The Magic Thread!

[Caipirinha]

(Obligatory post for reading the thread.)

[Bondwriter]

The auburn-haired young man stood at the station, watching a train depart. It had brought him part of the way towards his destination, but no further. The rest was up to him. After a heavy sigh, he flung the backpack over his shoulders and picked up the suitcase with the initials JTC. He had a long walk ahead of him, with an uncertain future at the end.

 

There had been a recent rain storm the birds just beginning to sing and stir again. His sneakers were sinking slightly in the mud as he continued his slow walk towards the small town. The world around him was cast in a sunless foggy haze in the early afternoon. It was cool out and no one was stirring around him reminding him just how lonely this trek could be.

 

The young man started to rehearse what he was going to say. "Hi, I'm Justin." He shook his head. "Mr. Leiberman? You don't know me, but my mother told me you're my father. My name is Justin." Justin pulled a face. That sound so fake that he thought he would be lucky not to have the door slammed in his face. "Mr. Leiberman. I believe you used to know my mother, Mary Coulson." Justin gave a wry smile. It wasn't good, but it was the best opening line he could think of.

 

It didn't really need to be quite so shocking, since he wanted to at least catch a small glimpse of the other half of himself before dropping any sort of a bomb like this. As far as Justin knew, Mr. Leiberman was simply an educated man who has spent the past eighteen years not knowing that one night of passion led to something as wonderful, or destructive, depending on how you looked at it, as Justin T. Coulson. Unfortunately, Justin knew so little about Ben Leiberman that he wondered if he was going to be the latter for the man who was about to be made conscious to the fact that he has been a father for half of his life.

 

Justin was still trying to work out if he was making a big mistake -- it had seemed like a great idea when he had headed to the train station -- when a rusty old pickup pulled up next to him.

 

"Need a lift, young fella?"

 

Justin stared at the weather-beaten face of the old man for a moment. "I'm only going as far as the town. It's not that far, but thanks for the offer."

 

"You've not been here before, have you." It was more a statement than a question.

 

"No, this is my first time."

 

"Just over that hill ahead there's a section of the road that's unmade. After the rain we've just had, It'll be a massive mud pool. You won't be able to walk through it." The old man cocked his head. "Get in and I'll take you to the other side. If you really want to keep walking, I'll drop you off once we're past the mud."

 

Justin thought about it and decided he didn't have anything to lose. "Okay, thanks."

 

Justin flipped the backpack off his shoulders and heaved it over the side and into the back of the pickup truck. He then opened the passenger door and hopped in while closing the door in one swift motion as not to slam the door. Justin thought the old man was going to start driving, but instead he just starred at him and waited almost like he was waiting for something first.

 

"Excuse me," Justin said as the man came out of his trance.

 

"Sorry, I was lost a bit. It's your eyes. They remind me of someone, someone very special. Ok, tell me about you, lad. You don't seem to be like the one to roam uselessly. What brought you here?" the man said as he turned the engine on.

 

Justin gripped the suitcase tighter while rubbing his thumb over the initials. Although he had placed the backpack in the back of the truck, he knew deep down he couldn

[Graeme]

"Where did you get that?" Mr. Leiberman demanded.

 

"My name is Justin Trevor Coulson, and my mother gave it to me. It was one of her most prized possessions." Justin was confident he knew what he was doing.

 

Mr. Lieberman blinked. "Justin? That's my brother's name. Is it me, or my brother who you've come to see?"

 

Justin became uncertain. His mother hadn't said precisely. She just said he shared the name of his father. Was this his uncle, not his father? He wasn't sure if he wanted the odorous man in front of him as his father -- if there was a better option, he was keen to explore it.

 

In the interest of... general interest I'm copying the story so far to the Sneak Peaks forum.

 

James -- if you PM JSmith, I believe he can grant you access to that forum. Either that, or just get up to five posts and you will be granted access automatically.

[C James]

Another post as penance for viewing this thread, LoL.

[Bondwriter]

Another post as penance for viewing this thread, LoL.

