Earth, Alpha, Present

1. The Unfamiliar Journal
   New Orleans, Louisiana

The comforting aroma of coffee, mixed with paint and age-old paper, wafted through my art studio. Surrounded by old journals, unfinished art projects, and the myriad memories they invoked, I was in my element. Here in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans, between the walls of our double shotgun house, every corner told a story.

A particular journal on the table grabbed my attention. Its worn leather cover seemed both familiar and strange. Flipping it open, the contents were even more baffling. Entries in a hand…