{"id":53,"date":"2011-08-24T21:25:00","date_gmt":"2011-08-25T04:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/?p=53"},"modified":"2012-05-30T15:26:07","modified_gmt":"2012-05-30T22:26:07","slug":"the-valley-of-tears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/?p=53","title":{"rendered":"The Valley of Tears"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two-parter cop-out: <\/span>I’m editing at least two chapters a day for my novel, so the rest of this piece of fiction will have to wait until tomorrow. I hope everybody enjoys reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

The Valley of Tears, Part One<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

\n

The inn looks just as I remember it. Nestled right up against the mountainside in upper New Hostia, the Royal Arcolia Inn is a testament to humanity\u2019s ability to subjugate a natural landscape and bend it to their whims. The surrounding forest has been manicured into an open, inviting lawn in front of the hotel, and even the hot springs in the mountainside has been renovated to have a palatable appearance. Stalagmites and stalactites have been replaced by hand-carved clay tiles imported from Harbia. Even the mountain road has been paved, and although the Royal Arcolia is a secluded resort, it is a slice of decadent civilization carved out of bare rock.<\/p>\n

It has been years since my last visit, and this time the Royal Arcolia is just a waypoint, not an escape from the pressures of the rat race. My real destination is in a nearby valley, a place of secrets that few people know about and even fewer dare to speak of. A shiver of anticipation runs up my spine as I think about the valley. I remind myself how much I love what I do.<\/p>\n

I park my sedan in front of the hotel and toss my keys to the valet. I can deal with baggage later; it\u2019s been a long drive from home and my stomach is complaining loudly. I\u2019m not exactly dressed for a five-star restaurant, but everybody knows that if you\u2019re staying at the Royal Arcolia you can afford the food.<\/p>\n

The Ma\u00eetre D looks at my baggy flannel shirt and jeans with disdain but forces a smile and leads me through the restaurant. Although it is early in the evening and the establishment has just opened, it has a tendency to fill up quickly. I am led to a small floating table in the middle of the floor. My host is joined by a young man who pours me water as the Ma\u00eetre D recites the chef\u2019s features for the evening: Duck, emperor-style with an orange reduction, hazelnut-crusted halibut, and buffalo flat-iron steak. I\u2019m barely listening as I peruse the wine list; everything he says to me will be on the menu.<\/p>\n

I order a gin and tonic and both men leave the table. I don\u2019t want to decide on wine until I figure out what I\u2019m having off the menu, and they make a mean gin and tonic here, with cucumber and lime leaves. I bury my face in the menu and clutch my stomach with one hand as I wait for the drink. The trouble with an empty stomach is that everything looks good; I don\u2019t even like white fish but even the halibut is making my mouth water.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot exactly a triaum-friendly menu, is it?\u201d a voice asks. Startled, I look up from my menu to find that somebody is sitting in the formerly empty seat across from me. I can tell right away that he\u2019s a triaum, regardless of what he just said to me. His eyes are enormous in his slender, hairless face and his hair is a tangle of orange. It almost looks like a fire. He wears clothing even more inappropriate for the restaurant than mine: dirty old brown coveralls and a ratty t-shirt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d I reply, \u201cI don\u2019t mean to be rude, but I asked for a table for one. I\u2019m just looking to enjoy a meal in solitude, if you don\u2019t mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of leaving, the man leans forward. I\u2019ve never seen a triaum look so predatory. \u201cWell you\u2019re awfully polite for a human who has just been accosted in a five-star restaurant by an unwashed fairy. I\u2019ll leave if you really want, Mister Stromach, but first indulge me a question: is it true that you\u2019re writing a book about me?\u201d<\/p>\n

A part of me feels affronted, another part is apprehensive, but the man across from me has appealed to my sense of curiosity, which always wins out against my better judgement. \u201cI\u2019ll answer your question if you answer one of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

The triaum smiles. His teeth are flawless. \u201cI\u2019m surprised you don\u2019t know the answer already, being such a well-read and well-travelled man of paper and ink, but I\u2019m afraid you have to answer first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t even asked my question yet.\u201d My gin and tonic arrives and the waiter seems surprised to find the triaum sitting across from me. My guest grabs my drink before I can react and downs it in a single gulp. He hands the empty glass to the waiter.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo more of these, if you would, good sir. Oh, and two shots of your best triaum whiskey for me and my friend Mr. Stromach. And…\u201d he grabs the wine list and looks it over in the time it takes me to blink, \u201ca bottle of the Lai\u2019och Estates fee\u2019och.\u201d<\/p>\n

