Appletree Books (three)

Hour One

My final afternoon in the window at Appletree Books. Today is cool, in the thirties, but with bright sunshine cast through the window. Lucky for me, I am the only writer here this afternoon, I could choose the one with shade, the other is quite toasty. A solarium.

Remembered to get a cup of decaf, no caffeine after three, or noon if I can help it. No wifi in the window, which is just as well. I should be writing, anything, not checking social media. Nothing there to make me smile, anyway, certainly not inspirational.

I have been knitting together two Indonesian folk tales, and have been pleased with the results, but now I need to conceive of the third act and I am coming up short. I believe I require some nonsense writing. But not right now.

Instead, there is a script I will return to. There are so many scripts I have created in the past eight years to which I have not returned. That is all right, you know. But this one has called to me since the election, or rather the entire Year of Cleveland.

Hour Two

Madness sets in. Early evening drowsiness. Ugh, decaf. Set aside the old play, I was enjoying reading it too much to have an editorial eye. Instead, I returned to the folk tale, and asked questions, questions I turned into statements. Then I thought of my father and asked questions about my father, questions I turned into statements.

WHITE GARLIC

Are you the spirit of our mother?

QUEEN PARAKEET

You may think of me as your mother, if that will comfort you.

WHITE GARLIC

It feels as though our mother has been gone for a long time.

RED ONION

She has only been gone a year.

WHITE GARLIC

Soon she will have been gone many years.

RED ONION

Where do you come from, green bird?

QUEEN PARAKEET

I am the Queen of the Parakeets.

WHITE GARLIC

We are among royalty?

QUEEN PARAKEET

You may think of me as royalty, if that will impress you.

David Hansen © 2016

No idea if any of this is going anywhere.

This is not how I work. I run. I think. Maybe, eventually, I get an idea. Then I write. Staring into the screen or jotting down notes at random when I don't "get" it yet, when I don't have a clue. That is maddening.

Good Lord, I just started drumming my fingers on the table. That is not something I ever do.

At long last, progress has been achieved. Sitting still in an odd space can be exciting, until it is no longer odd. But it is a charming bookstore, listening to conversation between customers and employees was a delightful distraction.

Three weeks ago we were in a different place, but we continue to progress in spite of the difficulty. 

Appletree Books is located at 12419 Cedar Rd. in the Cedar-Fairmount District of Cleveland Heights.