Dr. Irving A. Greenfield

The Call

Harry was beginning to believe that "happy," at least for him, never existed. He didn't understand why this was and he often sat on a bench over-looking the Hudson River, close to where he lived, and thought about it.

Harry possessed the depth of years into which he could dive, and his past would materialize out of a sea of memories. And when he thought about something that happened years before, he was sure that he got the essentials right even if some of the details were wrong. From getting the essentials right, Harry knew he was changing. But changing into what? The what eluded him.

It occurred to him that perhaps what he'd been waiting for most of his adult life was about to happen. "The Call," as he referred to it. The Call was finally going to manifest itself; he'd always expected it to be more cerebral than physical. He could feel its power.

Harry looked across the Hudson to the Jersey shore and beyond the dim outlines of the Watchung Mountains. The sky was full of dappled sunlight, so very beautiful. Worthy of The Call he waited so long to hear. There was the sound of a ship's horn; then, nothing.

Harry slid off the bench. The Call had come silently.

Irving Greenfield's work has been published in Amarillo Bay, Runaway Parade, Writing Tomorrow, eFictionMag and the Stone Hobo; and in Prime Mincer, The Note and Cooweescoowee (2X); and in THE STONE CANOE, electronic edition. He and his wife live in Manhattan.

He has been a sailor, soldier and college professor, playwright and novelist.

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