First Day
The bird blinked. The world, hazy, showed itself clearer and clearer with each blink. She was shivering because her feathers were not fully grown yet and the inside of the egg had been warmer. Her mother had pushed down the broken shell parts, right off their nest. Little bird clung close to her momma for warmth. She had brought her into a new world. In the week to follow, she would bring her worms to feed on, she would hug her when she needed it and stand away while she learned to move around. But soon, when she was ready, mother bird would give her a gentle push and the little bird would fall from the nest and mid-air, spread her wings to raise herself skywards, just moments before hitting the twiggy forest ground. In the week to follow, a lot of things will happen for the first time. But right then, the bird only blinked again at the first day that would never happen again.
Unexpected Results
Alice’s father stared in confusion at the plastic-wrapped kit in his hand. “Past Keys? Alice, what’s this?”
“Your birthday present. Isn’t it exciting?” Alice hopped from one foot to another, scarcely able to contain herself. She’d been waiting weeks for this.
“Yes, but what is it?” He held up the baggie in front of his face, peering suspiciously at the cotton swabs and pre-addressed postage bag contained within.
“It’s a personal DNA testing kit. The gift of your past revealed.” Alice quoted the site’s advertising slogan, a slogan she knew by heart after painstakingly reading every single word of text and watching every video available for the much-advertised and very popular service. “You swab the inside of your cheek with the provided swabs, package them up in the provided pre-addressed bag and viola – within two months your ancestry is at your fingertips. And mine too, of course.” She shivered with thrilled anticipation.
“I already know my ancestry,” Tom Bosworth grumbled. “Father’s name John Bosworth, mother’s name Betty Bosworth. No siblings.” He carelessly dropped the kit down onto the table and looked at her hopefully. “I thought you were bringing chocolates, just like you always do.”
“This is a whole lot better than a box of chocolates,” she said briskly, reaching past him to pick up the discarded kit. “The information that this kit gathers goes waaayyy back. My friend Lily had hers done. Turns out she’s got West Indian ancestors. Whoever would have thought?” She fiddled with the sealed pack of swabs through the plastic wrap, anxious to get started.
“Lily? That little blonde thing? Of course she hasn’t got West Indian ancestors. She’s far too pale for that. Alice, you’ve wasted your money.” He hefted himself out of his threadbare armchair, the one he refused to trade in for a newer, comfier model, with a groan. “The shops are still open. If you drive me down, I’ll buy my own box of chocolates. I can’t have a birthday without a box of chocolates.”
“Aren’t you even a little bit curious?”
“Nope.” Tom pulled his coat down from the hook beside the door and shrugged it on. “I already know all I need to know. John Bosworth’s side of the family stretches back to his Roman forefathers and I dare say Betty’s is the same. The family has lived in the British Isles since Julius Caesar’s armies invaded the continent and spread their pillaging, rampaging seed. You’re from gladiator stock, my dear.” He said the last with more than a hint of pride. “Now, how about we go and get this chocolate?”
“I’ll only drive you if you promise to do the swab when we get back,” she said stubbornly.
“I’m interested, even if you aren’t.”
Tom shrugged indifferently. “Whatever you like.”
***
By the time Alice left Esme Tyrell’s Home for the Elderly & Infirm, Tom was back in his armchair and happily up to his gums in a king-size box of Cadbury’s Finest. Alice nodded to Barbara, the grim-faced woman at reception who lived only for the power of pedantic rules and strictly enforced tyranny, and stepped out into the welcome late evening sunshine. Tom, box of chocolates in hand, had finally acquiesced to the swab test and the pre-addressed package was now sitting in the Home’s postbag ready for its journey back to Past Keys.
Tom’s disinterest in the DNA test had been a little disappointing but Alice was determined not to allow his apathy to cast a pall over her excitement. Tom was adamant there would be no surprises but what if there was something in the deep past that he didn’t know? Lily’s genetic discovery had been thrilling and unexpected, adding a new point of interest to family dinners and imbibing her with an invigorated sense of self.
Alice climbed into the car, the interior still heated and fuggy-warm from the excursion to the shops, and turned her key in the ignition as she allowed her mind to drift to thoughts of Grandpa John and Grandma Betty. Grandpa in particular would’ve loved the magic of today’s technological advances, the processes that enabled the everyday person to obtain all the branches of their family tree via a quick swipe across a cheek full of spit.
