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The Last Storyteller

–Part Three of The Storyteller Series

Excerpt from Part Two The Quest

Charlie Walker and Sir Charles Hempstead came back saying that because of the flooding they had found a small creek that would take us to the Pee Dee River.  We poled our dugouts up the small creek knowing freedom was just miles away.  In the distance, we could see the Pee Dee River, yet the unbelievers were within sight of our small group.  We could hear an airboat in the distance heading our way.  Tonight would be another night that storytellers would sit by beds and say Legend has it that deep in the forest … for one more night the children would still believe in fairytales.

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The Dragon’s Lair

The airboat was coming in fast and furious with a roar and thunder like the sound of Thor’s hammer battering his foes.  The sun was setting brightly behind the airboat blinding the unbelievers.  Charlie Walker gazed into the bright sun and said I know that guy.  It was Len Bernat, another storyteller we all knew well.  Len was no stranger to the dangers he faced in his efforts to rescue this little group of his friends.  Often those that tell the tales of courage, adventure and fear were speaking and writing from life experiences

I touched Buddy on the head to get his attention and pointed to several paths near where the unbelievers waited.  Buddy, Charlie Walker, and Sir Charles the squirrel ran toward the unbelievers and at the last moment each took a different trail which caused the unbelievers to break rank and a few took a different path to try and capture at least one of the three.  Charlie Walker was a fly-fishing guide and could find his way through these swamps even on the darkest night.

You could hear Buddy deep into the woods barking and howling so that he would be chased.  He stopped by a huge cypress tree and went into a hole between the roots and watched the unbelievers pass him by just a few feet from where he stood silently.  He waited until he could hear them in the distance, obviously lost, and he headed for a landing in a creek just off the Pee Dee River.  That is where they all agreed to rendezvous and make their escape.

They could not see or smell him coming low in the water until he got close to their airboat.

Charlie, being an experienced guide, could smell the city on the unbelievers, perfume, lotions, and a cleanliness that did not exist in the deep swamps of Carolina.  There, the smell of stagnant water, rotting cypress trees, and most frighteningly gators and snakes, permeated the air.  They could not see or smell him coming low in the water until he got close to their airboat.  He slowly climbed on board, cranked up the engine, and left the unbelievers high and dry on a small knoll in the middle of a vast swamp.  The only way back to the city for them was to walk.

With feelings of exhilaration, both Len and Charlie rounded up Larry, Buddy and Sir Charles and headed up the Pee Dee at full speed to Tega Cay to meet Raissa the great artist and writer.  Sir Charles had rummaged the unbeliever’s packs and found the vile of Strong Ink that they had taken from Pola the storyteller.  Tonight, the children would once again hear the stories; the ones that start with Legend has it… and their imaginations will grow, and they will carry these stories with them for a lifetime.

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Part One – The Last Storyteller

Part Two  – The Quest

Coming soon Part Four.  The  Catawba River  Tega Cay

Larry Tyler
Larry Tyler
Awaken the possibilities … then unleash them. After 55 years of successful retail management, I have returned to my passion of writing. I write Poetry, Storytelling, and Short Stories. As a child, I grew up on front porch storytelling. I would sit and listen to my Dad and his brothers tell these great stories that were captivating, and I always wanted to hear more. I wanted to experience the things they talked about. I started writing at a young age and reading everything I could get my hands on. At twelve years old I started a storytelling group and several of my friends became writers or poets. At 16 I hopped box cars and worked the tobacco fields, orange groves, picked cotton, and spent many nights around a campfire listing to life stories. Someone once asked me why I wrote. It consumes an amazing amount of time and I assure you it is not going to make me rich. I write so that my children can touch and feel my words telling of the ones that came before us and the stories they told me. These are the chronicles of our family and even though they come from my childhood memories and are deeply rooted in a child’s remembrance at least they may feel what it was like in the time before them and cherish the things the elders left behind. I am a Columnist & Featured Contributor, BIZCATALYST360 and I have The Writers Café, a group on LinkedIn that features Poets, Writers, Artists, Photographers, and Musicians . On Facebook I have two groups and one page; Dirt Road Storytelling, From Abandoned To Rescue Dogs And Cats, and About Life, Love And Living. As writers, it is true that we honestly do not know what we hold within us until we unleash it. When our words inspire others only then will inspiration return to the writer. I will spend my twilight years in search of the next story, the next poem, and the next image. I will take the time to enjoy my Wife, our Dogs, and Cats, and our amazing new home and I will always find the time to walk down a dirt road I truly hope is that I never have to read another book on Leadership, be on a conference call or see another plan o gram as these were the tool for what I did in life and not about who I am.

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8 CONVERSATIONS

    • I took your advice and am testing additional stories from the original “Moving Day” story. Thinking of making it my next book. What do you think of the idea?

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