For Barbour

“Question.  What’s at the beginning of the end, the beginning and the end of existence, and at the end of space and time?” Snake leaned back and stroked his goatee wisely.

Freaky John rolled his head back and belched.  “Dude, you wanna go to White Castle?”

“I’m serious.”

“They got ten sliders for five bucks, man.  Fuckin’ insane.  Let’s go.”

Snake tossed his hair back.  “Dude, I axed you a question.”

Freak’s stomach growled.  “What.”

“What’s at the beginning of the end, the beginning and end of existence, and at the end of space and time?”

“Letter E.  Let’s go.”

Snake shook his head.  “Not quite.”

“Man, I got asked this question in like third grade.  It’s the letter E.”

Snake grinned.  “Not quite.”

Freak felt around in his pockets.  “You see where I put my cigarettes, man?”

“Guess again.”

“Fuckin’ unreal.  You take my cigarettes?”

“They’re in your hand, dickhead.  Now, let’s try again: What’s at the beginning of the—”

“Motherfuckin’ E, retard.  Where’s my lighter?”

“Other hand.  If you think about it, it’s very simple.”

Freak lit a cigarette.  “If you think about it, I’m gonna knock your fuckin’ teeth in.  Let’s get a move-on.”

“Silent E.”

Freak stared.  “What?!”

“Think about it.  It’s a silent E.  On all of them.”

“You’re a fuckin’ idiot.  End and existence start with E.”

“Silent E.”

“It is not a fucking silent E!”

“Yes it is,” Snake explained patiently.  “In end, you only hear the N, and existence, you hear the X.  E is silent.”

Freak took a nice long drag off his cigarette and burnt Snake’s arm with the end.  “Okay, sure.”

Snake looked at the scorch mark on his forearm.  “Ow.”

Copyright 2005 Amy Frushour Kelly. All rights reserved. Reproduction by any means prohibited without prior written consent.