The Flesh Statue Book Excerpt

The Flesh Statue

BOOK EXCERPT FROM THE FLESH STATUE BY U.L. HARPER

"Your grandfather left us a while ago, when the disease took over his mind. Then again... If he was here this whole time, did he want to be here? He'd move-on, on his own time. He'd leave us when he wanted. Couldn't keep him against his will, if I knew him any."

            To Langley, how this situation summed itself up seemed all too close to what he remembered from some class discussion he had on the sacred cow. The cow was sacred mostly because of all it could offer society—dairy products and such. The bull on the other hand, which was basically only good for mating, well, they let it die because they didn’t need so many of them. To his Grandma, Grandpa had served his use with the world or maybe just served his use to her, and because she couldn't watch his useless carcass wither in an expensive hospital, she let what was no longer useful just die. She didn't kill it. She let him starve and become weak so he'd "move on" a little faster, at his own choice, perhaps.

            "You know what I feel?" she said, finally taking a glance at Langley. "I feel free." She took a deep breath. "That's why you should go to college. You'll find some teacher that'll ask you good questions, like what freedom is. My philosophy teacher asked me that. What is freedom, he asked. That whole class was over my head. fifty some odd years later, I can answer that question out of experience."

            This caught his ear. He could save himself about fifty years of thinking if he just listened now. Langley tried to yawn as to clear his ears as much as possible.

            "Everything certain already happened to me,” she said. “You know what I think freedom is? Having no expectations. I don't have a goal in front of me, and it's scary. I have a lot of life in me." She was ready to cry again. "Too much life."

            "You're young for your age. That's what I think."

            "Too much time to do too much by myself."

            "I'm about twenty and I feel like I'm almost out of time. Here you are at, how old are you?"

            "Freedom is having nothing to grasp on to,” she said. “Having no basis for anything, having no point and no reason. No reason at all. None," she waved her hand at him. "None."

            "In the end, we'll all be free, then?"

            "Who's we?"

            "Everybody."

            "Everybody will be free if they live long enough to have nothing to look forward to. I hope that's not what all this really is, come to find out." Then she stood and casually stepped towards the door. She said, "Are you fine to make your own meal tonight?"

            "Grandma," he said. "Grandpa’s not dead is he?"

            "Make some for Latrail. We're expecting her. I'm going to ride the bus somewhere."

            "What do you mean ride the bus?"

            "I need to be away from here for a little while. I'll be back." She left the room, not looking back. "And Langley," she said from the dining room, "don't walk Grandpa."

            For quite some time Langley sat there peeling his eyes at Grandpa, indecisive on whether this man was dead or not. Surely no one could stay in one place for that long, alive. Then again, he didn't check for a pulse. Grandpa’s chest wasn't going up and down like it would if he were breathing, something people did when they were alive. Langley couldn't gather the motivation to leave the room. Something, he couldn't tell what, kept him there. In this time, he didn't think too much about the outside world. He wondered how Grandpa’s skin felt. How he slouched in the wheelchair—was he weighted differently?

            Gravity pulled Grandpa towards the floor, the grave, as he inched lower in his wheelchair, kind of sinking per minute. Grandma had cleaned the dead man before sitting him there, like a flesh statue. When it finally settled in that his Grandpa was dead, Langley's back went stiff. He remembered tiny pieces of memory. Not whole moments.

            There was the time having the flu and Grandpa telling him that people used to die of the flu. Its full name was Influenza. Learning to drive a car. Being made fun of because of his car. He and Latrail playing with each other when they were young enough for him to push her on her chest and there not being any breasts there. Langley being bashful at Grandpa saying Langley had a crush on Latrail.

            A car pulling up in the driveway shook him from his memories. He didn't bother to see who it was. A moment later, the door rattled with a knock. If Latrail had been dropped off by her mom she could let herself in.

            Sometimes Grandpa pretended he was on the air at the radio station and acted like Langley was a guest on his show. As a guest on the show, a young Langley confessed to wanting to be a professional basketball player. In reality, he didn't like the sport all that much. Then again, he couldn't think of another job he might want to do. That, and Grandpa, back when he had a healthy pot belly and not a sagging one, loved sports, and Langley didn't want to let him down. Besides, Langley loved going to the Dodger games, especially when Grandpa would suddenly decide that they had to go, "pronto". Grandpa might not have wanted to go if he knew he didn't like sports too much to begin with. The fact was that Langley had been so well pampered his whole life—now he knew this—that he thought his grandparents would always be there to take care of him. Not true. Not true at all.

