Issue #20 (2011) PDF - myweb - Long Island University

THE PARENTS OF AABB1
The parents of AABB1 were growing old. It had been twenty years since they had been impregnated
by the D3DD. In their weekdays, they would tend to the house—that is, AAAA4 would read the
hundreds of papers available, and BBBB3 would bake or pray. On the weekends, they would attend
meetings of religious and business organizations and (on Sundays) host the Board Of Care. Their
members were religious, some, others not. The issues at stake pertained to the war and the war‘s
combatants. Difficult decisions were made. Like how one could keep foremost the safety of their
soldier children and oppose the war. There were financial issues. But in the past five months a new
agenda had been creeping its way into the hearts of the noble members. It went something like this.
―If we continue to support the war with our money and with our attention, I believe we will be
destined for a bombing. I assure you, with my heavy heart, that our children will understand that if
we continue to recognize the existence of combat, through our money and our prayers, the war will
absolutely go on.‖ This was exactly the seed that was growing in their hearts. And so the newspapers
stopped printing evidence of a war and the Board was disbanded. It was done. The parents of
AABB1 did not pray for him anymore. BBBB3 tried new recipes in the kitchen, and they were all
very good. AAAA4 continued to read the papers, without fear of rhetoric creeping in. All was calm
for the time being. BBBB3 with her gingerbread and pecan-coconut desserts. AAAA4 with his
sports sections and business news. He read voraciously. He even picked up a novel from a discount
novelty stand. And he set to reading it. The novel, whose jacket had been ripped off, gave AAAA4 a
familiar feeling. It told of a young man‘s experience on a fishing ship, catching lobsters and
swordfish. The young man lived on deck for years, which weathered his face and hands. At the end
of the third chapter, there was a storm. At the beginning of the fourth, the young man is
shipwrecked, but has found a wife in his new place. The couple is in love, and soon desire their
baby. They each memorize verses of their D3DD‘s manifesto, and begin approaching him, the way
that one does, casually visiting the cafes and religious corners where he might be found. After many
months, the young man builds the courage to ask the D3DD for his counseling (which means only
one thing). The young man is very persuasive. The D3DD is happy to accept such a handsome
couple, and they are soon granted seed for the fertilization. And what do you think happened to the
happy family War came to their town, killing their D3DD, destroying the religious corners; it was
the undoing of their home. The young man and his beautiful wife and their newborn chose to
emigrate by ship, the only mode with which the young man felt confident. In the book, their ship
did not sink, but their family was ruined by the jealousy and pride of their son. AAAA4 could not sit
still anymore. It was a sign. He couldn‘t help but think of his own son. This book was about his son
and he could not allow himself to read newspapers any longer. Bombs were in the air, any way he
looked at it.
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