Hello. I’m afraid I can’t tell you my name--at least not yet, because if I did, without
explaining, I could be placing us in grave danger. And that--the reason it would
place us in danger--is why I’m here.
Words, as I’m sure you already know, are interesting. And
one of the things that makes them so is the way we speak. Take a simple
example. If we’re from the United States and want to talk about a mechanical
device we call it a machine, with the stress on the ending: ma-SHINE. But if
we’re from England, it’s a MA-shine. And as people always have, we play with pronunciation
and word meaning for fun. It’s how language evolves. Imagine a language where
MA-shine was the way to say, “I am a little boy.” But in that same language,
pronouncing it ma-SHINE would mean, “I am an orange soda.”
The reason I mention this is that when I was born, my mother
made an unfortunate mistake. She could have called me any conventional name, or
even used the name of a thing, like River Rose, or perhaps even Sky. Frank
Zappa, for example, a famous musician, named his daughter, Moon Unit. I
sometimes wonder what it was like, growing up with such a name.
My mom could have done something like that. But she,
inspired by Mr. Zappa’s naming his other son Dweezil, decided to make up a word
and use it for me, which is why she called me-- Wait. Forgive me, I nearly said
it aloud. That wouldn’t be a problem…for me. But were you to repeat my name,
and mispronounce it in just the right way, we would all--every one of us--suffer
the same fate my parents did on the day I was born.
And that brings me to the reason I’m here: Words can be
wonderful, but also dangerous things. They can bring joy, and love, but they
can also bring fear and pain, too, if misused.
You see, though we don’t believe in it, magic is quite real.
And spells can be cast by speaking certain sounds in a specific way. I know
many of you don’t believe me. But I am, or at least my name is, proof that it’s
true.
The thing is, and fortunately for us, demons and other
magical creatures use a language where most of the meaning of their words is
carried in how they’re spoken--as in
that little boy and orange soda thing I mentioned. So the name my mother
bestowed on me had no bad effect when she told dad what she’d written on the
birth certificate.
Unfortunately, my father spent his early years in Paris, so
when he repeated the name back to her, with a slight French accent, and a
question in his voice, that word not only was in the demon language, it was the
trigger that invoked a terrible spell. Speaking it summoned a hoard of demons
tasked with tickling everyone in the room until their ears fell off.
You may chuckle at that, but for my mother and father it was
no laughing matter--at least not in a nice way. And considering that my father
looks really odd without ears, it wasn’t a happy way to welcome me to life. My
mother, at least, can grow her hair long, and style it so her missing ears
can’t be seen. But not dad, or the doctor who’d stepped into the room to check
on Mom just before those demons were summoned. I was lucky, in that newborn
children aren’t ticklish--which is why I still have my ears.
So that’s my point…the warning I’m here to give. Words have
power in many ways. They can bring peace, love, or anger. But used without
thought? Well, for Dad and Mom it was a shock, but luckily, the demons didn’t
take their hearing, so other than missing the outer part of their ears they’re
okay. But think about words and their danger the next time you see someone
missing a limb. It just might be they, like my parents, are victims of
demonic attack. Speak carelessly, and without thought…try to make up words,
and…well, you may not like the result.
So…now that you know to be careful, my name is Sneedly
McGurk. And you can call me Sneed. But never, never, never pronounce it as…
Well…since I like you, and since I’m certain you’re sort of
attached to your ears, I’ll not say it that way.
End
![[send message]](https://www.writerscafe.org/images/mail.png){kind=small}
![[befriend]](https://www.writerscafe.org/images/friend.png){kind=small}
first
prev
Share This
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Read Request
My Library
Flag Writing
