The Contradictite

[Author's Note: This is another writing exercise from Jeff VanderMeer's Wonderbook . The exercise was to consider the same story from different points in time. After writing my notes and some ideas for temporal placement, I enjoyed all of the scenarios, so I wrote them into a single story.] The Night Before Aboard the HMS Water Skunk , First Mate Skipper found the words first, and he immediately sought out Captain Blythe to show him. The captain lifted his eyepatch so as to see the scrawled message as best as possible. His mouth moved as he read the words. “Krakens Attack at Dawn,” he said to Skipper when they were back in the captain’s quarters. “What do you suppose it means?”  Akimobshanks meowed from his perch on the tabletop.  “Indeed,” said Skipper. “It is an omen to be sure.” “Yes, yes,” said Blythe. “But who wrote it?” “Someone, I presume,” said Skipper. “Or else it might not have been written.” “You mean the message may have just appeared, as if by bedevilt...

[Author's Note: This is the outcome of a writing exercise from Jeff VanderMeer's book Wonderbook , found on page 25 of the Revised Edition] Michel pored over the musty scrolls and ancient dusty tomes. The light from outside dimmed with the approach of dusk, but still he worked, his study illuminated only by flickering candlelight and the shekinah of his halo. Hugin, a parrot, and Munin, a cockatoo, fluttered around the room, perching on the antlers of some long-dead deer head mounted on the wall, or a bust of Athena, or any of the other bird-friendly detritus scattered about his sanctum sanctorum. “Found it yet?” asked Hugin, landing on the edge of his current book. Munin chirped from within the mouth of an opened alligator skull. “No,” said Michel.  “What are you going to tell the old man?” asked Hugin. “I will find it,” said Michel. He waved away the bird. Munin began pecking at a small book with a bright cover. Michel saw the word Kinderspiel written across the s...