Grandpa was a starved bull.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

U.L. Harper was born in Los Angeles California. However, he was raised in the public school system in Long Beach California. He attended Lincoln and Madison Elementary and moved to San Pedro where he attended Richard Henry Dana Junior High School. For the last few months of junior high he moved back to Long Beach where he attended Franklin Junior High School. He then went to Long Beach Poly where they told him he wouldn't be anything when he grew up and that he wasn't allowed to take a creative writing class. The teachers called him stupid. At least before 1993.

U.L. originally went to college for journalism. He got his feet wet at UCLA (University of Cypress Lincoln Avenue). But his writing started as a part time slam poet, moving around different cities cursing at the audience in the name of art and style. His writing continued as writer and Editor in Chief for the Cypress Chronicle.

You can find U.L. Harper at www.ulharper.com

In Blackness – Book Spotlight and Chapter Excerpt

In Blackness Book Tour

About In Blackness

As children, Lenny’s and Saline’s parents brought them to Southern California to escape the nightmares. But after their parents die in a horrible car accident, their adoption by longtime family friend, Busek, proves nightmarish in its own right. Busek is abusive to his son, Dustin, and does very little to hold the young family together. The trio of kids become friends and grow up as a family. Outwardly, they are unruffled by life’s events, yet as teens the emotional aftermath of Saline and Lenny’s parents’ deaths lingers and eventually catapults Lenny and Saline on individual journeys back to their old hometown.

Saline journeys with a small church group which has regular excursions to her old hometown in Lowery, Washington. She discovers the group is protecting a powerful secret that will change her life.

Lenny, on the other hand, becomes stranded in King City. There, he meets someone who unexpectedly and unknowingly guides him to a place in Washington where something might be waiting for him. Impulsively, he makes his way there and discovers that the simple world he has been living in is vastly different from what he could have ever imagined   

Meanwhile, Dustin remains in Southern California and meets a group of youth who stumble upon the city's plan to replace the local library with a jail. In the process of this discovery they learn of one of the largest secrets society has ever kept, a secret waiting for them underground, in blackness.

 About U. L. Harper

U.L. Harper is an after-school program Site Director in Long Beach, California. Over one hundred students attend his program. He previously worked as a corporate manager, and a journalist for a now defunct news agency in Los Alamitos, California. Newspapers are part of his writing background but he also dabbled in poetry. His poetry is published in The Body Politic chapbooks. He is the author of In Blackness, The Flesh Statue and the short story book Guidelines for Rejects. You can visit U.L. at http://ulharper.com/

Read the Excerpt

Death in the Family

Today, for a little while, the kids watched Dustin work in the backyard, “making it look like a yard” so Busek said. For one thing, the grass had to be cut. Secondly, fertilizer needed to be laid down to make the grass grow in the dry part of the backyard. Dustin had to get all of this started. Lenny and Saline didn’t need to help. Sally made sure of this. After a while, instead of working, Lenny and Saline went off with Dirty Larry into the area behind their house, if for no other reason, to watch Dirty Larry do Dirty Larry stuff.

Somebody had pushed an abandoned car into the area. It lay derelict, not down towards Gaffey but in the other direction, towards Bandini Street School.

“Wasn’t me,” said Dirty Larry.

The old Plymouth had faded paint, some rusted spots, and two flat tires. Outside of that it looked perfectly fine to most anyone observing. Larry didn’t think so. Apparently the windshield needed smashing. He found an eight foot long metal pipe and walked with Saline and Lenny back to the car where he began pummeling the windshield. The size and weight of the pipe made this task difficult. That and the fact that the windshield wouldn’t break.

Breathing heavy, Larry asked Lenny for help. “It’s not as easy as it looks.”

Lenny thought about it for a second. “I’ll be in the back.”

Saline bit her lip. “Lenny.”

“Real quick,” he responded.

