My Funny Valyntine: Book One - The Pull

Chapter Two - Change of Season

i.

After the Wednesdays and Fridays throughout February, the Pull changes to take Valyntine on Tuesdays and Thursdays in March and April. During these two months, the spring rains, coming up out of the southeast like Louise predicted, mix with the dark masses emerging from the north on the days the Pull takes hold. As the two billowing fronts meet, the temperature drops, the sun blinks out, and the sky darkens to an ominous, mossy green. The resulting violent, unprecedented storms pummel most of the West Borough and the bordering districts to the East.

The Pull forces Valyntine to persist through the tempests. The gales of wind and lashing rain batter at the bare flesh of her face. At times, the wind gusts with such ferocity her small frame buckles and falls. The Pull continues without remorse. She stumbles forward, using nearby walls and the fenders of parked autos to stay on her feet. She has to follow no matter the cost, no matter the obstacle.

Time overlaps and evaporates with the passing days. Exhausted, beaten down after weeks of following the Pull through the storms, Valyntine begins tuning out the rest of the world. She loses weight, existing on coffee, and only eating when Margie or Louise forces something on her. Afraid she might be ill, the wives make no mention of the times Valyntine arrives late for her shifts. They take her off the register after she comes up short on three separate occasions from her lack of focus. When Valyntine stands at the front window to stare up at the sky, dreading the sight of any clouds, the coffee shop owners apologize to their customers for her strange behavior.

The weather continues to take center stage throughout the West Borough, as the storms affect more than the upending of Valyntine's life. Due to the bi-weekly downpours of the past three months, the thick layers of scrapple covering the West Borough have washed away. A few customers to the Soul Sauce – those who don't work in the mines or mills – often comment about the borough looking less dreary.

If the Pull avoids her more than three days in a row, Valyntine's spirits lift. On these days, she welcomes the change to the outward appearances of her neighborhood's buildings, streets, and sidewalks. It's nice seeing some of the old colors, even if years of grime mute their former luster.

Those who work in the Monk Mines grow more fearful and dismayed with every passing week. The amount of damage and danger the constant flow of water causes in the mines devastate lives and production. Eavesdropping on the workers in the mornings, Valyntine hears stories of flooded mine shafts and an increase in logging camp accidents. Waiting in line for their coffee gives workers ample time to share their tales. Cave-ins, mudslides, and flooding are trapping and killing their friends. Men and women, old and young alike, most trying to provide for their families, continue dying with every storm.

The daily rags carry news of the death tolls. On the front pages of the 12th Street Rag and The Bugle Call, huge letters proclaim headlines such as '14 MORE DEAD IN MINE FLOOD.' They bear grainy, black and white photos of a cavern entrance or logging encampment. On the ground lay several bodies beneath wet, dark stained sheets. Surrounding the dead, men and women stand with soot-streaked faces and mud-covered clothes. Open the rag to page two for advertisements reading: 'Multiple Job Openings in the Mines,' 'Loggers Needed,' and in smaller print, 'First Come, First Serve,' and 'Several Opportunities.'

The other rags, the ones a respectable person doesn't bother with, like The Snake Rag, feature different headlines. Their front pages include close-up pictures of the same scenes, but without the sheets and mourning friends. They show the bodies, distended and bloated from the water, their faces a grotesque caricature of what they looked like in life. Above the pictures read headlines of far fetched conspiracies like, 'LaROCCA'S REVENGE?' and, 'WEAVERS RESURGENT?'