Chapter 3: Nutshell

We face the path of time
October

After going for a walk that morning, Nona comes back to see Jon sitting against the wall in the shelter.

Nona says, “Something wrong Jon?"
Jon says, “I had this "dream" the other night and..."
Nona says, “What do you remember about it?"
Jon says, “Well, I'm in a dark field. I can’t see anything. I walk a few steps here and there and I hear crunching underneath my feet. I can sense some sort of movement from a few feet away. After a while, I stop because I hear distant voices. I walk towards the voices but as soon as I feel I am very close to the source, I hear a whistling sound in the air. I hear it just about to hit me then I wake up. Kinda freaked me out for a few minutes but I'm still trying to see if I remember more. So far nothing."
Nona says, “Let me massage your neck Jon. Maybe that will help."

Jon puts his back to Nona and Nona goes and sits down. She takes off Jon's shirt and as she starts to massage his neck, he moans.

Nona says, “Exactly what I wanted to hear. Damn, your shoulders are really knotted up. Must be from you trying too hard. You know, I am here for you to talk to."
Jon says, “I know. I just wish something could help me."
Nona says, “There's a local library around here that has a vast collection of documentaries about wars. Maybe watching something about Vietnam or a war period might help you to understand your dreams."
Jon says, “Might as well find out."

As they walk to the local library, Broadus St. Library, they walk in and to the front desk. The receptionist's label says her name is Demri Taylor.

Ms. Taylor says, “How may I help you two?"
Nona says, “Would you happen to have videocassettes of any wars, including Vietnam?"
Ms. Taylor says, “Yes we do. Look for the door with the name 'Video Library' on it."

Nona and Jon walk around for a few minutes and see the door Ms. Taylor spoke of. They walk into the room and look at all the videos. Nona and Jon walk out of the room and back to the receptionist’s desk.

Nona says, “Ms. Taylor, would you happen to have a room where we can watch some of these videos for a little bit?"
Ms. Taylor says, “As a matter of fact, yes. In the basement, we have a setup down there. Just grab a couple of chairs from up here and take them down. Just come up here every once in a while and check with me, ok?"
Nona says, “Ok."

Nona grabs a couple of chairs while Jon grabs a few tapes and they go downstairs.

Jon says, “So, what will we watch first, America's History of Wars or Vietnam: The Long Road?"
Nona says, “Let's watch the history one first, ok?"

Nona takes the tape and puts it in the VCR. They watch the tape for the entirety of it, which is an hour.

Nona says, “I'll be right back. I gotta’ check in with Ms. Taylor."

Jon gets up and takes the tape out. He looks at the Vietnam tape especially the case art and then he zones out. For what seems like a second, he's in a battlefield and then he's brought back to reality.

Nona says, “Jon, you ok?"
Jon says, “I think so."
Nona says, “You sure you don't need to go see a doctor or something?"
Jon says, “I'm fine..."
Nona says, “...Ok. Let's watch the Vietnam tape now."

Nona pops in the tape and they commence watching.