Read Online In Fond Remembrance of Me by Howard Norman - Free Book Online Page A

for your stories, I won’t ever think of Noah—
MN:
—oh, him .
HN:
I won’t ever think of Noah in the same way. The rest of my life.
MN:
All he ever had to do was give up some animals and pry off a plank of wood.
HN:
You didn’t allow him to do that. In your stories, I mean.
MN:
Noah didn’t allow it.
HN:
But they’re your stories, Mark. So—
MN:
I don’t own them. I only tell them. ( Pause .) When do you think I’ll get the rest of my money for telling them?
HN:
Soon. Let’s say in two weeks. I’ll see to it, Mark.
MN:
Helen has already paid me.
HN:
Yes, she told me.
MN:
You liked the stories, eh?
HN:
Very much. I was lucky to hear them.
MN:
All that good plank-wood—
HN:
—what?
MN:
All he had to do was pry up a plank. Everybody would have got through winter.

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    A BAD THING IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN
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    One day some men came back from fishing. They said, “There’s a big wooden boat out there!” Everyone in the village went down to look. They stood by the sea. “Yes, there it is.” A group of men paddled out in kayaks to the boat.
    It began to snow.
    When they got to the boat, one shouted, “Hey—what kind of boat is this?”
    â€œGo away!” a man shouted down.
    â€œWhat’s your name?”

    â€œNoah!”
    â€œIs your family with you?”
    â€œYes,” said Noah. Then three people were standing next to him. “Here they are—my wife, son, and daughter.”
    â€œNoah,” said a village man, “you should come to our village—now! A bad thing is about to happen.”
    â€œGo away.”
    â€œWhat’s this big boat called, anyway?”
    â€œAn ark.”
    â€œNoah, leave this ark—a bad thing is about to happen.”
    â€œWhat’s that smell?” a man said. “It’s not seals.”
    â€œThere’s a lot of animals on my ark. After long travels on this boat, they stink.”
    â€œThrow them down to us. We’ll kill them and eat them. What do they taste like?”
    â€œMy family doesn’t eat them,” this Noah said.
    This caused a lot of talk amongst the villagers. “What? What? What?”
    Then someone sniffed the air. “Hey! Hey—the stink is gone!”
    Noah went below to look, and when he returned, he said, “The animals are gone. Somebody took them. A bad thing just happened.”
    â€œIt has to be the shaman. He’s been nearby some days now,” a villager said.
    â€œWhy would he steal my animals?” said Noah.
    â€œBecause he doesn’t want you here. He hates your ark. He’s probably tasting a few of your animals right now, at the bottom of the sea, or maybe in a far place, behind some rocks. He’ll never tell us what they taste like, either. He’ll keep the animals for himself.”

    â€œWhat’s falling from the sky?” asked Noah’s wife.
    â€œSnow—it’s winter now,” a man said.
    â€œWhat will happen?” she said.
    With this, winter arrived. The ark was stuck in the ice. Seals came up through breathing-holes out on the ice—you could hear them barking. Then someone shouted, “Look—!” and people saw all sorts of strange animals next to seal breathing-holes! Animals the villagers had never seen before—strange animals. “The shaman’s hid them below the ice!”
    â€œBring me this man—this shaman,” said Noah. “I’ll sweep him down to the ice with my broom!” This made the villagers laugh very hard.
    â€œYou can’t fight him,” a man said. “He’ll stab your broom straight through your heart—he’ll do what he wants.”
    â€œHow will I get my animals back?” Noah said.
    â€œOffer the shaman some planks of wood—for a fire,” a man said.
    â€œNo,” said this Noah.
    â€œThen you’ll have to dive under the ice itself,” a man