Tale Weaver – #298 – Underwater – 22nd October – Under The Sea.

Posted on October 22, 2020 by Michael

An Octopus’s Garden played out in his head every time he went for a dive.

“I’d like to be

Under the sea…”

And under the sea, he did love to be. He never grew tired of the colours and the life that existed below the waves.

He often wished he could stay down longer than his air tank allowed. He was convinced that in a previous life he must have been a fish of some kind such was his affinity for the underwater world.

He often went diving into a landscape that held him on awe. It was a jagged rocky world and contrasted against the harsh landscape was the infusion of the most delicate aquatic life that he never grew tired of.

The tiny colourful fish that made this their home, darting in and around the rocks and the often-mesmerising vegetation that harboured ecosystems of their own.

There was the occasional big fish, the sharks that glided past ignoring him as there was obviously plenty of food for them and they didn’t need to resort to a chewy old body such as his.

Twice he had been captivated by a whale shark. Its massive body came gliding through the water, and he was taken aback by the sheer size of the creature as his slipped past him. It was travelling slow enough for him to swim alongside it and take in the magnificence of this unique creature.

Sometimes he had friends accompany him, which he enjoyed mainly for the de-brief afterwards in the coffee shop at the marina. Their chat describing what they had seen always excited him.

It came as no surprise to any of his friends when he didn’t return from a dive one day. They knew of his love of the sea, to them, he had gone off to join the underwater world, where he felt most at home.

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2020/10/22/tale-weaver-298-underwater-22nd-october/

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Reena’s Exploration Challenge #157

Posted on October 16, 2020 by Michael

 Life is like a series of twists and turns, angles and perspectives.

You think you have a handle on everything only to discover something has popped up to throw the proverbial spanner in the works.

But that’s life.

The challenge is always to deal with it and cope with whatever consequences come our way.

Not everything can be solved; you don’t win every battle you take on; that’s the whole point of life.

Some people crave a life of uniformity where it’s the same thing day in and day out.

The problem with that is that when confronted, they often have little idea as to what to do about it and so may panic, throw their arms in the air and retreat further away from reality.

Its what makes life interesting. You never know what might happen on any given day. Its like learning, you hope to do so each day you are alive, there’s always something to challenge your mind, in my case its often something requiring me to do something physical or mechanical.

The instruction sheet for any given project invariably finds me putting things on back to front or upside down and having to undo and start again. I’ve discovered that for me, putting down the job, going away and having lunch, for example, seems to clear the fog from my brain and a solution appears through it.

Often the simple can be irritatingly confusing.

Written for: https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2020/10/15/reenas-exploration-challenge-157/

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Crimson’s Creative Challenge: #101 – The Portal.

Posted on October 16, 2020 by Michael

“It’s a portal,” said Crisp, my aged companion as we gazed upon the stone doorway.

“A what?” I asked.

“A portal, a gateway to another realm, world, that sort of thing.”

I had begun to puzzle Crisp’s mental state in recent times and this statement didn’t quell any of those concerns.

“I’ve been through one you know,” she said.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes one year I went through the one down the lane from us at home, ended up in London, 1915. It was all very exciting what with the war going on and everything.”

“You sure that wasn’t your visit to the War Memorial?”

“Well could have been, things get a bit hazy as I get older.”

“I wonder what the original purpose was?” I asked.

“It’s a portal,” said Crisp, “a portal and I’m going through.”

“Respite at last,” I thought as she disappeared through the doorway.

Written for: https://crispinakemp.com/2020/10/14/crimsons-creative-challenge-101/

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October 14th #1MinFiction Challenge

Posted on October 16, 2020 by Michael
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It was one of those nights where against the setting sun everything was breath-taking.

The giant wheel iridescent against the evening sky, the fair below buzzing with excitement, it was the place to be as the young gathered in their hundreds to celebrate the golden chicken’s first golden egg.

Written for: https://cyranny.com/2020/10/14/october-14th-1minfiction-challenge/

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Tale Weaver/Fairy Tale – #297 – The Witches Garden – 15th October – Miss Marble and her Weeds

Posted on October 15, 2020 by Michael

 Miss Marble, a witch, of 46 Grimace Street, surveyed her garden and was displeased by what she saw.

It was a disgrace in her eyes. The weeds had well and truly taken over and what herbs there were left to survive looked sad and far from healthy.

