The Rather Macabre Tale of Augie Jorgensen
For his entire life, Augie Jorgensen had been told that he should be "seen and not heard". Granted his had not been a very long life. You see Augie was only seven years old. And truthfully he could only remember the last four and three-quarters of his brief existence. Yet of this portion, Augie was sure that, by their admonishment, the Tall Folk did not want him around.
The Tall Folk, as you may have guessed, consisted of those members of his family that were both older and taller than he. Of which all of them were. There was his Dear Mum & Dad, Brother John Jr. (21 years), and Sister Valarie (14 years). Not that he felt hated or despised by his family per-say... just unwanted. Nearly every day consisted of the same recital: "Don't play in the house", "Pick up your toys", "Go to your room", "Don't make noise". Over time Augie grew to not mind being unwanted, for all he then desired was to be let alone to his thoughts, for he had the most wonderfully vivid daydreams. Little did he know that very soon he would be granted his wish.
One day, late in autumn, when the air had turned crisp and chill and the sky was a particularly bleak shade of gray Augie's Dear Dad had taken him and Brother John Jr. out to help chop down a tree to provide firewood for the coming winter. It was on this day that Augie held an axe for the first time as they chopped down an olive tree that grew in the high woods near their house. However this was no happy Father & Sons bonding experience for as soon as the first strike was made Augie could sense that what they were doing was not at all right. Though he could not quite grasp the depth and severity of their actions, he was sure that they were taking the life of a conscious living being.
Later, that night, Augie's dreams were filled with images both violent and disturbing. For you see, he felt his body being hacked and mutilated, his limbs rent from their sockets and his soul torn from his corpse. He awoke in a cold sweat, realizing that he was no longer alone inside, for the spirit of the tree had taken possession of him during the night.
What once had been a kind, life-giving spirit now raged inside Augie - for She sought vengeance over the wrong that had been done to Her. The first thing She required Augie to do was to recover the axe from the tool shed in back of the house were his Dear Dad kept it under lock and key. Said key, hung on a hook in Dear Mum & Dad's bedroom. To this end, Augie cautiously entered and crept on tip-toe, past his slumbering Dear M & D, recovering the key. Not once did they stir, for Augie was quite good now at being neither seen nor heard. Down the stairs, through the kitchen and out to the shed where in he found the axe resting against the wall where his father had left it. As he held it again and felt it's weight he heard the spirit, inside, laughing to Herself.
Augie now set to cutting down the Tall Folk the same way She had been felled earlier that day. Sister Valarie was first - he found her in the stables, playing her favorite game with the stallion. With a chop to the throat she died gasping, gurgling and gushing. Next came Brother John Jr. - he was in the study, as per usual, entertaining himself to a book of French etchings. One quick swing and the blunt end of the axe buried deep in B.J.'s skull as bits of grey matter splashed all across the floor. Finally, it was time for Dear Mum & Dad. Entering again, just as silently as before, Augie set to giving his sleeping parent's a grisly farewell. In a matter of moments their boudoir was coated, ceiling to floor, with blood, bone, flesh and gore.
Her work now done the spirit left him, returning Augie to full control of his body and awareness of his senses, leaving him to confront the horror that now surrounded him. It was not until several days later that another living soul was aware of the tragedy that had befallen the Jorgensen family. It was a Tuesday (or at least it felt like one), when Augie was found by a neighbor still clutching the bloody implement, his eyes wide and his body shaking. The Constable was called immediately and when he arrived he pleaded with Augie for an explanation to the bloody chaos that surrounded them. All that Augie was able to offer were four words: "The tree is dead".
For the next seventy-three years, until his own death, Augie was remanded to a nice quiet (and padded) room at the Lake View Home for the Mentally Unhinged. There he remained, finally let alone with his thoughts and his most wonderfully vivid daydreams, and rarely was he ever seen by anyone or heard from again.
The Tall Folk, as you may have guessed, consisted of those members of his family that were both older and taller than he. Of which all of them were. There was his Dear Mum & Dad, Brother John Jr. (21 years), and Sister Valarie (14 years). Not that he felt hated or despised by his family per-say... just unwanted. Nearly every day consisted of the same recital: "Don't play in the house", "Pick up your toys", "Go to your room", "Don't make noise". Over time Augie grew to not mind being unwanted, for all he then desired was to be let alone to his thoughts, for he had the most wonderfully vivid daydreams. Little did he know that very soon he would be granted his wish.
One day, late in autumn, when the air had turned crisp and chill and the sky was a particularly bleak shade of gray Augie's Dear Dad had taken him and Brother John Jr. out to help chop down a tree to provide firewood for the coming winter. It was on this day that Augie held an axe for the first time as they chopped down an olive tree that grew in the high woods near their house. However this was no happy Father & Sons bonding experience for as soon as the first strike was made Augie could sense that what they were doing was not at all right. Though he could not quite grasp the depth and severity of their actions, he was sure that they were taking the life of a conscious living being.
Later, that night, Augie's dreams were filled with images both violent and disturbing. For you see, he felt his body being hacked and mutilated, his limbs rent from their sockets and his soul torn from his corpse. He awoke in a cold sweat, realizing that he was no longer alone inside, for the spirit of the tree had taken possession of him during the night.
What once had been a kind, life-giving spirit now raged inside Augie - for She sought vengeance over the wrong that had been done to Her. The first thing She required Augie to do was to recover the axe from the tool shed in back of the house were his Dear Dad kept it under lock and key. Said key, hung on a hook in Dear Mum & Dad's bedroom. To this end, Augie cautiously entered and crept on tip-toe, past his slumbering Dear M & D, recovering the key. Not once did they stir, for Augie was quite good now at being neither seen nor heard. Down the stairs, through the kitchen and out to the shed where in he found the axe resting against the wall where his father had left it. As he held it again and felt it's weight he heard the spirit, inside, laughing to Herself.
Augie now set to cutting down the Tall Folk the same way She had been felled earlier that day. Sister Valarie was first - he found her in the stables, playing her favorite game with the stallion. With a chop to the throat she died gasping, gurgling and gushing. Next came Brother John Jr. - he was in the study, as per usual, entertaining himself to a book of French etchings. One quick swing and the blunt end of the axe buried deep in B.J.'s skull as bits of grey matter splashed all across the floor. Finally, it was time for Dear Mum & Dad. Entering again, just as silently as before, Augie set to giving his sleeping parent's a grisly farewell. In a matter of moments their boudoir was coated, ceiling to floor, with blood, bone, flesh and gore.
Her work now done the spirit left him, returning Augie to full control of his body and awareness of his senses, leaving him to confront the horror that now surrounded him. It was not until several days later that another living soul was aware of the tragedy that had befallen the Jorgensen family. It was a Tuesday (or at least it felt like one), when Augie was found by a neighbor still clutching the bloody implement, his eyes wide and his body shaking. The Constable was called immediately and when he arrived he pleaded with Augie for an explanation to the bloody chaos that surrounded them. All that Augie was able to offer were four words: "The tree is dead".
For the next seventy-three years, until his own death, Augie was remanded to a nice quiet (and padded) room at the Lake View Home for the Mentally Unhinged. There he remained, finally let alone with his thoughts and his most wonderfully vivid daydreams, and rarely was he ever seen by anyone or heard from again.