Volare 3.1: Omens

C L A S S I C S

C R E A T I V E

J O U R N A L

VOLARE 3.1 N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

VOLARE I S S U E

Christiane-Marie

3 . 1 :

O M E N S

I I

Dublin

Yuchen Ethan Hu

I V

Vanitas

Nikolay Parvanov

V

Necator Felium

Avery Warkentin

V I I I

Abstract Augury

Cantwell

Why Don't You Send

I X

Adeline Li

A Pig to the Mortals?

Neha Rahman

X V I I

Socrates' Costar Notifications

Editor In Chief Cover Design Layout

Sara Merker Marina Martin Taryn Power

Editorial Board

Marina Martin Meghan O'Donnell Dory Sampson Taryn Power

I

Dublin Christiane-Marie Cantwell

Rolling, rolling, rolling, constantly flaring up, and following.

Snapshots, pictures of a reality that truly was but seems elusive like the fantasy world of a young child. Mist rolling over snow-capped hills, fleeing the plain and dispersing immediately, a final escape. Meeting the brown cliffs, falling direct into the sea, the depths changing with the tides, mottled greys in dark blues. Tranquil as can be. The sky opening just at that junction of earth and sea, epicurean necessities, old as time.

Spotlight of the Gods, or coincidence of the sublime.

Victorian edifices, red-stone, and iron, dates and names of forgotten eras engraved in the side, their original use forgotten. Free enterprise wins again, and the dichotomy cuts a soul to the wick. Pigeons, tens of tens of tens, rolling, flying over the stepped roof, all at once. Omen to an event that only they know of.

Grey birds over a background of white sky, caught in time, suspended in disbelief.

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City in movement, all telephone poles, cross-walks, light posts, garbage cans, bar walls, rolled up in a missing persons poster, still missing highlighted, underlined, all in bold, handwritten warnings, constant reminders, symbols of something elusive and out of reach. It’s been weeks and nothing at all, but posters posters posters, plastering the city.Â

Cinematic universe of truths. Literary country, runs through the mind, unforgettable images rolling and rolling and rolling through.

III

Vanitas

Inspired by M.C. Escher, sketch on paper

Yuchen Ethan Hu

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Necator Felium Nikolay Parvanov

De Veris Rebus Dies Mercurii fuit, mane. Otium Nusquamii tantum maximum videtur quantum posset dum in statione currum venire manebam.

Ambulans ad meum fautum locum suggestus quaedam mulier amicabilis adivit prope me. Domu mea visibili de statione, adnotavit commodum esse mihi viventi tam prope currus. Nuper assumptus illam domum, adnuo caeius commoditatis causa. Me abeunte, perrexit ea interrogare me peculiaribus etiam rhetoricis quaestionibus quorum una: “Dic mihi, felem habes?” Revertor ad eam et adnui. “Vidi eam ad fenestram tuam” inquit. Dixit autem felem videri blandam et se senem maxime amare animalia. In opinione mea loquacitas eius quamquam amicabilis fuit molestior.

Denique fortuna repetivit: “Sapisne vicinum pone… necavit felem meam, aliquot ante annos. Iste immersit eam. Quodam die venit ad portam meam offerens felem mihi madidam aqua.” Tedium subito studium. Nunc audiebam studiosius me ipso audiente magistros in schola, ego semper discupulus tantus studiosus. Vultus eius semel amicabilis factus est vultus calumniatricis generis boni. Cuius generis calumniatrix ita possit fabulas maximas narrare. “Suavis homo est,” institit, “vero odit animalia. In ipsum nullum, sed non potest meam felem mori immersam ipsam aqua. Cum venerit ad portam meam cum fele miseraque mortua, inquit solum ‘feles tua mortua.’” Nunc incertissimus non potui dicere… non quasi dicebam multum cum incepisset ille sermo.

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Conveniebamus inter nos ego adnuens iam interrogans me ipsum si vivam vicinus qualis gentis. Habemusne necatorem felium hic apud nos? Vi terminavi sermonem et adivi locum mihi solitum.