At one time she had been obsessive about her garden having developed a number of potions to assist in the growth of her garden. Her herbs were essential when it came to making potions, which were always in demand.

What had happened, she pondered?

The growth potions had worked wonders on the weeds, which flourished at the expense of her valuable herbs.

A witch’s garden was worth nothing if it didn’t produce the herbs needed in her everyday work.

There was only one thing left for her to do. In her back shed where her cauldrons bubbled away most days she kept the one potion she feared to use.

Ironically it was called “weed wonder” a herbicide she’d developed long ago but had put away once she saw the devastation it produced. It would level the garden of everything. She’d have to start over.

She made sure her seed collection was up to date and set about propagating the seeds. She waited a few days to make sure the seeds had struck.

Once there was evidence of green popping out of each pot, she took the ‘weed wonder’ and sprayed it over her ailing garden.

There were a few painful cries from the weeds that were expected since they believed they had dominance in the garden, but within minutes the garden was a wasteland.

Miss Marble waited three weeks during which time her seeds grew into seedlings, and she was able to plan her new garden.

Late at night under the gaze of a full moon, she tilled her garden patch, each time she added some growth potion to the soil and by the time the three weeks were up she was happy the soil was ready to greet her seedlings.

Once in the rich garden soil, the seedlings grew rapidly, and before long, her garden was prolific, rich and very green.

She surveyed her work and felt pleased with her effort. Peeling off her gardening gloves, she went straight to her shed to see which potion had been ordered.

The advent of the Internet and on-line ordering had increased her workload, and even though there had recently been a lull in matters due to a nasty virus circulating the country, she threw herself into the task.

Humming away to herself, she set her cauldron to rapid boil and set about producing the requested potion, “a happiness elixir’ for a wizard out of town.

As she worked to fulfil her order, she thought about the virus and considered what she might be able to do to combat it as it was causing so much havoc.

“I must consult my potions book, there’s bound to be something in there after all these virus in one form, or other have been around since forever,” said to herself as the cauldron reached a fever pitch.

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2020/10/15/tale-weaver-fairy-tale-297-the-witches-garden-15th-october/

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What do you see # 51 – 12 October’20 – Concoctions

Posted on October 12, 2020 by Michael

It’s all about concoctions and what you believed they might do.

Add plenty of mystery and intrigue, and you have the ingredients you need to capture interest.

On top of that, you organise a few stooges to come out of the audience and claim some miraculous cure from taking the mixture.

“Until last week, John was a hopeless alcoholic, wandering the streets with no prospects and a mind addled with the drink. He took one, just ONE dose of my elixir and look at him now. Sober, articulate and beginning a new life. His wife and family have been reconciled to him; his future is looking rosy.”

And so on the charlatan would go, selling his snake oil to the vulnerable and lets face it in these times there are a lot of desperate people clinging to the hope their lives can’t get any worse.

Love potions, wealth potions, hair potions the list goes on when you are marketing a product designed to appeal to a person’s vanity. We all want to maintain our youth in one form or other, and the successful salesman can spin you a tale that will have you lining up for the product they are selling.

The reality that they are selling you water with a bit of food colouring in it doesn’t matter when you are convinced it will change your life in some way for the better.

So we clamour to get our bit of what we believe will alter our lives, make us more attractive, wealthy and or wise, but always a tad poorer.

Written for: https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2020/10/12/what-do-you-see-51-12-october20/

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Reena’s Exploration Challenge #156 – Time.

Posted on October 11, 2020 by Michael

You’ve all the time you need

No I don’t.

Yes you do,

Its not infinite you know, there’s only so much allotted to me.

Then don’t waste it, use it wisely

I keep telling myself that as I sit and ponder,

You ponder far too much

Its what I’m good at.

You’ve strengths, you know you have

But is that enough

Depends on what you want to achieve

I don’t know that I want to achieve anything but simply exist

Then do that but to the best of your ability.

Sometimes its just words, random words,

That’s all we can do, and hope they mean something.

I think it’s about feeling good within

Of course, and time will tell you if you are successful.

I want that as much as anything else,

A goal, you have a goal, for forth young man.

Use my time productively,

Yes indeed.

Written for: https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2020/10/08/reenas-exploration-challenge-156/

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Sunday Writing Prompt – 11th October – A Change of Season – It Feels Like Spring

Posted on October 11, 2020 by Michael

It feels like spring said one to the other.

It looks like spring said the other.

It’s going to get hot today.

