The Ballad of Bonaduke—
Episode 3: The Bad Stuff
DETAILS: Series: The Ballad of Bonaduke, #3 Format: Kindle Vella Story Read Date: October 6, 2022
“Tell your friends you can have my body when I’m done.” The bird made a point not to look at me as it pecked at some garbage that had caught itself on the building’s corner, just like everyone else in this damn city did.
The Story So Far…
A drunken Michael Bonaduke decides to use a grift (with maybe some sort of magic/magic-like “help”) to win on a scratch-off lottery ticket so he has money to buy more to drink. He pulls off whatever he did, gets his money and some booze and stumbles off into the darkness to drink himself into oblivion so he can start again the next day. He’s hit by dark memories (probably what’s driving him to the drinking) of fire, pleading, and screaming. There’s going to be a price to pay for his grift, and he’s trying to be ready.
What’s The Bad Stuff About?
Bonaduke slumps off to drink his ill-gotten windfall, but the memories overcome him. We don’t get details, but we learn his father died, he grew up in foster care, then his wife and children died.
So, what did I think about The Bad Stuff?
I don’t want to keep harping on the brevity of these things–that’s apparently part of the design. But man…as soon as I get into episode, it’s over.
It was nice–it filled in some needed motive and the last line or two definitely set the hook for Episode 4. I’m coming back for sure.
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