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<h1>? ky T? </h1>
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<h3>Wedne? , October 17, 2007</h3>
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? ter<
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<di? yle="clear:both;"></div>I was ten years old when? wallowed the fairy.<br /? />Look.? ? r head out of th? others Grimm? ? n't a malicious deed. A ten-? -old child has no contro? ? hether or no? sne? ? /><br />It ? ts, as a? s wi? ? npleasantly pricfeeling ? our ? ? . Th? he intake of? ? shing do? our trachea and ? aring for the convulsion of ? lungs. Then? it all comes, expelling the? eign? ter from? r se? ive schnoz. You've been evicted,? ry.<br /? />---<br /><br />I was twen? hen ? owned.<br /><br />I don't include "nearly." I never do. ? owne? lain and simple. It was ? ? big? e. I? ? dogging, showing off. Life has a fun? hing of taki? our moments of c? ? y an? rnin? ? o a ? age from the? ger ? erse that you're a joke.<br /><br />It came up from behind. Like feeling a f? ? nd bag of concrete m? lamming into? ck. And then coming ? nd a? lamming into? r fa? hen you pitch fo? d. I don't know how my back wasn't broken. Then you'? lung? ? , through that mirror you se? om b? ? 's all blue,? s of light. ? e's ? p. There's no down. ? e's nothing but wate? ? here, an? 's n? here? ? to drink, either.<br /><br ? ? can't b? ? ? ? pare? , neither can fairies.<br /><br />--? /><br />"Yo? allet," the kid said. "I wan? . Now. Or you get this." He brandished a? tle handgun.<br /><br />I ha? han? p. Mugged? Really? This would make a goo? ory--som? . Right now, it ? pretty ? ty. "Okay. Jlet me go fo? ? 's i? back po? , all right?? /><br /? fac? itched. ? as incredibl? ? ed out, looked like. I didn't blame him.? asn't feeling so relaxed? elf.? rn around so I c? atch? tak? ? ."<br /><br />"Well." I said. "A? ? ." I? ned ? nd a? lowly reache? right hand down. Slid into ? t an? abbed ahold of my wa? . Fished it out.<br /><br />He grabbed it right ? . Then it felt like a fifty-pound bag of con? e hit me in the back. Th? he burning began? /><br />---<br /><br />I gasped, getting ready to ask for a? sue. My face? ? sy in those ? , wh? er I sneezed. Snot e? ? e. Really horrible.<br /? />There? a flash of ? e right in f? of my mouth. Th? ? hing? in ? hroat.<br /><br />I choked. At f? , I ? ght I'd swallowed a bug.<br /><br />Then I felt the ? . Th? ere pushing against the walls of my trachea.? tle hands, e? ted,? nding. Then nvulsion. The thing in my th? felt like it was getting bi? and sma? over, and over again.<br /><br ? ? n't until a few moments later that I realized th? ere wings.<br /><br />--? /><br />I couldn't ? it. My lungs we? training. I hadn't h? ime to fill them up with? , and there was no chance, it seemed, no chance at a? hat I would ? be able to find the? face again.<br /? />I breathed in the sal? ? ? , the pl? on. The ocean was within me.<br /><br />I felt my heart beginning to? ? ? ? nded? roared.<br /><br />? . No? heart.<br /? />---<br /><br />I fell on my face. Don't know how my back wasn't broken. I hea? unning f? ? and tho? --you'd ? ? un b? e I catch you. Then the warmth began to ? ? of me. I knew I'd n? ? ch anyone, ever.<br /><br />But the ? ? s we? unning <span? le="? ? le: italic;"? ard</span> me. A man? oice, shouting at someone. S? hing about an ambulance.<br /><br />My h? ? beginni? o flutter. It was pounding.<br /? />No. Not my heart.<br /><br />---<br /? />I think I almost died that day. Air couldn't get through the thing in my windpipe. Tiny f? ? nded on ? rachea, and ? win? ? ched it.? ondered ? his was ? a h? ? ack ? like.<br /><br />I ? ted ? ee black spots and fell ? ard. No ? y-pound bag of c? ete ? time. Just an increasing softness, ? pan style="font-style: italic;">quie? ? pan> to ? ything.