It was getting cold outside, cold and windy; the sort of night that encouraged very few people to go out near the water. Figuring that she had seen the last customer of the day, Carina went into the back room of her small shop at the end of the tourist pier and sat down at her computer. She had only entered a page’s worth of prose when she sensed two more customers. The two voices were arguing, and the man’s was loud and forceful enough to be heard through the walls of her shop.
“You’ve had some stupid ideas before, but this is a prizewinner!” a man’s voice was shouting. “You know these psychics are nothing but rip-off artists!”
“Ray, just let me do this,” she heard a woman reply. “It won’t hurt you.”
After saving her work, Carina stepped back through the beaded curtain into the dimly lit, potpourri-scented sitting room (unlike her mother and grandmother, she was allergic to incense). As the two entered, she said: “Good evening, I am Carina; you are here of your own free will.”
“The hell I am,” the man grumbled. He was dark-eyed and swarthy, probably in his mid-to-late thirties.
“I’ve come for a reading,” said the woman, who was younger and wore a red aura of concern about her. “Well, I guess that’s obvious. Why else would I be here?”
“Because you’re stupid,” Ray spat.
The man was a bully, and Carina already disliked him. Not that it mattered. “Please take a seat,” she said, focusing on the woman. “The basic reading will be twenty-five dollars.”
“Twenty-five bucks?” Ray shouted. “What a racket!”
“You can wait outside if you want,” the woman said.
“If I walk out of here, I leave. You find your own way home, lady.”
The woman pulled out a twenty and a five from her purse and handed the bills to Carina. “My name is Naomi, by the way. What do you want me to do?”
“You’ve already done what she wants you to do!” Ray sneered.
Carina ignored him. “Give me your right palm,” she instructed Naomi, and upon touching it with both hands, she knew instantly the woman was pregnant. “Do you have a particular question?”
“Um, well, I’m not sure how to ask.”
“Think it.”
Am I dooming myself by staying with Ray? Carina clearly heard. She studied the woman’s palm for a second and then frowned. She looked up at the man. “May I see your palm, too?”
“Leave me the hell out of this, okay?”
“Ray, show her your palm.”
“There is no need to be afraid,” Carina said.
“What do you mean, afraid? Who do you think you’re talking to?”
“I will know as soon as I see your hand.”
Ray shoved his palm in front of her so violently that Carina flinched, and she studied it, and then sighed. “Mr. Manoli, please call a cab this evening. You have drunk too much tonight to drive.”
Ray’s face blanched, and he uttered a curse at her. “What do you know, you — hey, how come you know my name? I never told you my last name!”
“She’s a psychic, Ray,” Naomi said.
“Crap!” You two cooked this little act up somehow. “I don’t know what your game is, but I’ve had enough.” He spun around and headed for the door.
Naomi turned to the psychic imploringly. “What should I do?”
Before Carina could answer, Ray screamed, “Come on!” and grabbed Naomi by the arm, pulling her out of the chair and forcing her through the door, which he then slammed so hard behind him that the small shop shook.
A lump formed in Carina’s throat. “The answer to your question, Naomi, is yes,” she told the empty room. Her head hurt; she was heartsick. But she knew what she had to do. She had no choice, just as her mother had none, nor her grandmother, nor her maternal ancestors as far back as could be counted. Locking the door, she returned to the back room and sat back down before the computer, and began to type.
Ray was a reckless driver at the best of times, but the combination of anger and alcohol, twin evils that fed upon each other, made him lethal. To Naomi’s distress, he peeled out of the parking lot, skidding on the damp, salted planks of the pier, narrowly missing the front end of a brand new Lexus.
“Ray, you’ll kill us both!” she screamed, not daring to say instead “all three of us.” A tear fell from Carina’s eye, and she wiped it away and resumed working.
If anything, Ray’s anger intensified. By the time he got to the freeway ramp, he was driving like a madman, as though there were no other vehicles on the road, only his. He seemed not to hear the blaring horn of the semi truck, but Naomi heard, and she screamed. A second later, the only noise was the sound of screeching tires, shattering glass and twisting metal.
God, would she ever get used to this?
Carina kept typing until she was finished; finished for the evening, at any rate. She would never be finished with The Book, nor would her daughter to come, or her daughter’s daughter. Finishing The Book finished everything.
Exhausted, she pressed “Save,” backed her work up, and then switched off the computer, her soul free once more until tomorrow. Then Carina braved the chilly night air on the pier and stood in the darkness, listening. She was barely able to make out the far-off, windborne whine of the ambulance.
Michael Mallory is the author of some 100 short stories, mostly mystery, which have been published everywhere from Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine to Discovery, the magazine of Hong Kong Airlines. His books include the collection The Exploits of the Second Mrs. Watson and the novel Murder in the Bath.
