Part One - Ginotia Main
1.
It wasn’t very far down the road from where Al and Ernie met that all of the shit went down. Hell, it was right across the street from where Al’s house had been growing up as a little tike. But it was on that famous street corner, one-and-a-half blocks from their original emergence point, I mean meeting point, where, like I said, the shit went down.
“The shit,” you say?
“Yeah, the shit,” I say.
I guess it’s not really shit, in the literal sense, but it is a happening. It could be called an odd occurrence, or a chance meeting. I guess you could say I’m using a bit of slang in this here beginning of the road. Also, I’m getting a bit beside myself, so I better just stick to the story and forget all my mind-babble. As I say, it wasn’t very far down the road from where Ernie and Al met, but the street corner of Vinci Drive Leo Lane Ginotia Main , USA
I must say, on April 10th, back in 1999, a strange thing happened on the intersection of Vinci Drive Leo Lane
2.
These two characters - the Duck and the Crow - had been around for ages. It seems the Duck came before the Crow. But others in the town would swear it was the Crow before the Duck. Sort of the age-old, philosophical, chicken-egg ordeal which philosophers discuss while they’re stoned, philosophizing. Either way, the story still goes on. The Duck lived in a small pond just outside the city, but well inside the forest. The Crow, as crow’s do, lived on the city’s edge, in a tree. The odd thing is, it seemed, that whenever the sun would hit its three o’clock peak in the sky, the Duck and the Crow would be at the intersection of Vinci and Leo, chatting away about the history of time, the existence of space and other such matters.
It just so happens, the first day Ernie and Al remember seeing them, the Duck and the Crow were in a heated argument about the existence of time and true reality. Ernie asked on-lookers how long this conversation had been going on; they replied there had been a few hours of time elapse since their discussion began; yet none of them were quite sure on the exact time. Al, Ernie, and the on-lookers looked and listened on.
“I say,” said the Duck, “the world is getting smaller as we speak.”
“True,” said the Crow, “but it is all relative to what our world is and its correlation with time.”
“I’m gonna say it again,” reiterated the Duck, “time does not exist!”
The discussion ended in a scuffle, with Al and Ernie breaking it up. The Duck and the Crow thanked the two for helping to stop a needless dispute; since in the end, they were both saying the same thing anyway. Ernie and Al nodded in response, and thanked the Duck and the Crow for letting them in on some insight.
“Come back tomorrow,” said the Duck, “there will be less of a crowd, and I believe Mr. Crow here has something important to tell you.”
“Keep that bill of yours shut, you blabbermouth,” retorted the Crow. “Yes, if you come tomorrow, we shall see where our meeting proceeds. Until then, I must get home to a more relaxing environment.”
The Crow flew off up over the houses towards the East while the Duck soared West to his pond. A strange sight to see thought Al as he turned towards Ernie. A strange sight indeed thought Ernie as he turned towards Al.
3.
The tomorrow the Crow was talking about, before in the last entry, was actually an already past occurrence from April 10, 1997 . Yes, two whole years before the date of meltdown - not a real meltdown, that is simply a figure of speech. For there was no meltdown ever to occur on the corner of Vinci and Leo, in either time you were in - be it past, present, or future. But it was two whole years prior to the disappearance - yes, it was a disappearance of some sort, because the Duck came back for a few minutes, and the Crow was soon to follow.
4.
Al and Ernie did come back the next day, and as the Duck had promised, there was a smaller crowd. Actually, on that exact next day, the little town of Ginotia Main Vinci Drive Leo Lane
Al and Ernie had come around to Vinci and Leo at 2:58 P.M. this imparticular afternoon only to see an empty street corner. They looked at Al’s watch, since Ernie did not believe in wearing one, to see what time it was. They counted down to the last minute, and no sooner than 2:59 P.M. and 58 seconds did they begin to see two objects materialize in front of them. At 3 P.M. , the Duck and the Crow were there, in another discussion about another topic.
Crow - Well, hello there, my watery friend.
Duck - Hello, black beauty (laugh).
Crow - What do you suppose we talk of today?
Duck - Who cares, none of this matters anyway.
Crow - Wake up on the wrong side of your pond?
Duck - Nope, just telling it how it is.
Crow - How what is, you crazy, old, webbed-footed fool?
Duck - How this world - it’s all a dream. Regardless, we are ignoring our two companions this sunny day.
The Duck and the Crow turned to Ernie and Al. Al and Ernie looked at each other then back at the Duck and the Crow.
Duck - Well, are you going to tell them?
Crow - Tell them what?
Duck - Why they’re here!
Crow - They are here because they chose to come here.