Currus pervenit mox et ego adivi ad scholam. Post dies multas, non pensaveram illem sermonem. Ille erat iocus quem dicebam genitoribus ut rideremus. Necator felium vocabatur a me ad ridendum. Post quiddam tempus, cogitabam verba eius vera.

Haec insana felibus, ut vocabam eam, indidit mihi quiddam dubium. Nondum locutus eram huic vicino ego timens. Non licuit feli adesse fenestram quod vehementer vetui. Credebam istum vicinum vero necatorem felium. Invasit paranoia. Post dies, intellexi esse domus duas secundum meum istius vicini. Alter novaque pulchra, alter vetusque horrida. Propter suam divitiam possuit domus duas habere. Lux non poterat illius veteris fenestras intrare. Nihil intra domum visibile. Vicinus necator felium fruebatur otio in horto suo. Subito intellexi aliquid.

Forsitan haec insana felibus, calumniatrix ipsa, esset quae felem ipsius necavit, ut accusaret istum vicinum verum necatorem felium. Tunc ut fortasse consilium, rumorem propaget aliis ita omnes timerent necatorem felium odii eius causa isti. Sic damnaret eum ad bestias. Tantum ingeniosum! Me intellecto consilium cepi. Ego exponam necatorem felium. Egomet versus istum. Debui probare haec omnia falsa esse. Sperabam verba huius insanae felibus falsissima fuisse. Ergo sinam felem meam facere sonitus acerbissimos in horto meo ita vicinus

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irriteturque irascatur. Item sinam eam errare in horto meo et in illo vicini. Mihi autem placebat illa feles igitur vigilabam. Certe vicinus cognovit felem. Tunc manebam. Postridie nihil. Post dies nihil. Post mensem nihil. Dum‌ Cum aestate finito nubesque pluvia fuerunt quae inundavereque immersere viciniam aqua. Ubi domus mea et domus vicini erant tutae fortuna. Quamquam fortunatissimi nos duo feles mea non erat. Feles cara. Feles mortua. Quemadmodum haec insana felibus dixerat necatorem felium stetisse ad portam suam stabat ad portam meam et felem meam in manibus suis habens inquit: “feles tua mortua.â€?

VII

Abstract Augury

Avery Warkentin

VIII

Why Don't You Send a Pig to the Mortals?

Adeline Li

One day in ZEUS’s golden palace. The gods and goddesses are doing whatever they want, the atmosphere is relaxing.

Only ZEUS looks troubled. His eagle is playing with a mouse, clearly the eagle has put on much weight but it looks happy.

ZEUS: “The all-mighty”, “the ruler of all gods”, the…what is it… the….

HERA: The unfaithful husband.

ZEUS: Nooooo! Those mortals, they entitle me with all these names! Why won’t they stop doing that? I am ZEUS! Just…

ZEUS!

HERA: Ha, just ZEUS?

ZEUS: What, anything wrong with that?

HERA: Listen, why don’t you send a pig down there next time those mortals pray to you?

ZEUS: Do we have pigs?

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HERA: APHRODITE!

ZEUS: Huh?

Enter APHRODITE with ADONIS.

APHRODITE: What now!?

HERA: Fetch your father a pig.

APHRODITE: Why should I do it?

ADONIS: I’ll do it for you.

HERA: There’s my good boy.

ADONIS: I’m talking to my dearest APHRODITE.

APHRODITE: Ha, now there’s MY good boy!

HERA: Out!

Exit the two lovers.

ZEUS: Where’s APOLLO? It’s getting cold here. I want a new piece of armour.

X

HERA: I bless myself! Are you finally losing your memory?

ZEUS: What, anything wrong again?

HERA: HEPHAESTUS!

ZEUS: Oh crap!

Enter HEPHAESTUS, he looks sleepy.

HERA: Holy me, what did you do last night?

HEPHAESTUS: I made a new piece of armour.

ZEUS: Ah, won’t you take APOLLO’s place and become my new god of prophecy!

