AWAKENING

‘A troubled man
is wh
o
I
am when I glimpse my reflection,

Pain
’s
an unwelcome
guest
and anger its
companion,

This is my loveless
and utterly
t
roublesome life
,

Yet, what other life is there
beyond this wretched one?

A troublesome life without
HER
is all I know.
’

                                                                     
-Alfonzo’s woe      

Copyright 2012
S.W.Frank

Published on amazon.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form without prior written permission of the author.

AUTHOR’S NOTE
:

This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and events portrayed in this story are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

                                  
Dedication

This novel is dedicated to my inner circle of steadfast readers
on
facebook
.  Tiffany E.
(
awesome
woman)
, Lucie C.
(
the hold-out
)
, Allyson
K
.
(
slick-
smart lady
)
, Christi P.
,
(
love the
music
vids
)
,
Nicole J. (my
male
pix lady),
K
im C. (who jumped right in),
Ethel A. (
you were there from the beginning, yes,
I see you),
Asia T. (Geo lover),
Lamia A. (love your pix from Milan),
Nikki S., Krystal G., Tai T.,
Kristen A.,
Yolanda,
H
ar
r
ietta
P.,
Nat
i
sha
, Evelyn, Crystal
J.
Crystal W.
,
Lacy
, Emily, Bella,
Shinita
,
Funke
I
.,
Jennifer,
S
ammantha
,
Ruby,
Ayisha
,
Creasy,
Tanya, Roxanne,
Geovonna
(da
rn
I love that name),
Gianluca
,
Renee, J
anice
,
Nashito
,
Fantasia,
Toia
,
Rennessa
,
Cherrye
,
Keily
, Gail, Author Dianne Simmons,
Kachetta
,
Keandrea
,
Chance, Nicholas, Ashley
.
Orjay
, Paige, Drake, John
and everyone who comes in to voice their opinion and share their thoughts. T
his is t
ruly an interactive
, fun
and personal group
,
which I
enjoy immensely
.
Y
ou are breaths of inspiration.

To a
n
A
uthor
Treasure Blue
, a
sincere
thanks
for your encouragement
.
T
hanks t
o
all
the members of the ARC Book Club.
Special thanks to
English
Ruler
,
Sistar
Tea
, Rachel and those who are always there with kind and inspiring words. It’s such a great place to go and just be.

To the new friends, supporters and book clubs
, such as B.R.A.B., and its founder Sharon B. (very nice woman I’m glad I met) and anyone who has
stumbled into Alfonzo’s world and have decided to stay for the journey, I am glad.

Of course,
I dedicate this edition to
my family. You’re everything. You
are unflinching; you have
always believed.

                                                                                              
–
Umwah
!

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Prologue

Kaohsiung City,
Taiwan
.
Five months earlier.

Ye
i
jogged through the str
eet, her camera sw
inging
from the cloth strap
which begun to
chafe
her neck like sandpaper
.
She
needed to get this picture of the beautiful
dr
agon
boats
floating down Love River
during the
Kaohsiung Lantern Festival
for next week’s article
in
Perji
magazine
.

Glory Pier was bustling with people, holding
delicate
lanterns in celebration of the fifth day of the Lunar Year.
The Lantern Festival
was
a major
gala
for the Chinese.
It began with the r
ite
of
‘Sending
the Kitchen God Off to the Heavens
’
and end
ed
with the Lantern Festival.
This was
a staunch tradition practiced since
a
ncient times
and meant to promote community
.
A time for
all members of society
to
acknowledge the bonds they share
. And o
n this night
,
the lights from th
e lanterns glowed and the people smiled. They were happy
to observe
glowing imitation dragons
floating down the river and found symbolism in the glorious sight.
Yei
, l
aughed at how gullible
people
were.

Dragon motifs
were everywhere. They
decorated the pier
and to everyone else it was a beautiful sight
.
Members of society unified, watching decorated boats
. S
he laughed
, s
uch B-S!

Yei
came
today
on
assignment. This was work and
it
paid the bills for her family. There were no
fa
e
ries dancing
around
in
her
head.
The
poor were hungry and the rich threw food in the trash. Unity, there’s no unity in any society and anyone who dares believe
there is have
faerie dust for brains.
She found
strife, poverty, greed, abuse
and
oppression
exists everywhere in the world.
If,
unity
were real then why did it cower and fail to calibrate the balance of inequality?
True unity is a
n unbroken
bond
;
unshakeable
and stands together
against anything
which
threatens
to sever it. Unity would not allow atrocities to occur to its brethren and pretend not to see
.
For
Yei
,
unity
meant
self and spirit. They cannot be separated.

She
found an opening as a flotilla of dragon boats sailed down the river, casting light over the dark waters. The waves from the moving boats rocked then folded into the depths to sit calmly
,
waiting to be shifted by the currents beneath.

Yei
snapped
the p
hoto
,
and
skipped down the pier to get another shot
from a different angle
, almost tripping over a young
boy
sitting
on the ground
as his parents pointed at the colorful lights
, admiring its
beauty.
The cultural indoctrination had begun. The boy would believe
. He’d
grow
to b
eliev
e
he is the smartest
,
the most studious
among all people
. H
e will go throughout life believing
this and judging others he has not met. He will be told he is superior and all others are undisciplined. Yet, he will not question or seek truth. He believes what he is told because he does not think for himself. His brain is fed bias and traditions that he will eat for sustenance.
He will marry a
particular
woman because his parents would accept no other
. He will be
unhappy
,
but
refuse to
offend his elders. His life w
ill
not be his own
. Then
, one day, he may travel and everything he believed w
ill
be challenged.
He w
ill
find there are others equally smart and smarter. The color of their skin will be darker and they will know many languages, including Chinese. He will fall in love and will be happy for the first time in his life and he will no longer see the world through the misinformation or propaganda spread by others. He will be a free thinker and realize he isn’t any more special than others around the world
.
Then, he will have gained wisdom. He will be
unique
;
he is awake
when others sleep
. Faerie dust does not dance there.