SEARCHING ”“ a Serial Novelle CHAPTER 5: Darkness
By Patrick Cabello Hansel
Dear reader,
It is hard to describe evil. Sometimes it carries a bat, sometimes it wears a badge. Sometimes it is a boss, sometimes a prayer gone horribly, horribly wrong. The evil that befell Angel was all of them, none of them. It was all of us, the worst of us, and we were its victims and its helpers.
For three days, unconsciousness became Angel. If he dreamed, if he was visited by memories or spirits, he will not be able to tell us. He dwelled in the land of Morpheus, in the land before darkness was separated from light. Hovering over the waters, hanging between life and death.
Some say that angels and demons converse secretly, right under God”'s nose, in the chasm between heaven and hell, in the moments before dusk becomes night and dawn becomes day.
They are after all, family. Separated not by essence, but by actions. They were all created as the light of God, and if some confirm that light by seeking the darkness, should we be surprised?
Jaime knew better than to take Angel to the hospital, and Ahmed sensed it quickly. Whatever or whoever could beat him that badly, with that kind of impunity, would seek him out to finish the job.… Read the rest “SEARCHING ”“ a Serial Novelle CHAPTER 5: Darkness”
SEARCHING ”“ a Serial Novelle CHAPTER 4: Down
By Patrick Cabello Hansel
Angel could have turned west toward the shelter; could have, probably should have. But he was too intoxicated by the smell of bread, by the sure knowledge that he now knew her name. Luz Maria: the light, and the mother of Christ. It was enough for him to just stand there in the wind and breathe in the world. If you asked him later””if he could remember anything””he would have told you that at that moment his life was complete. He had heard the owl and heard the voice. He had smelled the bread. But now, he had seen her, talked to her, he could almost feel her breath on his skin.
He stood there for a few minutes, his eyes toward the gray sky, his skin almost singing. He tasted the first piece of bread right in front of the store on Lake Street. Bread, even day-old, tastes better when given by the hand that is love. Coffee sweetened by a word, the hint of a smile, christens the heart. Angel would remember the taste of that food for a long time””not in his mind, but in his body.
But maybe it was his body that pointed him in the wrong direction.… Read the rest “SEARCHING ”“ a Serial Novelle CHAPTER 4: Down”
SEARCHING ”“ a Serial Novelle CHAPTER 3: Bread
By Patrick Cabello Hansel
Angel walked west. He had fifty cents and hunger in his pocket, and the latter was outgrowing the former. Where could he go with two quarters, with the strange word that rang in his ear: “lotten”? With the sound of the owl?
He smelled it before he saw the light, softly illuminating traces of snow on the sidewalk. The bakery, named for an angel. The conchos and cuernos and his Mom”'s favorite cookies pulled him in by the nose. Mr. Bussey had told him that the bakery had made the Guinness Book of World Records once, for making the World”'s Largest Dog Biscuit. He remembered that a young girl, shy and pretty, sometimes worked the counter.
When he walked in, she was there, taking an order for a birthday cake from a mother with two kids: tres leches, with Dora the Explorer painted on the frosting. She had on a lilac sweater, with one sleeve pulled up higher than the other. A tiny gold cross hung below her neck. Her dark blue apron was softly floured. After the family left he stood in front of the counter for a long time.
“Buenas tardes”, he finally managed to get out.… Read the rest “SEARCHING ”“ a Serial Novelle CHAPTER 3: Bread”