HEPHAESTUS: I made it for myself.

ZEUS: I want to see it.

HEPHAESTUS: Learn some practical skills and make your own armour, won’t you?

ZEUS: Out!

Exit HEPHAESTUS, still sleepy.

HERA: Calm down, old man, he’s not yet awake.

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ZEUS: What time is it now, not awake!

HERA: Too loud old man! Calm down, can’t you feel that the earth is shaking? You nearly destroyed Troy. Now I wish it did not survive the fire, at least fire is warm while noise— especially yours old man—is just disgusting!

ZEUS: Am I hallucinating or are you finally granting me some mercy?

HERA: Messi? Oh I love Messi.

ZEUS: What’s that?

HERA: Shut your mouth old man! Someone turn on the TV screen for me. The next game between Barcelona and Real Madrid should start in two minutes, I don’t want to miss it.

OTHER GODS AND GODDESSES: Out of battery, my queen.

HERA: What!!!!!?

The whole earth is shaking.

ZEUS: Troy is doomed.

HERA: I told you to charge that screen last night! That’s the only practical use of that thunderbolt of yours and you can’t even charge a goddamn…you-damn…screen!

XII

ZEUS: I told you POSEIDON came to visit me last night and we both got electric shock!

HERA: Again?

ZEUS: This time he wanted to surprise me with a Halloween gift—a glass of the clearest water in the whole world. But he accidentally spilled the water when I was just about to wield my thunderbolt.

HERA: What a perfect Halloween. POSEIDON!

Enter POSEIDON, his hair is still a mess due to the electric shock.

POSEIDON: Let me guess, my dear brother, this is about the screen.

ZEUS: Ah, won’t you take ATHENA’s place and become my new god of wisdom?

POSEIDON: I love water. I don’t love wars.

HERA: Now, tell your brother how to avoid getting electric shock next time you two get together.

POSEIDON: We just don’t get together?

ZEUS: Perhaps you should retire for now. I can get you a new position.

XIII

POSEIDON: Why don’t you quit being the god of thunder?

ZEUS: I love thundering!

POSEIDON: I love surfing!

HERA: Stop quarrelling like childish boys! Why don’t you go and ask our father CRONUS? Perhaps he’ll make you the god of haircut and the god of whining.

POSEIDON: How many times have I told you that he’s still in that pit!

ZEUS: Ha, who’s losing their memory now!

Enter APHRODITE and ADONIS with a pig.

APHRODITE: HERA, your pig!

HERA: Out!

Exit APHRODITE and ADONIS.

POSEIDON: Are those mortals finally sacrificing some new animals?

HERA: Just wait for them to pray to you.

ZEUS: Aha, here comes the prayer of…of…what’s that?

XIV

HERA: Are you losing your sight now!? That’s a handsome shepherd!

ZEUS: Great. Now, my dear pig, go to the shepherd and do whatever he commands.

Exit the pig.

Many, many, many years later, a king comes to visit a shepherd and expects to hear some stories of the latter’s peaceful bucolic life.

KING: Ah, what interesting stories you have! What’s that?

SHEPHERD: My favourite pig. My great great great grandfather had a beautiful pig, and you are looking at the best one of all its offsprings.

KING: How did your great great great grandfather get that beautiful pig?

SHEPHERD: Ha, that’s another funny story. He asked for some rain because a terrible drought was sweeping across this land. He didn’t hear from the gods for a long time. Just when he was about to give up, the pig came down from the sky and landed right in front of his nose, bringing with it tons and tons of water, not on its back, but in its nostrils.

KING: That’s strange. My great great great grandfather had a pig that looked exactly like yours. One year he was in a war

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Hand he prayed to the gods to secure his victory. But just when he was about to sacrifice it, an extraordinarily handsome young man suddenly appeared before him, took the pig, and vanished into thin air. My great great great grandfather was so sad that he died the next year and we lost the war.

SHEPHERD: Hm, strange indeed.

The end.

XVI

Socrates' CoStar Notifications The CSA's Resident Astrologus

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