* This is not a real game. Please don’t try this; you will get a ticket. And no one wants to pay a fine instead of receiving a present for your next gift giving occasion.
Well, I heard a new one —- ticket tag. As I was loading my car at Wal-Mart, a woman was talking to someone. I’m guessing on the phone. She had gotten pulled over at a gas station. And her car was towed. “You would have come and got me? Wouldn’t you?” She said a name. Then said, “I don’t have time for f—-ing games. I’m not playing ticket tag.”
Rules for ticket tag:
1. Get pulled over. Who cares why. Run a stop sign. Run a red light. “But officer, that light was yellow. Honest.”Don’t wear your seat belt. Texting. Be creative. Channel your inner race car driver.
2. Let there be something wrong with your car. No tags. No insurance. Busted tail light. *Sorry folks, your mode of transportation being held together by bungee cords and duck tape is not a ticketable offense as long as all lights are visible.
3. Antagonize the officer. Not enough to go to jail, remember you just want a ticket. Have super bad breath. Eat. Ignore the officer’s existence after you’ve been pulled over. Answer the phone. Cuss, fuss. Insult the officers intelligence. Have fun with it.
Congratulations! You have a ticket. Plus court cost. 💸
You get extra points it your mode of transportation gets impounded. 💸
Borrow, beg, (don’t go as far as to steal) a ride. Repeat rules 1 thru 3. Now, you’re playing ticket tag.
Have fun. Go wild. Just don’t get arrested or its game over.
*This is not a real game. Please don’t try this you will get a ticket. And no one wants to pay a fine instead of receiving a present for your next gift giving occasion. It would be worse than having to buy new tires on your birthday or a new battery at Christmas.
They all met for breakfast the next morning. The Queen Mother smiled, “Lady Kessa.”
Kessa bowed her head, “my lady.”
“I’m so glad you could join us.”
Kol pulled out a chair for his mother. She sat down. “Thank you.”
Then he pulled out a chair for Kessa as he cracked his little sideways grin. “Thank you.”
He sat down then Frego sat down. “You watched us fight yesterday, what did you think Lady Kessa?”
“You understand why Max wouldn’t give you a break when you requested one?”
“Yes, my enemy will not give me a break.”
“Your enemy will try to find and exploit any weakness they can.”
“I understand.”
“You are doing well. You’re form is good. Foot work is spot on. I would encourage you to watch your temper. Many times you would take a deep breath and come in with vigor. That is a good way to wear yourself out. Always remember to pace your fight. You want to make sure to have the strength to fight all day if the situation calls for it.”
“All day!” He protested.
Kol laughed. “Be glad she’s not the one you’re fighting. You,” he shook his finger at her; “almost broke my leg in a fight.”
Kessa just smiled and blushed.
Everyone was laughing and talking. The Queen Mother was watching Kol with interest but to Kessa it didn’t feel like a look of love. It felt creepy and made her skin crawl. She did her best to hide her discomfort.
Kessa was standing at the water’s edge. The waves kissing her feet.
“What would it take for you not to do that?”
“How far do you think I would make it, my king?”
“Your upper body strength would get you half way there.”
“And then?”
Kol sighed. “With your leg hurt, I don’t think you have the ability to make it all the way to that land mass.” It hurt him to say that. “If you want to try, can I ask you to wait until tomorrow?” She said nothing. “Mother said the room that was prepared for you was untouched last night.”
“True.”
“Where did you sleep?”
She started walking away. He followed her around the beach. The cane wasn’t working very well in the sand. But she didn’t complain. They came to a cave where candles were burning. With great difficulty she set down to start a fire. Kol looked around, last night wasn’t the first night she had slept here.
“Is this where you slept when we came here before?”
“When not on duty.” He started to speak. She stopped him. “Sit, please.” He did. “Close your eyes and listen.” To his ears came the crackling of the fire. The rolling of the waves. Water crashing against the rocks. A slight breeze was blowing. Drops of water were trickling down on rocks. When he opened his eyes, she was staring at him.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Not that I don’t appreciate the room or the company; I feel like I need this right now.” She put her hands on top of the cane, “there is a lot here for me to process.”
“Why can’t we help you?”
She took a deep breath, “I don’t know how.”
He got up and set down beside of her. “Does this mean that you have stopped wrestling with God?”
She blushed, “I knew you read that.”
“Kessa, let me help you.” He pleaded. “We can figure this out together.”
“What do we do first, my king?”
“First,” he stood, holding out his hands to her: “while this is nice and I understand the reasoning, you are going to a real bed under a real roof?” He put out the fire and blew out the candles.
“You do realize it is going to take me all night to make it up to the house?”
He stopped. Dear God, this was the problem. She was afraid. He kissed her. She didn’t have the strength to or the want to – to protest.
All she really wanted to do was cry. He scooped her up in his arms, “this is how.” He felt her tense up. She accidently scratched him when she went to put her arm around his neck. “Kessa, you’re still hurting. I could tell it was hurting you to walk but to the touch?” She didn’t answer him, couldn’t. There was a ball of pain lodged in her throat. If she would have spoken, it would have been a scream.
He sat her on the edge of the bed in the room that was prepared for her. Then knelt in front of her. “Are you okay?” She shook her head yes. But tears streamed down her face. He gently wiped them away. “I’m sorry.”
Through gritted teeth she finally spoke, “thank you. I’ll be okay, my king.”
“If you need anything, please let me know.”
“Of course.”
He kissed the top of her hand and left. “See you at breakfast.”
I’m standing on the ground at the entrance to a restaurant. This glass ceiling is above our heads. It has been surrounded by a very high brick wall. But this plant has found a way. Life has found away. Taken with an iPhone.
Frego and Max were fighting on the beach. Kessa sat just in the distance watching them. Kol sat down beside her. “What did you do with the Behemoth?”
“God told me to take it to the North Woods.”
“Max met us on the trail so he didn’t go with you.”
“No, my king.”
“So you took a Behemoth to the North Woods by yourself. I guess God told you to do that?”
“Yes.”
“Did God tell you not to tell me? You always tell me. Or did I forget that too?” He hissed.
“No.”
“God didn’t tell you not to tell me.” He was upset.
“I guess I was embarrassed. I didn’t figure out what killed those people.”
“Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?”
“With every step we took, my king.” They watched the fighting for a moment. Frego tried to call a break but Max wouldn’t let him. “Remember those two women that were fighting over the baby?”
“How can I forget?”
“I have had them watched.” Kol raised an eyebrow.
“More than Pai?”
“No, I was curious how one of them got hold of explosives.”
“What have you learned?”
“The grand duke has been seen with both of them. He alternates between the two.”
“What does it mean?”
“It could mean any number of things. The explosives were meant for him not you. The baby is his. This was his way of getting rid of it. The grand duke was just a distraction from the real point.”
Kol thought for a while; “what is that white liquid Rajaf keeps anointing you with?”
She smirked, “anointing?”
“What else would you call it?”
“Certainly not anointing. Medicine. I have no idea what it is.”
“Oh, let me guess; God told him how to make it.
“You will have to ask him. And I’m sure that is what he’s going to say.” Max finally let Frego take a break. They both sat in the sand. “What happened to your faith? You used to have such strong faith?”
“I guess that’s something else I forgot.” He said in a hateful tone and left.
Poetry & More 