This was written for the Soaring Twenties Social Club (STSC) Symposium. The STSC is a small online community of creators of various kinds. Once a month, STSC members create something around a set theme. This time the theme was “superstition.” To support the work of the STSC, do subscribe. If you are a writer, consider joining yourself. You gain access to a private Discord group and opportunities to have your writing seen by a wider group of people. To do so, sign up as a paid subscriber on our founder’s, Thomas J. Bevan, personal Substack . Tom will send you an invite for our Discord group. Do tell him I sent you. Please note: the number of contributing writers is capped at 300.
Saturday, and I’m on the 11:11 train headed north.
Pulling my collar up I’ve opened my laptop to check my bank account: £616.
Impressively unimpressive, as Jax would say. Jax –
A she-devil who crossed the path of a black cat, which promptly died.
It has created a problem for my buddy, the bank balance I mean.
He was safe in the knowledge that all would be well. So much so that
We read The 39 Steps for some light relief.
When we finish it, we’ll find ourselves in
three bad situations.
And yet we find joy in small things.
I am minded to look for a sign:
being the 7th son of a 7th son must count for something.
So what are the puzzles here?
Firstly, what is the story actually about?
Secondly, what are the elements of superstition scattered throughout the story?
Thirdly, what is the secret word in the story?
Do try to think these questions through. The answers will be revealed after a short break…
The answers…
Firstly, what is the story actually about?
I have no idea. But one of these days I might work on it and turn it into a spy thriller of some kind.
Secondly, what are the elements of superstition scattered throughout the story?
It’s all in the numbers. Here’s the story again, with footnotes:
Saturday1, and I’m on the 11:112 train headed north3.
Pulling my collar up I’ve opened my laptop to check my bank account: £6164.
Impressively unimpressive, as Jax would say. Jax –
A she-devil who crossed the path of a black cat5, which promptly died.
It has created a problem for my buddy, the bank balance I mean.
He was safe in the knowledge that all would be well. So much so that
We read The 396 Steps for some light relief.
When we finish it, we’ll find ourselves in
three7 bad situations.
And yet we find joy in small things.
I am minded to look for a sign:
being the 7th son of a 7th son8 must count for something.
Thirdly, what is the secret word in the story?
The story has been written so as to form a diagonal acrostic, spelling the word ‘superstition’. It’s not easy to see, not least because of the spacing between letters and words, but this screenshot shows it clearly:
I hope you have enjoyed this little exercise. If so, you might like my Oulipo posts. Thanks for reading, and puzzling!
The seventh day of the week according to the Jewish religion and Seventh Day Adventists. The number 7 has special significance in many cultures, including Jewish and Eastern.
In some cultures, bodies are buried with their head towards the north because it is said to accelerate the rate of decomposition.
Possibly the original number of the Beast.
A black cat crossing your path is a sign of bad luck. The rendering of that here is based on the lyrics of Mean Woman Blues, by Elvis Presley: “A black cat up and died of fright
'Cause she crossed his path last night”.
A multiple of 13, a number sometimes associated with bad luck.
The number three has great significance in many traditions.
The seventh son of a seventh son is said to have special powers, according to some cultures.
Damn, I scrolled too quickly. I thought you meant we'll get the answers in a few days.
Still, diagonal acrostic. Not sure I ever would have worked that out. Super cool though.
Wowzers, Terry! And you chose wine o'clock to publish this?! 😲
Brilliant, though, as always! I really enjoy posts like these. 😊