We are moving into Delivery 8, where we discover more about the early adult life of the fictional characters, Aleena and Stuart. If you prefer to read contiguously from the opening sentence forward, here are links to the previous 7 deliveries onto 2 Rules of Writing. https://2rulesofwriting.com/another-world-within/an-archaic-concept-of-me/ https://2rulesofwriting.com/another-world-within/an-archaic-concept-of-me-2/ https://2rulesofwriting.com/another-world-within/to-the-future-where-we-know-ourselves/ https://2rulesofwriting.com/another-world-within/archaic-concept-of-me-keep-going-son/ https://2rulesofwriting.com/another-world-within/mindfulness-archaic-concept-5/ https://2rulesofwriting.com/another-world-within/archaic-concept-of-me-shoulder-energy/ https://2rulesofwriting.com/another-world-within/forget-it-an-archaic-concept-of-me-delivery-7/ Where we began,…
Category: 2 Rules The Magazine
Falling in Love with Long Reads Again
An uneventful day at the office. “Let’s go for lunch. I’ve got something for you,” said Wen, calling from her windowless cubicle to mine. “I double-subscribed it for twelve months,” she handed me a stack of The New Yorker, packed in clear plastic bags. “Hope you don’t mind – they’re all previous issues.” I clearly…
Night Fishing in Guinea-Bissau
My London-based company posted me in an isolated country in West Africa called Guinea-Bissau to buy shipload quantities of cashew nuts valued at millions of dollars from sellers of the commodity. I had to learn Portuguese fast, get the feel of the market, and find out the government requirements for the export of raw cashew…
Two Every-Night Poems
The Hair Hunt Every night, before bed,I hunt down the silver strands Right in the middle of my headWhere famous Freddy from the Causeway Bay salonMakes the stylish divide. They sneak out as a suicide squadOf five or sixmembers Proudly present themselvesAt the height ofTwo to four centimetres. Pure whitePurer than the snowOn Mount Everest….
Snack Time… and Feeling Full
Alright children, we’re going to go outside for a break now. You can bring a toy to play with, your water bottle, yes, Jimmy, a snack if you’d like. Oh, I’m sorry, Tammy, you don’t have a snack? Well, we just had lunch less than an hour ago, did you eat all of it? Oh…
Jabin Law: Live from the Living Room
Prologue I introduced Jabin Law, an independent singer/songwriter from here in Hong Kong, in a previous essay, but I think he deserves a full article about him, for I promised him a review (which has not materialised) on his double-album Ahistorical. Perhaps a reflection on a concert I attended instead. Life under the mask mandate…
“Forget it” (An Archaic Concept of Me: Delivery 7)
A Moment of Authory* Self-Reflection Some months back, Iʼm half way through writing the book before I notice almost all of it is internal narrative of the main character. I had been considering going back to edit it towards more external action, and less dominated by early-adult thought-angst of not fitting in. But then I…
Positive Reinforcement
Written after a day trip to Ocean Park, Hong Kong There you are,Attired in a smooth black swim suitYour boneless neck swervingto kiss the rod in the right place.A whistle,A satin,Rewarding the twisting and turningOf your bendy body and flappy fins.Children laughing and cheering and yappingat your candid dancing moves.You seemed happy – fulfilled.Protected and…
Lockdown Culture in Public Schools
On the last day of this school year, we had a lockdown at my school. I teach at an elementary charter school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Albuquerque has no shortage of gun violence, and I hardly even flinch anymore when I hear a sound that could be a gunshot, or a firework, at night. I…
Every Time: A Poem for Pulse
Thank you to Laura Viau for this poem. This is Laura’s first appearance in our magazine. It has been 6 years and a few days, as of this publication, since 49 people were murdered at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. Every time the day approaches There is some part of me that knows Way before…