around.
Thank you, Dee.
Emma
You and me, sis
You and me. And many others I would suspect.
Hugs
Diana
Vivid imagery, and tons of pain...
But also, two amazingly loving people, trying to make something better.
Beautiful.
*hugs*
Melanie E.
Yes.
That’s what it’s all about. Thanks, Melanie.
Emma
Sensitive treatment
Tough topic.
Thanks, Catherd.
I appreciate your willingness to bear with me across genres and — more importantly— moods. Hugs,
Emma
Brilliant!
This is absolutely magnificent! Your characters, as always, are so well drawn that I feel their pain even at this distance.
A lovely,.if very painful, story of love and acceptance. Bravo!
"Lately it occurs to me..
what a long strange trip its been."
Thanks, Lucy.
I really appreciate your comment and support!
Emma
Zee
>I never should have joined the department. Never.
(Zoë) definitely chose the wrong job. These jobs should require a psych eval, too. Which tests if the applicant can handle lots of dead people, blood and gore.
I think she should have become a dancer or musician.
You're saying so much with so little words. Masterfully done. Amazing.
This story gives us a glimpse of how truly broken many of our societies are. And the people in charge don't move the small finger to change that.
"There Are Things Known, and Things Unknown, and In Between Are the Doors."
Moose's door would be amazing to have.
Thx for an excellent story^^
There are many jobs which require
A psychiatric evaluation - I had to pass one in the service due to the nature of my job.
My middle son is an investigator sergeant for the Sheriff’s office and had to pass one for his job.
Passing that evaluation does not make you immune to seeing pain and suffering, or useless death. And would we want it to? Who wants a soldier or sailor who feels no remorse at death or suffering?
Who wants a police officer or deputy who feels nothing?
The definition of a psychopath is one who is unremorseful and non-empathetic. Is this what you would have?
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
Truthfully, no. But the tests
Truthfully, no. But the tests should, at least, filter out the people that are on a fast path to self destriction / burnout by this kind of suffering.
An alternative might be to take a rookie with no training on EMT runs for maybe 3 months and see how they handle it. If they're on the extreme ends of the emotional spectrum then they're out. If they're somewhere in the middle then give them the real training.
Thank you, Guest.
Hard to say whether a psych exam would have screened Zee out. Probably depends on how good the test was, how good the testers were — and how badly the department needed good people. She probably had no idea of her own sensitivity when she joined.
Emma
Nailed It
Emma, I was thinking OMG before making a response to your skills as a writer to bring out, or is that wring out, the emotions and feelings of your readers who join your actresses and actors in your stories? Reading the comments is proof enough leaving no doubt your talent matches if not surpasses the best writers of my time or anyone's time. Edgar Rice Burroughs immediately came to mind as he painted in our minds, with words, the jungle of animals and beasts. Then he gave us a man of unusual strength, talent, skills, he rose above all others as the apex of mankind.
Love, you are doing the same thing, painting in our minds the story with words. Something else I have noticed is your actresses and actors have the same quality as Burroughs, strong, soft, kind. Exposing yourself as all the excellent writers put themselves in their stories. Careful, as I may have to add you to my Bucket List as a person I must meet.
Hugs Emma
Barb
There is a wall we place there ourselves. Anything beyond is impossible, beyond 'our' belief.
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
Blushing
Thanks, Barb. I am glad the story touched you. As for the character of my characters . . . I think you have it exactly right.
In Lerner & Lowe’s Camelot, King Arthur has a soliloquy where he makes a private pledge about the kind of king he will be. The words have always reverberated in my soul: “These are the days of King Arthur, and we reach for the stars! These are the days of King Arthur, and violence is not strength, and compassion is not weakness. We are civilized.” That — that — is my idea of a hero. Or a heroine.
Emma
Abducted Story
I'm confused. The story has disappeared. I loaded it earlier but when I logged in to leave a comment, the story is gone. Weird! Maybe aliens abducted the story?
Anyway, since I loaded the story earlier, I was able to read it at least. I like it. A lot. It's hard-hitting and presses a lot of buttons -- in a good way. Mostly.
Thanks and kudos (number 40).
- Terry
Thanks, Terry.
The story seems to have reappeared after about forty minutes this morning. Elves, I think. I’m glad you liked it.
