martes, 25 de septiembre de 2012

Short Exchange with A. at the Harbor


The man referred to as A. in the notebooks is now thirty-one years old. I couldn't find much from investigating him. He went to the same primary and secondary school as my brother, but was expelled in 1997 and graduated in 1999 from a different institution. He passed the entrance exam for a local university and studied Industrial Engineering. Apparently he won three Regional Vale Tudo Championships in a row, on 1998, 1999 and 2000. Currently he works as a supervisor in the cargo company owned by his father. He has not married.

It wasn't hard to find A. at the harbor in the summer morning. He looks very much like he did as a teenager, but his hair is much shorter, and he has that tiredness that comes with adulthood. A black mark that appears to be part of a large tattoo peeks out from under the collar of his shirt.

I introduced myself as B.'s younger brother and he almost immediately recognized me after that. There was some effusive hugging and exclamations and asking me about my family and my studies. Then there was a lull as A. recalled my brother and momentarily stared off into the sea, from where a heavy mist was rolling in. I said that I wanted to ask him some questions for a family project that I was putting together for Art class. It seemed like a flimsy excuse as I said it but A. seemed to buy it.

We sat down at one of the many tiny seaside cafés; A. loosened his tie and crossed his arms, leaning back against the chair. A strident group of seagulls were feasting on a discarded fish only  a few feet from us. I remembered that he had been a man of few words in his teens, but the years seemed to have mellowed him out.

The interview was very informative right up until the end.

You knew my brother for most of his life, right?

Yes... we became friends in the first or second grade, and we remained friends through high school and university. We couldn't see each other as often after graduation, but sometimes we managed.

I know this is kind of awkward, but, what do you think made you and my brother so close?

We... We had the same sense of humor, I guess... We were part of a bigger group, which was better.

What bigger group?

Well, you probably remember us visiting your brother as a big group when you were a boy. We were always hanging out with T., F., E...

I remember all of those people.

T. and F. also went to university with us. The four of us would get together sometimes after graduating. We all studied different things, of course, so we graduated at different times.

Do you know anything about T. and F. as of late?

I know that T. is in New York City. After she dropped out of Law, her parents sent her to a design institution abroad, and I think she was immediately hired by a New York design firm after graduation.

I don't know much about F... In 2006 he headed off to Honduras to live there and do social work for a while. I would get monthly letters from him, real letters, in the mail. Then he went to Africa to take some photographs for a magazine, or so I heard from his father. I actually had a business meeting with his father a week ago. He owns half the place, after all.

What about E.?

E. actually moved to Europe on the last year of secondary school... Nobody heard much from her again. I think T. got a couple emails from her and that was it.

E. was the girl that F. had a crush on for a while, right?

[Laughter] Yes... I can't believe you remember that.

I'm trying to remember another person who used to hang out with you... I think his name started with an N?

Oh... Yes, that was N. He was sort of friends with us over the last two years of secondary school, but I didn't see much of him because by then I'd been expelled.

Uh... Why did you get expelled again?

[Laughter] Fighting.

So... What's N. doing these days? Do you know?

[Clears throat] He died, in 2006. In the Nantes marketplace fire.

I see... Was there anyone else in your group?

That was most of it... D. was around sometimes, you probably remember her, with the red hair. I don't think you got to meet K...

I think I did.

Really? K. was a very odd person... She didn't go out that much. I think that was the whole group...

Wait, was K. the girl who almost blew up the school's boiler room? They still talked about that when I was in secondary.

[Laughter] Yes, that was her. I'm pretty sure it was a miscalculation on her part.

What are they doing?

Nothing much... D. went back to live with her family in the U.K. after she finished school, and K. sort of dropped off the radar... I think she might still live here, though.

I also remember another guy, though... He was kind of... Crazy-looking, I guess. I can't remember his name...

Who? [Long pause] What are you really here for?

I wanted to confirm memories I have of my brother and his friends... I've been having some dreams about it lately, sort of half-remembered childhood moments.

[Pause] I think your brother was friends with a guy from school who got into trouble many times... I think he passed away at some point.

Do you remember his name?

Not really.

So... what did you do, as a group, usually?

Well, the usual teenage things...

Any record stores?

[Pause] Not record stores, I don't think so. Why do you ask?

No reason. Well, I guess that's all... [click]

[end of interview]

I don't have very much to say. A. became visibly defensive and clammed up towards the end of the interview. I wonder if he knew that I had found the notebooks.

Maybe the whole thing really was fiction, and A. was simply embarrassed that I'd found their collaborative creative writing project or something...

Or otherwise he didn't want to reveal the identity of X to me, for some reason.

Other than possibly K., it seems that A. is the only member of the group who is still alive and living in this city. Contacting anyone else will be more difficult.

