Elba

By Drew Dick

The information about the book is not available as of this time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9798823016759

Drew Dick

A recent graduate of Central Dauphin High School, Drew Dick has always had a love for poetry. He never gave writing it a thought until high school, where teachers and friends convinced him to keep at his hobby.

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© 2023 Drew Dick. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Published by AuthorHouse  10/25/2023

ISBN: 979-8-8230-1676-6 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-8230-1675-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023920581

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Part 1 Revival

Part 2 The Willful Intent of Theodore Banker

Part 3 Elba

Suus ‘a deliciae sed solum unum

Part One:

Revival

Martin Banker was the first son of thirteen children, quite a burden with a father who was a drunk.

Most of the recorded lineage he has would show nothing but rambling men. At this point in time there has been so many different stories, no one knows for sure, but the ramblers and the drunks are all that will be remembered.

So, with that, Martin was always the man of the house. He learned an abnormal amount of responsibility at such a young age.

Martin’s Grandfather worked on the railroad, he would hop a train from town to town but would leave a woman and children before moving onto the next town and repeating the process, this is how we got Martin’s Father in the town we would all know too well.

Martin’s Father, for any understandable number of reasons, wasn’t a good man. He didn’t know any better, but in this world that’s no excuse. There is no clause for ignorance in the world of men.

Martin’s Father was a drinker, and an angry one. He found a woman, who God knows was surely a blessing to the world to stay with him. You must imagine he had some sort of tenderness or safety about him that went along with him behind closed doors if he could get anyone at all to stick around. He was the toughest of the tough, not in an admirable way though, more that no one wanted to be around him anymore than they had to.

Martin’s Father was of average build, an average face, but with a non-existent heart.

Martin’s Father worked hard on the railroad like his Father before him. Amongst the men at work, I’m sure he was a presence, but outside of the tracks they let him escape their minds.

Once Martin was born, it wasn’t long before the other twelve were born. He would quickly become delegated to do everything that needed done while his Father was at work. From helping his Mother take care of the kids, to working the farm, Martin took care of it.

They didn’t have much money, Martin’s Father would spend every dime he could without letting the family starve. I imagine they felt they had to thank him for that.

Martin’s Father lived his life very hard, and very fast, not caring for anything. He died in his early thirties. Now Martin didn’t just pick up his Father’s slack, he had to fill his shoes.

*        *        *

Martin started working as many jobs as he could, often at the same time. He differed from his Father by doing this so that he could bring home as much money as he could for his Mother and the children, not to drink away his sorrows of not having a real Father. He would be his own.

He would help out the local farmers, doing anything they needed, but the job that would start his new life for him was at the town bank. A fitting job for someone with Banker for a last name.

Martin started at the bank by sweeping the stairs out front as a young boy. He was so determined in everything he did, driven by an unseen debt he owed his family for doing nothing wrong, other than having his Father be who he was. A debt he could never repay, but would spend every drop of sweat trying.

Martin would continue to work multiple jobs until his younger brothers were old enough to work themselves, and his sisters were grown enough to help their Mother around the farm. By the time that happened, Martin’s hard work was noticed, and he was offered full-time work with higher pay at the bank. He continued to do this for a few years until he worked all the way to the top.

Everyone was so proud of Martin, and he didn’t have time for their praise, he was ready to get back to work.

Martin went to the town fair one spring night and his world was turned upside down, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. He knew in an instant that there was no amount of work he could do to get this off his mind, no amount of money he could make that would let him buy this moment forgotten.

He had to act. He was more than compelled, he was destined, he was forced.

She was with her friends, totally oblivious to him, but you could tell she knew someone was looking at her from the way she was moving and acting.

Once she finally turned around and saw him, with her hair swinging in the April breeze, their eyes met, and she looked away just as quickly as she had seen him. She looked at one of the stands, she had a look on her face as if she had completely forgotten where she was. She looked so lost, but also comforted in the sense that she knew eventually, wherever she ended up, this man would be there, watching over her, making sure everything would still be ok.

As she looked away, Martin continued to stare at her, knowing that as long as he knew where she was, and that she was taken care of, he would be ok.

It was a still moment in time, one of the few in the history of the world that everyone who was living felt. Regardless of where they were, or what they were doing, they felt the stillness and pause that Martin and Mary had created.

Martin’s feet began walking towards her, his eyes still fixed on her. His brain stopped working, he thought nothing, and before he knew it, he was standing right in front of her and her friends.

Mary’s friends all stared, smiling at the awkward silence he had created, still feeling uneasy from the pause they had all just felt.

In the time between him stopping in front of the girls and when she first spoke, his life, her life, her friends’ lives, his father’s life, they all passed by, seeming meaningless and boring. He saw all of this, and none of it mattered. He was caught like a rabbit in a trap. He saw birds flying beneath him, buildings and sidewalks above him. Nothing would ever settle him from this feeling.

Finally, one of Mary’s friends asked if they could help him with something.

Martin kept silent until, like a starting gun, all of the possible lives and decisions he saw came rushing back inside of him, and after taking in that breath of life back to his body he spoke. Thank you for everything, now tell me to leave., he said with a begging look on his face.

Perplexed, all the girls stood there staring at him. Finally, Mary said Excuse me?.

Martin replied, Tell me to leave, and save me all of the heartbreak I know I’m sure to feel if you don’t run away with me right now.

Mary told him I don’t know what you’re thanking me for, or what you’re on about, but I don’t care if you leave or go..

I need you to tell me to go away, otherwise I’ll never stop trying to get you to run away with me. Martin said.

Mary looked at him with eyes that could have stopped any man and said, Go on then..

Martin thanked her again for everything he knew he would go through, and everything he