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Super Heroes Invade Sugarbeet Falls

Excerpt from Sugartbeet Falls, Volume 1: Fantastic Friends, by Ryan A. Arca

Pops walked through the door carrying an ancient-looking chest that appeared to be older than both Xander’s grandpas combined. It looked like it weighed about half a ton, even in Pops’s long, strong arms.

“What the heck is that?” Xander asked, gaping.

“This collection has been passed down through many generations of our family tree. I was going to wait and give this to you on your birthday, but I think you’re ready now.”

“Aw, Pops, I really don’t feel like reading anymore. My homework is already wiping me out.” Xander closed his notebook and watched as Pops set the container down at the foot of his bed, away from his broken leg. Engraved on the side, he noted that it said, Walter Family Reading Materials.

“I think you’ll enjoy this kind of reading,” Pops argued with a smile.

Xander was tired, but he would have bet his left ear that he’d seen a ray of light shoot out of the box for an instant as Pops opened it. Before Xander could ask, Pops pulled a thick, leather-bound book with yellowing pages out of the front of the dusty old chest. “What is all that, Pops?”

“Well, what it is depends on you. To my father, it was a picture book, to me a novel, and to your mother, it was a songbook.”

Xander was confused, but he remained silent as they both took a moment to think about his mom. All Xander really remembered about her was a lullaby she used to sing to him before bed, and sometimes he could even recall how she smelled. Pops often told him stories about her, and his dad stared at her picture at night. Sadly, Xander never got to share anything with his mother while she was alive; the book would be something that might connect him to her, and as he grabbed it from Pops, he felt a little chill. He opened the cover and was stunned to see nothing but empty pages, white but yellowing at the corners. Pops simply smiled and walked out of Xander’s room.

Once Pops was gone, Xander clumsily pulled the old crate toward him. Inside were six more books. He took them out and flipped through them, one at a time, only to discover that they were all as blank and empty as the first. He grunted and set the last book aside, preferring his orange notebook instead.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, my grandpa goes and loses his mind. This is great, just great. I’m supposed to be excited about some early birthday gift, seven ancient books full of blank pages and a stinky old smell.

Xander sighed and reached over to turn off his bedside lamp. As he shifted his body, the old book on his lap fell open. He could have sworn he hadn’t seen anything in the book before, but this time, something caught his eye, so he left his light on and opened up the cover.

Right there, on the first page, were three comic book-style panes with drawings of a boy in bed under a blanket, except for his leg, which was in a cast. Xander took a closer look and realized the boy looked quite a bit like him, and the kid in the picture was even writing in an orange notebook, the very same words he was writing. “Pops!” Xander yelled, utterly confused and thinking that maybe the pain medicine was getting to him worse than he thought.

“Enjoy!” Pops laughed as he turned off the light in the hallway and walked away from Xander’s room.

Xander fumbled for his notebook, keeping his eyes glued to the pictures of himself and began to write:

What the…? Now I’m losing my mind. This book is writing itself, a comic based on what I’m doing and saying. That just isn’t right, but I’m not sure if it’s totally cool or completely terrifying.

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Ryan A. Arca

Ryan Acra has always loved writing. When he saw how excited his young son was about superheroes, he was inspired to write the Sugarbeet Falls series. Like his characters, Acra lives in Great Falls, Montana, with his wife, Becky, and daughters, Perrey, Haven, and Lakey. His adult son, Zack, lives in San Diego, California and still loves superheroes.

Chérie Newman is a former arts and humanities producer and on-air host for Montana Public Radio, and a freelance writer. She founded and previously hosted a weekly literary program, The Write Question, which continues to air on several public radio stations; it is also available online at PRX.org and MTPR.org.
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