Duck - No, stop with the free-will psycho junko and tell them why!
Crow - Why should I? They will not believe it anyway until they sense and process it - And then it could take them years to understand all of it! I do not have the patience to begin today.
Duck - Procrastinating again? Hasn’t that been your behavioral downfall since a little egg? You were the last one to break out, the last to fly and the last to use your brain.
Crow - Hey, my brain has always been working - well, the physical brain has always been processing. Plus, I was the first to fly!
Duck - Processing nothing but insanity. And, no you were not the first to fly!
Crow - You are the insane one, you flat billed . . .
Duck - Flat billed what? Go ahead and say it!
Crow - No, I will keep my cool this time; besides we are making fools of ourselves and these two beings need not see that.
Duck - Then tell them!
Crow - Not today! (looking at Ernie and Al) Just look around and soak it all in; do not analyze it because you have an organ for that. Sense it, feel it, smell it, touch it, taste it, hear it, and be it. We are all organs of sensation.
Duck - Right, keep going.
Crow - Nope, that is enough for them to chew on. The sun is going down, and I have to get home before the sun sets. I’m getting tired of this repetitious stage.
With that comment, the Crow flew off to the East. The Duck flew to the West. Al and Ernie stood, bewildered once again. They wondered what the Duck and the Crow were trying to tell them. Neither of them knew what in the hell was going on.
5.
On sequential days - days when birds chirped a little louder, dogs barked a little longer and cats slept a little sounder - days when the stock market fell in order for the volcanoes to be heard hitting their heads in one part of the country to the next - the same sequential days when tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and all decided to say hello to the world. Day after day, some natural wonder would try to hinder Ernie and Al from meeting the Duck and the Crow on Vinci and Leo. Never the less, through it all, Al and Ernie went as religiously as they could to that famed intersection and sat, watched, wondered and were bewildered by the spectacle of a Duck and the Crow fighting out the battles in the unknown, yet wrestling with the inner demons that made up their physical existence.
Duck - I tell you, dear Crow, we have been around a while.
Crow - Yes sir, we have indeed. Kind of quizzical in nature do you not think?
Duck - Yes, I do believe that is true as well. A quiz we shall always fail.
Crow - As long as we see it this way (chuckling).
Now Ernie and Al had sat many 3:00 P.M. afternoons, Monday through Sunday, in the same spot for some time. They listened to the Duck and the Crow spout all this wisdom they knew nothing about. On some odd afternoons, the two (Al and Ernie) would understand a bit more here and there, as a strange light would come on inside their heads and warm their entire body. A strange light, I say. And through the light, they saw a little clearer, heard a little louder, smelled a little stronger, tasted a little tastier; and during it all, they felt detached from the physical world they existed in and a pull towards the great unknown. Unfortunately, after a few minutes, they would be flung out of their trance and back into the conversations contained within the Duck and the Crow while their self-introspection was thrown out and forgotten.
6.
Duck - It’s a fine day dear Crow.
Crow - Yes indeed dear Duck.
Duck - How are we today?
Crow - Fine, and you?
Duck - Not too bad. Feeling a bit overwhelmed with all of this.
Crow - I know; this coming and going does tend to make existing a bit taxing.
Duck - Yes, it does. What is it you do after you fly away until it happens again?
Crow - I tend to go, sit, and . . . hold on, I think they are coming.
No sooner did the Crow tell this to the Duck than Ernie and Al emerged around the corner.
Duck - How are you two today?
Crow - You both look good and well rested. Sit down, please. The Duck has got a story to tell today.
Duck - I do not! How dare you put me on the spot like that!
Crow - Yes you do. Start from the beginning of all of this. I will jump in, help, and interject my thoughts along the way.
Duck - So, you’re ready to spill the beans?
Crow - Yes, I thought last night, long and hard, and I feel the time has come for us to get out of this circle.
Duck - You think it will work?
Crow - Don’t know, but we should try.
Duck - After all these years, why these two beings?
Crow - I do not know - maybe, just maybe, they might understand.
Duck - These two!
Crow - Yes, these two . . .
A clap of thunder shook Ginotia Main at this precise time. The Duck looked at the Crow, the Crow at the Duck, and they both flew off in their respective directions. Al and Ernie went home to their respective homes. For something was a miss when thunder struck in Ginotia Main.
7.
The thunder struck Ginotia Main for one reason, and one reason only. You see, there was something wrong on that day. Normally, when you hear thunder, lightning precedes it. Here, thunder preceded lightning, and everyone knew to look up and look out when this thundering happened. They did not know why it was backwards here in their part of life, but they knew to look out.
