The Spell

[whispers quietly] Naïka is a witch. Now stay there. Got to get this done before my battery dies. Gonna be a tad longer than usual. ...that's okay.

[quiet] Power’s out again. [thinking] ...power's ...out ...again Writing can be formulaic and it can be an art form. Writing by candlelight doesn’t change that. Just makes it harder to see what you’re doing. ... The darkness is my friend.

.[quiet whisper].. ya hear that? ... I was looking for my scissors. Not the Shop scissors. The other ones. Black handles. Good pair of scissors. Not like the junk they sell today. You know, scissors can do a lot of damage. They could save you. Although that isn’t exactly true, is it? You can never find a pair of scissors when you need them. [grumbles]Ain’t that the truth. If truth means anything. ... I’ve been wrestling with truth. Not tonight. Tonight I’m wrestling with scissors.

[whispers quietly]Another dispatch from Scott Evers. Read for you by Geezer III. ... There. I don’t know what got into me. I was transfixed. What? On the scissors. You know that little trance you go into every once in a while? Everything goes away. Then something happens and— There you are. I’d found them behind the computer. I must have dropped them. And then, as if somebody dialed in the lens— there was nothing but the scissors. Something between the blades. I took off my readers. Tiny tuft of fur. ... A little of the hair of the dog that bit me. Though she never did. Mango. ... [deep breath] I could smell her. I know. Hair doesn’t smell like anything after that . I could smell her. ... This is how it goes. [to agent] Winston? How old are scissors? Mm-hm. Egyptian. Mesopotamian. My favorite. No, of course Mesopotamia isn’t my favorite. I like to stay positive. Tigris and Euphrates. Yes, I know my rivers. What did they cut? Linen. Papyrus. Clothing. Mummification? Well. That’s different. ... Why are they plural? Scissors. It’s one thing. A scissor. If you hand me a scissors, you better be handing me two. Oh, you like that. [laughs] ... Funny thing about a spell. You put a few ordinary things in the right order and expect something to happen. That’s writing. ... Suppose cooking too. [quiet aside]... and witches. ... Gina told me once that Naïka could do something with hair. Not that. Jesus, Winston. Something else. Something about bringing back the— Essence. That was the word. Essence of something. I don’t know what the essence of Mango is exactly. She was a great dog. ... So I called Naïka. I know. I know. The less information you know, the better. That’s what she said. Which normally would be enough information for me to hang up. ... But I didn’t. ... Hair. Ginger. Some herbs I had to look for. A candle. Glass of water. The scissors. I asked her what the scissors were for. She said— ... Well, never mind what she said. ... Winston? What do you know about spells? No. Forget it. ... Fred says hi. We were talking about scissors. No, Fred and I were talking about scissors. About how they’ve become inadequate. Fred, can you please speak in complete sentences? What’s electricity got to do with it? Are you just getting up or going to bed? I was asleep for a while until the coyotes started. It’s been quite a year. I feel like I’m in a Sam Shepard play. ... Did I tell you I found a little chunk of Mango’s hair? Caught in some lost scissors. I couldn’t remember if I told you. Not that I wanted to tell you. ... Sorry. I hung up. I was feeling— agitated. ... Why does she do that to me? Naïka. ... [amused]I’m not interested in dating her. Of course not. I’m attracted to her in some way. I can’t put my finger on it. And that’s why it makes me wonder whether I’m under some kind of spell. ... I know how that sounds. Especially coming from me. ... Maybe that’s what I like about her. She knows how it sounds. Doesn’t seem to bother her. ... The candle goes here. Water beside it. Ginger. Mango. Scissors. ... Funny thing. You spend your whole life learning how things work. And then somebody comes a and says— it works better if you don’t know. ... I don’t know what got into me. ... That’s not true. ... I know exactly what got into me. … Winston? ... Winston. ... Oh. Power’s out. … All right. Let’s see what remains.

[whispers] okay. I'll type. how's that... [whispers] you act... perfectly human [whispers] ... you're welcome. [walks]