A Reckoning in Mayberry

Part 9/1 Hero: Abraham

To keep his sanity, Abraham knew he needed to work. Wasn't much else to do down here, and he recognized that staying busy was one way that he might not lose his mind. He was a history professor for a reason - he loved it. He knew that keeping a diary of his experiences would help him and make him feel that he had some type of control over what was happening to him. At first, he did this in secret as he was trying to stay alive and was sure that Charles would not approve.

Scraps of paper from the early days that Abraham kept in a plastic box under his bunk were full of sparse musings of day-to-day happenings. Day by day, monotonous happenings, almost all related to food and survival:

Day 45: Ate beans for three days and glad to get them.

Day 87: No water, where is Charles?

Day 363: Almost a year, I believe I have lost about 20 pounds.

And then, the musings became more emotional and often angry as if Abraham did not care who found the notes or if Charles found the notes:

Day 417: Who the hell knows? Is this day 417? I only have a calendar he gave me and a watch he gave me. He likes games. He likes control. He is controlling the time in my world. He would enjoy that. God help me, if I have been here longer than I know.

Day 496: That mean son-of- a-bitch Howard replaced Rose Marie today. He threw my supper at me. Spaghettios all over the wall. He had a young boy with him. The young boy looked scared. I felt sorry for him. He leaned in close to get a look. He put his hands on the bars. I thought I could help him. He looked like he was about to cry. I was going to say it was ok. I thought maybe he was a new captive. I leaned in and he spit in my face, laughed, and walked away. I scraped the Spaghettios off the wall and ate every bite. I licked the wall.

Abraham's writing became less angry and more hopeful when a pivotal event changed his outlook. He wrote about it:

Oh glorious day! I am not alone. Her note back to me in my favorite book in Charles's library said: "Hello Abraham. This is Naomi." I am not alone. The gravity of those words sadden me and yet make me happy. I had a conversation today with someone who was not insane. Please, dear God, do not let this be another one of Charles's games. I say this prayer selfishly as it would mean - I am truly not alone in this hell.

Abraham became more bold with his note taking. It was in part because of a note that Naomi sent: Make yourself relevant, it said, or you will be evicted. Abraham would not mind getting out, but he suspected, and he learned later he was right, that the word "evicted" was synonymous with "murdered".

Abraham thought about what Naomi said and came up with a way to be relevant. He asked Charles for a notebook and a pack of pens.

"Why?" asked Charles.

"Because, no one lives forever, even you Charles, and all great men need a biographer. I want to be your biographer."

Charles agreed.

"Markers only though," he told him, "no sharp objects. I don't want you to harm yourself, or me. You are right - every great man does need a biographer. The world does need to know me."

Charles was not sure though if Abraham would paint him in a positive light so he tested him. He showed him his brother, James.

Abraham looked at James as his stomach churned. He asked a question. "Your brother?"

Yes, nodded Charles.

"Why?" asked Abraham.

"He was the favorite," said Charles. "I wanted to study him to see why."

"Did it work. Did you find out why?"

"No, no I didn't, but I felt better."

"Are there others? Other (for lack of a better word) stuffed humans?"

"Quite a few," said Charles. "Some better than others."

Abraham did not know what to say next. What might get him evicted. He decided to be honest. "You did a nice job. He looks real."

"Thank you, Abraham. I really worked to get it right."

Abraham said one word. "Exhibit."

"Pardon?" said Charles.

"The world doesn't just need to read my words. They need to see your work. I think we need to work on an exhibit of your work."

And that was how Abraham became safe. He prayed that history would not judge him harshly. He was just trying to stay relevant.