Damn, I came to check out how CJames could have pulled one of his (in)famous cliff-hangers, and all he left was a penance post. And I wouldn't want to totally hijack the round robin, so let others get new adventures for Justin in search of an eluding paternity.

[Graeme]

And I came back in to see what the next part of the story was... only to find nothing was added. I had better do something about that, then:

 

"Where did you get that?" Mr. Leiberman demanded.

 

"My name is Justin Trevor Coulson, and my mother gave it to me. It was one of her most prized possessions." Justin was confident he knew what he was doing.

 

Mr. Lieberman blinked. "Justin? That's my brother's name. Is it me, or my brother who you've come to see?"

 

Justin became uncertain. His mother hadn't said precisely. She just said he shared the name of his father. Was this his uncle, not his father? He wasn't sure if he wanted the odorous man in front of him as his father -- if there was a better option, he was keen to explore it.

 

"You said that you gave this statue to my mother. Why did you do that?" Justin asked.

 

Trevor Leiberman stared past Justin. "Betsy, I think that's enough for today. You can go now. Close the door on your way out, please."

 

Justin turned to watch the receptionist dragging her heels as she slowly retreated. When the door was close, he looked back at the man that he was probably related to, though exactly how was unclear. The birth certificate he had in his suitcase showed an initial in front of the last name "Leiberman." He thought it was a T, but it was smudged. Justin realised it could be a J. Which brother was his real father? And what did that say about his mother?

 

He waited for the older man to answer his question.

[acassimaty]

Yeah so I viewed this thread and now am posting. Happy Kevin?

 

Is a story being written in this thread or something. I'm confuzzled :~

 

 

And yes I'm naughty cause I edited my post but I'm a punctuation freak!

Edited June 5, 2007 by acassimaty

[Krista]

eh.. I should add something to the round-robin thing, but, my mind is too jumbled.

 

I just wanted to see how it was turning out. I did notice Ben Leiberman is now Trevor Leiberman... lol.

 

 

Krista

[Bardeara]

The auburn-haired young man stood at the station, watching a train depart. It had brought him part of the way towards his destination, but no further. The rest was up to him. After a heavy sigh, he flung the backpack over his shoulders and picked up the suitcase with the initials JTC. He had a long walk ahead of him, with an uncertain future at the end.

 

There had been a recent rain storm the birds just beginning to sing and stir again. His sneakers were sinking slightly in the mud as he continued his slow walk towards the small town. The world around him was cast in a sunless foggy haze in the early afternoon. It was cool out and no one was stirring around him reminding him just how lonely this trek could be.

 

The young man started to rehearse what he was going to say. "Hi, I'm Justin." He shook his head. "Mr. Leiberman? You don't know me, but my mother told me you're my father. My name is Justin." Justin pulled a face. That sound so fake that he thought he would be lucky not to have the door slammed in his face. "Mr. Leiberman. I believe you used to know my mother, Mary Coulson." Justin gave a wry smile. It wasn't good, but it was the best opening line he could think of.

 

It didn't really need to be quite so shocking, since he wanted to at least catch a small glimpse of the other half of himself before dropping any sort of a bomb like this. As far as Justin knew, Mr. Leiberman was simply an educated man who has spent the past eighteen years not knowing that one night of passion led to something as wonderful, or destructive, depending on how you looked at it, as Justin T. Coulson. Unfortunately, Justin knew so little about Ben Leiberman that he wondered if he was going to be the latter for the man who was about to be made conscious to the fact that he has been a father for half of his life.

 

Justin was still trying to work out if he was making a big mistake -- it had seemed like a great idea when he had headed to the train station -- when a rusty old pickup pulled up next to him.

 

"Need a lift, young fella?"

 

Justin stared at the weather-beaten face of the old man for a moment. "I'm only going as far as the town. It's not that far, but thanks for the offer."

 

"You've not been here before, have you." It was more a statement than a question.

 

"No, this is my first time."

 

"Just over that hill ahead there's a section of the road that's unmade. After the rain we've just had, It'll be a massive mud pool. You won't be able to walk through it." The old man cocked his head. "Get in and I'll take you to the other side. If you really want to keep walking, I'll drop you off once we're past the mud."