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26 Responses to “THE NOVELIST • by Michael Mallory”
Comments
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February 21st, 2009 at 12:11 am
OK, apart from “faroff” (there’s no such word).
February 21st, 2009 at 12:45 am
I enjoyed it. Although could have had a little more depth.
February 21st, 2009 at 1:36 am
I, for one, think it’s an excellent story. I expected Carina would use her power to change her client’s fate but I was pleasantly surprised with the way things turned out. Keep up the good work.
February 21st, 2009 at 1:57 am
Interesting story, Michael.
It did feel rushed, though; and the question that occurred to me at the end was whether Carina was writing the future or recording it.
February 21st, 2009 at 3:23 am
A well written tale that kept my attention.
The ending jarred a bit, though. Was Carina recording events or creating them? This was a bit unclear.
Also, any story beginning ‘It was….’ elicits a graon from me. To me it’s a lazy opening.
All this said, the story scored a 4 from me.
February 21st, 2009 at 5:44 am
A very powerful story, Michael. I can feel the pain of all three, and the tragedy.
February 21st, 2009 at 5:56 am
I like the premise of this story, and it is an interesting idea. It’s gripping throughout, but the concepts could be used effectively in a longer format. If I were you, Michael, I’d plump it up a bit and turn it into a short story or a novel.
February 21st, 2009 at 6:23 am
Michael, I agree with DA Brown, and I will go a step further. I think you have the beginning of a great novel, and if so, could a movie be far behind? I read a lot of fiction – almost no TV – and I am delighted when I find something that I haven’t read a million times before. This story is fresh, entertaining, and good. Keep up the good work. I gave you a five.
February 21st, 2009 at 6:35 am
An excellent story. Sad in some respects, though at least Naomi knew what was to come. Beuatifully written as well, I gave it a five.
February 21st, 2009 at 6:44 am
Very engrossing, well crafted story which leads the reader to many questions about the knowing of realities. The only possibly false note I found was, “A tear fell from Carina’s eye, and she wiped it away…”
February 21st, 2009 at 7:41 am
I enjoyed it, too. A very interesting idea – like Joe says, it’s a story you don’t come across everyday.
February 21st, 2009 at 7:46 am
Well written and engrossing. I was disturbed by the same questions as some others – why didn’t Carina save Naomi? Was she creating the future or recording it in her on-going book? What really happens when the book is “finished”? But I found the ambiguities intriguing – sometimes it’s okay to be disturbed by a story.
You’ve got a winner here, something worth expanding. A five from me.
February 21st, 2009 at 8:06 am
Very good drama. Just the right amount of mystery to keep me reading. I think you revealed just enough as you went along to keep the reader hooked throughout. What could’ve been a very simple event became tremendiously strong because of your construction. Great job.
February 21st, 2009 at 8:38 am
Strong story with an interesting twist. I too liked the ending and Carina’s inability to change what was going to happen. Love it.
February 21st, 2009 at 8:47 am
Excellent work!
February 21st, 2009 at 9:14 am
I really liked that Carina was a real psychic and that we learned it right off. Refreshing premise. The Book was a neat twist. I just wish I knew if Carina managed to write Naomi getting thrown out of the car and surviving with her baby or not. I guess it’s up for me to decide, so I’ll say, “Yes!”
February 21st, 2009 at 9:22 am
I thought it was an outstanding story. I loved the poignancy and felt the domestic tragedy was very well handled. Like Erin, I assumed that you deliberately left it up to the reader to decide exactly what happened to Naomi.
February 21st, 2009 at 9:22 am
Great story, Michael!
February 21st, 2009 at 10:30 am
Great story, interesting and unexpected. I gave it a five.
February 21st, 2009 at 11:43 am
Great voice and flow. Fresh and well told.
–dj
February 21st, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Good story, well done and fascinating.
Nice writing Michael.
February 21st, 2009 at 9:41 pm
This was Beautiful, Michael. You hooked me right from the title until the end. I didn’t want it to end, wanted to read from before the beginning and after the end. I love the psychic stuff combined with the power of writing. I’d love to read a book with these ingredients. Want to write one?
Five stars from me, after a long time in EDF.
February 22nd, 2009 at 7:54 pm
This rocked. I visualized this all very clearly. When I started reading, I did so half-heartedly. I didn’t really want to read a story but I was determined to clear my e-mail and you pulled me right in. Five stars from me. You are a pro.
February 23rd, 2009 at 12:45 am
Liked it but, like KC said, it was rushed which spoiled it for me. DAB’s right it would benefit from being longer.
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:26 am
Nicely handled. No real new ground here, but a very solid piece.
I think a bit more foreshadowing (since she’s working on “The Book” in the opening graf, easy to tweak that with some reaction/regret) might settle what some others saw as “rushed.”
March 2nd, 2009 at 7:26 am
Terrific.