I stood in Ethan’s room, staring at the illustrations on his wall. His books and papers were spread out across the bed and desk. I kept tilting my head, trying to puzzle it through. I knew the answers were here somewhere.
I held a checklist in my hand, on a clipboard. I had identified all of the portraits of his friends with Genevieve and Zoë’s help. Neal, check. Jason, check. Alexander, check. He had drawn them all. Next, there were superheroes and villains, which I had compared to his stories. I couldn’t see any obvious connection, but the demonic monsters and larger-than-life heroes were obviously significant to Ethan’s imagination. He had spent years on them.
I groaned in frustration. I had organized his books and films into themes, as some reflected quests, others the struggle with dichotomy, the nature of good and evil. But I had yet to figure out any discernible pattern. It was too subtle for my eyes.
“The Dark Tower, that’s like the Citadel on the west coast…” I checked that off, as a real world reference point. “The Hobbit went to a mountain, Frodo went to the Cracks of Doom…”
There was a knock on the front door. I cocked my head, certain I had imagined it. People didn’t make neighbourly visits anymore.
Then it came again, definitely not a figment.
“I’ll get it!” I hollered. I went bounding down the hall to the stairs, taking them rapidly. I ended up in the front hall, opening both the wood door and the outer screen. I wanted to see who it was. “Hello?”
I found a young woman, at best guess in her early twenties. She had rich auburn hair and deep blue eyes. I had to look twice to guess the colour; they were so dark.
“Hello.” The stranger smiled.
“Can I help you?” I said, raising an eyebrow when she offered nothing but the short greeting. She looked back at me for a moment, and then finally spoke.
“Is Genevieve at home?”
“Sure… one moment.” I called out over my shoulder. “EVIE! Someone to SEE YOU!”
I waited in the doorway, appraising the newcomer, trying to ascertain who she might be. She wore a frilly white dress and, unbelievably, no shoes. Genevieve strolled down the stairs.
“Gwen, there’s no need to yell. That’s not proper manners.”
I rolled my eyes at this. Evie came to the door, looking at our visitor.
“Hello,” The young woman said again, still smiling.
Genevieve’s eyes widened. She put a hand to her mouth, gasping.
“It can’t be…” She murmured. “You were on the plane! All those years ago. And you haven’t aged a bit…”
“It’s nice to see you again, Evie.”
I raised an eyebrow at the use of the family nickname. No one else ever got away with that.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Mara. I’m a friend of your brother’s.”
“How do you know Ethan?” I said, “That’s not possible. You’re like my age, and he’s been missing for fourteen years.”
“He’s not missing. I know exactly where he is.” Mara smiled again. “May I come in?”
Genevieve held the door open, and I took a step back. I glared at the newcomer.
“How could you know where he is?” I turned to Eve. “Who is she?”
“I saw her, on the plane, before we crashed. In all these years, I’d almost forgotten. How is it that you look the same?”
Mara smiled. “I wasn’t human then. I was your brother’s angel, I watched over him. I have been with him his entire life.”
She looked around the room, smiling at furniture and knick-knacks as if she knew our home. “In fact, this is the first time we’ve been apart. It’s a little discomfiting.”
“Where is he?” I demanded.
“In the wilderness. He has a quest.”
“Why? What is it? Why Ethan? You know, don’t you?” I tried to approach her, a little testily I admit. Genevieve put out a restraining hand, slowing me from charging forward.
“Give her a chance to talk.”
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May 1, 2008 at 5:53 pm
nomananisland
This is as good a time as any, now that we’re starting a new section:
The end is in sight. I know exactly the day that the last post will go up, and No Man an Island will be finished. I’m not telling you (haha, suspense!) but it’s approaching.
So, what next? Well, that’s where you come in. I’m polling my readers for the next thing I should work on for your enjoyment.
1. The Samaritan Project – this is already begun, see the link in my blogroll. It’s on hiatus because of lack of time for two projects, but soon NMAI is finishing. You can check out what already exists and determine if it’s worth continuing.
The Samaritan Project is a “comic book novel” – a prose story with some illustrations, about comic style heroes and villains. There’s a connection to the NMAI world, which discerning readers should pick up fairly quickly.
2. The Unknown Legend of Jonah Chalmers: briefly mentioned during the Rewind, Jonah Chalmers is a champion of the Ephesians Church in the past, and the first owner of Ethan’s western-style revolver. See how this legend came to be, and his connection to our protagonist.
3. The Sons of Thunder: unrelated to NMAI, this is a story blending elements of science fiction and fantasy. The ancient cultures of the past believed in gods of ferocious power: Odin, Zeus, Thor, Adonai — masters of weather and storms. Well, what if these were people, born to special powers, out to master the world?
4. The Icebreaker: A modern crime thriller and comedy, featuring a jewel-thief who’s also a con-artist. The title refers to his ability to steal diamonds, and hearts.
5. Untitled Time Travel story: Diggory Franklin is an ordinary man. Well, an ordinary lawyer from an ordinary rich family owning an ordinary multi-million dollar corporation. In the midst of this ordinary (but spoiled) life, Diggory meets the same woman. Twice.
The first time she warns him of his imminent death, the second they fall in love. Trouble is, it’s the same day. What does one have to do with another? Even I don’t know — I’ve only written two pages so far.
So, those are your options. You’ve got the weekend to vote, and then I have a bit of time to get a backlog of chapters before we start. Thanks for reading!
May 2, 2008 at 12:53 am
Allan T Michaels
My top two choices, based solely on the descriptions above and in no order are the Unknown Legend of Jonah Chalmers and The Icebreaker. Both sound like they will be really fascinating reads.
I’m also in the process of rolling up a new project, which I hope to get started before Book 1 of Superstition is done. And I need to get started on plotting Book 2.
Good luck! Although I’m a bit sad to hear this is coming to an end soon.
May 2, 2008 at 1:13 am
Fiona
Ending soon!! There still seems to be so much to resolve…
May 2, 2008 at 3:54 am
Kunama
“discomfiting” – discomforting?
May 2, 2008 at 7:30 am
Katie
I vote for either Jonah Chalmers or the Samaritan Project–something related to NMaI. Icebreaker does sound like fun, though.
May 2, 2008 at 11:03 am
nomananisland
Discomfiting is a almost a synonym for discomforting. It’s uncomfortable and perplexed, and sometimes uncomfortable and embarrassed. In this case, Mara feels a little naked because Ethan isn’t there, and she’s been with him every day for some thirty-five years.
I like utilizing a variegated lexicon on occasion.
May 2, 2008 at 11:04 am
nomananisland
Soon is a relative term. It’s not as soon as this week, but it’s not as far as October.
May 2, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Katie
This is the first we’d heard of Mara’s choice, isn’t it? Obviously she’s human now..
May 2, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Kitabare
Nope, we knew about her choice just before we went into this last rewind.
As far as which story next… lemme go read Samaritan and then I’ll decide. 🙂