Silent Screams

SILENT SCREAMS
A Note From The Author

I SCREAM A LOT.

Silent screams bounce around inside my head like an impending
storm brewing into a force that will escape in a wild dance of chaos
and be lost forever if I don’t stop to jot them down.

I’m a condemned man. Condemned to write.

But don’t get me wrong; I love it.

For centuries, philosophers have been plagued with the
question: “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” But, due to my
curse, my deeper, more morbid musings, I am doomed to consider:
What is the sound of one hand screaming? Why ask? Why delve
into the darkness? Why pursue fear and terror?

There’s really no answer. I merely respond to a call both
from within and from without. Human beings have been eagerly
devouring notions of evil and horror since we dwelt in caves and
jumped at the shadows and noises occurring just outside the
comforting range of firelight. History is wrought with examples of
people standing alone, facing a vast, empty void and questioning both
themselves and the universe.

Canadians, especially, have always been concerned with
notions of what lies beyond our normal existence. From the days
when we had still to explore the uncharted west and northern
territories to a time when our very cities seem to be a futile attempt to
light up the dark, we are both intrigued with and fearful of the
unknown.

One Hand Screaming explores one man’s journey into the
unknown and dealing with such universal elements. At a basic level,
it documents the early evolution of a writer cursed to churn out
morbid musings, spin dark tales that question the ideas of evil and of
sanity. It is a collection of fiction and poetry, but it can also be seen
in an autobiographical sense if you decide to read the final chapter of
story notes. I purposely separated them from the stories and poems to
ensure that those readers who prefer not to “see the strings” behind
the writing can simply skip them and still enjoy the tales.

But regardless of how you choose to enjoy this work, I trust that
if you try really hard, you’ll be able to hear, almost out of perceptible
range, a series of silent screams.

Don’t worry – it’s just me.

I scream a lot.

Mark Leslie, February 2004

© 2004 by Mark Leslie Lefebvre