 

Justin thought about it and decided he didn't have anything to lose. "Okay, thanks."

 

Justin flipped the backpack off his shoulders and heaved it over the side and into the back of the pickup truck. He then opened the passenger door and hopped in while closing the door in one swift motion as not to slam the door. Justin thought the old man was going to start driving, but instead he just starred at him and waited almost like he was waiting for something first.

 

"Excuse me," Justin said as the man came out of his trance.

 

"Sorry, I was lost a bit. It's your eyes. They remind me of someone, someone very special. Ok, tell me about you, lad. You don't seem to be like the one to roam uselessly. What brought you here?" the man said as he turned the engine on.

 

Justin gripped the suitcase tighter while rubbing his thumb over the initials. Although he had placed the backpack in the back of the truck, he knew deep down he couldn

[Ieshwar]

I read the whole story but it's confusing. There's two Leiberman brothers but I found three names- Justion, Trevor and Ben. So?

[Bardeara]

I read the whole story but it's confusing. There's two Leiberman brothers but I found three names- Justion, Trevor and Ben. So?

 

 

Lets hope the next few people will help sort the mystery behind this confusion.

[colinian]

Lets hope the next few people will help sort the mystery behind this confusion.

 

I don't think the story has said that there are only two brothers. At least not yet.

 

Colin

[Bardeara]

I don't think the story has said that there are only two brothers. At least not yet.

 

Colin

 

 

I was so hoping Colinian that you posted the next part... now I have to wait longer. LOL

[Graeme]

Damn! :wacko:

 

Sorry everyone, I missed the reference to Ben Leiberman earlier in the story, so the Trevor/Ben confusion is my fault. Hmm... fast and furious thinking required.

 

Oh, and we need to come up with a title for this story.

 

[TonyM]

Damn! :wacko:

 

Sorry everyone, I missed the reference to Ben Leiberman earlier in the story, so the Trevor/Ben confusion is my fault. Hmm... fast and furious thinking required.

 

Oh, and we need to come up with a title for this story.

 

 

 

 

 

There. Did I get out of the mistake successfully?

 

Mistake? What mistake?

 

Sorry, but I'm a much better reader than a writer so I don't feel worthy to add to the story.

[Bardeara]

Justin wondered around the desk and took a seat in the chair, almost as if he belonged there. He reached out and took a picture frame in his hand as he pulled it closer to him to get a better angel. He brushed the major level of dust, which covered the picture to get a better view, and noticed that this was clearly a family photo. There were three teenage males standing in the middle row, two females sitting in chairs in the front and in the back row there was an older male and female.

 

Justin studied the photo much more closely and noticed the middle of the three boys looked just like him, while on the left was someone who looked like Trevor Leiberman. Justin touched the teenage boy on the right as he spoke softly to himself,

[kojaky]

just came in to look what's been happening so i had to post. Don't think I will participate in the round robins though. I suck at these type of things.

[Bondwriter]

As a title, I'd suggest "Seeking the Truth".

I think chapter 1 could finish in the middle of Bardeara's last post:

Justin placed the photo back onto the desk as he reached down to open one of the drawers. It clearly hadn

[Graeme]

"What's wrong with you, boy?"

 

Justin found himself staring at a black-and-white photo that appeared to be the town as it was several decades prior. He turned his head towards the speaker and saw Trevor Leiberman frowning at him.

 

"What?"

 

"You just went into some sort of daze and didn't pay any attention to what I was saying." Trevor became suspicious. "You're not one of those potheads are you?"

 

"No, sir. I've never touched the stuff. Do you know Ben Leiberman?"

 

Trevor chewed on his lower lip as he held Justin fixed with a steely gaze. Just before the younger man became too uncomfortable, Trevor spoke.

 

"Yeah, I know him. And I think you're as crazy as your grandfather, too." He scribbled on a piece of paper. "Here's where you want to go. Now, get out of here, and if you know what's good for you, don't come back."

 

I like the "Seeking the Truth" title. It fits in with where I see the story going.

