I write flash fiction, non-fiction, essays and novels. This month’s Tease is from a work in progress, inspired by Tao Te Ching # 27.
The phlegmatic man silently pondered … if teaching continues, so must learning, correct? And if the good are to teach and the bad to learn, then who will teach the good so their learning continues as well? And then he came to the same conclusion he always did while brushing his teeth and searching for his essence in the bathroom mirror . Man’s objective truths are just God’s subjective truths, and therefore, all of science was simply God changing his mind. And then he had a very good laugh, just as he often did when looking in the mirror.
They finished their breakfast, cleared the table and filled the sink, before heading for the Jeep. Jessie drove with Molly at her side, up front, and Tumbleweed in the back, prepared to tuck with oncoming traffic. There was little and, as they wound down the road toward Deadman, it became obvious why. The whole canyon was filled with a dirty, cornflower haze. Visibility deteriorated with every drop in elevation. The rain from the previous night’s storm had done less to extinguish the wildfires than its wind and lightning had done to stoke them. Overhead, the sound of helicopters and PBY’s droned up and down the valley like worker bees. The acrid stench was potent, stinging Jessie’s nostrils. She removed her sunglasses and pulled her bandana down to wipe across her eyes.
The exit sign. Does it read the same from the other side? No, same door, different purpose.