Alice flipped the indicator on as she turned into her street, noting with a quiver of irritation that Jack Reynolds at Number 9 still hadn’t taken his bins in. His lawns needed mowing too, although he was never in any hurry to cut his grass or trim his edges. Such slovenliness was all down to upbringing, in her opinion. Tom had always prided himself on his well-kept lawns and gardens before his ill health forced his incarceration in the Home, as had his father before him. Besides, Grandma Betty would never have allowed the little white bungalow in Knowles Street to look anything but immaculate. Grandpa John might have been the captain of their marital ship but Grandma Betty was most certainly the rudder.
Grandma Betty was one of those types of grandmothers that children’s book illustrators were so fond of drawing. She was small and plump, with soft curling white hair, round spectacles, and kissable red cheeks. She always had a homemade chocolate cake in the tin, a fresh brew in the teapot, and she gave out book vouchers tucked inside cards with puppies on for birthdays and Christmas. She was house proud, homely, and lovable, and she probably wouldn’t care too much about where her ancestors hailed from. Grandma Betty’s favourite sayings were ‘Live in the moment’ and ‘Take each day as it comes’, and Alice missed her terribly. With a sigh of regret for days long since passed, Alice parked the car and went inside to start dinner.
***
“What’s up with you?” Tom eyed Alice over the rim of his teacup as she wriggled around in her chair, unable to keep still.
“I got the email today. From Past Keys. The results are in.” She reached into her satchel for her laptop, brought along just for the express purpose of viewing the information on a comfortably sized screen rather than squinting at her mobile phone.
“Past Keys?”
“The DNA testers,” she said impatiently. “I came round straight away so I could open it with you.”
“Oh.” He sat back in his armchair and eyed her affectionately. “Out with it then. Tell me all about our Roman ancestors.”
She ignored him and flipped open her laptop, refusing to be drawn into his gentle teasing. She clicked open the email, her lips moving as she quickly scanned the text. “They say they’ve matched your test but there’s some kind of issue.” She fought back her disappointment. “I must’ve done something wrong when I took the cheek swab. They’ve given me a number to call.”
“I told you it was a rip off,” Tom muttered, his brief burst of interest now faded. “You didn’t happen to bring any of those chocolate biscuits along, did you?”
“You know you shouldn’t be eating so much chocolate. It’s not good for you.” Alice punched in the number with ill-humoured fingers. “I can’t believe we waited two months to be told there was an issue. They could’ve contacted us sooner. Hello?”
After finally connecting to the right person, she listened with rapidly increasing astonishment as the man, in a voice so intense and low he could’ve been a spy in a crime film, explained what Tom’s test had revealed. She couldn’t even find the words to question him – it was too outlandish to contemplate. However, she did manage to give the man her contact details and permission to follow it up further before dropping the phone into her lap and staring at her father with ashen-faced disbelief.
***
Barbara-in-reception was not impressed with the TV cameras and she seemed to think the whole rigmarole was all Alice’s fault. Alice had given up trying to tell her that the news was as outrageous and unexpected to her and Tom as it was to everyone else. The TV cameras and the constant clamour of reporters and journalists was intimidating for her too, but it wasn’t as if she could escape them. They followed her everywhere, even when she put her bins out, despite her repeated assurances that she knew nothing more than she’d already told them.
At least Tom was sheltered in some way, being inside the Home as he was. It would take a very brave man or woman to dare to cross Barbara’s threshold without her personal permission and she wasn’t about to give that to the paparazzi anytime soon. For once Alice was glad of Barbara’s unwavering fixation with rules and regulations and her ironclad refusal to let anyone inside the door without suitable ID.
Alice’s friends, once they’d dealt with their own stupefaction over the news, had gone out of their way to be supportive and for that she was also glad. She certainly wouldn’t have been able to cope with her newly upside down world if her friends alienated her. After all, it was not as if she’d changed. She was the same person she always was, albeit with a very unusual genetic line. Naturally she’d refused the medical world’s demand for ongoing tests, as had Tom. They’d both agreed that the DNA home test kit, with its simple cotton swabs and pre-addressed package, was the very last test they’d ever take.
