A bit about Trevor

Trevor is the guard out the front of my cell. We actually had a conversation today, which was pretty cool, because when i first got here, he wasn't heaps keen on talking. When i was left all alone in my cell, i peeked through the little eye hole gap in the door, and Trevor was standing there, but i didn't know it was Trevor at that time. I said, 'Hey man, how's it going?' and he looked at me like he had never heard anyone ask him how he was before.

He said, 'uh... alright i guess.' and i said, 'you get up to much around here?' and he said, 'um... mainly i read a lot of books'. 'That sounds pretty cool,' i replied, and he just nodded. I asked him what his name was, and he said, 'it's Trevor. Look, i'm not supposed to be talking to you, ok? I could get in heaps of trouble for this, so maybe just pretend like i'm not here, cool?' So i went to sleep.

When i woke up the next morning i went straight over to the door and said, 'morning Trevor' and he said 'morning Blake', because they all know my name here, it seems. Then i went about doing some exercise and thinking about muffins and Celes and wasting the time away until my rice porridge came. When i got tired i went up to the door and said 'night Trevor' and he said 'night Blake'

The next morning we greeted each other the same way, and i did my exercises. After i had a small break, i knocked on the door, and Trevor was like 'What is it Blake?' and i said, 'Do you think maybe i could call someone to let them know i am sorry i missed our date?' and he said, 'you don't really get this prisoner/guard thing, do you?' I agreed that i probably did not.

Then yesterday i asked him what being the star of the 'festival of fire' meant, and he said that it meant they were going to set me on fire, and i said 'cool, like i get to wear one of those hot suits and run around?' and he said no it's more like they will just set me on fire to herald the meteor. He said it was ok because if all went to plan, everyone else would be killed by a meteor moments later anyway. But apparently they do this every year and the giant meteor still hasn't come.

i don't really want to get set on fire.

Anyway, today, Trevor asked me why i did push ups, and i said it was because i wanted a strong back and chest. I asked him how many he could do and he said he didn't know, so i said 'maybe you should give it a try,' so he did. I couldn't see him do them but i heard him push his way through some. He told me he could do five so i laughed at him. 'HA HA! Silly little monk! I, Blake Samuels, am your better in terms of physical strength!' Trevor was all calm like and he said that no amount of physical strength would help me not get burned to a crisp. I went silent for a moment so Trevor laughed at me. 'HAHAHA! Silly little peon! Kneel before the lightning quick wit of Trevor!' And we laughed for a while after that.

So it really isn't so bad down here now that i think about it. Time away from my time away, it would seem.

Blake out.

A message from the underground...

So some of you may have been wondering where i have been over the past few days. Well, if you thought i was in danger, then you don't need to worry, because i've just been locked in a cell in the basement of the old church across the lake by those crazy monks i have been dreaming about. Now i know it sounds bad, but they're actually an alright group, if a little strong in their recruiting drives.

Anyway, the reason i haven't been able to write anything is because i haven't had my laptop, but it was delivered to me last night by a girl in a monk's robe who had a beautiful voice (i am sure i know it. So very sure!). She passed it through the one little window near the roof of my room. I couldn't see her face because it was so dark, but she said that i reminded her of someone she used to know a long time ago who she lost, and she thought maybe she could help me. She said she would contact me via the laptop when the time was right for an escape, to which i replied 'ok'

Also, she brought me a muffin which was really great. It wasn't really as fresh as i am used to, but all i've been eating here is a kind of rice porridge, which is a bit bland. I don't know how she knew i liked the muffins, but i sure was thankful.

So the other night, when i answered the door, three monks were waiting for me and one of them must have drugged me beacuse i woke up kind of disoriented in this cell. A monk called Jared was waiting for me to wake up and he told me i was lots of trouble because they had tried to catch me before but i had run off because i had not been sedated enough, and i said i didn't remember that, but he said it didn't really matter anyway, and that he wanted me to join the monk community. He said i didn't have to answer straight away, but that if i said no when he came back i would be the star in their 'festival of fire' celebration, which sounds like fun to me. I told him i would think very carefully about it, because i didn't want to sound rude straight off the bat, what with them giving me food and accomodation and what not.