 

Oh, and this thread doesn't have to be JUST about this story. It was a suggestion to keep the thread moving (and I think a great suggestion at that), but feel free to discuss other things, too.

[Ieshwar]

Justin got out of the building as fast as he could. As he walked on the road, he looked at the address and wondred how to go there.

 

"Excuse me, can you tell me where this is found?" Justin asked an aged man who was passing by.

 

"Turn left, then walk for about a hundred metre and then turn right," he said ina crisp voice.

 

Shivering from the increasing coldness, Justin thanked the man and walked in the direction indicated until he reached his destination. His jaw dropped as he gauged the view before him. He checked the address; it was the same as was written on the plaque. He lifted his head and in big letters, it was written:

 

"CEMETRY"

[James Albert]

Justin got out of the building as fast as he could. As he walked on the road, he looked at the address and wondred how to go there.

 

"Excuse me, can you tell me where this is found?" Justin asked an aged man who was passing by.

 

"Turn left, then walk for about a hundred metre and then turn right," he said ina crisp voice.

 

Shivering from the increasing coldness, Justin thanked the man and walked in the direction indicated until he reached his destination. His jaw dropped as he gauged the view before him. He checked the address; it was the same as was written on the plaque. He lifted his head and in big letters, it was written:

 

"CEMETRY"

 

Justin had searched for any form of head stone or plaque that read Ben Lieberman for nearly an hour, reading each one at least twice, but among the Arthur Wevers, Anne Crayburns and Daniel Warrens there was no Ben Lierberman to be found. Justin now sat underneith an oak tree that was forced as far into the corner of the cemetary as it would go.

 

Justin felt an overwhelming dissapointment, as if he had failed in some way. All he had managed to do since he got here was scare himself with an over active imagination and wander round a cemetary for a bit. He felt further away from any kind of truth than when he had first heard the news of his mothers illness.

 

He sat for a while contemplating the situation he had found himself in. Justin was not usually the type of boy who would simply pack up and leave his home in search for a stranger who had screwed his mother years ago. Perhaps it was anger that had forced Justin out that door, although he knew it to be wrong he could not help feel that in some way it was his mothers fault for getting breast cancer, if it wasn't for her being so selfish as to catch this illness she would never have told him about his father, he could have carried on his life in blissfull ignorance, it was thanks to her, and her past that he was in this mess.

 

Justin sat staring at the sky, waiting for darkness to come. He lowered his head to the dirty building in front of him. The dirty grey stone cut a bold outline on the red horizon. A jerked movement of the embedded wooden door, that looked like it had provided many meals to termites, made Justin realise that he hadn't even considered that Ben Lierberman might be LIVING in the cemetary.

 

Thanks for the introduction Graeme. Some who live a little to the east may not have appreciated an aknowledgement from someone who admits to enjoying the West Midlands. I'm not one of those however, thank you very much for making me feel welcome.

Edited June 6, 2007 by James Albert

[Krista]

Hmm, James is posting right now so I'll just ramble, then come back to see what he's wrote and possibly add to it.

 

So, something to discuss for those that come in here so we can eliminate the, "just coming in here to see where things are going and had to post" sentence so the non-writers get to talk here as well.

 

 

SoOo... yeah nothing is coming to me.. lol.

 

So what is everyone reading right now?

 

On here I'm reading, "Living in Surreality," but I'm patiently waiting for Christopher Paolini's third installment to his trilogy as I'm trying to keep myself from reading the other two again.. lol.

 

 

Krista

[James Albert]

To contribute to krista's conversation for non-writers. I've been trying to read "1984" for a time now, i keep re-reading small parts, starting over and reading bits too far into the story where i haven't even got yet. Its not a difficult story to get in to, but i think maybe i should invest in a book mark.

 

Whats everybody else reading??

[Krista]

I'm going to start reading the local writers here as well. Like, Harriette Simpson Arnow being the first choice. I just bought her books on Amazon yesterday and I'm waiting for them to arrive.. lol. She's an old writer so I don't know if I'll enjoy her or not, but I'm going to give her a try.

 

 

Krista

[Graeme]

Chapter 2