The last couple of times, the lightning only struck houses and old farms. Both of which were due for a clean up anyway if you asked the local yokels. Ernie and Al thought it was ironic how the lightning hit the houses of those a tad “hypocritical” and “judgmental.” You know the types, the snobs or yuppies of the town. Not yuppie in the monetary sense, since Ginotia Main was a small, run-down type town. But yuppie in the snooty sense. The worst kind of snoots. The poor snoots. Not that money even mattered, thought Al and Ernie, if you listened to the Duck and the Crow. None of it mattered, and that was the strangest thing of all.
8.
No lightning struck this time, but everyone ran for cover nonetheless. It did rain for a while - six days straight, and six feet deep. The Duck was in heaven, the Crow a tad pissed. The meetings went on, despite the present circumstances - the Duck floated, the Crow perched, and Ernie and Al boated. The Duck was smiling more on these days, laughing at the ineptitudes and adaptations of each character here.
Duck - Kind of funny, eh?
Crow - Not really. When are they going to get it all, and when is it all going to hit?
Duck - Not today. Today we begin the story.
Crow - No, not today. I am not feeling up to it. Too much water and all.
Duck - Don’t fret, dear friend. I’ll do the talking, like you said the other day, and you three do the listenin’. Jump in when you want, Mr. Crow. Al and Ernie just tag along and listen.
Crow - Okay, but hurry up, it looks like a storm is coming again.
Duck - Well, where did it all begin?
Crow - Start out small and then come in big.
Duck - I guess it will work that way. Beginning with our emergence?
Crow - Sure, the whole shabang!
Duck - Here we go then.
In an instant, Ernie and Al were pulled from their boat, disappeared for a second, transported for a second, dispersed for a second, un-timed for a second, de-spaced for a second, and were reconfigured on land, in a forest, with nothing but the sound of chirping birds. Al turned to Ernie, Ernie turned to Al. The whole world was a bit different this day, and the two of them could not find the Duck or the Crow anywhere!
In a medium sized divot, next to a tree, Ernie noticed an egg. He walked towards it, looked at it, and motioned for Al to come see. The two of them crouched there and stared in amazement - Al and Ernie could see through the egg’s shell, and there was a little Duck tucked in his bed just about to start stretching its body and stretch out of his shell. While they crouched there, they also saw a squirrel run up a tree, bark at them, turn around, shake his tail, climb up the tree about five limbs with complete ease, take out across the limb, turn to make sure Ernie and Al were watching, reach into some kind of bird’s nest, and throw down an egg to the two of them. Al jumped up and caught the egg. He bent down to show Ernie. They could see through this shell as well! It was a baby Crow. Al put down the Crow egg next to the Duck egg. Then, both Al and Ernie sat and watched.
The Duck did emerge first. So I guess those who wagered on the Duck being first will eventually win their bet. But it did seem, the egg came before the Duck - so another mystery is solved.
Soon after the Duck broke through, the Crow did as well. Even though the duck came out first, the Crow opened his eyes first - so I guess it depends on how you look at things as to who came first. I know the egg came before both of them, but the Crow saw the world first, yet the Duck sensed the world first.
It seemed the Crow thought he was a Duck for a while since the Duck was the first thing he saw. The same went for the Duck believing he was a Crow. The two of them grew up together not knowing who they were or what they would become. They knew they had each other, and that was about it. The Duck did fly first. The Crow always seemed to come in second ever since the eye-opening thing. He didn’t care much. He always watched and learned as the Duck made many a fool of himself in his silly antics. Instead, the Crow would treat things cautiously, carefully, analytically, and logically. The Duck, however, was free-spirited, accepting, understanding, and scientific. Together, the two of them made a great team. One complemented the other.
Ernie and Al sat there, watching the two of them grow up together, wondering what would be next.
You want to know what was next? Thunder. Thunder back in Ginotia Main. Thunder that had all four of them pulled back to the dream where the water was six feet and the entire town was swimming. Al and Ernie paddled home. The Duck swam while the Crow flew. All four of them wondered what was going on, and where the lightning would strike.
9.
The thunder WAS followed by lightning this time ‘round. Lightning - one electrical current rising from the ground to the sky. Lightning - a current flowing from the soles of the feet, around the rear, through the torso and skull, then onwards towards the thunder that rang it out in the first place. Lightning - it did strike this day, but this time it struck a person and not an object. Well, not a human person, but an animal person. As it went on this date of the calendar, Mr. Grunt, the farmer’s pig, was lit up that night. Not lit up from blueberries and slop, but lit up from the white electric light taking this little piggy home! Mr. Grunt never got to go to the market; he just grew out, grew up, and grew old. But he did get to finally go home. Mr. Grunt was an old coot - could barely walk and had a hard time grunting anymore. It was a shame, thought Ernie as he passed the farm one day, that a stately pig named Grunt could no longer grunt. Kind of ironic, eh? Needless to say, the mystery of nature, religion, philosophy, science, life and death all combined to take Mr. Grunt home. I sure hope it’s nice over there, dear old piggy.
