Chapter 10

Liven Meaning: brighten up, cheer up, enliven, animate, raise someone’s spirits, perk up, spice up, make lively, wake up, invigorate, revive, refresh, vivify, galvanize, stimulate, stir up. get going.

Me thinks I should have chosen another word ... except for stir up.

All those other words found in a dictionary signify making things better ... except stir up.

I’ve seen what happens when eggs are stirred up. Ain’t nobody going to make that right with the egg. I suppose make lively might be possible ... but not if ones intent is to make the dead alive ... for sure he’s not going to wake up refreshed or get going again.

Yup ... stir up trouble is the only part of liven that fits.

I needed a better word.

How about make David as mad as a wet hen. That way I don’t have to consider the body farther up the beach.

But I am going to have to deal with half a dozen men tearing down the wharf as fast as they could run. The ones waving swords and shouting imprecations in my general direction.

And now is no time to think of The Holy Grail. I miss my mom. I wanna go home. Three years on Chaos. Two weeks on Earth. I’m still 16 on Earth... 19 here ... it ain’t fair. On my way to being an old lady. Rats.

The howling mob is off the pier and heading for me ... and David ... my idiot brother ... has his finger up his ass. Help me, David. You Turkey!

The action started ... and it’s over ... seconds and there’s blood and body parts strewn from one of the beach to the other ... and David is still on the pier. Gee ... he looks astonished. If those guys had been real samurai, it would have been me scattered on the beach.

“David, you needn’t looked so surprised,” I hollered, “If you hadn’t trained me so well...”

That sat the cat among the pigeons. The rest of the file on the wharf turned from looking at me to look at David ... and they wouldn’t have to run after him. He was right there. Well ... we all know how that turned out. David on defense is a sight to behold ... messy ... but still...

So ... through no fault of his own ... or maybe it was ... his fault ... David became daimyo of a castle ... on a hill ... overlooking a peaceful Japanese fishing village. A village that may or may not have been a pirate hideout.

As he was organizing the neighborhood he kept repeating ... out loud... “Fifteen minutes ... no matter how long it takes here ... it’s fifteen minutes.”

It took a full year. The island was bigger than anyone thought. The Shogun sent a representative ... he sent a messenger.

“The place is crawling with horny women ... send lusty men.”

The town grew ... start small ... but eventually they grow up.

A banker showed up.

They put up a bank in town.

For the first time, the hoard following us to the bank was not chasing us. Speeches and cheering ... decent clothes. Val was surprised. Sam greeted me like a long lost but well remembered cousin. Ceiling spread the groaning board. I was the first Damsel in Distress NOT from Cassandra.

Feted and petted, we finally got to go home.

“Hi Mom.”

“Well. Grace. Nice tan. Camp must have been good for you.”

“It was a lot of work, but I’m ready to go back to school ... aren’t we. David.”