Wednesday, July 30, 2014

LIGHT HIDDEN BY DARKNESS -- Stranger in a Funny Hat!



Books by John Bradford Branney [click link]
Light Hidden by Darkness is about a man named Mr. Bud who wakes up and finds himself in a strange land with no recollection of his whereabouts or his past. He is completely lost and confused. What Mr. Bud could use is some help, but so far, no one in this strange city has been able to give him the answers that he needs. Unable to find help, Mr. Bud decides to escape the city and starts out by walking...and walking...and walking some more. In the following passage from Light Hidden by Darkness, Mr. Bud walks for what seems to be an eternity without seeing another living soul. Finally, he meets a person on the street who could possibly help him. The initial encounter follows;        



After walking further, Mr. Bud was worried that he was lost. He was alone on the street and the emptiness in the city frightened him. He was contemplating turning around and heading back to his building when he saw a lone man standing on the sidewalk in front of him. As Mr. Bud cautiously approached the stranger, he studied the man’s mocha-colored face. The stranger smiled and Mr. Bud stopped just a few feet away from him.

“Hello, friend,” the stranger greeted Mr. Bud. “Are you taking a little stroll?”


Trilby hat.
“Yes, I am,” Mr. Bud replied, “but, I might be lost.”

“Aren’t we all, sir?”

“Pardon?”

“Perhaps, I can help you, sir,” the stranger offered.

“Perhaps,” Mr. Bud replied. “I am not sure where I am heading.”

“That is not unusual,” the stranger declared. “Many of us are not sure where we are heading.”

“Are you lost as well?”

“No, but I have been lost many times,” the stranger recalled, “I somehow always find the right path.”

Mr. Bud looked at the tall stranger. If Mr. Bud was any closer, he would have had to crane his neck backwards just to look the stranger in the eyes. The stranger appeared as thin as wallpaper, but it was hard to tell because of the raincoat the stranger wore. He also had a funny little hat on his head. Mr. Bud had seen this style of hat somewhere before, but he could not remember where. The hat was brown-colored wool with small yellow squares in the fabric, giving it a tweed look. It had a yellow hatband for accent and the stranger wore the hat with the brim turned down over his ears.

The stranger noticed Mr. Bud staring at his hat and asked, “It is a nice one, isn’t it?”

“Pardon me?” Mr. Bud replied.

“My hat,” the stranger said, “I saw you admiring it.”

“Yeah, I have seen one like it somewhere before.”
“It is called a trilby.”

“What is?”

“My hat,” the stranger replied and then asked, “So, where are you heading, sir?”

Mr. Bud thought about the answer to the stranger’s question. Mr. Bud did not have a direct answer for the stranger since he did not know where he was and he did not remember where he was from.

“Anywhere,” Mr. Bud replied after a long pause, “away from this goofy city.”




The relationship between Mr. Bud and this 'stranger in the funny little hat' continues to evolve throughout the book. However, no reader could ever guess in an eternity how their  relationship ends up. Let me just say that the relationship between Mr. Bud and the 'stranger in the funny little hat' is quite unique.


Light Hidden by Darkness is available in paperback and e book from Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and many other better booksellers.  Books by John Bradford Branney
Books by John Bradford Branney (click link)

No comments:

Post a Comment