{"id":3077,"date":"2023-11-15T13:40:27","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T04:10:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writesaidken.com\/?p=3077"},"modified":"2023-11-15T13:56:13","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T04:26:13","slug":"omalley-a-short-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writesaidken.com\/omalley-a-short-story\/","title":{"rendered":"O\u2019Malley – a short story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This short story is very loosely based on the discovery of copper at Kapunda<\/a> in 1842 and the reputation of Kapunda as one of the most haunted<\/a> towns in Australia. It was written with a historical perspective, with a touch of the horror genre thrown in. Charles Bagot<\/a> and Francis Dutton<\/a> did in fact discover copper, and Johann Menge<\/a> was a government geologist. O\u2019Malley is completely fictional, however. The image was created by feeding the story into ChatGPT4 and DALL-E. I hope you enjoy the story\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Malley<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Morning light is peeking through the open window, the cool breeze disturbing the dust and causing it to swirl like smoke from a pipe. Australian winters bring a chill that cuts to the bone, but life feels good, and we have everything we need. Today, we open the mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems so long ago that our youngest son found an outcrop of copper on the nearby hillside. Perhaps the copper ore might help our province escape the depths of spending by our governor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mary placed a dish of freshly baked damper with golden syrup on the table before me, \u201cEat, Charles. Today will be a long day; you\u2019ll need your strength.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The table is long and sturdy, decorated with floral napkins that Mary brought with her from Ireland. I cannot imagine my life without her now. A fire is already burning in the fireplace, the flames flickering and bringing warmth to the cold room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCharles,\u201d Mary starts, \u201cwho is our guest? Is he here to help at the mine?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA Mr O\u2019Malley. He came to us late last night in a drunken state, and I offered a room to spare him the cold ground.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mary placed a large china teapot on the table just as the door opened. Mr O\u2019Malley stood in the doorway. He stopped and looked at Mary, his eyes red. Mary beckoned him with her open hand, \u201cCome, Mr O\u2019Malley. Eat. I heard you arrive last night. It was late.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cApologies, ma\u2019am. I imbibed too much ale and found myself at your home. Your husband kindly took me in for the night. I trust I wasn\u2019t too loud,\u201d he said, looking down at the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mary looked up at the embarrassed expression on O\u2019Malley\u2019s face, \u201cNo\u2026 you are most welcome. Please, eat.\u201d Mary set another place at the table, and O\u2019Malley took his seat and began to eat his damper and syrup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I watched as O\u2019Malley ate like he had not eaten for days. He finished his food, and Mary poured him a cup of tea. Strong and black. He added a small quantity of maple syrup for sweetness, then peered across the table. There was something about him I didn\u2019t quite understand. He seemed of respectable character, save for his over-indulgence in ale, but there was still a feeling of unease in me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you, Captain Bagot. It was fortunate that I found your home last night. I\u2019m in your debt, sir.\u201d O\u2019Malley continued to look at me as I pondered how he could repay us for his room and breakfast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have a proposition, Mr O\u2019Malley. In payment for our hospitality, I would like you to help at an opening ceremony today. If you agree and do your job well, there may well be further employ if you so desire.\u201d As the words slipped from my mouth, I questioned what I had said. The words had just flowed as easily as water running down a hill, yet I didn\u2019t know why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Malley looked at me. His eyes were returning to a normal colour, and a smile appeared on his face, his lips curled up slightly at their ends. A sly smile? Perhaps. I had not met the man before last night and did not know if he had gainful employment. I supposed he must have the means to buy ale, but I knew nothing else about his affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnything, Captain. I owe you a great debt, and it would be an honour to help you however you see fit.\u201d His words were soft as he bowed his head towards me. He seemed to choose his words thoughtfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFinish up your breakfast and meet me at the stable when you\u2019re done. We need to prepare the horses and wagons\u201d. With that, I stood and left the house, still questioning my own words. It was as if someone else had spoken them through my mouth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Malley, myself, and two of my labourers hitched horses to a couple of wagons and saddled the remaining animals. We moved the wagons to the house as Mary and our two girls brought food from the kitchen to be placed on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We set off on the six-mile journey to the mine. O\u2019Malley was quiet, as it seemed the effects of yesterday\u2019s ale were still heavy in his head. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow are you feeling, Mr O\u2019Malley?\u201d I asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMuch better, Captain, much better.\u201d O\u2019Malley smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The morning sun was at our backs, and the day was becoming warm for this time of the year. June is normally cold, but today the temperature continues to rise. The ground was still wet but firm. The grasses were green, and the trees were full of life. Perhaps a good omen if one believed in such things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We arrived at the mine site, and Mr Johann Menge, the Government Geologist, was standing among a group of men. I greeted Menge as I dismounted from my horse. \u201cGood morning Mr Menge. A pleasure to see you this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd to you, Captain Bagot. I look forward with anticipation to speaking at the opening. A momentous occasion if ever there was one,\u201d Menge replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd good morning to you, Francis\u201d, I continue as I turned my attention to my good friend Francis Dutton, the mine\u2019s co-founder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood morning, gentlemen, a great day indeed. Who is this new chap you\u2019ve brought with you, Charles?\u201d Francis Dutton was looking towards O\u2019Malley, who had busied himself helping Mary and the girls unload the food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have a keen eye, Francis.\u201d I beckoned O\u2019Malley to come to us. He stopped what he was doing and walked over to where we were standing. \u201cYes, Captain?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cO\u2019Malley, these two gentlemen are my friends, Mr Francis Dutton and Mr Johann Menge. Gentlemen, meet Mr O\u2019Malley, our first employee.\u201d Looking at O\u2019Malley, I continued. \u201cThat is, of course, if you\u2019d like to work the mine with us?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had just offered O\u2019Malley a job, yet I knew nothing about him and had consulted no one else on the matter. Looking at him, my own words once again bewildered me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wide-eyed, O\u2019Malley answered without hesitation, \u201cYes, Captain. Yes, I would.\u201d The smile stretched across his face, his teeth visible as he grinned and grasped my right hand in his. We shook hands, and the deal was done. O\u2019Malley was our first employee. But why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the day ended, I looked around and wondered what we were about to achieve. Would the promise of large copper deposits bear fruit, or would the mine fail? It was then I noticed O\u2019Malley, off in the distance some 100 yards. He was digging frantically. I\u2019d never seen a man digging with such strength. Shovel after shovel was being moved, and then I saw them. Apparitions appearing from the ground, demons being released from their prison. They were climbing and then running, shrieking so loud they caused my ears pain even from this great distance. O\u2019Malley continued to dig as if his life depended on releasing them all. Then he stopped. He looked at me, his face twisted in pain, and then he fell to the ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I ran to O\u2019Malley and found him lifeless. The colour drained from him, and his limp body lying among the piles of rubble he had dug from the ground. The sounds of the demons were far distant now, and their shrieks turned to laughter. They were free once more to walk the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This short story is very loosely based on the discovery of copper at Kapunda in 1842 and the reputation of Kapunda as one of the most haunted towns in Australia. It was written with a historical perspective, with a touch of the horror genre thrown in. Charles Bagot and Francis Dutton did in fact discover … <\/p>\n

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