<br /? />Suddenly my h? ? e a huge? nd. The blockage? appeared, and I ? somethi? erribly strange in my chest, a f? ering. I? ped refl? ely, and? ? hed in. It felt so good, lik? inki? ? ? er days ? he d? t.<br /><br ? took several minutes of breathing hard before I? ? ull myse? ? her and stan? ? /><br />---<br /><br />I wo? p on the beach.<br /? />"Dude? omeo? aid.? e yoay?"<br /><br />My head ? ? chest hurt. Everything ? ? /><br />"Wha' happened?" I said? ? . There were? ? ound? rs above me.? ealized ? ? e people's h? , bent over me in co? n. One of them moved from si? o side.<br /? />"God damn," it said. ? ? e do? here? a good half? r before I found? u shouldn't be alive."<br /><br />"Yeah, man? aid ? her voice. I dim? ecognize? as belonging to a childhood friend.? ? amazing. You we? ? ? ch dead. Then wh? e la? ou down here? t comes all ? ? er. ? as <span? le="? ? le: italic;">awesome? an>. Like La? s, back from the dead. A fucking? ntain."<br /? />A? ently, fairies d? like to swim.<br /><br />--? /><br /? oke up in the ho? al. ? e was a ? e.<br /><br />"Wha' ? ened?" I said, feeling m? ? /><br />"You've been sedate? ir," he said. "Y? ere mugged, and the guy ? ? . Th? ? pierced? r right lung, and you had to? e emergency surgery." He smiled comforti? . "But d? ? ry. You'll b? st fine.? ? ? been re? ed a? einflated. You'll only be in? e for a ? le of days."<br /><br />? ? lung? "But ? abo? he--" I ? ped myself. The ? ? The fairy? Right. Sure? /><br /? eye? s we? p. "The mugger? ? as caught on camera and arrested. Don't ? y, okay?? t lie back a? ? ."<br /><br />"Well," I said. "D? ? ake the bullet out?"<br /><br />The ? e hesitated. "Yes." Then he sat down? t to the bed and looked at m? ? hetically. "Sir, I know ? ? ? ? trange, but ? might be a ? sing in disguise."<br /><br />"Why?"<br /><br />? as a long minute before ? poke again. "Wel? e found something else in your lung. Somethi? hat wasn't a bullet.? /><br />I felt cold. An...actual fairy? They found it? ? had they done? "What? What ? ou mean?? /><br />He stoo? . "Y? eally should be speaking to ? tor ? t this. ? lie bac? ? , and I'll call him, okay?"<br /? />I grabbed? arm and gripped it tightly. "No. Tell me. What was it? Tell me now!? /><br /? eyes went cold. "Sir. R? e your hand, please.? /><br />I glanced down at his arm, ? ashamed, and remove? . "I? ? ? st--plea? me."<br /><br />? oftened. Sighed. "All right.? ? should get more? ? from your doctor later, okay?" After I nodded, ? ent on. "It appears to have been? ? of some kind. We're? qui? ure ? it was,? it ? ped the bullet from goin? raig? ? ? our lung and? the front of your c? ? might hsaved your life and ? ? from bleeding out."<br /><br />"A...tumor?" I felt numb? /><br />"Well," he said. "A growth. It may not have been ca? ous at all."<br /><br />"So ? ? pened to it?? /><br />The? ? miled, and looked confidential. "Don? ? , sir. We remove? . Your lung's clean and fine? ? 'll be a? ? s before? feel a hundred percent, and? ouldn't go jogging or do? thin? ? ous for a few weeks,? ? 're fine."<br /><br />"It's gone?"<br /><br />He nodded.<br /><br />I felt cold all ? . I coul? think. ? opped back down onto the? pital bed, and felt a flring in my c? . A ? rgence of hope, then I looke? at the EKG machine.<br /><br />? as my heart. And only that.<div style="c? ? ? adding-bottom:0.25em"></div><br />
<div class="byline"? ted by Hugh VanDerGoetz&? ; # <a href? tp://snarky.tumo? b-ab? .com/2007/10? ? ? " title=? manent link">7:47 AM</a>? an c? ? em-c? ol blog-admin pid-1556466247"><a? le="border:none;? ef="? ? ww.blogger.c? ost-? .g?blogID=5131062399532573109&postID=3651100174910764353" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon? ion"? ="" src=? p://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_ag.gif" height="1? idth="18"></a></span> </div>
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