I introduced short stories to the crowd through the introduction of "WELL...", a story that has since been 'temporarily canceled' on Facebook for other works. This is a short story I've decided to write about a character I've had ideas for for a long time, and one who may even appear in an official book of mine sooner or later! He goes by the name of Austere Clements, and he comes from an extremely kooky background. What this short story aims to achieve is to show off the character of Austere as much as possible while presenting him several strange and often random situations that will bring out the best of him and his surroundings. And now, without further ado, here's the first chapter of
Austere on Easter Island!
Chapter 1
The sun shone bright and early upon the Moai statues of Easter Island. Austere Clements, a magician and ex-carnival-member, who forced himself into an exile about twenty-years back after unsaid events that need not to be known by the general public at the current moment, slowly got out of bed, laying his limbs out in a similar fashion to that of a sloth. His great red beard flew itself harshly up in his face as a breeze blew through the window he had added into the eye of the statue, which was swung wide up. Without as much as a single warning, he rolled over onto his right side, extremely close to the edge of the bed, faltered for a quick moment, and then fell from his itchy covers on the hard bed onto the cold, dirt floor below. Lifting up his eyelids calmly, and letting out a short-winded cough, he extended both arms underneath himself and pushed himself onto his feet. He faltered a bit again, but this time managed to keep his ground. Patting some of the dust off of his tattered long jeans and throwing back on his white, now near-brown, polo shirt, he walked down the rotted, spiral wooden staircase down the Moai arm and to the first story of his unique abode.
The bird lamp-clock-hybrid he had purchased back in the corners of Asia years and years back chirped to alert him that it was just about time to meet up with his friend, who also lived on Easter Island. Taking as little time as possible, he picked up his raincoat, threw it over his head in a sloppy fashion, and walked straight out the stone door he had carved into the torso of the Moai statue. Turning around to shut the door softly, he let out a yawn. It was only 6:00am! He, at his old age, usually woke up around 11am, but this was making an effort to wake up at a normal time in order to meet up with his friend before he had to fly off to Boston for what he said was just a "fun trip." Austere doubted this. He knew this friend for several decades, and while the friend stayed forever young, he was also forever the partier in the group. To Austere, this was somewhat a shame, "but then again", the old man thought to himself, "things always were a lot more interesting with a unique character."
He kept on this thought while turning himself back around, only to have it immediately leave his mind as he jumped back closer to the stone door, nearly pushing it to the floor behind it. He let out a long scream, and his friend did the same. The boulder shuddered and then let himself float gently upward by Austere's shoulder. Tipping his bowler cap in a gentlemanly way, the boulder asked him, "What on EARTH was that for!? Have you gone insane, ya old coot?" Austere patted off more of the dust from his long jeans and replied kindly, while all the while collecting himself yet again, "No, you just startled me you ruddlebuggler, Rock." Austere's deep, clear-cut voice made the boulder shudder yet again, sending Austere into a manic laugh, exclaiming to Rock, "and you said I was the insane one!" Rock replied with a simple and quick, "shut up," and Austere did so. He knew he didn't have much time to waste. Rock was supposed to leave soon for Boston! They only had one hour left to golf over the ocean!
Rock floated back down and rolled around in a strong circle which left it's imprint in the grass below his body, and Austere's feet, while asking his cohort why he was wearing a raincoat over his head. Austere replied in a manner typical to his interesting personality, stating simply, "Rock, it just may rain." Rock replied, "but there's no clouds for MILES! I checked!" Austere chuckled and said, "you know, I can make it rain just to prove you wrong." The boulder drew a face in the ground with a sharper edge on his body, showing a face that looked similar to "=_____=." To this, Austere just chuckled again and sat himself on top of his old buddy. "Okay, let's go golfing, friend." Rock replied with a quick "yup" and lifted the two of them slowly up into the air, afterwards taking a moment to prepare himself before flying off at extreme speeds to the Ocean Golf Course.
