I looked around and discovered I had been transported to a mountain, I saw some tents pitched nearby and decided to at least see if there was a comfortable place to sleep. When I reached the tents, I found a whole group of people looking up at the sky with funny contraptions and talking different from anyone I had heard so far. They would point to scrolls and charts and then to the sky, all the while arguing with one another—or maybe they were just talking.
Perhaps I would have tried investigating further, but I was exhausted. I found a pile of pillows, and collapsed onto them. The smelled funny, but I didn’t care as I quickly fell asleep. When I woke up it was already mid-day, and I was on a wagon being pulled by camels. I had hoped that it had been a dream, but the rough, rhythmic, motion of the wagon and smell of horses convinced me otherwise. A long column of horses, camels, and people were marching towards some unknown location.
I think I grumbled something about how I should have been hungry, but I quickly forgot about that when I realized that I had lost the song book. As simple as the song book had been, and how perplexing of a journey it had led me on, it was still the only thing I could think of to get me home. I began searching the cart but I couldn’t find it anywhere. I would have turned the wagon upside down if I could have, but I couldn’t move anything just like how I couldn’t touch people.
I eventually sat down defeated, there wasn’t anything I could do. I looked out in the direction we had come from, and wondered if it had been left behind. I then wondered if I would be able to find where they had set up camp the night before—I eventually realized that even if the book was still there, I would have no way to find my way back. I was stuck, in every sense of the word.
After spending a few hours shouting, crying, and just general freaking out, I resigned to the fact that there was a good chance I was never going home. That’d I’d spend the rest of my life as a ghost-thing. What was weird though was that going home wasn’t the thing that bothered me. I had seen something astonishing, and was yanked away from the edge of seeing something even more amazing. It played in my mind. Seeing the famous babe in swaddling clothes. But now I was in the most bizarre parade I had ever seen, and I’d never be in front of that cave again.
Once I was bored to death of watching the driver guide the cart, I decided to see what my other ‘companions’ were doing. I discovered that the ones in fancy clothes weren’t riding horses or camels, or even riding in a cart like the one I woke up in, they were in sort of carriages. My family rode in a carriage at Central Park once, but these things put that to shame. I walked along side one and wanted to feel the smooth blue fabric. I don’t know what silk feels like, but I bet that stuff wasn’t far from the same.
The men in the cart were looking at their charts and scrolls again. They were more interesting than anything else on the road trip, so I watched them. I don’t know what it’s like to watch a sitcom in another language, but this couldn’t have been far off. I laughed more than once as they debated loudly and pointed at scrolls like the excited kids at the home I was singing in front of when this whole thing began.
By sundown, even my hosts were no longer that interesting. We had spent the entire day traveling, but I still had no idea where we were, or where we were going for that matter as there wasn’t sign of other people in any direction. I looked at the men who had gathered their papers again by the fire as they ate what I imagine was a delicious, if not exotic, meal. Their tenacity impressed me, they were determined to get somewhere and didn’t seem to mind how long it took them; my family drove to Disney World once, I thought’d I’d go crazy after the first two hours.
I was on the verge of falling asleep again by dark. That is, until half the group started shouting. I was startled at first, but then I was confused as the men were practically yelling at the sky. One man even grabbed a servant and pointed up, obviously not wanting the young man to miss the spectacle. I followed the gesture, and after about a minute of overwhelming surprise, I started shouting with them.
The star was still there! And far brighter than it had been the previous night. After the joy of realizing we were traveling in it’s direction had passed, I looked back to the group with a new curious regard. Who were these people? And why were they so transfixed on following the star? Just to be safe, I counted the group but it didn’t take long before I passed the number three; these guys couldn’t have been the kings… could they?
Perhaps to answer my question, or maybe it was just the right time, I spotted something amongst the scrolls that didn’t fit. A small flat book with cheery colors, opened to a very appropriate page. I yelled at the top of my lungs when I saw it! I was more happy to see that scrawny, worn out, carol book than I have ever been on any Christmas morning.
I was still hugging it tightly when I heard clapping. I turned back to the ‘wisemen,’ one of them was clapping in a slow rhythm, the others quickly followed his example as the beat began to go faster. Before long, they were all chanting in happy voices, keeping time with their hands. I swayed back and forth to them before turning to the book once again. By the time I reached the end of the song, I was competing with my new friends to have my voice in the air.
Star of royal beauty bright,Westward leading, still proceeding, Guide us to thy perfect light. Glorious now behold Him arise, King and God and Sacrifice. Alleluia, alleluia! Earth to heav'n replies.
When I was finished, I looked up to the star. Hoping, praying, that whatever power had brought me here may bring me a little further. I didn’t even care about going home anymore, I just wanted to have a second chance to see the one these songs were written for.
I stared transfixed by the star, all the other lights seemed to fade away. It even grew in my mind, the light surrounded me and encompassed everything. The singing by the fire drifted away as I was pulled into the glow—or maybe it was pulled into me.
* * *
Hello People! My it's been a long time--longer than I'd care to admit anyway. I should have some elaborate excuse, or something really great to justify it, but the truth is I don't. I had a lot to do this summer, and in the wee hours of relaxation I wasn't kicking myself into writing gear like I was supposed to. I went home for the Summer to work with my family, and my family is the kind that doesn't stop work until it's too dark to keep going--which can be a really long time in summer.
An exceptional amount of work doesn't mean that my writing went without sharpening mind you. I spent a great deal of the Summer trying to wrap my mind around two very important--critical really--aspects of dramatic writing: premise and conflict. These were the two areas requiring the greatest amount of work for my novel, and any other writing I do, to be a success. I was instructed by my writing coach, and literary mentor, to master these concepts; and after committing months to the effort, I think I finally have a handle on them.
Will I still struggle with writing? Yes. Does Free Radical still need a lot of work to become truly great? Yes. Am I going to begin rambling in completely irrelevant points of discussion? Hmm, maybe. The point is, writing is a process--and I'm not saying that to sound all huff-puffy. Writing takes some serious work. But now that I have some key concepts down, my writing is not only going to go smoother, it'll be far more effective. So, was the summer a waste? Certainly not!
If any of you need a writing coach, mine's a good one! You can find out more about him, his video tutorials, and even his pulp fiction books on his website: https://seanhoade.com (Incase any of you didn't pick up on it, his name's Sean Hoade).
As for me, my writing crave's been'a itch'n! So, expect more frequent posts--at least not months apart--and more updates about Free Radical in the future! To keep up with what's going on in my blogs, be sure to subscribe!
By the way, what do you think is going to happen in our next and final chapter for our lovable time-traveling caroler? How do you think their story is going to end? How is their story going to change them? Leave any guesses in a comment hear or on the social media page!
Image Source: https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Drawing-caravan-in-desert/46662/1778505/view