Todays Topic
Welcome friend to Create Art Podcast where we create more than we consume. I am Timothy Kimo Brien your thankful head instigator with over 20 years in arts and education helping you tame your inner critic and provide you with commentary, interviews, discussions, and projects that will inspire you to create art. This month I will be podcasting daily and writing a novel in 30 days. I am participating in NaPodPoMo and NaNoWriMo. You will be able to listen to what I wrote for the day and read it at the same time. I like to practice what I preach when it comes to art so I am challenging myself to write and having you come along for the ride. I hope this inspires you to accomplish your goals with your art and if you would like to share what you are doing email me at timothy@createartpodcast.com
The Story So Far
20 Nov 2020 1744 daily count 33350 cumulative count
Carl wrote down the names of the previous holders of the diary. Since according to the diary he was not allowed to research them, he thought that his brother may be able to do that and still stay within the bounds of the curse. He moved onto the next page that was written in the same hand. The instructions were as follows:
‘Once you have possessed the diary, you must write the first entry no later than the following day. This entry tells of the circumstances in that you received this book. Do not read other entries from the other holders of this diary. The curse will ruin you and those you hold dear. You will write a total of five entries, they can be of whatever length you wish. He first must tell of how you came across the book, as much detail as you can remember must be written down so that if there is a hope for breaking this curse, those in the future will have all the information they will need. Your next three entries will be about momentous events in your life. These can be weddings, deaths, war, plague, births, you have free reign over them. However, they cannot be just musings of a particular day so whose wisely. The last entry will be the circumstances on how you passed along the diary. All details and reasonings must be put in this entry. You must pass along the diary as you will not be able to withstand the fury of the souls of the previous holders of this dairy. Do no curse those who have come before you and do not curse the one who has passed along this diary to you. They are trying to spare their families and friends the wraith of the diary as one day you too will be forced with a choice, sacrifice yourself and all those you hold dear or pass along the curse to someone else. If you follow these instructions your life will be extinguished, however your family will be spared. You will not incur the wraith of those before you, your life will simply end quietly and peacefully. You will enter into the land of the dead, and God will have mercy upon your soul, however, your soul will only partially be in the afterlife, as it may be called upon to enact swift fury upon those who wish to break the instructions you have read. If any break these instructions all the previous souls are bound for eternity to condemn the living. If they fail and do not bring the living back into line, then all of the souls afflicted with this curse shall be damned in the most hellish afterlife imaginable by demons. Heed these words and your loved ones will be taken care of, deviate and you will know wraith greater than Legion. If you should die before you make your five entries your soul will be cast into the same place as the other souls if any attempt to break the curse. Make your five entries and pass over into the next life.’
Carl and Cheryl looked at each other with uncertainty on how to proceed. Carl sipped more coffee and Cheryl was visibly shook.
“Well, it looks like we are both in this for the long haul. The longest haul possible. Do we read anymore,” asked Carl?
“Yeah, this is truly crazy in a bad way, are we going to take this seriously? I mean, if we do then even death is no relief from the curse. Do you think that Myra’s dad believed in it,” asked Cheryl?
“Well he left her off at the coffee shop. Maybe he violated the curse in some way and is trying to help her escape. First things first, she does not get to see this, second, lets tread lightly on this when we talk with Angela and Nate tomorrow. This is already a bad situation and if this diary is at all true then you and I are pretty screwed for a long time,” said Carl.
“Lets just sign our names into it, maybe we will feel better after that and tomorrow we can write in it,” said Cheryl.
“What time did he leave yesterday, wasn’t that like at 9:45 in the morning. We have until then to write the first entry,” said Carl.
“So are you going to write in the diary tonight, I thin kit should be both of us since we are both signing our names into it. I mean you might miss some details and according to the instructions I think it would be best if we are as detailed as possible,” said Cheryl.
“We can’t read what each other wrote. Here is an idea, you write in it first with as much detail as you think you need and then I write in it in as much detail as I can remember,” said Carl.