Larry, with dirt from the pipe sitting atop his head and with his knees ashy with dust and his shirt covered in muck, offered the back end of the pipe to Lenny. Larry grabbed the front end, and together they ran the pipe towards the windshield, as if attacking castle walls. When they came within striking distance they attempted plunging the pipe into the windshield. They didn’t even scrape it, though they did get a good laugh.

When they were ready to attack it again, Saline joined in, holding the pipe between them. All of them rushed the castle walls, carrying on their shoulders the huge piece of rusty pipe that they could barely fit their third and fourth grade hands around. This time, when the pipe hit the windshield, it bounced off with a thud.

Hunched over and exhausted, Larry leaned on his knees. “They just break in the movies.”

“Let’s try one more time,” Lenny suggested.

Saline stared at the palms of her hands as if they were growing right before her eyes. “My hands hurt.”

As the boys discussed a better way to plow the pipe into the windshield, Dustin walked down the small hill to where they were.

Lenny smiled when he saw Dustin. “They let you out,” he yelled to him.

“They went to the store,” Dustin said, taking a good look at the car and then at the pipe Lenny held straight up and down. “Let me try.”

Excited by Dustin’s enthusiasm, they all grabbed the pipe. Lenny stood in front, Saline after Lenny, followed by Dirty Larry and Dustin. With the pipe, they all ran toward the car as fast as they could, yelling as if going into battle. Once again the pipe bounced off the windshield.

“Fuck,” Dustin said.

“I know,” added Larry. “It’s tough.”

“I don’t think they break,” Lenny said. “Has anyone ever even seen a broken windshield?”

Dustin responded, “I have.”

“When?”

“Right now.” Then he took the pipe, hoisted it above his head, stepped back a few steps and swung it as if it were a huge baseball bat, down on the windshield.

The windshield cracked.

Larry got inspired. “One more time!”

They all grabbed the pipe, holding it above their shoulders and ran with everything they had towards the car. Finally, the entire windshield collapsed under their will. They cheered and high fived each other.

“Lenny! Saline! What are you doing?” Charles yelled this from the top of the small hill. “Oh my god, what are you doing?”

Busek appeared, gazing on with a straight face.

Dustin kicked the dirt. “Fuck.”

Grounded, the three were made to stay at home that night instead of going to the movies like the adults had planned. The adults still went to the show. If the kids needed anything they were to go next door to Larry’s house. Mrs. Tinsley would pop in, in a few minutes and do the babysitting thing. Until then she was still available next door. Usually they didn’t need babysitting. In light of today’s events they had one.

“I didn’t want to go to any movie anyway,” Dustin said. “I’ll see it later.”

“You’re lucky your dad didn’t hit you,” Lenny said.

“He won’t hit me; he’ll beat me. And I don’t care.”

Lenny sat on the living room couch, frustrated.

Saline sulked next to him. “There’s no way we’re going to be grounded for a month.”

Lenny repetitively patted the couch.

“What’s wrong?” she said to him.

“Boring.”

“It’s not boring,” Dustin said. “It’s hungry. It’s your turn, Saline.” He referred to cooking dinner. According to Busek, whenever they were alone they were supposed to make their own meals. Recently that idea got pushed up a notch, in that the kids took turns making dinner for everyone.

Saline said, “Let’s wait for Mrs. Tinsley.”

“Why? It’s your turn, not hers,” Dustin said.

Apprehensively agreeing, she made her way into the kitchen. On the counter was a tall cup of water. She lifted it to make space for the pot for the macaroni and cheese.

In the kitchen with her, Dustin asked her to hand the cup to him. “I boiled that water.”

She handed it to him. “For what?”

“See if it tastes better. I just have to wait a minute.”

Saline proceeded in making the macaroni and cheese right out of the box. She boiled the water and dumped in the noodles. After she cooked the noodles, all the while stirring them so they didn’t stick together, she drained the water from the pot by putting them in a strainer. Next she placed the noodles back in the pot where she dumped a packet of powdered “cheese”. She then added a half a block of butter and some milk to the noodles and “cheese” and stirred. “It’s ready!”

Saline served the food for each of them, and they ate it in front of the television.

A few moments later, Mrs. Tinsley knocked. She let herself in the front door, slowly, almost suspiciously, as if she were actually sneaking in. “Don’t get scared. It’s me guys. How are things?” She had on her house slippers and a bright pink bathrobe with a beige trim. One roller in the bangs of her hair.