The waiter looks at me with concern, but I simply nod and send him on his way. I can only assume that I\u2019ll be footing the bill, but I don\u2019t want to cause a scene. A man as bold as the one in front of me is likely to be dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope one of those gin and tonics is for me. I\u2019ve been looking forward to one all day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course! To toast our new friendship, Theodor.\u201d He gesticulates wildly as he speaks. \u201cAnd about the bill, well…since you\u2019ll soon be accumulating riches off of my story, I see it as only fair that you reciprocate with a simple gesture of generosity. Besides, what\u2019s a few drinks between friends, eh, Teddy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou still haven\u2019t told me who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

He laughs. His voice is as musical as a hama\u2019s, and although his manner is off-putting, there is something very charming about him. \u201cAnd you still haven\u2019t answered my question.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m writing a book about the Valley of Tears. How can I be writing a book about you when I don\u2019t even know who you are?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man bursts into laughter again, just as the drinks arrive. I haven\u2019t even had the chance to read the whole menu so I have to wave the waiter away again after he does his big routine with the wine bottle. I find it funny that the waiter shows my guest the bottle first even though it\u2019s going to be on my tab. The waiter does a commendable job of being polite, even when the triaum lectures him on how little of the money from the proceeds of triaum whiskey and wine the reserves actually see<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s to our new friendship, Teddy,\u201d my mysterious guest exclaims as he raises his rocks glass containing the whiskey. I follow suit and the glasses touch. The liquid is smoky and bitter as it goes down, but very palatable. It would have tasted much better after dinner, though. My companion moves on to his wine, and I take a sip of my gin and tonic to take the edge off the whiskey that lingers on my tongue.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019re writing about the Valley of Tears. Very commendable, Teddy, to write about such a tender subject…but I have faith that you\u2019ll do it justice. You always look at both sides of an issue, don\u2019t you? Every good writer should.\u201d<\/p>\n

I smile behind my drink. \u201cI thought you said I was writing a story about you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He returns my smile, and there is both mirth and danger in his pale blue eyes. \u201cOh, but you are, or haven\u2019t you figured it out yet, Teddy?\u201d He finishes his glass of wine and promptly pours another.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, I\u2019ll bite. A lot of triaum were kept there during the war. What makes you so special?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKept<\/em> there? Oh, Teddy, I dearly hope you\u2019ve done more research than that. Please don\u2019t tell me you think that the Valley was just another prisoner of war camp. You don\u2019t call a place the Valley of Tears to entice the tourists.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what went on. There are already plenty of books about POW camps but nobody would touch the Valley, or they skimmed over it with lies, so I did a little digging.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn which case I\u2019m surprised you\u2019re still here. So you know what they did to us?\u201d<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t meet his eyes. They are not soft and warm like most triaum I have met. \u201cNo, not exactly. Few people will talk, even triaum. I was threatened with legal action if I pursued this any further, and I had to find a foreign publisher.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHah! As though they would simply ask you to cease your research…no, that would only proclaim their guilt. You will disappear if you publish this, Teddy. Unless you are under somebody else\u2019s protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

I finish my gin and tonic and he pours me a generous glass of wine. \u201cI\u2019m not looking for protection. I want answers.\u201d<\/p>\n

He watches the waiter return and winks at me. \u201cYou know, Teddy, there is a triaum saying that goes: \u2018never trust a human who does not ask why\u2019. I\u2019ll tell you what. I\u2019ll come with you to the Valley tomorrow, since I\u2019m sure that\u2019s where you were headed, and I\u2019ll give you all the answers you could ever ask for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what, exactly, do you want in return?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m already getting what I want, Teddy. You\u2019re writing a book about me.\u201d He turns to the waiter and orders the summer salad without cheese. I decide on the duck.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou still haven\u2019t told me your name,\u201d I say accusingly.<\/p>\n

He finishes his second glass of wine and leans back in his chair. \u201cWhen we reach the Valley of Tears, I will tell you my name…and more than you would ever wish to know.\u201d<\/p>\n

**TO BE CONTINUED**<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two-parter cop-out: I’m editing at least two chapters a day for my novel, so the rest of this piece of fiction will have to wait until tomorrow. I hope everybody enjoys reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. The Valley of Tears, Part One The inn looks just as I remember it. Nestled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-53","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-short-stories","tag-the-valley-of-tears"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":253,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53\/revisions\/253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}