Over the past few days i have been keeping myself occupied by doing exercises like push-ups, squats, and various stretches. I have been out of the training loop for a while, so i fear that my recent muffin addiction may be killing what little physique i have. It has been quite good so far; i am able to do fifty push-ups, which i think is good for me.

I am really sad that i missed my date with Celes. I think she will totally not want to speak to me anymore because i stood her up. I was really looking forward to seeing her other sketches too. I have been looking out the window in the mornings and wondering if she will forgive me when i get out. I hope so.

Blake out.

Good Feeling - Travis

So i didn't wake up until way late in the afternoon. Something like two or three, i'm not entirely sure. I must have been way more tired yesterday than i realised. I had a long shower, which was just awesome, but was a bit surprised by all the dirt i had in my hair. I had to wash it twice. I've never had to do that, ever. Seriously.

Anyway, i went downstairs and Celes was there. She was at the front desk looking bored and scribbling on a piece of paper with a ballpoint pen ocassionally. She looked super surprised to see me. She said 'what are you doing here?', and i told her about the day before when i woke up near the forest and how i couldn't remember the day before that. She looked a bit worried about something, so i told her not to worry, but something was still bothering her. She said she had to make a phone call, but she came back in about five minutes.

I said, 'did you draw this picture?' and when she noticed what i was pointing at she quickly put it under the front desk and got embarassed. It was really good, like, just this fantastic picture of a little boy in a forest, so i said, 'because it's really fantastic.' She smiled, and blushed, so i said, 'No really, it is. Can i have another look?' but she wouldn't show it to me.

She looked kind of sad for some reason, so i asked her again if something was wrong. She shook her head, and then looked like she had an idea. She said, 'hey, would you like another of our hot chocolates?' but i politely told her that they tasted a bit like medicine, and that i don't really like to drink that unless i am sick. She thought that was funny, and i thought to myself 'dammit Blake! You have to give it a shot!' so i took the plunge.

I said, 'are you up to anything tomorrow?'

and she said 'no, i'm free for the day.'

so i said, 'maybe we could go for a walk around the town, get some lunch or something. I would really like to see more of your sketches if that would be possible.'

She smiled and said 'that sounds nice.'

I was so happy it was stupid, but i kept it really cool, and just said 'fantastic! let's just meet down here tomorrow morning at eleven maybe?'

And she just nodded and looked a bit sad.

I will make it my job to cheer her up tomorrow, no matter what! Hooray for Blake!

I told her i had to go and she looked me in the eyes for a minute and she said 'please be careful Blake' which i thought was a funny way of saying goodbye, but maybe that's the difference between cityfolk and townsfolk, i don't know.

I came back up here straightaway because i felt like i had to write this down, i am so happy.

Ooh, there's a knock on the door. It was quite a heavy knock. I am not used to visitors. This is exciting. I wonder who it could be?

Blake out.

Ps. Haha, Toni! You remember when you said that every time i get dates with girls they're either ugly or something goes wrong? Well this one is for you! HA!

What happened yesterday?

I had another dream with that monk in it. In this one, i was running through a forest being chased by three of them. It was a little bit frightening, because it didn't seem like there was any exit to the forest, just all these trees all around and the sound of my own breathing and my feet crushing twigs and leaves. One of them grabbed the hood on my jumper and pulled me back and then i woke up.

The weird thing is, when i woke up, i wasn't in the motel. I was lying on the road just outside of town, and the forest was behind me. It was a little disorienting, a bit like the time i slept at a friend's house after a big night out and woke up and went 'this isn't my house' only a lot worse. I wandered into the diner, sat at the counter, and ordered a coffee along with a muffin (i was really hungry. like, really hungry)

Sandy asked me if i had been causing any trouble, and i said no ma'am i have not been, and she said because someone threw a brick through tony's window and it almost broke the television and the soccer finals were on and he really did not want to miss the end and he thinks it was you. I said i don't throw bricks through people's windows because it is not my style, and she said, then what were you doing yesterday, and i said i spent all day in the motel because it was raining, and she said no no no that was the day before yesterday, what were you doing yesterday?

That was very confusing, actually. I said, i guess i don't know what i was doing yesterday then, and Sandy said maybe i should stay in my room for a while and avoid Tony. I agreed this was a good idea, but i thought i would go to the secondhand bookstore and buy something to read first.

At the bookstore i found a book called 'Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World', and it sounded like it would be interesting to read, so i took it to the counter. I was so surprised when i saw there was a man at the counter wearing a monk's robe just like the one in my dream, only this one was a kind of dirty creamy colour instead of black. He almost fell over when he saw me (which i later put down to the fact that i hadn't showered or anything, so my hair was all wacky), and quickly rushed out of the store. The clerk said to me 'those monks that live on the hill sure are a funny bunch,' and i said 'what do they do?' and he said 'they sure are a funny bunch, yep. Sitting around praying for the end of the world and the coming of the fabled giant meteor.'

There was no one at the Stayaway when i got back, so i just went up to my room and started reading but i was so tired i just fell asleep before i finished the first chapter. I woke up a little later in the afternoon and sat around trying to remember what happened yesterday but i couldn't for the life of me remember anything. I really hope i didn't throw that brick through Tony's window, because that seems very out of character to me. Maybe if Celes is around tomorrow i will ask her and see if she knows anything.

Blake out.

Poor tony

It was raining again today. Not as hard as the other day, but enough that i couldn't really go outside and wander around like i had planned. I sat around and listened to music and read some books i brought along with me.

I went downstairs for lunch and Celes brought it out for me, along with a hot chocolate exclusive to the Stayaway (very secretive recipe and very old. Tastes a bit weird, but i thought it rude to say that). I asked her where she had been recently but she just smiled and said she had been busy. I didn't think it was my place to ask what exactly she was busy doing, but i really wanted to know. She said she had heard about my being punched and she hoped i was alright. Apparently the big guy's name is Tony, and the mayor's son (Craig) had taken lots of his money, crashed his car, slept with his daughter, and later, his wife too. It was lucky, she said, that i had not been killed right then and there.

When i think about it, maybe she is right.

I am very tired at the moment, like a wave of sleep has just crashed on me. Maybe i will nap for a bit.

Blake out.

Mistaken Identity

So i was in the diner today, eating a muffin, minding my own business, and thinking about my first girlfriend who broke up with me because she thought my taste in movies was stupid ("a flying pig? in a red plane? and it's a cartoon? You're an idiot" she'd said) when this guy walked in. He was followed by the dirty looking bald man who pointed me out.

I thought to myself, 'oh no, that guy knows i had muffin on my face. He's totally going to think i'm an idiot', but this guy looked quite mad, and he walked up to me and picked me up by my shirt. He was quite big up close, but a bit smelly, and he said to me 'You made a bad decision, you did. Don't you remember i told you you ain't allowed to come back? I told you and you disappeared but here you are again, and you are real stupid for doing that.'

I was a bit confused, and i said 'You have told me no such thing, and i think that getting muffin on your face is not something to get mad at someone out for. It was truly an honest mistake, and i will try not to do it again but i can't really...' but he cut me off by saying 'i see you have a new haircut and you talk different but it's you, i can tell, and you better be out of here by tomorrow or i will break your legs.' and i said 'if you break my legs, how will i leave here?'

I have never been punched in the stomach so hard in my whole life. Everything went a bit blurry and i could not seem to breathe in. I do no recommend getting punched in the stomach. It took me a long time to recover, because i am not used to being hit by people, but when i did the two men were already gone.

Sandy told me that i looked like the mayor's son, who had taken lots of money and made lots of people mad and then vanished. She said she hadn't noticed before but that i actually did look a bit like him. As it turns out, the rains were so bad the day before that the roads are flooded and i really can't leave town for a while. I'm not sure what to do about it, because i really want to avoid being hit in the stomach again.

I couldn't find Celes at all. Again. I wonder what she's been doing, and where she's been, because i really have no idea what it is she might do with her spare time. I should really ask her next time i see her.

According to a brochure i found in my room, there is a tavern in this town, and it can be quite interesting. I might check it out. I just hope that big guy and his bald friend don't frequent it.

Blake out.

Rainy Friday

It's been raining since i woke up. I'm not to sure where it came from, actually, because the last two days were just beautiful. The whole "sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky' kind of deal. It was raining so hard this morning that i couldn't even cross the road to the diner to get another one of those muffins, so for a little while i was kind of depressed and moping around like a man unable to eat a beautiful muffin, which i was.

Then it struck me that i hadn't been around the motel much, and that maybe, just maybe, Celes would be around somewhere and we could talk some. There is a small dining room downstairs so i went down there to see if someone would be around. Unfortunately, the only person down there was Celes' grandpa, the old guy who shouted at her yesterday. Anyway, i thought maybe i could talk to him and he would warm up to me but it looks like he wants none of that.

I said, 'hello sir my name is...' and he fired back at me 'i ain't talkin' to you y'damn future head! i didn't even want y'here in the first place!' and i tried to say 'well, i was just...' so he blasted me with 'Keep your distance boy! I don't wanna catch none of that virax or whatever it is floatin' around in the city!' and i said 'virax?' but he was already hobbling away.

I met Celes' grandma though, and she seemed nice. She said that usually when it rains like this the roads to and from the city get flooded, so i might have to wait a bit before i can get out of town, which doesn't bother me really, because it's not like i'm in a big hurry to be anywhere, and this place seems nice enough. I asked her if she knew anything about the church past the lake but she said she didn't know what i was talking about and that even if she did know anything about any churches in the nearby area then maybe i would be a safer young man if i didn't ask any more questions about imaginary churches which most definitely do not exist. Then she wandered away.

I couldn't find Celes anywhere, and to top it off i couldn't find anyone to ask about her. It was quite a sad day. I thought maybe i could stand out in the pouring rain and cry at the sky like they do in the movies ("CELES!!!!"), but actually that's kind of stupid, so i just went back to my room and read a book i found there. Hopefully tomorrow the weather clears up.

Blake out

Ps. Jake, can you wish Sarah a happy birthday for me?

Her name is Celes, and it is beautiful

I got up super early this morning because i had another bizarre dream. I was on this rickety old boat in the middle of a lake and it was all misty and dark around me. I had a fishing rod, but really, it was more like a stick with some string attached to it. After a lttle while i felt a pull on the line, so i leaned over the side to check it out, and when i did that monk from my dream last night reached up out of the water and pulled me in. Then i woke up.

I wish a beautiful woman had reached up and pulled me into the water. Or a mermaid. I would have been much more comfortable with that, i think.

Fortunately, the diner was open, so i went in for some coffee and another one of those awesome muffins. There was only me and this other guy in the diner, it was so early (like 6am i think), and for a really long time he just stared at me kind of funny. He was kind of old and a bit dirty looking and he didn't have much hair. After a while he took a phone out of his pocket and called someone. He talked kind of fast and ocassionally looked back at me, and after the phone call he slipped out of the diner. Then Sandy came up and told me i had some muffin on my face, and it suddenly dawned on me that i must have looked really stupid to that guy, sitting around with muffin all on my face.

I don't know why he thought it was so stupid that he had to call a friend about it, but then again, there was that one time i saw a girl wearing black and white striped leg warmers and a blue camo skirt and i called up John and i was all like 'Oh my god dude, you have to see this!' and he came down and he was like 'Oh holy shit Blake that's your girlfriend!' and i was like 'Aw man...'

So i guess on one level i get it.

Anyway, anyway, anyway, i have important news! When i wandered back to the Stayaway later on, the super pretty girl was behind the counter. I went up to her and said hi, and she said hi back. I asked her what it was like living here, and she said it was ok, and i said it certainly is quieter here than where i live, and she said where are you from and i said the city and she was like wow and all impressed and i thought that was cool. I was just about to ask her if she was busy tomorrow when an old man poked his head out from a doorway and said 'I thought i told you not to talk to those damn future folk when they come in, Celes. You get back in here and help grandma already' She glanced at me for a moment and then left to help grandma.

