Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Fado – A faerie tale blog of the California Coast, part one.

This is a work of fiction inspired by half true places, half true people, but of course all true faeries.
I am creating it as I go, so if there are any signifcant revivions, I will advise of them.


Fado – A faerie tale blog of the California Coast part one "it was a dark and stormy night..."

Sometimes I wonder if there isn’t a little gypsy somewhere in the family. I’ve moved more times than I can think, but somehow I always end up near the water. But the sea is like that It gets into your blood, and stays there. Anchor Point, California is my latest haunt. It has a pleasant mix of rednecks and hippies, retired boomers and a thriving artist community to please the tourists in summer.
So I moved here in the winter, and managed to unpack before the big storms hit. Out on the coast like this there isn’t much to stop the rains. Or the wind.. It’s a quiet coastal village here. It’s the kind where everyone seems to know everyone else and on sunny days, dogs sleep in the street. I managed to drive all the way here from Puget Sound in my beat up 30 year old SUV. It’s from a time before SUV’s were SUV’s- steel all the way down to the dents and rust holes with moss growing out of them. Man it can guzzle gas but it’s big enough to haul around my junk in. Did I mention? I’m an artist- I do installations of found objects. Flotsam, jetsam, logs and driftwood, the occasional bone or bird skeleton. Up in Puget Sound they’re a rarity, unless you can find a beach near an eagles nest. That was what was so strange. Ever since I moved here, I’ve been finding bird skeletons on the beach. Usually you only find one or two a year, but here… well lets just say that I’ll never want for wishbones.
With the storms we’ve been hit with, grocery shopping has been an arduous undertaking. My gravel driveway has turned to mire and just getting out to the truck gets me soaked through. Fortunately the great beast has a working heater. With the weight if the iron chasse and my Darth Vader tires I don’t have to worry too much about hydroplaning. This is good thing, considering that the two roads in and out of here are both prone to flooding. Of course the Mountain Ridge road is on higher ground, but with the wind downing trees and branches on power lines and blocking traffic, I opt for the Coast road every time. Still I manage brave the elements singing along to Ray Charles on my “vintage” tape deck.
The other day, as I was driving the twenty miles back home from the store, the strangest thing happened . I was just driving past the hamlet of Arena Bay. The rain, which had been bucketing down started to turn to hail. The road was pretty slick with ice, and I was obliged to drive about twenty on the twists and turns. I was just reaching the turn off to Mac Isaacs’ road when an enormous white buck stepped out in front of me. Damn lucky thing I was going so slow, or else I’d have fishtailed my way right off the cliffs. As it was, I was able to stop in time. And this buck! When he was right in front of the truck, he just stopped and looked at me. And not at the truck either. No, he looked me straight in the eye, and for a long time. It was like a frozen moment, heavy and silent. Then, turning his head he calmly continued on his way. As I drove away, I had a feeling like waking out of a deep sleep. It was only after I crossed the bridge, and past the Haynes farm that I became aware that the tape deck was still playing. What was stranger, though, was the old woman walking though town on that stormy evening, wrapped in dark rags and all hunched over like that. Boney pale hands clutching a walking stick, slick wet grey hair plastered to her wrinkled face. I saw her on the corner, just across from the burrito place. Just standing out in the rain, not looking for shelter, not even looking around. And the burrito place, right across the street from her, has a covered patio! Too weird. She didn’t even seem to notice the weather. I rolled down the window and asked if she needed any help. She replied in a brogue ,saying “ You already have all the work you can handle. Off with you!”
Too weird.

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