losthunter | Knock unbidden on the door ((Schön))

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Knock unbidden on the door ((Schön))

The evening on which Schön and Hunter had agreed upon a TV marathon to watch 'Twilight Zone' episodes had come very quickly, even though it had been a couple of days since the Spring Fair and the last time they had spoken.

Hunter had a lot of artwork to keep himself occupied in the time between the two events. There were a couple of sketches in his notepad from the evening of the Spring Fair that he had wanted to get on canvas. Some are watercolors. Some are color pencils. Some are using the rose petals, soaked in paint. In all aspects, he had been busy.

During the day, before Schön would arrive at the apartment, Hunter had been quite busy finishing a charcoal piece depicting an elderly couple sharing an intimate, and touching moment. He wrapped that up right before he was expecting Schön, so had to jump in the bathroom quickly to get cleaned and dressed for the evening.

Then he went into the kitchen to bring out the snacks that he had prepared for the evening. There are delights such as cranberry pretzel clusters, brownie batter popcorn, assorted chocolate-dipped fruit (bananas, kiwis and strawberries), and a cheese platter. For a wine choice, Hunter had selected a Wild Vines strawberry white zinfandel.

With everything else in place, Hunter does one more walk-through of his apartment, to make sure everything is prepared for his guest.

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While Hunter obtains snacks, Schön queues up the next episode, "Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room." He waits, of course, until his companion is settled again before beginning it.

Hunter collects a small collection of snacks before returning to his seat on the couch. He lounges, relaxing, and gives Schön a slight nod.

This is another episode that speaks to Hunter on a personal level, since for a while he too had struggles with different sides of his personality.

"It can be a challenge to face yourself truly, and come out of it stronger."

"Indeed," Schön agrees. "Though it is also worth noting that this man had, for all his life, pretended the choices were not his own. That circumstance simply arranged itself around him, beyond his power to change."

"It must have been the catalyst situation." Hunter surmises.

"Murder in cold blood, a bridge too far," Schön agrees.

"For the first few weeks of my curse, I couldn't handle looking in mirrors... without letting my anger get the best of me." Sometimes he worries if that bad luck still will come for him, some day.

"I couldn't imagine what went through that character's head, talking to... himself."

Schön might be one to ask about the mystic implications of mirrors and their breakage. "There are those who catalogue the tropes of stories, laying out the tools with which such things are made in order to understand them. Such people call that circumstance a 'conversation with the devil.' Not a literal devil, necessarily, but someone who knows you--deeply, intimately, who knows all your wrongs and all your buttons. I have noticed some few conversations like that in life, as well."

"It seems such a shame that the person that knows you most intimately is often compared to being the devil. Most people struggle so facing their wrongs. Their buttons. Their insecurities."

"Me, I worry that I still have bad karma."

"For your earlier life, as a shallow and selfish young man?" Schön hazards. It isn't a hard guess to make.

"We so often misuse that word, karma, in the Western world. But there is hope in the idea, nonetheless--the final weight of your life's karma is not decided until the end."

"Yes. And from the first few months of transition, where I was still shallow and selfish. And so angry." Hunter runs both of his hands over the top of his head.

"I am glad I am now at the point to look in a mirror, without wanting to break it."

"Well, as has been said, growth comes with little pains of its own," Schön offers. "I can't think but that a kind-hearted young artist who devotes himself to aiding the downtrodden will find his karma nicely balanced in the final accounting, whatever his younger years may have held."

Hunter blushes softly, at the truthful compliments from Schön. He is really enjoying the discussions that are taking place after each episode.

"Thank you. I appreciate that."

Schön smiles, lifting his glass in silent acknowledgment of the thanks. "The Western world thinks of karma as something which pays off immediately, or in the near future--I did this good thing, so my good karma caused a good thing to happen to me." He sips thoughtfully, musing, "some fragmentary memory of the Celtic threefold rule, perhaps. In the belief as it is held, one has dharma, one's role and obligations in the world, and karma, the record of how well one has held to that role--both in deed and in intent."

"Karma is tied not to events of one's current life, however, but to the circumstances of one's reincarnation; if one has failed to learn the lessons of the life they lived, then they must live such circumstances again--or worse, the cosmic equivalent of remedial classes. If one has hewn closely to their role, however, their next life will likely be more pleasant, as they move away from the primal, fundamental lessons and closer to the ephemeral, spiritual ones. Even the gods know it is difficult to think of intangibles while starving."

"From our previous conversations, I have seen you use the Celtic threefold rule in handling your business affairs."

"As well I should," he confirms. "My magic is closely tied to those idioms."

"I have gotten the impression that because of the magic, you are also older than you seem. That you have experienced and seen so much."

"Ahh," Schön notes with a chuckle in his voice, "now there's a thorny question. If I am older because of what I am, but what I am is, fundamentally, magic, then am I older because of magic, or not?"

"A question filled with mystery, which reflects you in many ways."

Hunter gets another low chuckle for that. "I shall take that as a high compliment, thank you."

"Well, I have always been a sucker for a man of mystery."

"What is next on our viewing list?"

"Always, hmm?" Schön teases.

"Next we have a tale of the Old West, from a time when many Westerns jostled for time on the screen. A tale called Dust."

"That and someone with good fashion sense. You never had a chance." Hunter teases lightly.

Hunter watches the tale carefully. It has a strange tale to it, where one is not truly sure about the qualities of the 'Dust'.

"Very curious..."

After a remark like that, it's difficult not to preen a little.

"Mm, it leaves you wondering, doesn't it?"

"This particular tale definitely makes you wonder. Was the dust magical? And how did it get those qualities?"

"Or was there no magic beyond a desperate father, a happy coincidence, and the empathy of people?"

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