I will not hate. I will not hate. I will not hate.

She wants me to hate her. She wants me down on her level. I will not succumb, for I finally realized it is not her.

It is the Dark One. The one who has invaded my dreams. The one who has let me slip from his clutches. He ignored me when he had me, much like a cellular provider. He felt I would go nowhere as long as I was filled with drink and drug.

He was right.

But I had a vision. An “in the flesh” vision. I saw a person who was not there. No lights were on. The house was empty. By all technical and mechanical means he was alive. No other definition, however, would pass muster. And though he was not me, it was like looking in a mirror. There was something worse than death.

I woke up. Not from sleep, per se, but from addiction. The Dark One had spent a few years trying to entice me back into the fold and he succeeded. Wide and gaping was the hole in my old sober life; he was able to drag down more than I. Her, for instance.

She is stuck. She wants me “back.” Not for her, but for him. He whose name need not be mentioned.

I see now. I understand now. I know why the hurt is not healed now.

It goes beyond worldly issues. I have re-teamed with my Father, almost like never before. This enrages the Dark One. The stories and Gospels are not merely parables and lessons. They are Truths. Universal Truths, also found on other Paths.

Am I overstating a common “dysfunctional family” issue? Perhaps. Yet this explanation makes so much more sense than anything scientific or material. It gives logic to illogical situations. It gives reason to unreasonable scenarios.

It makes sense of the massive and continuing “collateral damage,” first from me, now from her. It brings light to punishment that long outlives any and all crimes.

This is how he works. As the Shepherd chases after the wayward lamb, so does the bringer of night try to swallow up the finder of a candle.

Where do you think the phone companies learned it from?

I will not hate. I will not hate. I will not hate.

Help me see the Big Picture and the Truth.

I will not hate. Not her. Not him. Not anyone.

Submitted by David Black

CAMERA pans the dark heavens, then slowly drops down to OPENING SCENE.

ANNOUNCER: “In a world, where nothing is as expected…”

Two cowboys sit next to each other in front of a campfire. It is the penultimate Western night time scene, replete with stars and the requisite cactus in the background. The only noticeable difference between this and thousands of other similar settings is their proximity…

COWBOY #1: “Gosh, Luke, I don’t know how to tell you this…” He gently strokes Luke’s weather-roughened forearm with his own heavily-callused hand.

LUKE: Turns to “Cowboy #1” and gazes tenderly at him. “It’s okay, Bruce. I’ve known for years. In fact…” Luke looks down into the fire, seeing something else entirely, “…in fact, I…I feel the same way, buddy.”

BRUCE: Looks genuinely surprised. “Really? All this time?”

LUKE: “Yes.” He leans closer as if to complete the bond newly realized to both.

BRUCE: Springs up to a standing position and starts yelling, face contorted with rage. “Well, why the HELL didn’t you help me out before I second-mortgaged the [expletive deleted] farm!!”

LUKE: Has a look of utter confusion.

ANNOUNCER: “Two sheep herders find love while trudging through piles of unsecured debt. A new kind of Western from MirrorMax Films, coming this fall.”

BRUCE AND LUKE seem to be pulling away from something more passionate. An active fireplace occupies the darkened background.

LUKE: “You know what’ll happen if anyone finds out about us…” Before Bruce can respond, a loud knocking interrupts. SCENE SHIFTS to the oaken door being opened. A group of five or six older gentlemen all in matching suits crowd the threshold, each with an identical briefcase and proffered business card. FAINTLY “…when banks compete, you win!”

ANNOUNCER: “Broke Ass Mountain…only in theaters!”

BRUCE AND LUKE stand on a typical ramshackle cabin porch, very visibly holding hands, while a dejected heavyset “banker type” approaches the camera, grumbling.

BANKER: “Lost another loan to DIETECH!” Venom drips from his voice as he obscures the camera. FADE to black.

Submitted by David Black

Have you ever lost something with no logical explanation? Or been somewhere without knowing why you were there or how you arrived there?

          The TIMESTOPPERS. A band of fun-loving immortals who possess a special talent: the ability to stop time. They are from the dimension Polarov, which occasionally collides with other dimensions…

          Jack looked at the clock and groaned in dismay. “Heck, I’m gonna be late.” As he headed for the door, he dug in his pockets for his car keys. “Now where did I put the keys?” he grumbled.

          Gluki snickered in his delight at the frozen figure in front of him. “Marne, put these in his land vehicle. I wanna see his face when he finds them.”

          Marne carefully placed a set of his keys on the seat and closed the door. He nodded at Gluki and they again set time in motion.

          After a fruitless search, Jack looked at the clock again and thought, “maybe, just maybe, they could be in the car.” He walked out and stared in disbelief as he opened the car door. “I could have sworn I put them in my pocket…”

          Recovering with difficulty from racking laughter, Gluki and Marne left to find the rest of the troupe.

          Sletha clicked Timestop and motioned to Flakk and Zepre. “Help me move the human off of the mattress,” she said. They did just that - moved her off the bed. When Sletha deactivated Timestop, the human was three feet above the ground…

          Joanna woke with a painful “thump” as she hit the floor. As she climbed back to the refuge of her blankets, she mumbled something about never doing that before, and again fell asleep.

          Frank looked from his half-finished paperwork to an empty coffee cup. He sighed and headed for the coffee machine. The next thing he knew, he was in the middle of a passionate kiss with his secretary, Katherine. He had a moment of wondering what on earth he was doing, but his mind was brought back to more pleasant things, as was Katherine’s.

          Bingle chuckled as he left the surprised couple, and boarded the ship. He nodded at Flakk and the others as he took the control seat.

          “Next stop, Planet 2351,” he announced.

After making sure it would not bite, I started scanning items. Much to my surprise, I knew the voice!

It was the Time and Temperature Lady. My girlfriend was doubtful. She felt it was more like Time & Temp: The Next Generation.

That was a good point…the original supplier of the voice had to be at least 100 years old by now…

I can just imagine calling her residence. One would automatically think they had voice mail. “No, no - it’s me, really! Don’t hang up!”

How about her speaking in public? Heads would swivel about searching for the source. “Where have I heard that VOICE before!?”

Would most of us just ask her for the time?

What about disgruntled phone menu users? Would she need a bodyguard?

And the funeral…

In attendance would be the composer of the “back-up signal,” the Luxury Car Lady (“Your door is ajar. Your door is ajar.”), the Monster Truck Guy (“You’ll pay for the whole seat, but you’ll only NEED THE EDGE!!”), and maybe even Don LaFontaine (“In a world where…”). No famous faces, though…

She definitely will go to Heaven. They have had a place for her for what feels like…well, you know…

“Please continue to wait in line. Your essence is important to us. We are experiencing unusually high soul volume right now. Estimated wait is .3 Eternity. An angel will be with you shortly. Spirits gain admittance in the order that they are received.”

Weeks later, during the holidays, her grandson is hauled downtown on a “drunk and disorderly.” He’s been loudly crying and beating up pay phones after calling for the temperature…