Tale Weaver – #233 – July 25th – Darling

Posted on July 25, 2019 by Michael

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She wished she could have said it was across a crowded dance floor, but it was alongside a noisy netball court she had first seen him.

“Darling,” she had said on more than one occasion, “I saw you with your daughter, and I thought what a nice man you were the way you interacted with her.”

“I don’t remember you,” he’d said feeling terrible that she’d noticed him and he not her. “I must have had a lot on my mind then,” he gave as the best explanation. After all, it had been twenty years ago.

So much had happened in all those intervening years. They had grown older, pursued careers, him in International Affairs and she in Medicine.

Now they were older, and he had long retired from the workforce, and she was about to do the same. There was so much they had in common, he found it uncanny the number of times she had said something about how she felt and vice-versa only to find they both felt the same.

He was happy away from the pressure of work, the expectation, the demand for results and diplomacy when dealing with people little more than idiots. He’d found stamp collecting a great hobby in retirement, stamps took him indirectly all round the world, and he loved the chase to discover the whereabouts of some of the rarest stamps.

She had conducted a very successful practice, and now retirement loomed she wanted to put in place everything she could to facilitate a successful and comfortable retirement.

Money wasn’t going to be an issue as they both attracted generous pension plans.

They had discovered the sheer magic of being together, of settling in on the lounge, beside each other, holding hands and watching some mindless but engaging movie.

They made each other laugh, and in their own humble opinions, it wasn’t going to come any better than that.

“Darling,” she had said one evening as they sat watching the latest movie offering from Netflix, “fate has found a way of bringing us together.”

“How lucky are we,” he replied, passing her the popcorn.

 

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2019/07/25/tale-weaver-233-july-25th-darling/

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100 Word Wednesday: Week 130 – Crabs

Posted on July 25, 2019 by Michael

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It was as a huge crisis within the crab industry. The crabs were dying, dropping like flies and the culprit was climate change.

For years the water temperature within the lake had been rising making it impossible for many species to survive.

Already large numbers of fish had washed up on shores around the lake.

Now the heartbreaking discovery of the dead crabs. The local restaurants prided themselves on their crab cuisine. There had been a rush to find as many alive and establish climate-controlled breeding ponds in an effort to save the economy. We hoped this might save us.

 

Written for: https://bikurgurl.com/2019/07/24/100-word-wednesday-week-130/

 

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Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner: Week #30 – At Five Past Four.

Posted on July 25, 2019 by Michael

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Four o’clock was the hour they had awaited. It was the time everything would end. As the hour approached, there was panic as people tried all sorts of ways to stop the inevitable.

Some dug shelters, stocked them with food hoping to survive years on tins of baked beans and spaghetti.

Some congregated in churches, joining in continuous prayer, hoping a miracle would arrive to save them.

Some believed it was all a hoax and took to stealing what they could believing there would be no change, and they would be the beneficiaries of people’s stupidity.

At three minutes to four, the clock stopped. Four o’clock never arrived. People held their collective breathes anticipating the end.

As the hour passed, people breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing happened, life would go on. The streets quickly filled with joyous folk celebrating.

At five minutes passed the hour there was an announcement. “Sorry about the delay, late lunch, got caught up with things. Don’t worry, you won’t feel a thing.”

And with that life came to an end.

“Thought they’d put up more of a fight,” said the head alien, “but progress is progress, and they’d served their purpose.”

 

Written for: https://flashfictionforthepracticalpractitioner.wordpress.com/2019/07/24/flash-fiction-for-the-purposeful-practitioner-week-34/

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Crimson’s Creative Challenge #37 A Day at the Beach.

Posted on July 25, 2019 by Michael

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My aged companion, Crisp, decided we needed a day of rest and relaxation.

The nearest beach and was at the end of the Number 73 Bus route.

After a brief stop at the local pharmacy, we headed off with enough sunscreen to swathe our white bodies.

Crisp wasn’t normally a beach person, but as the day was going to be warmish, she decided cooling off in the ocean would be a good way to get through the hot day expected.

After a short trip, the bus stopped beside a rough bus shelter.

Crisp up and off down the dirt track towards the beach.

After negotiating some troublesome rocky bits, we arrived and were confronted by a sign announcing.

“This beach is clothes free. Please respect users in an appropriate manner.”

We found we were confronted by groups of naked people. Some old, some young.

“Goodness,” uttered Crisp, “well, let’s get into it.” With that she stripped off, glad I’m sure we had a bountiful supply of sunscreen.

 

 

Written for: https://crimsonprose.wordpress.com/2019/07/24/crimsons-creative-challenge-37/

 

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Photo Challenge #273 – Mesmerized.