“Does that count as two entries,” asked Cheryl?
“I don’t think so, you put the date on it and write to the end of a page, even if you have to fill it with blah blah blah, then I turn over the page and I won’t be able to see what you wrote and I will write to the end of the page. It looks like there are a ton of bookmarks and dog eared pages so we can keep track of where we are, we just need to promise each other not to read what the other wrote,” replied Carl.
“I think another thing we need to do is make sure we both agree on the event that we write about and both of us need to be there when the other person writes, just to make sure we don’t add an entry and short change our lives. The good thing about this is if we follow the instructions, we won’t die a horrible death. I’ve always feared that I’d go out in a bad way,” said Cheryl.
“Well I am in a different boat than you,” said Carl tapping on his head. “Remember I am not even supposed to be here right now according to my little timebomb.”
“Your little time bomb, oh you mean the tumor. You call it your little timebomb,” asked Cheryl?
“Well when you have a tumor slowly growing in your brain that will eventually kill you some day your humor tends toward the dark side. Dying quietly and painlessly sounds like a great alternative to what is probably going to be a messy life for me anyhow. You have to promise me you will follow the instructions to the letter in this diary. The doctor told me my systems will eventually shut down one at a time until al that is left is basically breathing and my mind will forget how to do even that basic function. This isn’t just about Myra anymore, it is about me,” said Carl with tears in his eyes.
“Okay, so it looks like you are buying into this hook line and sinker, can’t begin to comprehend how you feel right now but I will go along with this as long as it keeps you going. I’ll start the first entry and you finish it. Here lets just sign our names in the book together and get this done before something bad happens,” said Cheryl.
She was first to sign her name in the diary and when she finished Carl signed his name in it and wrote down the date in front of Cheryl’s name. He handed the pen back to her. He looked at the diary and saw where the last dog-eared page was and carefully opened it up. There were a few sentences on the page and he quickly turned it to the net blank page. The diary seemed to be mostly full wondered what happened if the pages ran out for the next person.
Cheryl took the pen and motioned with her hands to have Carl leave her be. He got up with his coffee and went to the coffee maker to refresh his cup. It had grown icy cold since he first poured it. The digital display read ten at night and this confirmed what he originally thought, it was going to be a long night for him. He went to the living room and sat on the couch placing his coffee on the table and putting his feet up. He could hear Cheryl writing in the old tome, sometimes very fast other times very slow and ponderous.
“Do you always put your feet up on the coffee table, “asked Cheryl from the kitchen?
“Yes, even at the coffee shop. Its my house I can do that you know,” replied Carl.
“No wonder we have so many marks on our coffee tables at work, do e a favor put your feet down okay, “asked Cheryl.
Carl took his feet off the table and slouched on the couch. At first he was a bit upset at being told what to do in his own house, but then he remembered, this was no longer his house, it was their house. Th screen flickered with trivia about the jazz musicians playing in the background. Carl had most of them memorized, but then one came up that he didn’t know but recalled the name. He thought for a second and called out to Cheryl.
“Hey, check out the names page where we signed, is there a Grover Bechet,” asked Carl?
“Hold on this book is old and brittle I don’t want to hurt it or look at a page by accident. You said Grover Bechet right,” asked Cheryl?
“Yeah, that’s the name,” said Carl.
“Uhm, yes, and the date for him is 1919 until 1943. Wait how did you know that name,” asked Cheryl?
“The music channel is playing a song by him and something inside me said that name looked familiar. I must have picked it up when I went through the diary. I think we are okay because this is just a million and one chance that something like this would have happened, “said Carl.
“Be careful with that, we don’t really know if that breaks the rules,” replied Cheryl.
“Do you feel the wraith of the previous holders breathing down your neck,” asked Carl?
“I am not sure what that would feel like,” replied Cheryl.
“We must be good then, keep going,” said Carl.
Reaching Out
To reach out to me, email timothy@createartpodcast.com I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and lets start that conversation.
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