Strange but True Read Online Free PDF
Author: John Searles
illuminates a jigsaw portion of her face, setting her mangled patch of skin aglow. She looks lit from within, as though a fire has been stoked inside of her. âYou donât understand. The tape is not done yet. I just have to flip it over so you can hear the rest.â
âThe rest?â Philip says.
And then she does exactly thatâreaching down to press the Eject button, flipping the tape, and pushing it back in. Instantly, Chantrelâs voice fills the car, this time more hushed than before. Melissa turns up the volume. âBut none of that is why youâve come here tonight, is it?â Chantrel whispers.
Outside, the wind blows so hard it shakes the car. The bare branches of the giant oak tree in the front yard make that angry scuttling sound.
âNo,â Melissa says on the tape, shaking her head now too.
âYou have come about the baby, havenât you?â
Melissa nods, as though she is still in the presence of Chantrel. It is all so pitiful and sad that Philip has to turn his eyes away. He doesnât want to think about what his mother will do when the tape ends this time. Through that tiny fishing hole in the ice, he looks up at his brotherâs dark window and begins making a mental map of the room to put his mind on something else. Anything else. There is the single bed with the navy blue quilt; the nicked wooden desk with the electric pencil sharpener; the clutter of trophies, each with a small golden man on top, running, throwing, catching; a U 2 poster on the back of the door of Bono strumming a guitar; an ancient set of oversize silver walkie-talkies on the bookshelf. When Philip canât remember anymore, he tries to recall those beer T-shirts instead:
I GAVE UP DRINKING: IT WAS THE WORST FIFTEEN MINUTES OF MY
LIFE â¦
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEER AND JESUS: YOU DONâT HAVE TO WAIT
2000 + YEARS FOR A SECOND BEER â¦
âAll these years and youâve never stopped loving him, have you?â Chantrel is saying as his mother starts tapping her fist against the door, warming up for what is sure to be an explosive finale. âFirst love is the most pure, because we give our entire heart and soul over to the person. You gave that to Ronnie, didnât you?â
âYes,â Melissa says in unison with her own voice on the tape.
His mother knocks her fist harder.
BEER, SO MUCH MORE THAN A BREAKFAST DRINK , Philip thinks.
CONSERVE WATER, DRINK BEER â¦
GREAT MINDS DRINK ALIKE â¦
âHe is telling me that he hears you. He is telling me that he knows the pain youâve felt since he passed to the other side. And thatâs why he has found a way to carry on in your life. Thatâs why this baby is special. I think you know it is the gift that you have been praying for all these years. It has been blessed by Ronnie so that you can move on. It is⦠Iâm sorry, dear, but the connection is cutting out. He says he has to leave now. Heâs gone. Iâve lost him.â
This time the tape goes quiet for good.
Philip stares nervously at his mother, who has stopped her tapping. She looks like she is getting ready to scream again, but Melissa is crying harder now, her shoulders heaving, her hands shaking. He senses that even his mother doesnât know what to do.
âWhat is it?â Philip asks Melissa.
She is gasping so loudly that it takes her a moment to get out her next words. âDonât you get it? Thatâs what I came here to tell you. What she said about the baby on the tape is true.â
âWhatâs true?â Philip says, without giving his mother a chance to speak.
âIt is a gift from him.â She stops talking and inhales a final deep breath before telling them, at long last, the reason she has come here tonight. âIâve only been with one person in my life. Ronnie. On the night he died. It was our first and last time together. My first and last time with anyone. And now, all
âThe rest?â Philip says.
And then she does exactly thatâreaching down to press the Eject button, flipping the tape, and pushing it back in. Instantly, Chantrelâs voice fills the car, this time more hushed than before. Melissa turns up the volume. âBut none of that is why youâve come here tonight, is it?â Chantrel whispers.
Outside, the wind blows so hard it shakes the car. The bare branches of the giant oak tree in the front yard make that angry scuttling sound.
âNo,â Melissa says on the tape, shaking her head now too.
âYou have come about the baby, havenât you?â
Melissa nods, as though she is still in the presence of Chantrel. It is all so pitiful and sad that Philip has to turn his eyes away. He doesnât want to think about what his mother will do when the tape ends this time. Through that tiny fishing hole in the ice, he looks up at his brotherâs dark window and begins making a mental map of the room to put his mind on something else. Anything else. There is the single bed with the navy blue quilt; the nicked wooden desk with the electric pencil sharpener; the clutter of trophies, each with a small golden man on top, running, throwing, catching; a U 2 poster on the back of the door of Bono strumming a guitar; an ancient set of oversize silver walkie-talkies on the bookshelf. When Philip canât remember anymore, he tries to recall those beer T-shirts instead:
I GAVE UP DRINKING: IT WAS THE WORST FIFTEEN MINUTES OF MY
LIFE â¦
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEER AND JESUS: YOU DONâT HAVE TO WAIT
2000 + YEARS FOR A SECOND BEER â¦
âAll these years and youâve never stopped loving him, have you?â Chantrel is saying as his mother starts tapping her fist against the door, warming up for what is sure to be an explosive finale. âFirst love is the most pure, because we give our entire heart and soul over to the person. You gave that to Ronnie, didnât you?â
âYes,â Melissa says in unison with her own voice on the tape.
His mother knocks her fist harder.
BEER, SO MUCH MORE THAN A BREAKFAST DRINK , Philip thinks.
CONSERVE WATER, DRINK BEER â¦
GREAT MINDS DRINK ALIKE â¦
âHe is telling me that he hears you. He is telling me that he knows the pain youâve felt since he passed to the other side. And thatâs why he has found a way to carry on in your life. Thatâs why this baby is special. I think you know it is the gift that you have been praying for all these years. It has been blessed by Ronnie so that you can move on. It is⦠Iâm sorry, dear, but the connection is cutting out. He says he has to leave now. Heâs gone. Iâve lost him.â
This time the tape goes quiet for good.
Philip stares nervously at his mother, who has stopped her tapping. She looks like she is getting ready to scream again, but Melissa is crying harder now, her shoulders heaving, her hands shaking. He senses that even his mother doesnât know what to do.
âWhat is it?â Philip asks Melissa.
She is gasping so loudly that it takes her a moment to get out her next words. âDonât you get it? Thatâs what I came here to tell you. What she said about the baby on the tape is true.â
âWhatâs true?â Philip says, without giving his mother a chance to speak.
âIt is a gift from him.â She stops talking and inhales a final deep breath before telling them, at long last, the reason she has come here tonight. âIâve only been with one person in my life. Ronnie. On the night he died. It was our first and last time together. My first and last time with anyone. And now, all