The Horseshoe

As promised, I'm typing up the beginning of "The Horseshoe" for everyone here. Here goes:


"The Horseshoe"


A man sat on a bench in the park. He black hair and brown eyes. He was not unattractive, or attractive; he seemed to be an ordinary man.

The man's name was Jasper, and perhaps he was ordinary. He was a liar. Like many people, he lied his way through situation after situation.

Little did Jasper know, his lie was about to change. His ordinary life would soon take a turn for the extraordinary.

An old man with long, wild, grey hair and a wiry beard sat down beside Jasper. The old man was unnaturally tall, and had a missing eye. He wore an oversized plaid shirt over a dark hooded sweater, and his muddy boots protruded from his weathered jeans.

The old man turned to Jasper and his eyes crinkled as he cracked a smile. He lifted one of his large hands, and gave Jasper a hardy clap on the shoulder.

"Son," said the old man heartily, "Isn't today just beautiful? Life is an amazing thing, isn't it?"

Jasper looked up at the tall, one-eyed man, and faked a smile.

"Absolutely," Jasper lied.

"Only say it if you believe it, sosn," replied the old man, "Life will only give back what you give out. If you aren't genuine, how do you expect your life to be?"

For a split second, Jasper appeared puzzled. Then he regained his compsure, and lied: "Of course I meant it. What would make you think otherwise?"

The old man stroked his beard and looked Jasper in the eye.

"Well," the old man pondered, "You just seem a little lost."

Jasper smiled and waved his hand in dismissal. The two sat in silence for moment.

Suddenly, the old man turned to Jasper gain.

"Listen, son; I've got to get going, but can I ask you a favour?"

"Sure," Jasper said, dreading what the favour may be.

"I'm moving into a smaller place," said the old man, "and I need to get rid of some stuff. Would you mind taking some of it off of my hands?"

The favour was getting free stuff?

"OK," answered Jasper, being genuine for the first time.

A toothy grin appeared on the old man's face, and he pulled out a movie, an empty notebook, and a pen. As he set the items on the space on the bench between them, Jasper looked down. The next moment, the man was gone. Jasper shrugged, and picked up the articles

He examined the movie; it was one he'd never seen before. There were no pictures or names of actors, only the title "The Horseshoe." and a picture related to the said title.

(Stacy)