Excerpt from WRITING WITH WINE by Tim Young winner NaNoWriMo 2009

Fuck it.  I grab my wool sport coat which barely fits now that I have doused myself with all these extra layers and head out the door.  The front door is not stuck but I am having little success in pushing it open.  I realize after entirely too many seconds passed by that it is the wind at war with me and the door.  At last my muscles dig in and defeat the wind and they are not achy.  I don't react to the weather at first.  I'm looking down my street; I see the litter, newspapers, plastic bags, coffee containers, empty cigarette packages blowing and swirling together.  Miniature tornadoes colliding with each other and the street light poles and sides of buildings.  It's a mess,  Finally I find myself pulling at my collars and making sure my sleeves are all rolled down.  The wind is icy.  My body heat is leaking fast as i make the corner and can duck into the deli.  The damn door is locked. I see someone inside there but they are ignoring me.  I turn my head to escape a blast of a gust and observe that the avenue is vacant.  I do not see a soul.  I see the traffic lights are working and the walk, don't walk signs but there are no people around to do either.  The fog is thick as soup.  That must be why I'm not able to see anyone else.  The deli must be closed for repairs or something.  i walk up to the next one and see that inside someone is making a purchase but as I grab for the door handle that same person runs over to the door and turns the lock.  I look directly into the eyes of this person and it is then I feel i have morphed into a  block of ice.  My feet weigh too much for me to lift them and the eyes now send fire down my frozen veins as i stare into the unforgettable face of Lucky.  The bones of Lucky.  The mirage of his skull moving with the muscles of his face.  The medicine of Lucky.  He recognizes me immediately, unlocks the door and pulls me inside.  My eyes are glued to his.  He arranges two cigarettes in his mouth, lights them and passes one to me.  My voice is lost.  My mind a blank.  Feels like his medicine is now coursing through me melting all the ice that had clogged my veins only minutes before.  From the rear of the store I now see more Skulls walking towards me.  Not with indifference or disdain like before but now with an interest in me.  Like why am I sitting here on a stack of Poland spring waters smoking a cigarette with Skull number one.  Outside the once again locked door, the mist and fog continue to blow like manufactured smoke at a rock show.  In that moment I realized that i had averted my eyes from the bones of Lucky for a few seconds.  When I look back he has tossed his cigarette to the floor.  At least a dozen other skulls have now created a loose semi circle around myself and Lucky.  I am still smoking.  Not a soul has said a word.  There begins a tension in the air as the smoke from my cigarette floats above and in front of me.  Again I am feeling the complete outsider.  I decide it must be me who breaks the ice.  The moment I open my mouth to speak, thunder booms outside.  The shelves of products shudder and the other Skulls all exchange a quick glance while Lucky now finally has something to say.
"Look me in the eyes, Henry Jackson.  I awaited your return to Skull and Crossbones.  I know that you were contemplating your return visit.  I know the many thoughts of me that lived inside of you.  You could sense that I was strong with the 'medicine' as you came to call it but the thoughts you never discovered is how deep into the 'medicine' you are and always have been.  Only one such as you, Henry, would be able to move myself and the brothers away from our lair.  Our power, our remarkable strength and skills diminish as we move away from Skull and Crossbones, from the shores of the East River and the pull of the ancient bay where rivers and ocean mingle.  You, on the other hand, do not appear to have such built in weakness.  Once I became aware of this freedom to move in you I knew that our meeting was inevitable.  The skull that we carry as our badge of strength and power with you resides on your insides.  It needs no camouflage.  We risk our life and limb to bring to you word of an invitation."

Posted via email from Tim's posterous