Adelaide Literary Magazine No.7 Volume One_Summer2017

Revista Adelaide

drove her to Midland-Odessa where she got on a was only one person, believed her. I imagined her
bus or a train and disappeared. picking it up and feeling some sense of relief.

For all I know, what happened fucking killed her. But what I didn’t know was that she was already
gone.
She had been very drunk by anyone’s standards
of whatever it is that consƟtutes levels of drunk- That night I lay in bed and listened to the party
enness. Fall-down drunk. According to everyone outside of Mike’s trailer. They were all laughing,
in the trailer park, she had been flirƟng with him drunk. These were my friends. ChanƟng his name.
all night. No one saw them leave. He brought her They were celebraƟng the fact that they had run
back to his place. I imagined him carrying her out her out of Texas.
that back door across the dirt road to his trailer,
seƫng her down on his bed and taking off her Things had changed quickly.
pants.
I kept hearing my own name followed by laugh-
That’s not what happened, everyone said. ter. That night no one knocked on my door, but I
could hear them outside.
She had sex with him and then regreƩed it, every-
one said. At 3am my phone rang and no one was on the
other end. Again at 4am. I didn’t know the num-
His bed was creaking so that meant she was into ber. I could hear breathing. The party was sƟll
it, his roommate said. going strong.

He’s too good looking to have to rape anyone, the “Teresa?” I whispered.
guy at the gas staƟon said.
She hung up.
You’re just jealous that he didn’t rape you, my
boss said. In the morning I saw Mike through the open door
of his trailer, lying on the couch staring up at the
And then everyone found out what I had told the ceiling. He sat up, met my eyes, extended his
cops. hand and pointed right at me.

The man with the silver mustache who drank He mouthed the words, “Stupid bitch.”
cheap beer in his trailer all day came out and
looked at me. He shook his head. He grinned.

“I’ll tell you what,” he said, licking his lips, “I sure One by one, the few women who lived in the
wouldn’t want to be a lady down here.” trailer park leŌ unƟl it was only me. I stopped
going to work. I locked my doors and stayed in-
I said nothing. side. It rained and the water on the roof of the
trailer sounded like fingers drumming on a coun-
“And I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be liar down tertop. The spiders found their way back inside.
here either.” At night, I could hear footsteps in the dirt outside.

“What do you mean?” I packed fast, faster than I ever have.

“Come on girlie. Everybody knows you don’t have I tore apart my trailer and threw all my shit into
a man.” my car. I knew that they were watching me from
their windows.
He put his head down, chuckled and went back
inside. I could feel his eyes on me. I could hear that
laugh, punctuaƟng the air.
I found out later that Teresa had woken up that
morning and gone straight to the cops who had I had a hammer in the back pocket of my jeans
driven her to Alpine for a rape kit. the whole Ɵme, just in case anyone wanted to
fuck with me.
When she didn’t come to the door I sat down and
wrote her a note telling her that I was on her side. I leŌ Texas in a fever.
I slid it underneath, wondering if she was tucked
in her bed, crying. I hoped that she would see the Somewhere on I-10 on that stretch of desolate
piece of paper and know that someone, even if it highway before the desert meets the hill country

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Adelaide Magazine

my phone lit up. Somewhere amongst the patch- The javelinas pawed the ground and between
es of no cell service and shiƩy cell service I’d their snorts and shrieks I could hear something—
missed a call from that same number that had someone—breathing.
rang me twice the night of the party. I couldn’t see them, but they were all around me.

I pulled over to listen. About the Author:

The voicemail from Teresa was brief. She was Krista Diamond is a serial vagabond who graduat-
beyond crying. She was in that space that an ani- ed from the University of New Hampshire with a
mal is in when it’s been aƩacked. BA in English. Her work has appeared in Every Day
FicƟon and is forthcoming in Spry Literary Journal.
One summer night as a kid I’d woken up to the In addiƟon to wriƟng ficƟon, she also writes
scream of an animal in the woods, killing some- about the Mojave Desert for various web publica-
thing or being killed by something. I couldn’t tell Ɵons. She currently resides in Las Vegas with her
the difference. fiancé and her dog, Presley.