“Good,” Saline said.

“Good? Good. I see you’re eating. Listen I’m going to take care of some stuff. If you need me I’ll be next door. You guys know my number?”

“Yeah,” Saline said, not sure where to find Mrs. Tinsley’s number.

“Okay. I’ll see you guys later.”

They finished their macaroni.

Every so often Dustin checked to see if the water tasted different if he heated it for longer periods of time.

Saline asked him, “Why are you doing that?”

“Does it matter?”

“I don’t know. Why are you doing it?”

“Dad tells me I should learn to clean water because sometime soon we might not even have running water. You guys aren’t discipline enough to do it. I have his bloodline…so I’m just practicing. I bet if I heated it at warm instead of hot then it could still get clean. I’ll know if it’s clean water by how it tastes.”

“Can you tell?” she asked.

“So far, I can’t tell, no matter how many cups I drink.”

Hours later, Lenny went to the door and gazed out the window. “They’re not coming home.”

Dustin didn’t respond.

Saline shook her head.

A little while later, Lenny found his way to Mrs. Tinsley’s place, because where were their parents? At her door Mrs. Tinsley told him, “I’m sorry. I have no idea where they are. Here, give me a minute and I’ll come right on over, okay. Are you guys okay?”

“Yes, Mrs. Tinsley.”

“Good. Good. I’ll be right on over.”

A few hours later the kids still wondered where their parents were. They heard the front door open. Busek entered the house with Mrs. Tinsley and not their parents.

Saline quickly asked, “Where’s Mom and Dad?”

Neither of the adults answered.

“Where’s Mom and Dad?” Lenny said. He turned to look at Mrs. Tinsley who stood nearly motionless in her robe and slippers.

Busek closed his eyes and held his hand out like a crossing guard. “Now, stop. Hold on. Now, just listen.” He put his other hand over his eyes, as if hiding something, though really shielding nothing except the expression on his face.

“They’re not here,” Mrs. Tinsley said.

Drinking all that warm water made Dustin need to urinate. He did an awkward jog in place, all the while not speaking. He continued his little jog, quickly moving his feet.

Lenny stood.

“Stay seated, young man,” Mrs. Tinsley said. “You too, Saline. Have a seat. Dustin, what’s going on with you?”

Dustin moved around quickly in a small circle. “Nothing.”

“Well.” Busek removed his hand from his face, revealing glossed over eyes.

“Kids,” Mrs. Tinsley began, “your parents were in a terrible car accident.” She glanced at Busek. “I don’t know what to say.” She looked back at the kids. “Understand?”

A hairspray commercial played on the television. Your hair could stay in place, no matter the weather. “It’s not good,” Mrs. Tinsley said, biting her bottom lip.

Dustin stood still and turned his head at the wall, staring at it, expressionless with pursed lips.

Saline gazed hard at Busek.

Mrs. Tinsley still bit her bottom lip, looking up at the ceiling in thought. “I don’t know how to do this, and I’m not going to. I thought I could,” she said, staring at Busek, “but I can’t do this for you.”

Busek, who had his eyes closed, opened them wide and scanned Mrs. Tinsley and the kids.

“I’m not going to,” Mrs. Tinsley said again. When she took a long glance at the kids in the room, her mouth opened and sincerity spilled out. “Your parents died in that car accident. I’m sorry.” She whispered, “I’m so sorry.” She said it, clasping her hands together, as if attempting to keep them from shaking.

Saline ran over to Busek, opened her mouth and screamed, “You did this!”

He bent over to say something to her. Before he could say anything she slapped him. Out of reflex, he slapped her back so hard that she hunched over involuntarily, grabbing her face. Busek apologized to her, however, only in his head.

The whaling screams that erupted from Saline sent Mrs. Tinsley to her knees and by Saline’s side, petting her shoulders. When Saline began convulsing in tears, Mrs. Tinsley turned and left, emotionally defeated.

Lenny chomped down on his teeth.

Not being able to hold it any longer, Dustin pissed his pants.

Book Information

Title of Book: In Blackness

ISBN: 978-1-61434-441-4 

Genre: fiction literature/ sci-fi

Publisher: www.BookLocker.com

Publication Date: June 23, 2011

# of Pages: 286

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