Alexander the Great by James Brantingham
Spider, no spider. Where did the spider go? Open the other hand and there is the spider. Close hand again and look: white pebble, black pebble, white pebble. It’s magic. Feather to flower to feather. His hands are too fast.
Alexander can’t talk. Or won’t talk. Doesn’t matter. He doesn’t talk at all. Some autistic kids can calculate numbers, some name any date and day in any year, or some can know the mind of a cow. Alexander does magic. No one knows what goes on in Alexander’s mind. And they certainly can’t see what happens in his hands.
The other kids in the neighborhood don’t know what to make of Alexander. Some leave him alone. Some watch his magic, trying to figure out the tricks. Some are polite and sympathetic—doing their best to be friendly. The older kids call him Alexander the Great. They want him to wear a black top hat and a shiny scarlet-lined cape.
But there is Jerry. Jerry is big for his age, but not too far above average in IQ. He needs to be liked, to think that the other kids in the neighborhood look up to him. Jerry is not so much a bully as a show-off.
Jerry, feigning accident, bumped into Alexander pushing him to the edge of the sidewalk. Jerry makes sure everyone notices his prank. Alexander changes a penny into a dime and walks on. Jerry grins at his own cleverness and nods to his friends. Jerry comes up from behind and bumps Alexander again, nodding his head to show his superiority. Jerry wants everyone to laugh at his daring. Alexander changes a stone to a flower and the flower to the stone.
The other kids look on, amazed at Alexander’s magic. They look up.
“Where’s Jerry?”
Alexander changes a twig to a pencil, but not back again.
***
About the Author
James Brantingham
Born: Reno, Nevada USA
Now Resides: Seattle WA USA
On-line: www.seattlesmallbooks.com
Bio: In the ‘60s and ‘70s I hitchhiked the western US and much of Mexico, even Europe. I learned much from those travels and I learned much from my formal education. That education focused on medieval literature and Latin, with much Pound, Eliot, Yeats and Joyce tossed in the brew. Briefly, I have published Latin translations and a poem in Crab Creek Review and a short story in ZYZZYVA. Through my own small press, I published 3 short books of short stories, translations and poems. Currently, I manage a marine navigation software company. Two sons and two grandchildren light my life.
***
image by eliXile.
-
thissomecrap reblogged this from glossolaliaflash
-
clairesalcedo liked this
-
sarahsamudre liked this
-
glossolaliaflash posted this
