![]() ![]() ![]() It’s a tremendous relief when attempting to make something. I take up painting in my spare time and paint little things-ideas of a sunset, a bird-that I sell for ten to fifteen dollars apiece to people who also work jobs and live in houses, possibly with families. I read books in the farm tool shed by local authors with titles like If Your House is Yellow and Other Problems of Interest, or How To Make Apple Salad For Parties, or, Three Ways to Fix Broken Toilets, or Clean Your Room, Cook Your Food, Go to Work and Do Hobbies: A Life. I go to the little farm near our home and plant tomato seeds since there’s a packet of seeds and a patch of dirt. Hobbies are essential without them, people get bored and turn to loitering and vagrancy and vandalism. What I’ve learned is you don’t ask questions and then things begin to make sense. Now speaking with other people is not the stress it was just a few short weeks ago. At first, when I could understand nothing, people were either happy with me or offended by me often and I did not know why. I eat very little in general.Ĭommunication is getting easier. ![]() Jimmy goes out to lunch with a young business type guy who works at city hall named Cass. He’s into the arts too he plans on being a singer and performing to large audiences. I talk to a guy named Jimmy who does something like research on the computer all day. ![]() I get rides to work in the morning with a woman who always speaks about needing to make a hair appointment. As a young person you must choose one or the other. I’m interested in the arts, so have taken a job at the newspaper instead of government or business. Allen says it shows that Tyler Burnett is the richest person in town that he doesn’t care if his whole mansion falls into the ocean. The cliff erodes daily and the property depreciates in value yearly, though the grandiosity of the place is not diminished by its crumbling foundation. I’ve seen Tyler Burnett’s house when I’ve gone down to the beach. Tyler Burnett’s father then became a ghost, after which his relationship with his son disintegrated. Tyler Burnett’s father died amidst his mid-life crisis in a localized gas station earthquake while simultaneously being given head by his young girlfriend and filling up his tank. The house had been his father’s, his father’s father’s and so on. Tyler Burnett’s house is the last big house at the beach, a relic from when beach living was the symbolic height of wealth in town, before the rising ocean and strong waves destroyed most of the area, making the mountains prime real estate. They live in the big cliff house at the beach. Allen tells me that Tyler Burnett is married and that he has a baby. Allen tells me he owns the chemical plant. With you, something distracting.” He is the most interesting person I’ve met.Īfter the party I ask Allen, my roommate, about Tyler Burnett. Tyler Burnett says “Chemicals and fishing, the water. It’s still somewhat difficult for me to understand people when they speak here, but I understand much more than I did in the first few days. Nevertheless there is a romantic energy between us. Some people say they might be painted black. Tyler Burnett wears dark sunglasses always, even at night. I meet Tyler Burnett at a party I’ve been invited to. It’s good to have reminders like that, that life is more detailed than it appears here, though not too many. Memory has proven to be useful for livening things up in the town filling leaves in the trees, reading expressions on other people’s faces, seeing trash on the streets. Here it contains a limited number of items, but memory fills in the blanks-brands, flavors, packaging, etc. What’s left is the impression of fullness for example, the supermarket. My memory is mostly gone, though not entirely. There are things we can learn, like I’m interested in painting and gardening and possibly fishing. What people do most is sit in the house and watch television. Allen has his own room and Diana and Horse share a room. I share a room with a guy named Lorry and a girl called Susan. The only rules are you start pretty broke, and you have to have roommates. I get to start as a young adult, when you are capable of looking after yourself and making decisions. It’s almost like being reborn, but without birth and childhood. I’ve been given a fresh start, a new beginning. Winner of BOMB’s 2015 Fiction Contest, selected by Sheila Heti ![]()
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