Still, more than a small part of her was thrilled with the results. The findings of Tom’s test certainly put Lily’s West Indian ancestry to shame. He’d been right about John’s genetic Roman and English heritage, no surprises there. It was the maternal line, Grandma Betty’s line, which had set everyone aflutter. Past Keys had finally given Alice the original printout, although it had taken some pushing on her part. She thought she might even get it framed, once all the fuss had died down and Grandma Betty was yesterday’s news.
Betty Bosworth: 98% Extra-Terrestrial, 2% English would look good in a polished wood frame above the mantle, although Alice was still more than a little put out that Grandma Betty had never told them herself.
The End
It Was Me
My uncle had taken me to the park
he was the only adult
who would play tag
or ride down the big slide with me
if i got scared
uncle was mama's baby brother
but i do not know why
she called him baby
he was a teenager
a gazillion years older than me
he drove us back home
drumming his hands on the steering wheel
singing along to the radio
adding in potty words
to make me giggle
when we got back
mama and daddy were waiting
to ask us if we had fun
and to soon
it was time
to hug uncle goodbye
you are going to be a great
dad someday, i said
he smiled
ruffled my hair
but what he did not say
is that he already had a kid
and it was me.
The Fall
The 22nd day of November
Some will always remember
As The Fall
Of
A
Man
Of
A
Legend
Whose history still stands
In our presence… a phantom…
“Since it was no longer raining,
the plastic bubble top had been
left off” the convertible limousine
with the passengers inside
to absorb the heat of the sun
as the myriad of harvest colors
reflected fire and pumpkin,
golden apples, and sweet tea,
chili, brisket and pecan pie…
All the tasteful colors of Texas,
On the way to the Dallas Trade Mart
Where he was scheduled
to speak at a luncheon.
1230 noon
The year of
1963
As the “crowds of excited people
lined the streets and waved,”
The first lady’s red roses
Would be blood
red
As her husband absorbed
A bullet
in his neck and
One in his head
As the vehicle turned
off Main Street at Dealey Plaza
Passing the Texas School
Book Depository
Falling
upon
his
wife
As the car sped off
To Parkland Memorial
Hospital
-only a few minutes away…
“Little could be done”
To save his life
As a Catholic Priest was summoned
Administering last rites
But
A half an hour later
-just 30 minutes
-1,800 seconds
At 1:00 p.m.
He was
pronounced
dead…
30 more minutes, or perhaps less,
The arrest
Of recently hired
Texas School
Book Depository employee
And gunman,
Murderer,
-Prime suspect in the assassination
-Lee Harvey Oswald,
was taken to jail
With one other
victim
To take
The Fall
-a patrolman…
2 days later
Karma sought her vengeance
Through Jack Ruby,
A local nightclub owner,
Who shot at point blank range
Lee Harvey Oswald
On live TV
As he was being transferred
From police headquarters
To the county jail
-He only lasted 2 hours
Before he breathed
his last breath
At Parkland
Hospital
An obvious
Fall
At the behest
Of the legendary martyr
Known as J.F.K.
-President John F. Kennedy
-The Fall that led to the fall
Of his death…
The 5th day of August
The prior year
of 1962
Came The Fall
Of
A
Woman
Of
A
Legend
Who still deceives them all…
One who crossed paths with
The President,
An alleged affair,
As he had affairs with so many
-Or so the rumor mill shared…
As her breathy, sultry, scandalous
Song of “Happy Birthday”
Would pronounce,
As evidence that could not
possibly be denied,
and his sentiments replied:
“I can now retire from politics
after having had
Happy Birthday
sung to me
in such a sweet,
wholesome way.”
But was the notion
of it all
so “wholesome”
when three months
from that day
she was found dead
of a barbiturate overdose
in her home in L.A.?
JFK and Marilyn Monroe
Just 10 years apart
-She died at 36
-He died at 46
And boy, was her death mired
-suicide or murder?
-From a planned confession
of alien conspiracy
-To a profession of an affair
Wrought with love
To the countless other
Theories
That keep pervading
Her very existence and her life…
The Fall of two
Moguls
in
The Fall
Gone too soon
Perhaps
Perplexing us all
Into the
Dead
Of winter
But
Why
-Autumn?
i hope you know
that you meant more to me than him.
i hope you know
you helped me heal.
i hope you know
how much i still care
and what i would do to be in your arms.
i hope you know
i still want you to do better
and i’ll help you along the way
but i won’t settle for less.
i hope one day
you put in the effort.
/enna.paz