December 15, 2011

36 comentarios:

  1. Better start going through the phone book for K. :p haha.

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  2. Is it too forward to assume that your almost year long silence is due to a fact finding venture?

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  3. yeah, i'd like to know what that period of inactivity was from.
    not for any particular reason, just general interest. i began to think this was a dead blog a bit over a month ago, along with a a couple of others i follow. it was kinda depressing.

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  4. I am absolutely DYING to know more. Ive been following this story since it first popped up on /x/ oh so long ago. Little Brother, i know it is hard to post being busy with your own life but at the very least, please post to ensure us that you are still alive and out there. Also, on another note, thank you for posting all of this.

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  5. Please, I know you're trying, but get information on the others. We need more interviews.

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  6. Yes yes yes, please post again soon. This series is far too good, I'm dying to read more.

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  7. Thank you for coming back, at least briefly! It looks like there are still a bunch of us keeping up with this blog.

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  8. Please update before a year has passed!! We're all dying to know more about this stuff!

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  9. This series was too good to last :C

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  10. I hope you intend to continue this. The writing is magnificent, and the story is compelling. This needs to be finished.

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  11. Please come back, LB. These stories are great, and this series doesn't deserve to die forgotten in some lost corner of the internet.

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  12. Fascinating blog, fascinating entries.... I came here from Creepypasta. Yours is the best entry in Creepypasta,and this blog is one of the best blogs I've read in a long, long time. The stories linger in my head, subtly haunting, so exquisitely crafted, so brilliant in every way. I have read it thrice now, put aside my screaming deadlines just to savour the delightfully bizarre, nostalgic and exceptionally unique stories. I do hope you write more stories. Its not often that you find great writing online, and this is a rare gem. Please write more, L.B, I'm your #1 fan.

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  13. I love your stories, and I've followed them since you first made that post on /x/. I understand you have a personal life but I'd really appreciate if you at least let us know you won't be updating anymore.

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  14. Este comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.

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  15. I just discovered these stories and after seeing the comments I hope I haven't discovered something already dead! This whole collage of entries is truly something special, L.B. PLEASE don't let it die. I'm now a loyal readerand as you can see there are many others. I hope there is a new entry soon...

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  16. Please dont tell me that this is dead!

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  17. I love this series! I also came over from creepypasta and I hope that the journal entries continue eventually! Even if they don't, thank you so much for writing these!

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  18. guys, what if L.B. is actually Lil B

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  19. L.B. I know you haven't posted in 2 years but I wanted to use your stories for a comic or video and didn't know any other way to contact you. Please reach out to me and let me know.

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  20. Well well can only assume that's you are dead now

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  21. I appreciate all the effort put into this blog! Please, please post more of these.

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  22. This is one of the best pieces of writing I've ever read. Great job, L.B.

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  23. I wish there was more, I got sad when I read the last entries. L.B., thank you. These entries were an unforgettable experience.

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  24. These stories could be published in a "real" book. They are rich with the taste of childhood memories that makes me tingle. Good job! --Juan Riccio

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  25. Hello L.B., I came upon your blog a couple weeks ago and I find those stories mesmerizing. Most people assume that it's all fake, but I can feel some strange magic in them. Like B. and his friends were all real. So it's either real or you must be a brilliand, underrated writer! My question is if there are any more entries that you didn't publish to this site. Because there are some hints, especially in the "lists". Thanks a lot for your response, hopefully you still visit this site sometimes.

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    Respuestas
    1. brilliant* Sorry I've been staring into the computer for too long :D

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    2. So I dunno if anyone's still checking this thing, but I started reading this a long ass time ago back when I was in high school. I'm about to finish university now, so it's been a long time. I tried finding some way to contact the author but he's like a ghost I guess. Dunno why I'm posting this at all or if this is even the place to post it but I feel like I ought to. I remember finding this blog like at random one night, years ago, and being so completely taken in, it was amazing. It kind of had a big impact on me, like I never thought much about writing, but now I'm about to finish a creative writing degree, and here I am, about to graduate, reading this fucking blog again hahaha! One day I wanna try and write something like this, something with character and style, and a real sense of identity, and mystery, it's like this little world inside the words and it's the coolest thing. I remember telling my mates that this was what really got me hooked on writing mystery shit, but I guess it's one of those things you have to experience to appreciate. I guess that's why it still stands out for me, it was an experience. It was real, even if you know it kinda wasn't real. Anyway this is getting too long-winded and I'm rambling, I just wanted to say if L.B is still out there somewhere, and if he still checks this blog at all, then I hope he's still writing, and I want to say thanks for the inspiration. This was a really cool experience.

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  26. I reeeeeally want an update to this ughhhhh

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  27. Fascinating blog, fascinating entries..
    http://grsshoes.com/

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