Esteemed Reader: January 2012

by Jason Stern, December 27, 2011

Esteemed Reader of Our Magazine:

The two young boys and I were lying in darkness. I was telling them about Odysseus and his great wooden horse. I described how the Trojans marveled at the horse, thinking it was a parting gift, and then rolled it inside; and how, in the darkness, the Greek warriors emerged and opened the gates for their marauding comrades to come in and win the long war. So exciting it was hardly a bedtime story.

I was planning to continue as far as the blinding of the Cyclops, and told about our heroes trapped in the cave, eaten by the monster a few at a time. The boys had heard it before so they jumped in when the Cyclops, Polyphemus, asks Odysseus his name, and he slyly answers—

“Nobody!” the boys yelled in unison.

And just as they blurted it out we heard a strange sound outside our house, like a loud whistling, and then boom, boom, CRASH!

We all leaped out of bed. “What was that?!”

“Put on your coats and come outside!” I told them, as I grabbed my phone and dialed 911, for I already knew there had been an accident.

Across the street in a field we could see the outline of a car balanced on its side, smoking, engine running, wheels still spinning. I took a breath and prepared for the worst as the boys followed me over.

Arriving, we found a tall young man, stumbling around the field, face covered in blood. I took his shoulders and looked in his eyes; they focused in on mine. He looked scared, confused. He smelled of liquor. “You’re OK,” I said, as much to myself, as to him. “Now, sit down.”

Beside him was another young man, his head between his knees. When he looked up we saw blood coming down his face in little rivulets. “Don’t call the cops,” he mumbled. “Just relax,” I said. He began talking about how his life was ruined. I took off my coat and put it around his shoulders.