Emma
Another gem
Suicide is always hard for everyone involved - however peripherally. Family, friends, those who have to deal with the aftermath - police, medical, funeral directors and those who have to clean up afterwards. Zoe's reaction to this, and also the loss of a friend shows empathy and humanity.
Turning this kind of start into a story of redemption and a happy ending takes skill, and you have this skill in spades. More than a few tears shed reading this one.
Glad to see you haven't been wasting your time since finishing Max Warp - you know, eating, sleeping etc!
Alison
That muse . . .
When she elects to show up — which is always whenever she pleases and not when I need her — I’ve learned to pay attention. I’d intended to take a bit of a break after MaxWarp. She had other ideas.
Is it a happy ending? I’m not sure. Zee doesn’t return to save the world, or remake it; she is too broken. All she can do is escape it. It may well be the best possible ending, but that comes with a lot of caveats.
Thanks, Alison.
Emma
Some can tell stories . . .
and others such as me, can't.
I forgive you for the 'Warp' deja vu I felt. It was relevant, and you had me enfolded emotionally before it struck in.
And so soon after the contest was announced. You must have had it lurking there before that.
Once again thankyou.
Dave
Thanks, Dave
Actually . . . this started to percolate a week or so ago. As soon as MW was put to bed, it kind of insisted on coming out.
Emma
A Top Notch Entry
In the game. You have captured the angst of everyday life and shifted us beyond it. Congratulations on a very excellent job.
Ron
Thanks, Ron
You are very kind!
Emma
Wow
There are those who can have you laughing one second and crying the next, who's raw talent leave you in awe and wonder, and you are most definitely in their ranks. An impressive follow-up to the silliness of Warp. Would that all those in pain could find such a happy ending.
Amen, Ricky.
Amen. And, who knows? Maybe there is one for us all, somewhere beyond what Tolkien called the circles of this world. I hope so.
Emma
I’m not sure how you do it…….
But you manage to pack so much into so few words. I have known a few authors who could do what you do, but they are few and far between. Even now, after reading through this to the end, after taking time to settle my thoughts and emotions, and after using a few tissues to dry my tears, even now I am still wracked by what you have put to words.
When my unit was deployed overseas, first to the Balkans, and later Pakistan, with a few other named shitholes in between, I promised them all I would bring them home. I stood in front of their families and told them that I would keep them safe - and it was all a lie.
I tried, but I wasn’t good enough to do it. I failed them - not just my troops, but their families. I lost not just men I loved, but the people who loved them and depended on them lost as well. To this day, years after the fact, they still haunt my dreams. Not as bad as they once did - I have learned to cope with it somewhat, but they are like old friends now. They came to me in my sleep. Thankfully, they no longer accuse me of failing them; now they tell me that they are waiting patiently for me to join them. Holding my seat at the bar, and yes Tommy, I still owe you the first dance like I promised you when you figured out who I truly was inside.
Yeah, this hit home very closely. And I too can only hope for Elysium - but I doubt that forgiveness will be mine. I have much to answer for when I leave this life, and can only hope that I have time enough to pay for my sins and failings before that day comes to pass.
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
Dear Dallas
Like the heroine in this story, you have had to see too much. To experience too much. Go gently on yourself, my friend — as gently as you would go on all those who wait for you, were you called to sit in judgment on them. And may you have a velvet sky, sunlit fields, and a breeze that carries the scent of paradise.
Emma
You Are So Beautiful . . .
. . . to me.
Say hello to Joe Cocker and understand just who you are -- with your amazing talent.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Now you’ve got me crying.
Thank you, Jill.
Emma
Nicely done!
Excellent characterizations and descriptions to pull not just the reader's attention but also their heart. Thanks for writing this!
Thank you . . .
. . . for your kind comment. I really appreciate it (as you know)!
Emma
A Real Gem!
Nicely done.
Thank you!
Hugs,
Emma
Still processing this story
So much pain, and yet, so much love.
What happens when a society forces all channels of love in a person to be so constricted, so clamped down that the love can not be expressed or allowed to flow freely? This left me thinking all night and day since it came out last night, and it took a while to process and come to terms with the plot? story line? No, the lesson, that is the message, a lesson that if we can't love freely, we will either explode are go septic within our hearts. This was a beautiful story with so many lessons of loss, heartache, love, and so much more. I thank you for this and for sharing it with us. Be well and at peace,
Hugs,
Diana
Dear Diana —
I think you’ve put it beautifully. Thank you.
