Grex Enigma Conference

View Responses

Grex Enigma Item 385: Yoofra Doofra Zetgo Flum, a Gentleman of Foreign Persuasion
Entered by remmers on Thu Feb 19 21:30:00 UTC 2004:

Yoofra Doofra Zetgo Flum looked at his surrounds.  A wave of fear
buffeted his being when the surroundings looked back at him.  Then
another event occurred.

The next day, a messenger came calling.  "I have here a message
for Yoofra Doofra Zegto Flum," said the messenger.  Flum was
apprehensive, for he did not know what the message was about and
feared the worst.

The small apartment of Yoofra Doofra Zetgo Flum was a second story
walkup above a quiet residential street.  For hours Flum would sit
by the window, looking out at not much happening.  Every hour an
old gentleman with a cane would hobble along the sidewalk, muttering
things that Flum could not hear.

At the age of twenty-five, Yoofra Doofra Zegto Flum had been an
army officer in his home country, charged with the heavy responsibilty
of guarding a small border town from marauders who lived in nearby
enemy territory.  Every day he had lunch at a small cafe in the center
of the town.  He suspected that the food was not well-prepared.

2 responses total.

#1 of 2 by other on Fri Feb 20 20:55:01 2004:

3:00.  A fly buzzed with disconcerting intensity about Flum's head, and 
then settled even more disconcertingly into Flum's soup.  Flum looked 
up, startled to discover the proprietor of the small cafe standing over 
him.

"You Flum?"

Flum looked up and down the nearly empty street, and then turned back 
to the thin, balding man in a dirty apron.

"S'me.  Who asks?"

The chef handed Flum an envelope, then turned on his heel and was gone 
as startlingly as he had arrived.  Foodstained and dirty, but still 
sealed, the small blue envelope weighed heavy in Flum's hand. As he 
pondered it, the old gentleman with the cane came around the corner 
muttering.  Flum decided to wait and try to make out what the old man 
was saying.

#2 of 2 by remmers on Wed Feb 25 18:40:55 2004:

Yoofra Doofra Zetgo Flum broke off his reverie, a trance-like
state in which the experiences of so many years ago mingled with
those of the present day and, indeed, with events that had never
occurred at all.  He noticed a small fly on the wall opposite,
crawling in lurching fashion toward who knew what destination.
This saddened Flum, and a tear ran down his cheek.

The next day, it rained.  In such weather, Flum liked to sit in
the little coffeehouse that was just around the corner from his
rooms, sipping espresso and dividing his attention between the
newspaper and idle observation of the other customers.  A woman
entered and sat down two tables away from Flum.  Not a young
woman, but not old either.  Not pretty, but neither was she ugly.
Not thin, not fat.  Neither short nor tall.  Of what possible
interest could this entirely mediocre person be to anyone,
wondered Yoofra Doofra Zetgo Flum to himself.  Then he noticed
her earrings.

That evening, Yoofra Doofra Zetgo Flum sat alone in his parlor.
There was a knock at the door.  Answering, Flum found himself
facing another messenger, a man who resembled quite strongly the
one he had conjured in his dreamy reverie of the previous day.
What is more, the messenger was carrying a blue envelope.
"Message for Flum," he said.  Flum felt an odd momentary chill,
as though someone had just tread on his grave.  He took the
envelope, dismissed the messenger, returned to his parlor,
and lay the blue missive on a small corner table, resolving to
read it later. But first some Sibelius, he thought to himself
and went to his record cabinet.

Response not possible - You must register and login before posting.