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By Jack Joseph Smith

9 40 fo wish my wish for crorybeasyB napineess This was ‘my wish, in prayerful4 silence leng after this was said, Bless us:0h Lerd and these thy gifts which we are abeut te receive-in thy bounty through Christ eur Lord, Auen; I hepe everyone will be happy for everand ever,’ ~ war argument started) just(Gliittte while after we had‘ finished’ dinner Zan I felt alot ef fear, It was:something about whe was more stupid, And everything was:stupid and there wassa sacrili¢ge in: the:homes' Please step it, I said, But it went on and emand began to build with ne place te goo All the people had gene, but thet distance was-still there- and it had te have ceme inte the minds ef my mother and fathers They kept en arguing therein the living room and'I slowly backed inte the halls I: didn't know what te de and I didn't knew why I was-alones But I was alone~ and that centered power-began te come over me,’ I juet stood there watching them and began te think about runing-aways I was-really afraid when I thought abeut it-and‘felt that I could de its \ Please-step it, I saids My father lecked at’me and told me that maybe I better go up stairs, I said I wanted to stay up and they became confused, because: they knew it wasn't even my bedtime yet, And it was-Christmas:and I was suppesed’ te be allewed to stay up lates My father: turned! away from af and continued talk ing +o my mother: in a semewhat lower veices But there was-already te?much sulistence te caine eordidlill Aint had been forming threugh the day; “he substance-was strong: and it’ wasn't even there any longers Tieke Voices began te build again, and as they leeked areund they could see-that their: guests-were goneg I ceuld see-that my father was-beceming mere and mere a

Original Scan

Page 40

AI Interpretation

GPT

Christmas night breaks open into an argument between the parents, and the child, frightened by the shouting and distance in the room, begins to imagine running away.

The language treats the quarrel as something almost sacrilegious, as if the holiday home itself has been violated by stupidity, noise, and whatever had been silently building all day. The child tries to stop it, cannot, and starts feeling the lonely power that makes escape thinkable.

Claude

The turkey prayer for forever happiness is followed by the first argument about who is more stupid, the house newly hollow with gone guests, and Michael backing into the hall with the centered power beginning to come over him.