Behemoth

The biggest blimp she never flew.

• Up to 1,000 words
• Comedy
• Location = An airship
• Object = A log

Ginormous. That was the word standing out in Janie’s head as she looked at Behemoth. It was just so, large. Humongous really.  The ropes tying her down to the ground were as think as Janie’s thighs. She watched as half a dozen people ran about loading things onto the airship Janie was now the proud owner of.

Make no mistake, she would not be flying it! She had spent almost every penny crazy Uncle Jimmy had left her just buying this two-acre lot of land and Behemoth and paying for the rigid blimp to be transported here. The rest of the money was going to be used to secure it to the ground and set up the plumbing and electric so she could truly live in it.

Crazy Uncle Jimmy! When Janie got the call from the lawyer that Jimmy had mentioned her in his will, she was shocked. Most of the family had cut ties with Jimmy because of his crazy stories. What has seemed the craziest, telling everyone he won the lottery but still living in a mobile home 20 years out of date, had turned out to be true. And since Janie was one of only a few relatives that had not cut contact with Jimmy, she was now the proud recipient of his good fortune. With a catch…

“I, Jimmy Falentino, being of sound mind and body (regardless of what my family believes) do herby bequeath seventy-five percent of my estate to my dear sweet niece Janie Falentino with the condition the money be used to buy land and an airship to reside in as her permanent residence. The remaining twenty-five percent shall be donated to the Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian, for the express purpose of upkeep to the Airship portion of the museum.”

An airship. A ginormous airship. Why not, Janie had concluded as she sat in the lawyer’s office signing the paperwork. Everyone in the family knew Janie was terrified of flying and Uncle Jimmy had tried when she was younger to help her face this fear. Seems this was his final gift to her, an attempt to face her demons.

“Miss?” A young man was waving his hand in front of her face, trying to get her attention. She’d been lost in thoughts of Uncle Jimmy and hadn’t even noticed him. He looked at her funny for a minute before continuing. “Were you needing a quote on a paint job?” he asked as he looked at the name Behemoth in bright yellow letters, reflecting the evening sun.

“No” Janie sighed as she said it. “This was part of the agreement. Welcome to ‘Behemoth Estate’” she added ruefully. He looked at her as though she lost her mind, and perhaps she had.

“Okay then” he nodded and smiled as he backed away, like you do with crazy people. That’s what she was now, the crazy lady. Some neighborhoods had crazy cat ladies, some had crazy hat ladies…well, this one now had a crazy airship lady!

It had been months now, but it was like a prediction. It was official, she was now known about town as Janie Falentino, crazy airship lady, or as the paper put it, “Flightless Falentino”. But she liked it. For the first time in her life, she was known for something. Granted, she was known because people thought she was nuts, but hey, she was known! Janie invested some money in a glass display case at the entry to her drive and paid a pretty penny for an unbreakable case to house her uncle’s will. She was so tired of repeating the story that she invited the local paper to come in, take pictures of her and her airship, the page from the will as well as interview her for the local paper.

Flightless Falentino and Her Engineless Airship by Maggie Scrivenshire

Readers, I’m sure you’ve all seen the newest addition to our quaint, little, small town here in Steam Falls, Tennessee. I don’t know how you could miss it, sitting on the edge of town with the bright yellow name Behemothblazing in the sun. Well, yours truly has just come back from a visit and an interview with none other than the owner Janie Falentino. Keep reading to find out what the amazing story is behind this unique home.

Maggie: Janie, you have quite the impressive airship. Tell me, why choose to live in an airship?

Janie: Well Maggie, the story is quite simple. When I was a kid, I was terrified of flying, still am to be honest. My Uncle Jimmy was always trying to get me to face that fear; pushing me super high on swings, taking me on the Ferris Wheel when the carnival came to town, even taking me up in a hot air balloon once for my birthday. Poor guy had to clean puke off his shoes more times than I can count! So, he told me once “Janie, I’m going to get you in a hang glider, plane, helicopter, airship, or some other flying machine if it’s the last thing I do!” And then he died and well, you have seen the will. I guess where there’s a will, there’s a way!

Maggie: Your uncle sounds like quite the interesting man. Tell me, what is the story behind the large chunk of wood standing in the middle of the entryway. I noticed, and our readers can see in the pictures with this article, there seems to be section of it smoothed down and it looks like you have been writing on it. What’s the significance there?

Janie: Well, truth be told, my uncle wasn’t just into getting me to try and fly, he also loved sailing and science fiction. And part of his request, was that I act like a true captain of Behemoth and write down my adventures. And everyone knows that any good captain, well, they must have a Captain’s Log!

Christy’s Creative Compositions