Today, we would like to congratulate Author C. Desert Rose on the release of ...
Even the moon has secrets …
Traversing the globe—from Louisiana, USA to New Zealand—on an enterprise to discover the hidden secrets of the moon, Nethanyel finds that everything may not be as it seems. Accompanied by a consequential companion named Jax, Nethanyel is taken to a place … even a time … that he would have never expected.
Set in the year 1940, is Nethanyel’s Lady Lune exploration, fate or both?
Excerpt:
“Bartender …?” Nethanyel called, his voice drenched in the quintessential inflection of the Bayou—a collective accentuation of English, French and Creole. Tapping his glass twice on the counter he indicated that he wanted a refill. Nethanyel was a quiet person; always collected and controlled. Wise men were strong, calm and reticent, or so his father had taught him. Nevertheless, Nethanyel preferred to be that way, for in a multitude of words sin does not lack.
The bartender turned to Nethanyel, slipping him another drink. It was at a moment like this—when he could sit quietly to enjoy his drink—that Nethanyel thanked the heavens that he was a mere child during the Prohibition. Now, a man could enjoy a hard drink after a long day’s work.
Nethanyel could hear someone stumbling in, drunk and disorderly. This was nothing new. Things like this happened in bars all the time. What happened next was new however. The man who had barged in obnoxiously called, “Bartender, pour me a cold one, would ya?” Nethanyel considered that the man had a funny accent, but could not place it and furthermore said nothing. He didn’t so much as turn around to acknowledge the drunken bastard.
The bartender poured the stranger his drink, as the man came waltzing over to sit right next to Nethanyel. “You’re not from around here.” the bartender commented matter-of-factly.
“No, my good man. Indeed I'm not,”
“Where from?”
“Far from here, my good sir. Oceans away ...” he said as he extended his arm, waving it in one large circle towards the horizon.
“That didn't answer my question,” the bartender was an older man. I’m too damn old to play “name that accent” with this fool, thought the bartender. So he kept his conversations straight and to the point.
“Ah, well,” the odd stranger commented with a subtlety that made the words slip off his tongue, “I am from New Zealand, mate.”
“Why you callin' me 'mate'? You don't even know me.” the bartender said in an unvarnished tone then turned his back to the drunkard.
Feeling the awkwardness of the moment the man’s eye shot to the floor and then looked around the room, lifting his glass to whom ever made eye contact with him. Tilting his body’s weight into Nethanyel, he murmured, “Lively crowd we got here.” sarcasm absolute.
“Mhm.” Nethanyel hummed. Why must idiots like this insist on bugging me?Nethanyel pondered, then attempted to turn away from the man. No luck.
“Well …” the man huffed “it must be the weather then,” thinking his comeback was funny. It wasn’t. Extending his hand towards Nethanyel and offering a handshake, the inebriated man attempted to introduce himself. Nethanyel was in no mood for chit-chat, formalities, or anything of the sort. Nethanyel grabbed his drink, offering his back as a response to the drunk nitwit’s attempt.
Not catching on to the hint, the inebriated fellow maneuvered his already extended hand to Nethanyel’s shoulder and patted it, then continued with his conversation, “Jax here. Nice to meet you.” Then intentionally talked through his teeth, “Not that I actually met you, or anybody else for that matter. Wow! And I thought that Louisiana was a friendly place. You know? Considering the Mardi Gras and all.”
By now Nethaniel was very uncomfortable, so he stood up, taking his drink along with him and sat a few feet away. Attempting to find a new chatting partner Jax, the intoxicated New Zealander, turned to the bartender once more and asked cynically, “So are parties this lively all the time?”
“Just about.” the bartender replied with a nod. Noticing that Jax wasn't going to give up on trying to form conversation he asked, “What brings you to Louisiana? It's not Mardi Gras season.”
“Yes, yes. That I'm well aware of, mate. I've actually come to America to do some research. Louisiana, is merely where the boat docked. So, here I am. Tah-dah!”
“Oh.” was all the bartender replied, not once asking Jax to elaborate. Truth be told, he wasn’t even interested.
Jax continued, “You see, I'm doing some research on the moon. There is an old legend where I'm from that talks about the moon. However, I'm told that there are more resources here than there are back home. I intend on finding those resources and taking full advantage of them. The moon really is quite interesting, actually.”
Nethanyel's ears tuned into Jax's conversation. The moon? Yeah, that's what he said, Nethanyel thought. Picking up his glass he walked back over to Jax.
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