It's Such a Beautiful Day Page #2

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understanding people.

(loud discordant sounds)

Even his pamphlet

seemed different.

The guy next to him

at the bus stop

had the head of a cow,

but Bill pretended

not to notice.

His doctor said he had

some discouraging news.

The latest tests ruled out

the possibility

of further surgeries,

and his current treatment

didn't seem to be making

any progress.

He wanted to start Bill

on something new.

He couldn't think of any reason

why Bill should be seeing

things, though,

and asked him

a series of questions.

(loud, discordant sounds)

(soft ambient noise)

(distant footsteps)

(birds chirping)

Bill picked up

his new medication,

went home,

and masturbated for seven hours.

He woke up the following morning

and thought his room

seemed different.

(loud discordant sounds)

His mouth was bleeding.

Four of his teeth

had fallen out in the night.

They looked sort of like

dog teeth.

Everyone in the supermarket

looked like some sort of demon,

and they all had gigantic

bacteria-ridden crotches

buried in all

the god damn produce.

(flies buzzing)

It felt like his whole body

was sparkling,

his shoes felt as though

they were filling with blood,

and his hands smelled like

copper.

(men singing opera)

(zapping)

When he got home, he found

a pair of Lion King slippers

in his closet,

but had no idea whose they were

or how they got in there.

(crickets chirping)

(distant horn honking)

The pipe is leaking!

The pipe is leaking!

Bill could read the thoughts

of his waitress,

who wore too much eye makeup

and had no self esteem.

Outside, horribly deformed birds

checked their voicemail.

I am made nervous by a clone...

I'm a little princess,

I sure am.

(voices layering)

The effects of tranquilizers

on ant health

at higher altitudes

are unpredictable.

Why don't you come over here

and sit on my lap?

After lunch, Bill put on

the Lion King slippers

and flew to the bus stop.

(discordant sounds)

Bill dropped his keys

and stood there staring...

suddenly thinking about

all the times

he'd thrown his keys

there before,

and how many days of his life

were wasted,

but then he wondered if,

realistically,

this was his life...

(narrator's voice layering)

This was his life.

This was his life.

("This was his life" layers)

(audio slows down)

(whispering voice)

(robotic voice)

(maniacal laughter)

(static)

(screaming)

(discordant sounds)

(slowed down audio)

(woman singing opera)

(laser fire sound effect)

The power of Christ compels you!

The power of Christ

compels you!

(slowed down roar)

(roaring)

(roaring)

(distant heartbeat)

(persistent high-pitched noise)

(heartbeat speeds up)

(street noise)

His mother came to take care

of him all the way from Omaha.

She was a waitress

and often smelled of baby powder

and cheese.

They spent a lot of time

together doing puzzles

and watching television.

(jubilant shrieking)

One morning, as Bill was staring

at the patterns in the carpet,

she noticed a loose thread

in his collar.

(hisses)

(clattering)

"How could you think

I'd ever want to hurt you?"

she said,

and crumpled to the floor.

In that moment, Bill thought

she looked really old.

Sometimes the fluids in the IV

put a funny taste in his mouth.

Bill awoke to beautiful sunlight

streaming through his window.

He tried to climb through it

but didn't have the strength

to stand.

(beeping)

(beeping)

(gentle breeze blowing)

The next morning,

Bill actually felt pretty good.

The day after that,

he felt even better.

Then he felt

a lot worse.

But the following day,

Bill felt just fine.

"I'm sorry, I just don't know

what to make of it,"

his doctor said.

"Maybe Bill's body

is simply rallying

before finally giving up."

His uncle, whom Bill had not

even noticed in the room,

had taken a lot of time

off work to fly in

all the way from Tulsa.

He looked vaguely annoyed.

(birds chirping)

After another two days,

they concluded

Bill was not going to die,

so his mother had all the

flowers removed from his room.

She also had to have his casket

returned at great expense

and inconvenience.

(traffic sounds)

Bill had to go back to work

the following Tuesday.

It rained for

the entire bus ride.

(bus idling)

(bus driving)

(sounds of the ocean)

Last week, Bill's class

took a field trip to the beach.

His half brother Randall

came along,

a little boy in the special

class with aluminum hook arms

whose mind was as misshapen

as his legs.

(metallic clattering)

No one at school

really knew him

because he always rode

a separate bus

and was taught to stand

within the confines

of a tetherball circle

every recess.

In the late afternoon,

Randall was over with the adults

when he spotted a gull overhead.

His eyes burst with emotion

and he suddenly took off

stumbling after it.

Tears streaming down

his little face,

he stretched his aluminum hooks

as wide as he could

towards the sun,

howling, "Boon, boon,"

and disappeared

into the deep blue sea.

The other kids were surprised

he could even run that fast.

Bill's mother

put a heavy coat over him

whenever he left the house

for fear that he might

fall victim

to something called

"walking pneumonia."

She started doing this

the winter after losing Randall,

but then made him wear it every

day for the next five years.

In the summers,

he also had to wear a helmet

and asbestos safety gloves.

These were the days

she rarely left the house

and shaved the cat

on weekends.

On his sixth birthday,

his mother gave him

a postage stamp

and a piece of yarn

and hugged him

for five minutes.

His parents argued again

that night

and she threw meat.

His stepfather stormed

to the door

where he turned his face up

towards a hole in the ceiling

and yelled, "I just can't handle

this god damned woman,"

and left.

(door slams)

She stared at the front door

and rocked there in place

saying, "Aaa, aaa, aaa,

aaa, aaa, aaa, aaa."

Every now and then at school,

he'd find a note from her

in his lunch box.

(water running)

His hair was finally growing

back.

After completing the clinic's

daily memory quiz,

Bill went to the city and saw

ants take apart a dead bird.

(footsteps)

Yesterday, he spent 30 seconds

trying to open his front door

with his mailbox key.

It's been over a year now

since his diagnosis,

when they'd stayed up late

drinking

and Bill slept

on the couch.

In the morning,

he sat on the toilet seat

and quietly watched her

put on her makeup.

That afternoon,

she told him it was over.

In the hardware store,

a nice kid with a skin condition

helps Bill find the right

battery for his wall clock.

He had taken a walk

to the park

but didn't really know

what to do with his day there.

At home, he makes toast

but changes his mind.

He's been having trouble

sleeping again,

and realizes he's lying

in the dark with his eyes open.

(tool powering up)

(leaf blower power increases)

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