All My Relations
List of Characters in Order of Appearance:
Marlo (narrator)
Wind-that-never-stops
Cole
Voice of Marlo
Cole’s Inner Voice
Agnes (Cole’s mother)
Richard (Cole’s father)
Lawrence
Sarah
Teacher
Chuck (Charles)
Lawrence’s Cohort One
Craig
Lawrence’s Cohort Two
Matt
Becky
Mr. Swanson (a teacher)
Ted
Paul
Jack Billings (Agnes’s lover)
Notations: EXT = external setting INT = internal setting
Hello. I am Marlo. I am in essence of no substance. You see me as a man of medium build, six feet tall, in a nice tailored suit, and the white face of a harlequin. Even though some may see me as a clown, I am decidedly not a clown though I do clown around at times. The question mark that I love to flaunt on my person is my trademark logo. This one is especially nice, don’t you think? My white face is not a tattoo nor paint because both require a substance in which to reside, or upon which to ride; and, as I have stated, I am without substance. Think of me as you might understand wind. Wind is movement you feel but cannot see. Wind is not
the molecules of air. Wind is without substance. Wind is movement through substance. Or, think of me as you might understand fire. Fire is not a substance. You cannot catch fire with your hands, but fire will burn your hands if you place them into fire. Fire is a process of oxidation. Might I suggest loosely that fire and wind are much alike in that they are not substance but more about moving or transforming substance. In fact, I am not fire nor wind but these are the closest realities that approach my identity.
I could say that I am the voice of the void, but that would imply vocal cords which of course are of substance. However, at this point, to say that I am the voice from the void would not be too far from the truth, but you must remember that it is a voice that has no “material” substance. This of course provokes the question: Can there be substance without material substance? Perhaps a way to get at this inquiry is to perceive the negative. Here before you are paper and ink formed into words and sentences. Here before you is material substance.
The next question is: Is there substance interlaced within the material substance before you? Ah! “Empty words!” Have you ever heard that phrase? Have you ever uttered or thought that phrase with regards to the words received from another? “Empty words.” Words without substance. There must be, then, a reality in which material substance has no substance. But can substance exist without material substance? Must substance have material substance in order to be perceived and does anyone care anyway?
Here is another one to mull around for a while: Your current understanding of physics states that there are only two realities in the universe: 1. Energy and 2. Matter. So, is material substance, matter; and substance void of material substance, energy?
Thus, I am Marlo. It is my hope that I am substantial, that is to say that I have substance even though I do not possess any material substance. My function is to transport, to carry something from one place to another. This is my menial function. My higher function is to transform (if possible) and my aspirational function is to transform for the better (whatever that means).
By the way, it is possible to interact with all of you, collectively, because of my white face paint, my wig, my shirt, my suit and my shoes. Watch closely as I try to spin slowly on the ball of my foot, spreading my arms so that you can get a full appreciation of my fine attire. They’re nice, very nice indeed.
Interaction with an individual, of course, is another matter. Less fanfare is needed and communication is faster though decoding my message might take much longer. Nevertheless, I am here today to transport (more specifically, transmit) a story for your attention. I know all of the individuals in this story intimately. Each reminds me a little bit about my self, yet each is uniquely their own being.
I wish to take you first to a pleasant patch of earth. The sun is setting and a man is placing logs in a teepee fashion with great care, putting each log in a specific place relative to the others. Stones have been set upon a small floor of logs inside the log teepee. Sitting just outside of this activity and watchful of the man’s every movement is a young boy of high school age. The man is known as Wind- That-Never-Stops and is of First Nations ancestry. The boy is Cole.