In other news we finally got my brother's address for his stay in boot camp! If you would like to write to him or if you would like for me to send him some kind words please let me know! I can share his address!
I hope everyone is having a great Thursday! See you all on Saturday!
16
September 2014
The
Magic Beans
He
stood in the middle of the crowd with sweaty palms and a racing
heart. It was hard enough for Foster to be in public without having a
panic attack but this was worse, he was at the Eiffel Tower looking
for the six thieves that stole the magic beans he was entrusted. So
here he stood, surrounded by Parisians and foreigners alike. How did
he get here and why was he so anxious? That is simple enough. Just
hours earlier Foster was in a cafe eating a pastry. His life was so
simple. He wasn't even in Paris! He had been an hour away in a small
village minding his own business when an elderly man sat down at his
table. Foster was extremely confused.
“Bonjour
Monsieur, may I help you?” he asked as his espresso paused between
his plate and his mouth.
“It
is a lovely day isn't it?” smiled the old man. Foster was even more
confused. He had experienced French kindness but he loved France
because the people often kept to themselves and, well, he is
agoraphobic.
“Uh...
um.. yes, yes it is lovely I suppose?” he was becoming anxious.
What if this man was sitting there just judging him? Was he saying
the correct things?
“Thank
you for taking a moment to sit with me young man,” said the old
man. He grasped Foster's hand for a thank you shake and gave an even
bigger smile, “don't lose these. They are very important to the
human race,” with a wink the old man was gone.
In
his hand were six beans. Beans? What a weird man and a weird thing to
do. Foster looked around to see if someone was pulling a prank on
him. He didn't notice anyone laughing but he did notice a man in a
booth staring at him. Suddenly his pocket where he put the beans felt
really hot. He pulled out the beans and saw that they were glowing a
fierce, bright golden color. A minute ago the beans were normal! He
looked up and saw the man at the booth was in awe as well and was
talking into his wrist. Feeling anxious, Foster left the cafe and
headed to his car. As he drove home he noticed a black car following
him. Growing more and more anxious, he rushed home and ran inside.
The black car passed by slowly and Foster took a deep breath.
“Just
breath. It is all in your head,” he said to himself.
“Yes
deep breaths. Now you need to pack a bag and leave. They know where
you live now and you have to protect those beans,” said the old man
who was now sitting in Foster's kitchen.
“What...
how... why are you here? How do you know where I live? What is going
on?”
“Calm,
calm, it will be fine. You must go to the city with the beans. It is
too busy there for them to keep track of you. You must go to the cafe
Les Deux Magots. Order an espresso and the rose macaroon. This will
let the elder know you are the chosen one. Once you are done, cross
the street and attend the mass at Abby of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. A
priest will ask you to confess. You must follow him and only him to
confession and give him all of the beans. Do not lose them, the human
race relies on you to do this,” explained the old man.
“Why
me? What do these beans do? Who are these bad people that want them?
I can't do this? I am afraid of being in public around lots of people
I can't do this!” Foster was frantic. The thought of being around
all those people in Paris made him want to vomit.
“You
look a little green in the face. No worries. The world needs you. You
were just picked and that is the way of things. Deal with it. Now you
better go. The black car has circled by three times since you have
gotten home. Go on now and take my car. Maybe that will distract
them,” before he could protest, the old man tossed him keys to a
little black car and shoved him out the door.
Foster
was off for the long hour drive to Paris. Every mile he thought about
turning around. Who cares about a couple of beans? He didn't even
know what they did or what would be so bad about giving them up. He
did know that being in Paris made him feel like the world was on his
shoulders and caused him to lose grip on reality. Just as Foster
entered Paris he noticed two black cars behind him, then three, then
six. They turned where he turned and stopped where he stopped. As he
rounded the street to pass the Eiffel Tower, a black car stopped in
front of him. All six men jumped out of their cars and ripped Foster
out of his seat. They tore at his clothes until they had grabbed the
beans and off they ran towards the Eiffel Tower. An even greater
sense of urgency had filled him to the brim. The beans were gone! He
initially wanted to be rid of them but the old man's voice just kept
playing in his head. Don't
lose the beans... human race...
what had he done? Without a thought he gave chase. All six men went
in different directions but only one of them had the beans. He just
needed to find the one man.
