Well, that might have been a bit of a flash there, but 2019 was hitting high and hard quite quickly. I had just burned out those five stories between late November and December and had begun the new year with a story ripped out in a week. I was feeling quite positive and these Tales, especially writing them on early morning shifts, were keeping me sane from the bat-shit nonsense that was work... basically the failure to keep a 4th person on staff in my department leaving me stretched too far too long while still doing the whole single-dad-of-autistic-child bit. These Tales were my moment of sanity and peace... ironic as that may sound considering the subject matter I was playing with.
Now, the inspiration for this Tale which I am about to tell about was one of the many dropped hints found in my third story, "I'll Always be With You, Boys". That story is predominately a conversation and there is one small section therein which has plagued me since I wrote it. I know why this was on my mind, this little bit (hopefully) unnoticed (seriously, it is not meant to be noticed), and that is because of the checks I had made into that story in preparation of "Forgiven". For that story, as I was looking in on the Jeffords and Arn reference, I found this disappearing hint hiding not too far distant. That caused me to wonder why William made that sour face and looked away as he answered Alexander, declaring in softest terms that no, he had not ever seen any of these men lost in the mines but the one they claimed was one of the Kroeger brothers and then his eyesight is poor at evening light.
I suspected something.
"Come With Me, Dear" is actually a rather tender little Tale. It comes in at 1,834 words, at this point my 2nd shortest story... and there is no hidden meaning to the word "tender" either. It is kind of sweet it it's own way (and no, "sweet" isn't a loaded word either... I'm not that bad). I was given a deep dive into Nesmith's private life, a moment unfortunately common and always hard on the heart. (sigh... I might have told one bad joke too many)
In all seriousness, this is a nice story and that is an odd word to use with the Tales of the Bajazid. Horror can have a hea... can reveal depth of character and their capacity for emotion in the face of the incomprehensible
Whew! I can go with that one 'cause, well, it's actually quite accurate. One other thing I can state with accuracy is the date of completion of this story... January 13, 2019. I was now two weeks into the year with two solid stories done. I was wondering if I should revise my goal. I was also fearing what potential rabbit hole, or mine shaft, waited for me if this pace proved precedent.
William Nesmith is one of my oldest characters and one whom I've developed an actual fondness for. Oh, he has some horrible personality traits and is in no way a noble or heroic figure... it's just, for all his loathsome traits, he's definitely not the worst guy in Baird's Holler... not by an extremely long shot.
For Valentine's Day this year, I'd like to offer everyone the opportunity to learn what tragic secret William Nesmith has hidden away. You can find this Tale, "Come With Me, Dear" in Fear and Fables by Stormy Island Publishing.
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