August 2013 Blog Chain: Morning Glory

Tweet of the Day:  Strings of Retaliation – 23a – First Night Out

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Let’s take a look at the calendar, shall we? What is this? Is this the first month of August? Well, that means another Blog Chain:

Starting Date: Friday, August 2, 2013
Open to all forum members, even after it starts!

This month’s prompt:
Child of the devil

Whether the devil be literal, figurative, or Cruella. As always, can be prose, poetry, play, fiction, nonfiction. Each post should be less than 1000 words if possible. Read and comment on other participants’ posts if you possibly can–they’ll be doing the same for you! Please include a list of all participants’ blogs (not necessarily their actual posts for the month) in your blog post.

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The dinner overlooked a sharp curve on the PCH, where the southern scrub gave way to mountain pine and the Pacific caressed the rocky cliffs.  Inside truckers chatted with waitresses, a family argued about breakfast and an old couple looked into the little screen at the back of their digital camera. The morning light reflected off the gun metal counter and along the way captured every dust mite, every plume of cigarette smoke and coffee in its grasp. Sacramento said you could not smoke indoors, but nobody here paid any mind to stuff like that. Besides the buttery smell of fresh pancakes, midnight black coffee and sea salt overpowered my meager cigarette.

The door chime announced my seven o’clock. The kid sauntered up to the both. He sat down taking as much space as his scrawny seventeen year old frame could muster. Sunlight glinted of the studs of his leather jacket.

“I heard you’re the man with all the answers,” he said.

“Depends on the questions?”

“Riight.”

Doris, my favorite plumb matronly waitress came over.

She topped off my coffee mug, “What will you have, hon?”

“Two grilled cheese on Texas toast and orange juice for junior,” I said.

The kid waved Doris off, “I don’t want anything.”

She looked at me. I nodded, “Two grilled cheese coming up!”

He leaned forward, “I said I didn’t want anything.”

“It’s seven in the morning kiddo, everybody is hungry.”

“Yeah, whatever. I’m here about my dad. I mean is he….”

“Old Morning Glory, the Light of East, the King of Hell, Tormentor of Damned Souls, old Luz, yep, that’s your daddy-o.”

“Shit, that means I’m fucked!”

“No necessarily.”

“What do you mean? I read the Bible, I know what’s up.”

“Yeah, that might happen, or it will happen, eventually, but not right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the thing is, kid, you’re half and half, a mortal with little extra in him, but mortal none the less. And mortality comes with an interesting twist.”

His frowned deepened, “And that is?”

“Free will, kiddo, free will. You don’t to do anything you don’t want to, within reason, of course.”

“So I just ignore prophecy, just like that?”

“Pretty much, it will stay a prophecy until doesn’t. Up to you. I mean, you read the book, you know how it ends.”

“Lake of fire.”

“Bottomless pit first and then lake of fire, but yeah.”

“Ah Hell no!” he said loud enough to attract some stares from the dinner’s patrons.

“Interesting choice of words, kiddo.”

He shook his head, “Why he can’t do it himself?”

“Old brother Luz is like me, we are sort of part of the cosmic tapestry, each one playing role, but we are really just going through the motions. You’re the key to change and he is hoping you will go to bat for Team Hot Cakes.”

“Nah, not happening, not if I can help it.”

“Good on you, kiddo,” I drained my coffee cup in one scalding gulp then lit a new cigarette with the butt of the last one.

Doris plopped two plates on the table, “Here you go.”

The kid inhaled the grilled cheese sandwich the way only a teenager could.

“Okay, umm, that’s all I needed to know,” he said.

“Sure kiddo, if you need anything, you know where to find me,” I said.

I watched him leave, confident that we wasn’t going to turn any time soon.

Doris came by with the bill, “Will that be all Mikey?”

“More coffee, I got another client coming in at nine thirty,” I said.

She shook her head, poured more coffee into the cup and left.

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

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Participants and posts:
ishtar’sgate – http://chickenscratchbc.blogspot.ca/ (link to post)
orion_mk3 – http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com (link to post)
areteus – http://lurkingmusings.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
BDavidHughes – http://bdavidhughes.com/ (link to post)
Ralph Pines – https://ralfast.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
articshark – http://www.drslaten.com/blog (link to post)
pyrosama – http://matrix-hole.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
Anarchic Q – http://anarchicq.com/ (link to post)
meowzbark – http://www.lizzylessard.com/ (link to post)
MsLaylaCakes – http://www.taraquan.com/ (link to post)
grace elliot – http://graceelliot-author.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
Angyl78 – http://jelyzabeth.wordpress.com/ (link to post)

milkweed – http://www.thistlequill.blogspot.com/ (link to post) [after 8/15]

Bumped:

Archive of Past Blog Chains

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