Her voice was like that.

She told me that she knew that I knew how drunk
she had been. She knew that I knew her. Really
knew her. She knew that I was running away. She
thought I was on his side. She asked how I could
have let this happen.

Her last words: “This was your fault.”

On the side of the highway there was a sign ad-
verƟsing the Caverns of Sonora. I tried to focus on
that, tried to think of all the people in the dark-
ness under the ground holding hands together. It
was big and it was scary but they were safe.

I opened the door of my car and vomited.

And then I got out and took off.

I ran. My feet pounded the earth and my fingers
brushed the tall Chihuahuan Desert grass that I
didn’t know the name of. I ran unƟl the burning
sun sank beneath the horizon and the ground
turned from green to brown to black.

I ran unƟl I had no idea where I was. I ran unƟl I
collapsed.

I could barely make out the lights of the highway
in the distance. I could hear the snorts of javelinas
around me. I could smell them. You can always
smell them. They look like dark, angry pigs and
they smell like skunks. At night I used to hear
them beneath my trailer, scratching at the floor
and trying to get in. They travel in packs like men
circling parking lots at night beneath a stagnant
gas staƟon light, men on streets leaning against
brick walls searching the sidewalks for lone fig-
ures, men in the shadows of basement house
parƟes who smirk as girls are dragged up to silent
bedrooms, men who prey, fuck, escape and re-
peat.

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Revista Adelaide

SACRED GEOMETRY
FOR ARIEL V

By Alex R. Encomienda

SomeƟmes life told stories in strange cases and same thing that happened at the market two
the complexity of its subject was overlooked de- years ago would happen again today because he
spite the story having a solid underlying meaning. parked in the same parking lot. It was driving him
It was no wonder why so many philosophers died to an early stage of insanity!
during an age where things should have made
sense by then. The undertow of dark maƩers was But late at night when all the stars were out and
shaped as a hexagon, Ariel’s father Shire used to all the sleeping people were tucked away and
say. It had odd corners that stuck out just when safe from harm, judgment and chaos; he gazed
things were going smoothly on the other side. deeply at the infinite space and saw a paƩern
And then there were people who were milligrams within the stars. He was never any good at
and faces that were mirrors because of the two puƫng together the pieces on a puzzle or riddling
faces that came from them. a riddle to another, but what he saw was infinity.
It existed alright, and it was ever so distant he
Of course there were odds and evens and infin- could not imagine the years it would take to jour-
ites and finites, dimes and nickels (who he re- ney even to the closest star and back. He was
ferred to as other boys) and even Stevens who glaring at eternity, the blackest hole within a
were odd Todds. There was a countless amount memory. Eternity existed because if one person
of geometry paƩerns in the world that it was just thought about it and knew it was there and be-
so hard to figure all of them out and relate to lieved in it, how could it not exist?
them so Ariel’s father decided to call them people
and places. It was so much simpler to put num- Just as if a person is sleepy and yearning to rest
bers on people and say “Oh there goes so and so his eyes, sleep must exist. Well if Shire hoped and
again!” but to be quite frank, it just wasn’t the dreamed in all of his years that he could rocket
truth. There were not enough numbers one can through space and journey through infinity, who’s
say without geƫng lost and not enough shapes to tell him it never existed?
and paƩerns to place people in because they
were so diverse. He never noƟced how many peo- Shire wanted to believe that things are just
ple suffered from sƟgmaƟzing disorders such as there and without a reason. He wanted to believe
pyromania, necrophilia and even dendrophobia. in Ɵme and ninety five years (or however long it
Where did they belong in the geometry world took him to croak) but aŌer such a Ɵme bewil-
anyway? dered with eternity, he was unable to. People are
not born with a configuraƟon of geneƟcs and
But there was no need to point out all the faults places are not built because one man decided
in people and all the bridges and gaps between that the grass was greener on the other side;
mothers and sons, fathers and daughters and there was a reason for things to be and there was
everything in between. There was just being alive an endless cycle called existence coined by the
and well and apparently for Shire, that was not geometer of life known as God. Shire could have
enough. He was so adamant about keeping up sworn he knew who he was his enƟre thirty five
with the paƩerns in life and seeing whether the years and he could have sworn he’d seen every
kind of person out there with only a liƩle swap in