Emma
Dangers of being an empath
First off, great story, brought tears to my eyes. About empathy - my wife is an extreme empath. She feels other people's emotions so much that at times it is crippling. Many times I've had to metaphorically talk her off the ledge because she has become sucked into someone else's despair and can't pull herself out. I have learned to whisper in her ear 'Red Flag, black hole personality - don't get involved'.
I can absolutely see that.
Empathy is one of the highest gifts, but actually being an empath? I couldn’t do that, I think.
Thank you for your comment; I’m glad the story connected for you.
Emma
"I . . . I want to go there!”
fantastic.
Thank you, Dot
Yeah . . . I think I'd like to go there, too. Maybe someday . . . .
Emma
Rescue People
Firefighters and Ambulance Squads. Emma, are you sure you haven't done this kind of work yourself? If not, I don't know how you manage to pour so much of yourself into the role. I had one very good friend here (now deceased) who was an ambo EMT and it nearly destroyed her because she was just like Zoe. Too much empathy and transgender rolled into one. She found a measure of peace when she quit but she never lost the nightmares.
Brilliantly envisioned.
I haven't, but . . . .
I know a fair number of firefighters, and I admire them tremendously. It's a tight-knit and admirable brotherhood. But . . . it is one to which I could never have belonged. I wouldn't have fit in, for all the reasons my character in this story couldn't. Which made this story pretty easy to write. I can very easily imagine your friend's pain and anguish.
Thanks, Joanne.
Emma
Nicely done
That was a lovely setting for a story and the details of serving in the emergency services seemed highly authentic. A lot of trans people do serve their community in such ways, of course: that urge to take on ‘tough, manly work’ and prove yourself. But I’ll sidestep all that and just say thank you: I liked that.
Sugar and Spiiice – TG Fiction by Bryony Marsh
Thank you, Bryony
I'm glad you enjoyed the story, and appreciate the comment!
Emma
Beautiful storytelling as
Beautiful storytelling as always, Emma. Men are expected to be immune to pain, hurt and sorrow but there is nothing more honest and powerful than watching a man break down and cry for a friend or colleague. Zoe has suffered enough pain and has earned her new life with Moose. Thank you for your work, Emma. Can't wait to read your next masterpeice !
Love and Kudos!
Suzi
Thank you, Suzi!
Our culture works overtime, I think, to limit the possibilities for each gender, causing no end of trouble all around. If we could just value individuals for who they are, rather than for how well they conform to a stereotype, the journey might be a little easier for everyone.
Warmest wishes,
Emma
Emma
Has it to be
Has it to be an alien to be emphatic! What a corrupt world we live in?
Wonderful story!
Thank you, QModo!
It’s a tough world, that’s for certain. But there are good and empathetic people, too.
Hugs,
Emma
Brilliant story Emma Anne.
Brilliant story Emma Anne.
Leeanna
Thank you, Leeanna
Hugs,
Emma
Sam's mooses species
Can recognize a beautiful soul when they meet one.
If only . . .
. . . our species were similarly predisposed! Empathy is so rare, sometimes.
Thanks for your comment. Hugs,
Emma
Out of the fire into the...
Wow -- congrats on yet another excellent story. I was wheeling through all the comments -- SO MANY COMMENTS -- including the excellent ones from BarbieLee and D. Eden.
I have to say, it was a masterstroke to *not* transform Zee, but instead to take Zee/Zoe "just as I am" as the old hymn says it should be.
Well done, as always!
hugs and thanks,
- iolanthe
It might even be a greater gift
So many of us here dream of having a body that conforms to our inner truth. But to be fully known, body, mind, heart and soul, might be an even greater gift.
Thank you, Iolanthe.
Emma
We definitely need empathy
I gave this one as a reread. It’s just as good the second time.
Firefighting is tough work. It can wear you down. As it happens, one of my Trans friends is an EMT with the department.
And I learned this morning a family member of someone had committed suicide. And I talked to another trans friend yesterday who was in a bit of a mental situation due to repeated maintenance problems with her truck (and other factors.)
I think the hormones open me up to it more.
But I try to keep my patience and keep the connections open.
Anyway, thanks for letting me share this and all your wonderful stories.
Gillian Cairns
Thank you, Gillian
It is good that you can keep yourself open, keep your connections open. I’m personally struggling to do that, right now.
Emma