Henry Franks A Novel - By Peter Adam Salomon Page 0,26

softer than a whisper, and then she was gone.

When he looked out his window, the sharp angle blocked any possible view of the stoop where his father had left the food, and too many trees to count covered Justine’s house in shadows too dark to see through. Henry lay down, but when he closed his eyes, he saw the black-and-white pictures of Frank playing in a loop through his memories. He dug his palms into his eyes, trying to banish the photographs, but only managed to start a nosebleed from the movement.

Once more, he fished the tissues out of the garbage. He watched shadows cross the ceiling while squeezing his nose shut to stem the blood.

Frank Franks?

“Henry Franks.” He spoke so softly the words were nothing more than a breath of sound, but neither of the names sounded familiar.

Sleep fought him off for a long time, his numb hand resting uselessly on his chest. Just as he thought he might be about to fall asleep, he jerked awake. A quiet hissing sound, high-pitched and frustrated, cut through the hum of the air-conditioning. Henry rolled over, pulling the pillow over his head to drown out the noise.

Elizabeth is there, waiting for me. Her smile, meant for me alone, brings out the sun from behind the low clouds racing across the sky. In my arms, she’s light as a feather, floating free and away and I can only watch as the shadows return. Still, she smiles, always smiling, and in return, I smile back. It’s the least I can do.

The park is filled with kids, strollers sailing down the riverbanks into the sunset until Elizabeth and I are almost alone. A knife-edge of lightning slices through the clouds, down and down until there is nothing between the energy and the earth but me.

“Daddy, no!” Elizabeth screams as I burn alive.

She is there, waiting for me with a smile. A balloon pops in the distance. Shreds of red latex flutter to the ground in the hazy sunshine. Another. Scraps wrap around my skin.

Pop!

I swallow the balloons, the colors mixing and merging into blackness.

“Daddy, no!”

She is there. I run to her but can’t reach her side. She smiles, but not for me. Laughs, at me, but I can’t hear a sound. Water bubbles out of my mouth as I try to call her name. Between us, fish swim in and out of view with long tails and each of them smiles at me as they float by. The hook catches the edge of my lips, tugging upwards until I am finally smiling with them.

“Daddy, no!” Elizabeth screams as I drown.

She is nowhere to be found. I search an empty park on a day with no sun and a night with no moon in a sky with no clouds. In the distance, I hear her scream ‘Daddy!’ but I can’t find her. I run so fast I barely touch the ground, until I forget how to run at all and trip over feet I no longer recognize and no longer feel.

Someone’s there, helping me up, but it’s not my daughter. Too old, and I can’t see her face in the shadows and I can’t focus on her. She’s there, keeping secrets from me and hiding Elizabeth away and I can’t stop myself from hating her even as she tries to help me.

“Daddy, no!” Elizabeth screams in the distance as I wrap someone else’s fingers around the stranger’s throat.

“Daddy, no!” until the woman dies in my arms and the screams are finally silent and I am alone in an empty park on a night with no moon.

NOAA Alert: Tropical Storm

Erika Aiming for United States

Miami, FL—August 22, 2009: Tropical Storm Erika is gaining strength and could become a hurricane by tomorrow or Monday afternoon, according to the latest National Hurricane Center reports.

Data from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter airplane revealed that Erika’s wind speed has increased to 70 mph, with gusts even stronger.

The storm system, recently formed off the coast of Africa, is projected to reach landfall in the Caribbean within the week at its present speed.

Local Resident Survives Beating

Brunswick, GA—August 22, 2009: Brunswick Police Department spokesperson Carmella Rawls has confirmed that Elijah Suarez, 27, of Blythe Island, GA, was evacuated by helicopter to Memorial Hospital in Savannah late Friday evening. Suarez, co-owner of SSI Landscaping, was found on the St. Simons Island beach at low tide. Initial reports are that he suffered severe trauma and was unresponsive when emergency personnel arrived at the scene.

“At this