I was getting used to winter.

Yeah, all that cold, jumpers and fires,

Snuggling up, under a rug, I enjoyed that time.

Now we have to prepare for warmer days.

Put away our winter clothes get out our summer ones

It feels like only yesterday I put them away.

Doesn’t seem fair, does it?

Well T-shirts, shorts and sandals, are all we need

Short-sleeved shirts and thin cotton socks

I’ll pull down the bags we packed them away in.

I hope its not stinking hot like last summer.

Those bushfires were catastrophic

So many lives lost, homes destroyed

I feel quite scared

Me too.

I read it going to be a wetter summer

Maybe that will dampen the fire season

Best rake up all the leaves, mow the lawns

Clean out the gutters, just in case.

There’s so much do with the change of season

Preparations and change of attitude

Daylight saving and long, languid evenings

Walks along the beach,

Fish and chips on the headland.

Much easier to dress for,

Less is better I always say

Then it’s Christmas, breakfast lunch and tea,

Exhausting when I think about it,

But part of the change of season.

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2020/10/11/sunday-writing-prompt-11th-october-a-change-of-season/

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Crimson’s Creative Challenge #100 – Living to a Hundred.

Posted on October 9, 2020 by Michael

 We were out strolling along the river when Crisp my aged companion, made the statement I found somewhat surprising.

“I think I’d like to live to be a hundred.”

“Whatever for?” I asked.

“Not many people do, and not many die over hundred.”

“That makes no sense, you know.”

“I know, but I’ve always found it funny.” Humour was never Crisp’s forte, and so I found it surprising she would see the funny side of living so long.

“You know,” she said, “for a while, there would countless funerals to attend of family and friends, but once they’d all departed, the time would be yours. Make new friends, younger ones I would hope for.”

I thought to myself, Crisp is going senile. I had to remind her she’d be lost without me, at which she rolled her eyes and walked on.

Written for: https://crispinakemp.com/2020/10/07/crimsons-creative-challenge-100/

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Tale Weaver – #296 – Stranger – 8th October – A Stranger in Town.

Posted on October 8, 2020 by Michael

 There was a lot of interest shown the day the Stranger rode into town.

He sat high in the saddle, and his grey pony was more a curiosity than anything else as grey ponies were not a common sight unless you were attending the circus and this Stranger didn’t look like any circus performer.

The girls along the top floor of the pub swooned collectively as he rode past and were disappointed when in pulled up in front of Ma Beasley’s Boarding House.

He took his saddlebags with him and entered the boarding house and emerged some hours later looking as though he’d used his time wisely to smarten up.

It was the six-gun hanging on his hip that worried most people. It was a small quiet town, off the beaten track and on most days life happened and no one got in its way.

Was he here to seek out someone, or was he just passing through?

In the pub, he drank alone. The locals thought it prudent to give him space and not attract his attention; after all, they didn’t want to end up on the wrong side of him. He asked if they had an Undertaker. They told him about Shoveller Grover, he asked them if they knew Shoveller’s story.

Most didn’t apart from the fact he dug a very neat grave.

Everyone in the pub that day shook in fear when the Stranger told them Shoveller needed to dig a new grave.

“Who for?” they asked.

“Shoveller,” he replied. He then told them why he was there. He was a law officer and had been on the hunt for Shoveller for years and had finally tracked him down. Shoveller had killed a family back east and had run off and hidden in their town. It was time for him to face justice.

Just then the bar doors sprang open, and Shoveller stood in the doorway, he was dressed; differently, his drab undertaker clothes had given way to a smart grey suit, his shoes polished, and on his hip, he carried an equally impressive gun as the Stranger.

They went out into the street and faced off with one another. Shoveller never said anything but knew the Stranger and men like him. His anonymity gone, it was his time, and he was determined to go down fighting.

It was quickly over. There was a volley of gunshots; the town held its breath, one body lay in the dirt of the main street.

The Stranger placed his gun into its holster and walked over to the dead Shoveller.

He looked around and signalled to the Sheriff who had been standing by that he was finished what he came to do. He took off his gun and walked back into the pub.

He decided to stay around, there was a job going for an Undertaker in the town, and in his estimation, it was largely a safer occupation than law enforcement.

And so William Enright, one-time gunfighter, law officer and Stranger took the Undertakers clothes as his own and settled into the quiet country town way of life.

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2020/10/08/tale-weaver-296-stranger-8th-october/

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