We are all gathered on the deck of Bonny’s Revenge, Justin, myself, Suzy, Joy, Charlie, Madelyn, Amahle with Elvis, her seeing-eye dog, Master Mind, Colin, and Yumio.
“Why are we here, Madelyn?” Justin says.
She had asked to take us to the middle of the ocean.
“I think it is time to show little Zhoy the things she cannot see in this world.”
“Like what?” Joy says.
“Zhoy, in this world you can see anything. But one thing you have never seen, I believe, is a sunset.”
“What’s a sunset?”
“In the…uhm…waking world,” Madelyn says. “The sun rises on one side, goes up, and goes down on the other side.”
“And there’s only one sun!” Charlie chimes in.
“That is correct,” Madelyn says. “When the sun rises it is sunrise. When the sun sets in the evening, it is sunset. And it is the most beautiful thing you can ever see. I believe we can all show you different sunsets from our parts of the world.”
Joy looks at Justin with a smile. “Do it!” she says, as if giving an order.
“First, we need a…uhm…small darkness. Amahle?”
Amahle shrugs. “I can try.”
“I’ll help,” Joy gives her a hand. Amahle squeezes that hand, and blinks a few times with the eyes that are never focused on anything.
Suddenly, it grows darker all around us. It is harder to see the two suns that are always above us.
“Not complete darkness!” Justin says.
Joy takes her hand away from Amahle and it stops being darker.
“Okay, look over there,” Madelyn points past the deck. “Sorry, Amahle.”
Amahle nods. “I understand.” She is used to not being able to see sunsets, I’m sure.
Suddenly there is land behind us. Another sun, a third sun, appears just above the horizon, orange, filling the evening air with pink and orange hues.
“This is the sunset at Marseilles,” Madelyn says. “On the beach. In…In fall.”
“Wow!” Joy says.
“I didn’t realize how much I missed those,” Suzy says.
“Yeah,” I agree. It’s beautiful.
“Gorgeous!” Yumio says.
“Yuh-huh!” Charlie says.
“Its strangeness is freaking me out,” Master Mind says. “Oh. No worries. I have regained control. I am now only 55% freaked out. 45%. 41%. I have regained control of my functions.”
“Ah, good going, Master Mind.” Justin says.
“Dad, this is the Eternoon you were talking about?”
“Huh?”
“Eternoon!”
Justin shakes his head. “What the hell are you talking about?”
(To be continued…)
—Told by Grampa Walt