Foster
ran underneath the tower. There were so many people. He felt like his
throat was going to close. There was so much noise and Nigerians all
over trying to sell him their stolen stuff. Full panic was setting
in. His eyes were watering, he was sweating and just as he was about
to curl in a ball and give up a little boy tugged at his arm. The
little boy pointed towards the south lg of the tower. There one of
the men was running! It had to of been the one with the beans so
Foster ran after him. Dashing down the street, zipping between cars
and bikes they made their way towards the Seine. Just before the man
jumped in the river Foster grabbed him. They wrestled for a minute
when the little boy from earlier walked up and punched the man in the
head. Both Foster and the man were stunned but Foster regained the
wee bit of confidence he had and grabbed the beans. The little boy
clapped and Foster took off running. He grabbed the first cab he
could find and quickly made his way to Les Deux Magots. He didn't see
the black cars following him so he took a deep breath. He took a seat
inside where the Hemingway picture was hung on the wall. He felt like
a drug addict just sitting at the table so jumpy and on edge looking
for the thieves and being anxious about the amount of people watching
him.
After
finishing his espresso and his macaroon he walked over to the church
across the street. Mass was just beginning. It was so peaceful and
gave him so much ease that he had actually made it there with only a
little bit of complications. As he sat and watched the service he
noticed a tiny old priest make his way towards him.
“May
I hear your confession young man?” he asked.
“Yes..
uh... oui, oui, merci,” said Foster.
“Follow
me.”
Foster
followed the old man all the way to the back of the grand, old
church. He could not believe his ease at the moment. Normally a
situation like this would make him too nauseated to continue. They
entered a confessional and Foster looked at the window. The old man
was ripping off his face!
“You
made it safely! Thank goodness! I was worried when I saw the men
attack you! I had to send my brother to help you,” replied the old
man who was now a beautiful young woman.
“What
in the world is going on!” whispered Foster aggressively.
“Oh
I am sorry! I am the Keeper of the Humans and you, my handsome one,
are my soul mate. I needed you to take the beans and bring them to me
so I knew you were competent enough to handle your new role. We must
go now. I will take the beans, I have a safe place for them. We must
had towards Barcelona to meet with the Keeper of the Universe. We
have a great task ahead of us,” responded the pretty girl.
She
was so beautiful and passionate, he seemed completely at ease with
her. His life was so shrouded in fear and hiding but he didn't want
to live like that anymore. If she was his soul mate then he had to
follow her, at least that is what he rationalized.
“Yeah...
okay, let's go to Barcelona,” he said as she smiled at him.
17
September 2014
The
Money Box
She
had found something that would mean she'd never be poor again- but
there was a catch. The man that had given her the box warned her
there would be consequences. He told her that any amount of money she
could think of would appear in the box. This could solve all her
problems. Sienna could pay her bills, pay off her house, pay her
student loans, travel, she could do anything she wanted! Before he
left, the giver of the box gave her one final warning.
“Every
time you wish for more than you need, you will lose time in this
world. Think wisely,” he said and with a smile he left her home.
What
would she do? Sienna thought long and hard about how difficult her
money problems have become. She couldn't afford to go back to school
the next semester, she could barely pay for her mortgage and she lost
her job just that morning. She could really use the money. She heeded
the man's advice and choose not to think of more money than she
needed. For several months she thought of only her needs. This
allowed her to pay her bills. She used her extra time to volunteer
instead of working and life seemed to be on the up and up. After
several months of being happy and doing well she decided to think of
more. Her friends were going to New York in a couple of months and
she wanted to go.
“That
would be awesome but how can you afford that? Actually how have you
been paying your bills?” asked one of her friends.
“Well,
you see I have this box...” Sienna explained her box and decided to
show them how it worked by thinking of the cost of plane tickets,
hotel and fun for New York. Suddenly thousands of dollars appeared in
the box. She smiled a huge smile but felt a sharp pain in her chest.
“Has
that ever happened before?” asked a friend.
“The
money yes, the chest pain no. It must be a coincidence,” Sienna
laughed it off and dismissed the man's warnings from months ago. The
friends took their trip and Sienna was in heaven! It was such a
wonderful time. She had never left her home town and thank s to the
money box she was far from home. She decided after that to travel the
world completely ignoring the warning of losing her time. She wished
for lots of money and took her friends to Rome. That was a trip of a
lifetime for all of them. They saw the Colosseum, the ancient ruins,
the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, they ate pasta until they
could faint and drank the world's best wine. After 3 weeks, it was
time to go home.
“I
think we should upgrade to first class,” boasted Sienna. The girls
squealed with joy. Sienna thought hard and opened the box inside was
a note.
You
were warned.
Sienna
shut the box hard and took a deep breath. Without warning a gust blew
through the airport and Sienna dropped dead. The box was gone with
Sienna's soul. Her friends were screaming and the airport was in
chaos, all because she asked for more than she needed without working
for it.
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