Posted on May 19, 2006 by Jenna
Emilia lives deep under the sea.
She lives in a metal dome.
It is round but not too round. It has a carpeted floor. It is warm. Inside and outside it has lights.
Every day Emilia looks out the porthole, through the clear strong superglass, at the heavy depths of water all around.
Sometimes she sees a shark.
Sometimes she sees a giant octopus. It will squeeze her house but it can’t do much compared to the pressure of the sea.
It is angry because Emilia is still alive.
“Bii,” Emilia says to the octopus. “I wanted to live alone.”
The octopus swishes its tentacles and flies away through the sea.
Emilia has a chimney. It is totally stopped up but Santa Claus still finds his way there every Christmas. He doesn’t bring her toys any more. He hasn’t since she was a little girl of seven. These past few years he’s brought her supplies instead.
Food.
Water.
Tools for repairing things when they break.
Books with instructions on the use of tools.
Every day Emilia looks out the porthole, through the clear strong superglass, at the heavy depths of water all around.
Sometimes Emilia makes gingerbread. Usually she just makes a loaf. But sometimes she makes gingerbread men.
She’ll give them raisin eyes and cherry noses.
She’ll trim them down to their fingers and their toes.
Today she checks in the oven on the gingerbread men. She’s supposed to just press the button that says “Light.” But instead she opens the oven up and lets the heat out. That’s her mistake!
It’s also the gingerbread men’s opportunity.
There’s only one gingerbread man who’s smart enough to act when his moment comes. He’s a wily old rogue of a gingerbread boy. His name’s Raisin Jack.
Raisin Jack, he shakes himself out.
Raisin Jack, he’s up and he runs.
The gingerbread man!
He’s out of the pan!
With a grin on his face like the devil’s only son’s!
Once he’s put some distance between himself and Emilia, Raisin Jack thinks about where to go next. He’s standing there thinking when the Roomba 2500 trundles in.
It bumps into Raisin Jack. Its suction engine vrums.
“Oh, no,” says Raisin Jack.
He runs, runs, runs, like the devil’s at his back.
“Run run run, as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!”
Somewhat to his disappointment, the Roomba isn’t trying to catch him. It’s actually been kind of intimidated by the bumping and it’s now circling off to harrass the bookshelves.
So Raisin Jack stops and he thinks. He’s standing there thinking when Emilia comes along.
“Please,” she says.
Her face is as white as a sheet.
“Please, no.”
The gingerbread man, he’s out of the pan!
Raisin Jack runs, like the devil’s at his back!
“Run run run, as fast as you can! You can’t catch me! I’m the gingerbread man!”
And he runs runs runs and he’s at the door.
And Emilia’s not behind him any more.
She’s running for the bedroom.
She’s rooting through her trunk
She’s looking for a picture
Of the world before it sunk.
She’s looking for a picture
And she finds it just before
The gingerbread man
Raisin Jack
He
Opens up that door.
Categories: Legends, Hitherby, Under Construction - The Sky Stares Down
Penultimate Minion on May 19, 2006 at 1:47 pm said:
Ravious on May 22, 2006 at 12:18 pm said:
cariset on May 23, 2006 at 4:34 pm said: