Upper Bound Chronicles: A Novella

By Nels Lindahl

The following novella was primarily written on or around November 26, 2002, in Lawrence, Kansas, during one marathon writing session. After some consideration about a few methods of publishing this novel received some minor grammarian-based attention and was promptly uploaded for distribution back on January 29, 2011, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A few physical copies of this book in a paperback format from that exercise are still on my bookshelf. However, at some point along the way that distribution stopped. To that end, this work was recently revised and published under a new distributor for 2022 publication in eBook format. It has been roughly 20 years since the original novella was written back in Lawrence, Kansas, during my years as an undergraduate student. While my writing style has certainly changed and matured over the last 20 years it is an interesting look back at the rawness of how I communicated emotion during the process of storytelling. I realized after 20 years of reflection that this work is sort of a mean little book. It's certainly a work of fiction written in a realistic style and nothing more than that.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9781716016073

Book preview

ALSO BY NELS LINDAHL

Nonfiction Books

Graduation with Civic Honors

Responsive E-Government

The Lindahl Letter: On Machine Learning

Fiction Books

United Earth Chronicles: A Novella

Dream Chaser Archives: A Novella

Short Stories Assembled

Copyright Page

Upper Bound Chronicles

A Novella

All Rights Reserved 2022 by Nels Lindahl

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the publisher.

Published by Nels Lindahl

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-1-716-01607-3

Imprint: Lulu.com

Dedication

To Nora Lynn for being the essence of what makes life meaningful…

Dear reader,

The following novella was primarily written on or around November 26, 2002, in Lawrence, Kansas, during one marathon writing session. After some consideration about a few methods of publishing this novel received some minor grammarian-based attention and was promptly uploaded for distribution back on January 29, 2011, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A few physical copies of this book in a paperback format from that exercise are still on my bookshelf. However, at some point along the way that distribution stopped.

To that end, this work was recently revised and published under a new distributor for 2022 publication in eBook format. It has been roughly 20 years since the original novella was written back in Lawrence, Kansas, during my years as an undergraduate student. While my writing style has certainly changed and matured over the last 20 years it is an interesting look back at the rawness of how I communicated emotion during the process of storytelling. I realized after 20 years of reflection that this work is sort of a mean little book. It's certainly a work of fiction written in a realistic style and nothing more than that.

Dr. Nels Lindahl

Broomfield, Colorado

January 9, 2022

Prologue

I feel a certain obligation to write a complete introduction to Upper Bound Chronicles: A Novella. This novella at times fosters a degree of love and hate. Some people who read it reacted negatively to it. The combination of good and bad elements makes it an interesting read. It is one of my early short stories that I produced during a marathon writing session. For those of you who care about literary foundations its conception came at a point in my life when I was severely disheartened and otherwise heartbroken. Some parts of the prose feel so personal it is hard to read and other parts of it feel like they happened. I am at peace with the thoughts and ideas that make up the stories in the Upper Bound Chronicles. For those of you readers who really enjoy realistic fiction the Upper Bound Chronicles are the right late night reading material for your tastes.

Chapter 1: Just Happiness

I am sure that this chapter did exist at one point; however, nobody was able to recover it from the many notes, journals, and interviews that comprise the rest of this work of prose. The only clear reference to his chapter went something like this, Sometimes when you are hopelessly in love time passes without your permission.

Chapter 2: The Absolute Nothing

I stood looking into the eyes of the girl I had come to love more than any words will ever be able to describe. If you have ever truly loved someone, then you know the feeling that comes from making perfect eye contact with another person. That warm knowing glance that can feel like it lasted forever. At the same time, it is over before you have time to blink. That feeling grabs you and can pull you into a different level of comfort. You know that feeling that seems to wrap up every care in the world. The problem with love is that it can be so blinding that you never really realize where you are. She called again today. Only this time, it was not just the voice, which left me wishing we could meet in person. I heard the words over the phone. The phone is such an impersonal way to discuss matters of the heart. The phone is simply not the way to discuss anything that could end a relationship between two people.

Nora called me to say that she loved me in a way that words cannot express. She then said that Zack had tricked her into being in a relationship. Within a moment after hearing those words an avalanche of emotions poured through the telephone. I could not believe that she could ever be with him. What tore me apart was that I had asked her to be in a relationship with me just a month before she decided that Zack was the right one for her.

So, I was thinking that we have spent so much time and shared so much. That it was time for us to stop pretending that we don’t want to be together and get engaged.

She replied to me in the same cold way that I was not accustomed to at the time, but now has become so much a part the relationship. That tone has come to embody what we have left. Understanding the nature of our phone conversation involves going back to the week after the proposal when we met for a nice Chinese dinner.

So, Nora, have you changed your mind and want to get married to me huh?

I don’t know what I want Nelson. I just don’t think I have found myself yet.

Well, if you feel like you love me and that you are comfortable with me, do you want to be in some kind of relationship with me? Nora maybe we can do the girlfriend and boyfriend thing for a while?

No, I don’t think we should do that I don’t want to be in a relationship right now it just is all wrong. I would just not feel right being involved with you right now.

So, what you are saying is that you think we should be dating then? That we need to start slow and work our way up to being in a full relationship. I understand that you feel the need for space, but don’t you think that we are right together?

Nelson, I don’t think that it matters what we are or what we do. If you know that you love me and I love you, then does it does not matter what we are called. I just don’t know who I am or what I want to do with my life. I am just not ready at this point in my life to make long term plans like that.

At this point, I did not know what to do. Nora told me that she really did not want anything to do with me and that I did not matter to her. Now at the time, I really did feel the need to rationalize the moment and I was an emotional wreck at the end of the conversation. I could not blame her for being confused. I am positive about what made me feel that way. It was what happened after dinner. We ended up sitting in my car and spending an hour or two not really talking or anything in particular. She just cried and held on to me it was strange to hear the noises made by such uninhibited crying. The rapid out of breath whimpers that altogether encompass a feeling that I have no real explanation for and cannot describe. Now, I did not know what to do. I love this girl and do not want to lose her. At the same time, it seems like she is trying as hard as she possibly can to lose me.

Now when I got that phone call, I wanted to tell Nora that it was over. That nothing was left between us. All I could think is that certainly no concept of we exist in what she believes anymore. What I dream about is so much different from what is happening. I wanted to say to her that no reason for me to want to be with her exists. Everything in my head, every bit of logic I possibly possessed, told me that I have to stop this relationship. This is as unhealthy as anything could be. The one thing stopping me was that there is so little love in this world. That when you find what you think might be the best thing that will ever be in your life you have to hold on it for all it is worth. Fighting to hold onto a slim