The First Installment of The Vale Series
In the heart of a small town, a young narrator's life was intertwined with the enigmatic figure of Marcus Whale, a boy who lived near them and held a supernatural quality. The narrator first encountered Marcus Whale during a Scouts meeting, a memory that still lingers vividly in their mind.
Marcus was often seen alone, roaming around the estate, a few years older than the narrator. He was dressed in jeans and trainers, and the narrator does not recall ever seeing him in a school uniform. His presence was frequently intimidating, even to those twice his size. The boys in the neighbourhood formed a single organism, a threat, but not a gang as there were no real gangs back then.
The narrator built a fear around the name Marcus Whale, experiencing adrenaline and muscle tension whenever they saw him. This fear was not unfounded, as Marcus was frequently intimidating to others. Yet, despite the intimidation, the narrator found themselves thinking about Marcus, intrigued by the mystery that surrounded him.
The narrator's life was not without its challenges. Their mother was an emaciated presence who lived on cigarettes and jaffa cakes, filling the house with smoke and a thick, desperate emotionless fog. The narrator found it difficult to find friends other than oddballs, deeply religious kids with puritanical parents, and some of them turned out to be dangerous.
Among these challenges, another character, Ian Rook, emerged. Ian was a corporate employee, working in a mental health institution or psychiatric facility. The narrator's encounters with Ian were marked by a hostile and threatening energy.
In contrast, Lori, another character in the narrator's life, slept in white cotton pyjamas. The narrator often found themselves visualizing their demons hanging down like bats from the ceiling, yearning to dream about joy riding to feel the tingle of immortality. However, they found that dreams could not be summoned, they were gifted to you.
As the narrator reflects on these memories, they cannot help but feel a sense of nostalgia for the cheap glory of those days. They remember differently, and everyone's memory is warped and swallowed by all the circumstances which follow. Yet, the memories of Marcus Whale, Ian Rook, and Lori remain, etched in their mind, a testament to a time long past.
Now, all the best things have to be purchased with money, and the only way back is through unconsciousness, but those dreams cannot be summoned, they are gifted to you. The narrator yearns to escape the tower and terrafirma, wanting to run and run, run off the edge and float away into outer space. But for now, they hold onto the memories of their past, cherishing the moments that have shaped their life.