10.
People normally talked about the reason why lightning, when it struck a material object instead of a being, decided to choose that imparticular form of the land at the deadly time of striking. But, when lightning struck a being, the people of Ginotia Main thought long and hard about whether they would be the next victims. Most people knew whether or not they needed to be concerned. Hell, all they had to do was step outside of themselves for a moment, look at who they truly were and what they represented (or stood for), and they would know if time was running out. And those who knew were shaking in their boots. You could hear the rattle of their teeth as they shook in fear. It was a very unnerving sound, and Ginotia Main would produce this sound for a week or two after a lightning strike. Ernie and Al were concerned not the least and went about their days waiting for the Duck and the Crow.
11.
One imparticular afternoon, as the sky was clear and the sun was warm, Al and Ernie met the Duck and the Crow, and the strangest, weirdest, most perplexing thing happened to the two of them. As soon as Ernie and Al saw the Duck and the Crow materialize in front of their eyes, they were once again trans-teleported across and through time and space into the continuing story of the meeting between the Duck and the Crow and their emergence through the world.
Duck - I must say dear Crow, that we have been such fools not using our minds correctly.
Crow - Yes, Mr. Duck, we have been such fools.
Duck - You see, Crow, we have been so little and so lost for so long, I have forgotten the simplicity in this entire plane.
Crow - Yes, as have I, but I seek logical existence over mindless meditation.
Duck - Through the mindless meditation, Mr. Crow, you will find all of your logical existence.
Crow - Blah, blah, blah. Always so vague and loose. Give me something concrete to chew on.
Duck - Concrete? That is silly, Mr. Crow. As you well know, anything concrete is simply a manifestation of three-dimensional existence. It’s where you look and how you look that truly matters as to what you shall perceive.
Crow - Blah, blah, blah again. You make no rational sense.
Duck - Throw rationality out the window for a moment and look over there beyond the large boulder on the other side of the creek there.
Crow - Okay, now what?
Duck - Well . . .
I must interrupt here to give the reader a bit of information - this scenario here is a flashback to the characters, the Duck and the Crow, but is reality (in a trans-dimensional sense) to Al and Ernie since none of this has happened in their worlds yet; but the Duck and the Crow are reliving it in their worlds. Kinds of a flashback, kind of a reality check - depending on whose world you are in. So, Ernie and Al sat back, relaxed, watched all of this happen and continued to listen to the Duck and the Crow.
Duck - Well, do you see anything on top or around the boulder?
Crow - (staring intently) No.
Duck - Do you see anything above or below the boulder?
Crow - (still staring) No.
Duck - Okay, close your eyes for ten seconds. Inhale for two of these seconds, hold your breath for three of those seconds and exhale the remaining five seconds. Don’t count to yourself, just kind of feel it. And while you are doing this for ten seconds, try not to think of anything at all.
Crow - Nothing?
Duck - Nothing! It will be hard, but just let the thoughts pop in and then pop out without your mind analyzing the thoughts.
Crow - Can I have a practice try?
Duck - No, the first time will be the last time. So, do try your best.
Crow- Okay, here it goes . . .
The Crow closed his eyes, breathed in for two seconds, held his breath for three seconds and exhaled for five seconds. He opened his eyes and let out a huge “caw” in surprise. The boulder was no longer there; the creek was not even there. Hell, the forest had disappeared as well! In place of all this was a large cave. Mr. Crow turned to look around for Mr. Duck and saw him. Al and Ernie continued on with the mysterious journey.
Duck - Go into the cave, Mr. Crow.
Crow - Will you follow?
Duck - Yes, I’ll be with you. I must see as much as you for all of this to be coherent when we all return.
Crow - Okay, keep your googling eyes open.
Duck - Keep your beady eyes open.
Crow - Ever been here before?
Duck - Nope. Just theorized it would work.
Crow - Well, it did. Is this what you think about before the cycle begins all over?
Duck - Yes, but I have no idea what we shall find (laughing).
Crow - (laughing as well) Neither do I.
The Duck and the Crow hopped and waddled together towards the entrance to the cave, suspecting what was about to emerge in front of their beings. Ernie and Al were completely unprepared.
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