How I came to write Pim
People often ask how I came to write Pim. It seems like a thousand years since I discovered Pim, or that Pim
discovered me. Thankfully I kept detailed notes and saved photos from that time. While I can’t swear to the
absolute accuracy of what you are about to read, I have done my best to capture the essence of how Pim entered my life.
Clive received a text from the nuclear department of Beijing University. They had a mathematical problem only Clive could solve and hoped they could meet him by the reactor at 0820 Easter Sunday. Knowing he possessed such rare and essential gifts, Clive was unsuspicious.
During his reverie about Ming Dynasty fortifications, the Well-Dressed Albatross collided with the Great Wall and was rushed to a Beijing hospital. On regaining consciousness he was met by Ukifune, volunteering there to satisfy requirements for her Marine Bird Trauma badge.
The Legless and Well-Dressed Albatross had been circling the Earth for over a year. He was inclined to wax poetic each time he approached the Great Wall of China.
The world of Pim and Bim had quieted and they were happy enough in their remote dwelling. Some days, on the roof, while tanning, they caught sight of a lone avian and wondered if it was the legless and Well-Dressed Albatross. They couldn’t be certain.
Pim and Bim resumed their tango lessons. On starry nights after class the circuit of the Well-Dressed Albatross was a familiar sight to them as he scanned the Earth’s surface for legs with which to rise and descend at his will.
The prosthetic legs of the Well-Dressed Albatross had come into the possession of Slim who was, you’ll recall, deft at slithering in and out of dark places. A block from the theatre Slim lurked with them.
A bird without legs cannot become airborne, an initial hop needed for the bird’s wings to clear the ground. Knowing this, Ukifune tasked Pim and Bim with launching the Well-Dressed Albatross from the roof of Shadowlands.
When the second feature ended the Well-Dressed Albatross discovered in horror that his legs were missing. Everyone present searched the theatre but the prosthetics were nowhere to be found. Brad helped Ukifune move the WDA to the lobby where she decided on a course of action.
Relieved of the malign presence of Mr. Love, Mr. Love Jr. moved down into the audience, as was his custom in the middle of a feature.
Compared to the first feature, the second feature had the audience completely engaged. Tired of this motley crew, and realizing that it would be more satisfying to haunt Mrs. Love than to haunt Mr. Love Jr., Mr. Love floated through the wall and into the night.