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Adelaide Magazine

geneƟc traits and personaliƟes unƟl he created oŌen catered to Shire’s odd schedule as a mathe-
Ariel Veronica. That was a day worth keeping in maƟcian. Mr. Josephs was occasionally called Mr.
the stars and he never forgot the wonder he felt Alligator Man because there was one Ɵme during
in his mind aŌer finding out it was a baby girl he June where a rainstorm caused their power to go
was having with his wife. If he could only keep out and while Josephs was there, he could not
that feeling trapped in a box just long enough tutor Ariel properly so the three of them went
unƟl he passes, he would be just fine with that. into the television room and told stories. Josephs
He would treasure it with everything he had; his told a story about the Ɵme he fought an alligator
bliss and his thoughts. to save his messenger (which he never did clarify
its contents) and surprisingly won. Although Ariel
One year aŌer Ariel was born, Shire’s wife was somewhat suspicious that it was not true, it
crossed over. She was expecƟng it somehow but remains a mystery if it was or not. Also, Shire was
he could not expect something so horrible to oc- just curious about what was so important in his
cur out of nowhere. He was afraid he would never messenger that he needed to fight an alligator for
come to terms with it aŌerwards and there were it. Perhaps Mr. Josephs should be called Mr. Mys-
many Ɵmes he was sure he could not go on but tery Man.
he did. Ariel was growing quickly and sadly, life
goes on. He did get over her death and came to Usually, Ariel would simply nod off to sleep when
terms. It was not an easy few years at all but it she became Ɵresome and Mr. Josephs would
helped him to appreciate even his most distant have a good laugh with Shire about music and
loved ones. That happens in life just as other or- other entertainments in the dining room and
deals do- they come and go as they please; and so aŌerwards, Shire was leŌ in silent tranquility to
did his wife. think about the plans for the weekend.

They were not married too long before Ariel was The weekend was such a hurray for Ariel (as if she
born but they were not very inƟmate with each did not have enough indulgences) but for Shire, it
other either. Shire was too much of a thinker to meant more Ɵme to lesson her on the maths of
ever enjoy romance. He would fret over this and this world- and nobody hated math more than
fret over that; blow things out of proporƟon and Ariel. She was just not good enough at it, or so
jump to conclusions. Eh, he was a driŌer. He she thought; and she was very slow at the prob-
could say his wife was as well but only to an ex- lems she did happen to know the answers to.
tent because in all honesty, he was too much of a When Shire would walk into the television room
weirdo to be cooler than his wife; and she was with a stack of flash cards, she would complain of
the easiest going most down to earth woman he a stomach ache just to avoid his lectures. He hon-
had ever met (which was not very much). estly didn’t know what was so difficult about sim-
ple math and why Ariel disliked it so much. He
Shire lived with Ariel in Nova ScoƟa, Canada. It wondered if she picked up the distaste for it from
was such a cold liƩle town that hardly any visitors a relaƟve but he recalled his own parents loving
came to and all of the markets and shops were of the subject.
friendly faces and although things became quite
repeƟƟve quickly, he would never like to move It would rain very oŌen during the autumn days
anywhere else. He became fully accustomed to and Ariel had her favorite coat that was also the
his quiet life that he could not see the pleasures cheapest and it was made of corduroy. Every day
people got out of living in the city. Although, he when she skipped along the small driveway of
did admire the city folks’ rainy days and heard their northeastern home, Shire would wake up
about the calming showers they had during win- and peak outside, seeing her thin liƩle body
ter seasons. Rain, rain upon the streets of New charming a dark brown corduroy coat that was
York. missing a buƩon and once in a while, she would
not be skipping but she would be jump roping. He
On the week days, Ariel was home schooled in would giggle and say to himself, “poor girl” be-
their humble liƩle house in the center of greens. cause she was always holed up inside with him
Her teacher, Mr. Josephs had quite an eye for her and he can imagine how boring it must be at
and oŌen complimented her. He was the nicest Ɵmes.
man there could have been in Nova ScoƟa. He