Oh i just know i was so SO close to getting her to come out! But at least now i have a name.

Celes.

It sure is pretty.

Tomorrow i'm going to ask someone about the old church.

Blake out.

Where are you super pretty girl?

I had this weird dream last night. In it, there was this guy watching me through my motel room window. He was wearing a monk's robes, and he had the hood up covering his eyes. It was a full moon, and after a while he started knocking on the window. After a few tries, it shattered, he fell in, and i woke up.

Bizarre, huh?

Anyway, today was my first day out and about! Hooray for freedom! I went back to the diner, had some breakfast, and made some small talk with the waitress. Her name is Sandy, and she is kind of old, but once, a long time ago, i think she might have been really pretty. She was asking me all these questions all one after another like 'How'd y'get here?' and 'How long are y'planning to stay?' and 'What are you going t'do here?' and 'Didn't y'know there're nicer towns than this one?'

I tried to answer her questions as best i could, but alas, i am only one man, and a slightly confused one at that, so she left with a puzzled look on her face. I think in future i will talk with her more and clear up that i am not really a stupid person, just a little behind everyone else. Also, the muffin i had after breakfast was really, really good. I simply have to have another one.

So i walked a path i found into the forest and soaked up the atmosphere. It really is pretty out there, but without the track, you would easily get lost, i think. I found this clearing with a lake that was really pretty. Perfect for a picnic with a beautiful woman (and i know just the one!). On the other side of the lake is this really old looking church. It looks like it's going to fall to pieces. One day when i have more time i totally have to go and check it out, i think.

Anyway, by the time i got back to town it was sunset already, so i went back to the motel, but no one was there, which was disappointing, because i really wanted to ask someone about that old church (country town + old falling apart church = totally cool ghost stories or something!!!). Plus, i really wanted to see that super pretty girl again.

Damn it Blake, you have to at least get her name before you go man!

So before i leave town, there are two things i must do:

1.) eat another muffin
2.) get super pretty girl's name

Blake out

Ps. Seriously Todd, check the fridge. I'm practically next door. You remember what happened when i ate that cake Frank got for his birthday and he came back and there was that empty plate and me with chocolate on my face watching jackie chan movies? This will be totally worse.

Welcome Mr Samuels, to Hollow Hills

The time was ripe for an escape. A bad break up and an even worse night out seemed to lead me somewhat inevitably to being fired. Not that you can really call what i did a job. In any case, it opened my eyes to the fact that i am just a small fish in a big pond, and that the big pond doesn't really care much for it's little fish unless the little fish care for it first.

Does that make sense to you? I sure hope so, because i think it reads kind of nice.

Anyway, i decided that with the sudden free time i had i would go on a trip. I didn't care where i went or what i did, really. I just thought 'Goddamit Blake, you've just got to get out there and live! Live Blake, live!' So i packed my bags and drove west.

At least i think it was west. I don't think it makes a huge difference.

But here i am people, the one and only Blake Samuels, writing to you from Hollow Hills. Hollow Hills is a small town somewhere in a forest that is also somewhere. I don't really know exactly where it sits, but it sure is a nice looking place. I got here close to sunset, ate a small meal at what i can only assume is the local diner, and then booked a room at a motel called the Stayaway Inn. It is a strange name, but it rings kind of nice in my ears.

The girl who gave me the key to my room is really pretty. Like, really pretty. She is so beautiful it is stupid. If she is not doing anything in the next few days, i think i will ask her to show me around and then i will see if she wants to go out for dinner and then maybe i will be really nice to her and she will want to kiss me.

That would be awesome.

I intend to wander around some tomorrow, take in the world outside of the world i live in and just generally be out and about. Who knows what the next few weeks have in store for me?

Blake out.

Ps. Todd, if you are reading this, i left the fridge open. Can you close it for me? If Frank comes back and finds the fridge door open, he will be super pissed at me. Thanks bud.