The date is Sunday May 22nd, 2022 and my name is Finlay Leana MacGuidhre, attorney at Milton & Blake LLP.
As the legal representative of Mr. Nick Windward aka Nick the Gatekeeper, one of the proprietors of the Six Sentence Café & Bistro in the area of Wordsworth, I regret to relay the news and confirmed reports of his sudden passing.
A week ago Mr. Nick Windward entrusted to my care a USB key; only to be used in the case of his failure to contact me by the end of May 21st, 2022. Unfortunately, he has not contacted me in any form.
Therefore, according to his instructions :
1. I am transferring the USB contents at his blog named inSPIRAtion (echoes from a voice yet to be heard…)
2. I am linking said content to the Six Sentence Stories , where per his words “fiction and reality occasionally collide”.
3. I am handling the responses, if any, at his blog for the period of six days. Beyond that time my access will be terminated.
F. L. MacGuidhre
USB contents:
{ Denise gracefully hosts Six Sentence Stories; where writers unleash their magic under one simple rule: in no more or no less than 6 sentences.
Continuing from May…wonderful time to…
This week’s prompt word is : DETOUR }
\\//\\//
Every coin has two sides; so does deciding to take a detour from the beaten path.
Tosses coin, flips in the air… lands tail.
It can result in new experiences, renewal of brain activity, a fluid like movement through the path of less resistance towards whatever the destination is.
Tosses coin, flips in the air…lands head.
It can also result in a big pain-not-only-in-the-ass.
And now my friends as you wonder who is She & more importantly as you ask: why exit now ,
let us remember that game we played as children, when we continuously repeated a phrase:
Why Exit Now Why Exit Now Why
Exit Now Why Exit
Now Y Xit
N Y X
inSPIRAtion 
Dear F. L. MacGuidhre,
You are Saul Goodman and I claim my five dollars! Ha. Only kidding. Please don’t sue me!!
I write to you as perhaps one of the last persons to have spoken to Mr. Windward before his untimely death. Mr. Windward and I are (were) closely associated through an organisation which will soon make contact with you. This association is known as The London Guild of Lightworkers. You will shortly find yourself in possession of a rather fine bottle of whisky labelled the ‘Lazarus Malt’, and then after this, one of the members of The London Guild of Lightworkers will contact you to arrange its collection.
When you take delivery of the Lazarus Malt, please ensure its integrity by locking it in your safe. As the trusted attorney of the late Mr. Windward, we (The London Guild of Lightworkers) can think of no better person to safeguard its contents until we arrive to relieve you of your kind stewardship.
May I take this opportunity to thank you for acting on behalf of the late Mr. Windward.
Sincerely,
The Mage.
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Dear Mage (I’ve been here for less than five hours and I am already speaking to a Mage and I am to be contacted by a Guild…then again I should know better when I accepted a Gatekeeper’s offer…),
I won’t sue you…yet.
To be clear, these services are going to be paid, upfront, by whom exactly? Know that I don’t accept book of spells or crypto-currency as payment.
Provided that payment is issued, the London Guild of Lightworkers can count on my professional expertise.
You are welcome sir.
Sincerely,
Finlay Leana MacGuidhre.
PS: The whisky better be from my home place of Scotland, otherwise kind sir, add an e at the whisky!
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Dear F. L. MacGuidhre,
Thank you for your prompt reply. You can be rest assured that payment is already on its way to you as we speak (I might add, at twice the hourly rate you are accustomed to, due to the sensitivity of circumstances and you being so kind as to work with the Guild at such short notice).
I apologise for the missing letter ‘e’ of whisky. It is a labelling issue beyond our control. Unfortunately, there are many issues beyond the control of the Guild right now, which is why we have turned to you as a representative of justice. Perhaps your calling in life is not so different than the calling of ourselves…
May I add a note of warning: whether it is whisky or whiskey, please do not under any circumstances open the bottle you will receive, nor put one drop of the liquid contained within to your lips. Labels can be deceptive, and the Lazarus Malt may well turn out to be a, shall we say, ‘Pandora’s Bottle’.
The London Guild of Lightworkers once again thanks you.
Sincerely,
The Mage.
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Payment received.
Warning heeded.
Sincerely,
Finlay Leana MacGuidhre.
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The Raconteuse senses she may have stepped into an ‘alternative’ alternative reality. She’s just going to step outside for a moment…
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Dear Raconteuse,
I understand your confusion. Mind you, I am no less.
But I believe Mr. Windward would draw your attention to your words of May 6th :” … a profound sense of wonder at the point where imagination and reality collide ”
Sincerely,
Finlay Leana MacGuidhre.
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I thought I recognised that phrase, Ms MacGuidhre.
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Hello! Calling from the future.
…no, don’t worry, nothing too…. well, not cataclysmic at any rate.
lol
This will be fun Fabergé eggs over easy with a side of sighs
Will return (unless, of course, I already have in which case this might be my initial visit)… tempus fugazi ya know?