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Revista Adelaide

Ariel always wondered why Shire was so adamant noƟced that all of her interests had changed as
on teaching her “stupid” math. She understood well. What once captured her aƩenƟon was now
that five was equal to three doves and two birds but a speck in the dirt to her and he was unsure
and that two could not add up without joining how he felt about her growing up. As a father, he
together to make three. She understood quite a felt obligated to teach her something- anything;
lot more than he thought and she might have even if it was merely how to strap on her bra or
been convinced at Ɵmes that she knew things he how to buy a house. As long as he knew she was
didn’t know. But she was sƟll curious about his growing into the world and the world was not
own Ɵme and his own hobbies. When he wasn’t growing in her. There were an awful lot of trage-
enjoying those god awful boƩles of cheap liquor dies in town lately and it saddened Shire because
outside and helping her with her jammies, playing he was only a single father and who would ever
liƩle sue with her and watching films in the televi- listen to him?
sion room, what was he doing?
He knew the Parker family around the corner well
It was funny to think, but when she was a bit enough and invited them over for dinner once.
younger she always thought her father was also The man who lived there idenƟfied with his situa-
the father of other liƩle girls and when he put her Ɵon as a single father and for months the two
to bed, he would spend Ɵme with his other shared somewhat of a friendship over beers and
daughters. But that was silly because how can he laughs but something must have happened be-
leave and come back so fast? He wasn’t a ninja or tween them because he was seeing less and less
a ghost! of the man. It was only last month he found out
the man was going through an existenƟal crisis
When she got over that ludicrous idea, she start- and needed someone to medicate him. Shire
ed to sneak into his bed because she would al- knew the man was just too hard headed to listen
ways fear that a flood would occur and wash to his lectures so he leŌ him alone; but doesn’t
away their house and since she was in another everyone go through a similar crisis at one point
bed in her own room, she’ll lose her father in the in their life? He knew he went through his own
flood and have to find her own way to safety and years ago when he lost his Fiona.
she could not even swim. During those peaceful
trips to his room though, she would feel soŌ and The memories Shire had with his wife were biƩer-
light, as if something carried her to her father. sweet; biƩer of her loss and sweetened by her
She would think it was her mother, the woman of memory. There were Ɵmes when Shire did not
muteness whom she never got to meet. The tales quite feel like Shire but instead he felt like a fossil
Shire would tell about her mother would soŌen of himself. Those were also the Ɵmes when, in his
her heart because at the end, he said to her, “You mathemaƟcs, he discovered sacred geometry.
look just like her and you talk just like her be- The spiral of a buƩercup always matched a cer-
cause a part of her is inside of you; but don’t tain number and just like the stars in a paƩern;
think too much about it or else you’ll forget to be they matched a certain flower. Perhaps, in his
yourself.” mind things do happen for a reason and that
same reason might be why buƩercups and daisies
Ariel was something of a mystery to her extended all share the same enigmaƟc paƩern.
family, whom she was never quite fond of; but
she was actually just very bashful. A certain aunt One day aŌer Ariel was upset with him for God
always remarked about her silence and once as- knows what (There was always something), he
sumed that the child had selecƟve muƟsm. Ariel walked the Ɵny steps down to the cellar and no-
was mostly aware of these terms and these com- Ɵced how serene the scent was; wooden aromas
ments but then someone would bring her a plate with an anƟque- like quality flew through his nos-
of macaroni and cheese and a glass of her favorite trils and there he made a plan to turn the cellar
lemonade and she was content with her silence. into their second living room. It was much too
AŌer all, she was being herself regardless of what snug not to spend hours in so he bought a couch
others said. and a mahogany table that could fit an enƟre
family and turned its lonesomeness into a liveli-
Years passed by and Ariel grew to be thirteen ness of a bear and his cub.
years old. The senƟments and curiosiƟes she em-
bodied vanished through the years and Shire

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