THE FIRST LEAGUE OUT FROM LAND © a novel

By: A. R. Parrish, Jr.

Even an hour ago, Bibhu didn’t know that he would murder a young woman at the behest of a man he regarded as his leader.

Binoy Bag, the leader, had called him to the office of his cold storage depot in the evening, for a special session. Just back from the party headquarters in Kolkata, he looked very perturbed and agitated, and didn’t so much as greet him as Bibhu took a seat before him. It was evident he was mulling over something.

Did you come across their meeting on the way?

Yes.

Was that rendi speaking?

Yes.

Emily Rose, that's how it goes…the seasons come and the flowers grow…

Emily Rose and I lived on the same street. She wore the prim and proper blue, red and white plaid uniform of the Saint Theresa's Catholic School for Girls and I wore ragged bellbottoms with fuzzy peace signs plastered over the holes and peasant blouses.

THE SPACE PIRATES.
Still stuck on the most useless of planets, the purple maroon baloon, we find first mate firsty Gregson entering the ENGINE ROOM; read on.

Encrypted: Capsule Casket Code: 22445544 Origin: Pacific

Year of the Earth: 2500 A.D.

Last entry in memory:

July 21st, 2050 4:00PM

Dear Son,

1O, 9 , 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0;
Take off with the adventures of the Space Pirates; featuring Captain John E. Sterling and his trusty sidekick Firsty first Mate Gregson.
The story so far; with the Tags hot on their tail the space pirates decide to hide on the useless purple planet Maroon Baloon.
The hiding part worked, nobody would believe that anyone with a grain of intelligence would choose to land on Maroon Baloon.

(I transformed a short script into a short story. This is a small story inspired by French New Wave cinema and Seattle).

How they met...

Mary hasn't lived in Seattle long enough to begin appreciating sunny days. The rain falls from the sky in sheets while gusty winds creating a wash n' dry effect.

Perhaps it was the way Maggie flipped her hair back with a whisk of her hand while she played her instrument. All in one motion she would swipe the hair away from her face and strum her guitar without missing a beat. In my foolish girl heart, I longed to be like Maggie--carefree and indifferent to consequences. When I look back at my formative years, I guess Maggie shaped the woman that I became even if I wear my mother's stubborn chin and sensibilities with equally stubborn pride. Of course, I only saw Maggie's life through lopsided glasses.

I am Edmund Jaeger, I am Edmund Jaeger.

Shadows quivered on the ginger-colored sand the old desert rat had pitched his camp on. The Joshua Trees replied to the easterly wind whispering melancholy through their rugged limbs. The fire in the rock ring had enough shelter to keep the flames from becoming unruly, but still they danced and squirmed, as if aching to fly with the gusts that swirled their fingers through the creosote and rabbit bush further out in the darkening landscape. Ragged-toothed mountains in the distance, mauve-colored, the sun sank behind them.