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Señor Clark,
in my profession when someone tells me not to worry that is exactly the time I start worrying.
I appreciate the use of lol during such a sad occasion; I am sure Mr. Windward would laugh too, using that unspoken Proprietor code you have among you.
Looking forward to your return (time apart from flying, loops also…in nomine Nolanum Inceptum)
Sincerely,
Finlay Leana MacGuidhre.
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Nice description with the “not-only” part: “It can also result in a big pain-not-only-in-the-ass.”
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Thank you Mr. Hubeny
Sincerely,
Finlay Leana MacGuidhre.
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Six days counting from when?
Given the nature of alternate reality, (or the alternate realities of Nature) might we inquire whether you are in a position to continue in a capacity of Gatekeeper?
Ordinarily one might interpret this suggestion as both insulting and mis-guided, but that would be over-looking the spirit of a certain establishment’s unspoken motto (Vocate bacchatur irrationalis).
Whatever your inclination in this, we are grateful for your service on behalf a fellow Proprietor and extend our welcome, in whatever capacity or agency as may exist, should you be inclined to visit the Six Sentence Café & Bistro
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Domine Clark,
Today should be the day.
But given the increased interest I may, for the first and last time, bent the rules for one more day.
Now, as flattering as some may find your inquiry, I must say that your offer doesn’t sound that tempting. Unless you are prepared to top the 540$ per hour I make at Milton & Blake LLP.
No?…pity…
In the remote chance you were referring to Mr Windward’s return from the dead:
1. Religious beliefs are outside my expertise
2. It also seems that reactivating the duty of gatekeeping trumps the sudden loss of a fellow Proprietor- interesting.
Sincerely,
Finlay Leana MacGuidhre.
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It saddens me greatly to hear of The Gatekeeper’s passing, we will be arranging a standard NOLA second line in his memory.
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Mimi, there is nothing messy about your idea of a second line. Wow!
I am sure Nick has already a huge smile on his face because of this.(He was a big fan of Mahalia Jackson and Marva Wright)
On his behalf, Thank You.
Sincerely,
Finlay Leana MacGuidhre.
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Dear Finlay Leana MacGuidhre,
It gars me greet to hear o the passing o Mr Nick Windward. Oor acquaintance was sairly brief, but a lasting impression did he make upon me. Tis sure that I maun grieve a while, but will sojer bravely on tae try an fin this thing ca’d a ‘blog’, for it will surely bring me a wheen o solace.
Noo if ah kin jist fin that Time Travelling Tomahawk thingie and return masel tae the year o our Lord 2022, then ah micht fin ma ain voice again an stoap jammerin lik this. yours etc, Jenne fae the Alcove
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Dear Finlay Leana MacGuidhre,
I am sorry to trouble you again so soon, but in my eagerness to respond to your communication, I forgot that not everybody speaks Scots. Please forgive me and find attached the Google translation of the above.
It makes me weep to hear of the passing of Mr Windward Although i knew him but for a short time he made a great impression on me. I must surely grieve a while but will carry bravely on and look for his blog, for it will surely bring me some solace.
Now if i can only find the TTT and get myself back to 2022, i might find my own voice again (Ah, I have indeed!) and stop jabbering on like this. Yours tecx
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(Hahaha…the synchronization!! Was just trying to make sure I understood fin correctly!!)
Will answer properly at the Scots one! Thank ye!!
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Dear Jenne, guid evenin.
the sight and imagined sound of Scots language brings joy and solace to my heart.
Though I am ashamed to admit that my time at the States has diminished my Scots, there will always be a part of me singing Alba an Àigh(as it is with any free man or woman who has Scotland at heart).
From the also short time I knew Nick, I can assure you that the impression is mutual. At one of our last conversations he was telling me that he realized only recently, that the blog is a kind of a time ark for those to follow; whether it burdened him or not I can not say. But, I feel he would move past the realization and continue onwards (and windward).
I thank you on behalf of Mr. Windward (as I thank ye too) Jenne from the Alcove.
Sincerely,
Finlay Leana MacGuidhre.
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damn! I loves me a true (fill in the blank for the correct term referencing previous two and a half commentations: language/dialect/patois)
It’s like those old “If y cn rd this u hav a prblm” click-bait posts on ‘the facebook’
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Hey! Damned compelling audio clip.
May you rest in peace…or not…as the case my be with the flip of a coin and a quaff of the strong stuff.
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Dear Liz,
you are quite insightful.
Compelled by your words, I flipped a coin…made one mistake though…did not have the mobile camera recording…cause the damned thing landed on its side edge, perfectly balanced…
Sincerely,
Finlay Leana MacGuidhre
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Whatever you do…don’t sneeze!
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Haha..I’ll try!
*sorry for the late response…just found you in the spam*
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😆
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