Oengus Moonbones: Storyteller Extraordinaire

Every time I visit Oengus's fine blog I feel like I've stepped into a different world. It's a lunar landscape of sorts. Plus I almost always learn at least one new word.

When I started to read his Story of St. Alison Kaylee that he recently relinked here, I immediately realized that I had read it once before when he wrote it almost 2 years ago. But I had forgotten it. Oengus has a simple style that really puts things right inside you, so often you don't remember the reading. The beauty somehow got directly infused into my soul. Or maybe I just forgot reading it? Either way it's lovely; here's an excerpt:

As the story goes, some time after her sister's passing, while walking on the beach with her friends — this was the Oregon coast near Tolovana — Alison looked out at the ocean waves and the sun light glistening on the foamy water. She saw a most marvelous vision that caused her to be frozen and transfixed. Her friends didn't know what was happening to her, as she seemed to just stand there on the sand staring out at the sea.

She saw two angels, dressed in sparkling white, their beards were long and golden, and they hovered with their feet just above the waves and the sun drenched water. Between them, they were holding a dark wooden cross, and on that cross Alison could see a vision of the Lord crucified and hanging there. He looked up at her, wearing the thorny crown, and said "love me, Alison, for I greatly loved you." Alison distinctly heard this and fell on her knees in the sand astonished. Her friends saw her doing this but only heard the rushing of the waves. Alison was never the same after this. She decided she would love Him who greatly loved her and bore such suffering for her sake to free her from her sins.

Read the whole thing; it's not long and well worth the time it takes to read.

On the quirkier side, check out his "ghost story" titled Caspar and Lonnie about two ghosts who become friends. Here's a teaser:

"Oh, look at that! A worm." said Caspar.

"Hey, I know him," said Lonnie, who had floated over to get a closer look. "That's my friend, Herman the worm."

"That is wonderful. He is your friend?" asked Caspar.

"Oh yeah," Lonnie explained, "I know him well. He helped to turn my mortal remains into compost, in a very environment-friendly, natural kind of way."

"Herman looks like he is in trouble. Maybe we should try to help him," said Caspar as he bent down besides Lonnie to get a closer look at the poor worm, who was in danger of desiccating if he didn't return soon to the moist earth.

It's not a finished story, but maybe if Mr. Moonbones gets enough readers he'll be inspired to finish the story.