Week of August 4, 2024 – Huracán Debby, Dolores (x2), Peaches, & Prayer

(Above: A day without electricity. I utilized a generator to give power to my laptop and the refrigerator (and sometimes, the air conditioner). Un día sin electricidad. Utilicé un generador para dar poder a mi portátil y la nevera (y a veces, el aire acondicionado).)

8/4/2024: Today began in the low 80s with air being very still. 4+ inches of rain in the night. Lost power (8/5) due to wind and it is presently still out as I tend to this entry.

8/5/2024: Today began in the low 70s and warmed into the mid 80s. Mostly cloudy. Very windy, very rainy. 6+ inches of rain over the past twelve hours.

8/6/2024: Today began in the low 70s and warmed into the low 90s. Mostly cloudy morning. Slightly sunny afternoon.

Bonus Note: I saw that WordPress (Jetpack) has an add-on that makes AI Images, so I input a description from the book I’ve been working on. This is AI’s representation of High Priestess Milana. I did not envision her as being so rotund — more muscular instead of adipose — but this would be very representative of Hattun’s Mother, Dolores.

8/7/2024: Today began in the mid 70s and warmed into the low 90s. No rain.

8/8/2024: Today began in the low 80s and was quite humid. Warmed into the high 90s. No rain, “feels like 108 F”.

8/9/2024: Today began in the high 70s and warmed into the mid 90s.

8/10/2024: Today began in the high 70s and warmed into the mid 90s. Rain around noontime.

Final Note: An excerpt taken from Part 1 of Grimorzak’s Chapter 5 in Book 2:

“No, Lef, hands like this,” Milana instructed, “Fingers straight. Not interlaced like some beggar. Straight fingers form a point. A focus.”

Lef did as asked, straightening his knobby fingers before his narrow, bird-like chest.

The High Priestess grunted, “Better. Now. I have two rules when it comes to praying. Ward, how about you tell us number one.”

“Pray only for what you may give yourself,” came the girl’s reply as she prodded the fire with one of the three irons that stood beside it.

“Good. And why is that?” the high priestess asked.

“Praying for something that you cannot give yourself is praying for a miracle, and miracles, by definition, are highly improbable. Actions that are not often reinforced by reward are unsustainable.”

“That’s why I chose her,” Milana noted, a hint of pride in her voice, “And when it comes to praying, it’s why we don’t say: ‘Lord Leyosen, send this storm back from whence it came.’ Instead, we say, ‘Lord Leyosen; grant me the patience to endure this abominable weather.’ But now, can my fine Ward tell me what rule number two is?”

“State, don’t supplicate.”

“Very good,” the High Priestess replied, returning her full attention to the man before her, “That’s a new one—one that my predecessor would have rejected, but she was from a time and a line who believed fear was the best form of motivation. And it was a fine form, wasn’t it? Supplication puts the supplicant in a position of powerlessness. I’d better adhere to what the Temple tells me, because I can’t do it myself! But what does that get you High Priestess Thelena?”

So vehemently was that latter question posed, that Lef peered about himself. It was only High Priestess Milana, the Ward, and himself in the worship hall, yet the High Priestess continued to speak bitterly to her phantom;

“It’s gets you a temple full of folk who can’t do anything worth a turnip without asking His blessing for this or that and who whimper ‘it was His will’ when something goes right or it doesn’t. I’ll take a good responsible heathen like Klod any day over one of those irresponsible god-fearing arses.”

Lef raised an eyebrow, and High Priestess Milana growled, “Old rows, Drifter. Thelena was a fine woman, but as much a product of her time as cold is of this clime. Point is; a good prayer isn’t a plea. It’s a statement. A statement of reverence and reinforcement: Reverence for what you have, even if it’s just life itself, and reinforcement in your purpose. It’s a focus. Just like that one you’ve formed with your fingers.”

5 thoughts on “Week of August 4, 2024 – Huracán Debby, Dolores (x2), Peaches, & Prayer”

  1. Was that just one week??? No doubt it was unusual and it felt extended to say the least, glad to be able to share the experience though.

  2. (⁠◡⁠ ⁠ω⁠ ⁠◡⁠)

    Time is an illusion that helps things make sense…
    So we are always living in the present tense… (… 🎵) 😉

    1. I had no idea that turtles could sing nor that they had such fine taste in music. Keep practicing, Tortuga, and tell your mum I very much look forward to sending a letter her way at the end of this month. 🥕🌙

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