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Steve Calamars | |
| a man of beautiful will |
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The office is modern with bare white walls. A small desk lamp
provides light. Frank Ayers sits in a metal chair at a large
metal desk.
He opens a bottom drawer. He removes three small jars and a long pair of tweezers. He holds a jar up in front of the lamp and ensures its contents are still functional. A butterfly slowly flaps its large yellow wings. Frank examines the insect closely and is satisfied with its condition. He examines the other two butterflies in the other two jars in an identical manner. Frank is satisfied with their condition as well and arranges the three jars across the middle of his desk. He moves the desk lamp closer to the jars for better light. He then opens the drawer directly beneath the desk top and removes a large revolver. Frank opens the cylinder and holds the gun up in the light. He inspects the five clean empty chambers and spins the cylinder, testing its smooth rotation. He sets the revolver down and picks up the tweezers. He unscrews the top to the first jar. Frank is careful not to allow the butterfly to escape. He grasps it with the tweezers and gently begins to manipulate the insect. He delicately folds the large yellow wings and frail wiry legs in close to the body. Frank holds the prepared butterfly in the end of the tweezers and picks up the revolver. He surgically slides the butterfly into an empty chamber of the cylinder and sets the gun back down. He repeats this procedure two more times with the remaining two butterflies. Frank then disposes of the empty jars and closes the cylinder of the revolver. He spins it forcefully and eyes it till it stops. He sits back in his chair and slips the barrel of the revolver in his mouth. He cocks the hammer and pulls the trigger— A butterfly blasts from the barrel and tears through the back of Frank’s skull. The white office wall behind him is a collage of brain matter and butterfly parts. It is a splatter of whites, yellows and reds. Like a Jackson Pollock painting in HD. |
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| Steve Calamars lives
in San Antonio, TX. He has a B.A. in Philosophy and works in a
grocery store. When he is not working or sleeping, he
writes. The stuff he writes can be found (or will be found) in bottle rockets, Chiron Review, Harpur Palate, Ghoti, Clean Sheets, Zygote in My Coffee and other places he won’t bore you with. He can be found in sccalamars@yahoo.com. |
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© Steve Calamars All Rights Reserved |