53 - That got pretty ugly.
joneworlds@mailbox.org

Things  went from  bad  to worse  around here  the
other  day,   and  this  time  I   think  it's  my
fault. All  day long,  there was this  huge debate
amongst  dozens of  elfs who  had gathered  in the
common area around that  ratty old playground. And
these ones  are pointing at those  ones, and those
ones are shouting at these ones, and a speech, and
some cheers,  and another,  and some jeers,  and a
whole  lot of  tense tittering  going on.  There's
these elfs  in tall  blinged-out hats who  I never
saw  before. They  aren't talking  much, but  they
sure  are taking  it  all in.  I can't  understand
hardly a  word being  said, but  I just  know it's
somehow  to do  with  those keys  I  left with  my
neighbors the  day before.  I was afraid  of this,
but  I tried  to  be optimistic  and push  through
it. Didn't do much good, did it.

I'm watching  out my  bedroom window at  all this,
when I notice things start  to flare up a bit. And
one of  those big hat elfs  finally says something
real sharp and loud. There's this moment of quiet,
and I get  this feeling like you do  just before a
fight breaks  out at the  bar. And that's  what it
is. I  see a bunch of  elfs break and run  at some
others, and then there's  this CRACK... And a huge
bolt of  light that shoots out  from somebody, and
it  misses and  hits the  tube slide  which breaks
into  a hundred  purple pieces.  And I  never knew
elfs could even do that.

The Diller's little grandson  has until this point
been trying  to play  out on that  sad wreck  of a
playground, and now he's bawling and trying to run
home.  And soon  there's elfs  running everywhere,
and screaming  and grappling and some  are down on
the road. And everything is just so, so, terrible.

It  all dies  down eventually,  like these  things
always  do. Everyone's  gone  after  a while.  And
tomorrow we'll all come out and clean up the mess,
and the  brokenness, and  the teeth,  and whatever
else like we always do, again and again. But every
time something else gets  wrecked, or someone else
gets hurt, it's like you  lend a piece of yourself
to  help  mend it.  Until  you  eventually get  to
feeling  like you're  so full  of holes,  that you
might fall apart.

Don't  you know,  I find  that goddamn  playground
swing chain got broke again  too. Such a small bit
in all this, but I feel something tip in me.