Edward stopped his work when the frogs quit their night-chorus. Someone was prowling about. Outside the walls surrounding his property two teenage boys crept through a grove of palms:“I’m tellin’ you Johnny, that stone floated like a balloon, right over his head.”
“Okay, but if mama finds out I sneaked out on a school night again, I’m done for.”
“Come on, you chicken; boost me up...”
A few minutes later, the two boys peered wide-eyed over the top of an 8’ coral wall. By the light of the moon, they saw a short man in coveralls standing motionless before an intricate stone machine.
“What’s that thing?” Johnny whispered.
“I don’t know. Keep it down ‘for he hears us.”
The man didn’t move for a long time and Johnny grew impatient.
“He ain’t doin’ nothin’, I’ve gotta’ go... hey... is he singin’?”
A low chant echoed through the night as the man finally broke his trance. He raised his hands into the orans position and slowly repeated a single word over and over.
“Mag-net-ismi...”
Suddenly the wheels on the machine came to life and began to turn. A shower of sparks erupted from it and a boulder beside the man shakily lifted into the air. But just as quickly as it happened, it ended. The machine went still, the rock dropped, and the man violently turned towards the boys.
“Who’s there?!” he shouted.
The boys didn’t stop running until they reached their beds.
Satisfied that he was alone again, Edward matter-of-factly went back to his block and tackle.
On December 4, 1951, after 32 years of solitary work, Edward Leedskalnin hung a sign on his front door: “Going to the hospital.” Three days later he met his end, but the mystery and legend of his Coral Castle was just beginning.
6 comments:
Nicely done!
Heydave, thanks!
What a riveting story. I hope Edward had a happy life.
Thanks Prixie :) He seemed to have been happy enough to everyone he later greeted when he opened his castle to visitors; and he maintained his "show" of knowing the "secrets of the pyramids" and magnetism when he explained how he alone moved and manipulated enormous stones to build the castle. But a few pictures that came out after his death showed him to be using normal "human" methods. And the fact that he came from a family of master stone-workers in Latvia helps explain a bit too. He did say that the reason he built the castle was as a monument of love to the young lady back in Latvia who jilted him on their wedding day.
It's hard to tell anything about Edward really. I think he was pretty close to the P T Barnum type but some of the ideas he presented in a the few short pamphlets he wrote are a little disturbing (like the extermination of "non-productive" members of society).
+JMJ+
Not that I keep track of everything . . . but haven't you done December 4 before?
(Asking because my impression was that you were going to do the whole calendar once before starting over.)
You're such a troublemaker! Yes, there was another December 4th story but I moved it because the date on that one wasn't essential (I've done this probably 5 times so far). It's tough getting all the pieces to fit together according to a calendar... thanks for noticing though :)
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