Dakota and in a series of bizarre twists, grew
up and currently resides in Rhode Island.
She's a member of the Turtle Mountain Band
of Ojibwe, North Dakota, and the proud
mother of two grown children. She won the
2006 EditRed Editors Choice Award for a
piece that was published in the short story
anthology "Small Voices, Big Confessions".
Some of her stories will appear in the
upcoming "Wonderful World of Worders"
published by Guildhall Press as well as the
second short story anthology currently being
published by EditRed. She drinks too much
coffee, is extremely ticklish, and hates writing
third person bios.
Came to Town
by Teri Davis Rouvelas
Martin and I have been here for twenty-three days too long. Twenty-three
days. Martin wants to go play.
"Why?" I asked him yesterday, but he didn't answer. He locked himself in his
pod and kept writing in his journal. "Dear Diary," he wrote (I know what lies
he's capable of telling), "today I bought a ham sandwich."
Martin is going insane because we've been here twenty-three days too long.
We're in a huge metal station on a moon somewhere. I can't remember
where - Alpha something, some quadrant. It all seems so long ago. It's been
one hundred, twenty-three days since we landed.
"A hero," my son had breathed when my wife and I told him. "They'll have
parades for you!"
"And schools named after him." Lucinda – nervous – was being sarcastic.
I smiled at her. "That only happens when a ship blows up," I said and then
noticed my frantic son. "No, I'm kidding, Josh. A trip to that moon is as safe
as going to the circus. Nothing's going to happen."
Lucinda still shook her head.
Twenty-three days too long, and Martin's staring at me with eyes of dry
sponge. I know he can barely see me because I'm turning invisible. We're
both turning invisible. Our replacements were suppose to arrive twenty-
three days ago, and they never showed up, so we must be turning invisible.
We're here in this terrible place to stop things from happening, but I can't
remember what they are. I'm very ill.
We can't buy ham sandwiches, so he'll write (I know it), "Dear Diary, today I
tried to play with the boy next door. I'm telling the teacher on him because
he hit me."
I punched Martin when he tried to open the door to the outside to go play.
We're nearly invisible and we can't go outside. We had suits that helped us
breathe, but Martin ripped them up and said we didn't need them anymore.
So I hit him.
Martin said the teacher will get me for hitting him, and he's going to tell, so I
told him he shouldn't leave his pod. I'm very ill and I'm hungry. We don't
have ham sandwiches and we can't go play, so he'll write (I know it), "Dear
Diary, today I stole a ham sandwich from the boy next door!"
Martin has no food in his pod now, and he wants to go outside and play. I'm
so hungry because it's been twenty-three days too long. I want to see my
son. I can't talk to Lucinda anymore because they're naming a school after
me, and she's mad and she'll tell the teacher.
Now I think I remember. We're here to make sure some country doesn't
shoot things at our country. They have their circuses and we have ours, and
we're supposed to stop their circus from coming to our town. I think that's
why Martin and I are here. I'm very ill.
We can't talk to our families anymore. Lucinda and Josh found out from
Martin I hit him (I know it) and now they won't talk to me. Lucinda thinks I'm
dead, and now they're having parades for us.
Lucinda is letting Martin push inside her (I know it). He'll write, "Dear Diary,
today we went to the parade and I pushed inside Lucinda."
We have things that make us fall down. You can hold them in your hand,
and they make a buzzing noise, and then the other person falls down. We
have them because I may become very ill or Martin may become very ill, and
then we have to make the ill person fall down or the circuses will come to
town.
I remember: we're here to stop some country from bringing their circus into
our country. There are moons all over the galaxy, and the moons each have
a station with circuses on them. And those circuses must have people like
Martin and me to make sure the other circuses don't move. If one circus
moves, all the circuses move, and then the place we're from will become
invisible.
We've been here twenty-three days too long. The last thing we heard from
the teacher was the circuses were coming to town, and then Martin went
outside in his suit to play. I heard banging and then I heard nothing. Martin
came back inside, and he cried, "Dear Diary, today we went to the circus.
Everyone went to the circus." Martin said the teacher went to the circus and
melted.
Martin said Lucinda and Josh went to the circus. Josh was crying and
screaming because he loved the circus, but it made him melt. All the
circuses made them melt. Martin says everyone went to the circus and
melted, and now he wants another ham sandwich.
Martin's left his pod and is coming towards me to make me fall down again. I
can't let him hurt Lucinda anymore. I'll push inside Martin because Martin
needs to know how she feels. I want to push inside him because the
circuses – all the circuses – came to town and Martin looks at me hungry. I
tried to make him fall down because we've been here twenty-three days too
long and I'm very ill and I'm hungry.
I want to eat what Martin pushes inside my wife. I want to eat Martin because
he wants to eat me.
Martin wants to go play now, he says. He'll write (I know it), "Dear Diary, I
bought another ham sandwich today." I look down at my leg where Martin
ate the ham sandwich after making me fall down. He ate the ham sandwich,
and now I'm very ill I'm very ill I'm very
I've been here for twenty-four days too long. Twenty-four days. Martin fell
down, and I bought ham sandwiches. Now I'm going outside to play.
###