Posted on July 23, 2019 by Michael

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Image: Unknown

“You see, the thing is,” said the butterfly, “now you are under my control I can do what ever I like with you, and you are powerless to do anything.”

The cat was mesmerized, totally flummoxed by the presence of the tiny winged creature.

“This is weird,” thinks the cat, “it’s always me who mesmerizes. Creatures are afraid of me, but I dare not take my eyes off it.”

“Got you haven’t I?” chortles the butterfly, flapping its wings.

“Oh no,” cries the cat, “it’s going to flap its wings, please don’t flap your wings, oh my God it did, I’m screwed well and truly now.”

That was where the standoff occurred.

Cat caught like a rat in a trap,

Butterfly knowing it’s flapping was enough to hold the cat in its thrall.

Cat didn’t like being held in this way, began to panic,

Tried shaking its head, uncrossing its eyes, growling, breathing heavily

But the butterfly was undeterred.

“Hehehehe,” laughed the butterfly, “not so high and mighty now are you?”

The cat swallowed uncomfortably and humbly agreed.

With that the butterfly flew off, pleased with its mornings work leaving the cat looking around hoping no one had witnessed its humiliation.

 

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2019/07/23/photo-challenge-273/

 

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Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #23 – A Glow Beside Him.

Posted on July 23, 2019 by Michael

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Image: Johannes Plenio@pexels.com.

It all came about in the strangest of ways.

What started out as a bush walk through country he knew so well ended in tragedy.

He remembered tripping on a tree root and then falling. It seemed an interminable fall, and during it, he felt an incredible sense of calm.

When he opened his eyes, he was standing in a forest of pines trees. He didn’t have any memory of hitting the ground, he felt though a sense that he was ok that there was something he needed to do.

Looking around, he saw the light poking its way through the standing pines.

It seemed to beckon him, and he started to move towards it.

As he stepped forward, he felt an exhilaration go through him as the light intensified the more steps he took. Overwhelmed by the light’s warmth, he pressed on, the trees appeared to part and provide him with a passage.

Away to his left, he could see other people walking in the same direction as him. They were focused on the path ahead, a path they were following separate from his own but intent on the same destination.

It was when his mind wandered to where he had come from that things changed slightly for him. He felt vulnerable, alone and suddenly unsure of where he was going and what he was going to find when he got there.

At that moment he became aware of a presence beside him. Just to the left of his shoulder, there was someone walking with him. Fearful of the unknown, he hesitated slightly, then a hand slipped into his own.

Looking over, he saw who it was. Glowing beside him was his mother, and taking his hand, reassured him as to where he was going.

 

Written for: https://fivedotoh.com/2019/07/22/fandangos-flash-fiction-challenge-23/

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Wordle #143 – Fred Scream

Posted on July 23, 2019 by Michael

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This week’s words: Who Are You,  Break Apart  Water Anosmic- absence or loss of the sense of smell  Stripes  Scream  Shovel  Barmecidal- giving only the illusion of plenty; illusory:  Station Help Converge Specific

Fred Scream always knew it was a quirk of fate that he would grow up to be a professional assassin. There was something alluring in the potential to have his victims scream before he completed his assigned task.

Though it didn’t work out that way. Fred was basically incompetent. The wrong person was targeted, he couldn’t read coordinates and often ended up in the wrong location. Added to that he had a most unfortunate speech issue for when he was startled, and that happened often he would utter, “who are you, who are you” always twice which wasn’t in keeping with the professional etiquette of the assassin’s guild.

This would usually give the initiative to his targets who would delight in breaking apart Fred’s anatomy and then throw him into a pool of water and if there was one thing Fred disliked it was getting wet. He found it most undignified.

The result of the beatings he incurred was he was basically anosmic which came to be a real burden as he was forced to decline jobs that required him to sniff out suspects and dispose of them.

To compensate he assumed the illusion of being Barmecidal, extravagance was his way of hiding his incompetence. He took to wearing stripes of all colours and combinations, he sought help from the gurus of fashion, anything that might lift his profile.

He was specific in his job description, such that his last job was at the train station and required him to put an end to the dodgy life of Sven the grave digger who was known to be running a suspect operation involving cheap shovels at discount prices. As the train converged on the station, Sven met it in an unsuspecting way.

Fred wiped his hands and walked away, adjusting his suit and tipping his hat to the ladies who stood by in shock, one of whom uttered: “Who are you?”

 

 

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2019/07/22/wordle-143/

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Reena’s Exploration Challenge #96 – Lost and Found.

Posted on July 21, 2019 by Michael

The default position within the family was set on naive. The boy through no fault of his own inherited it.

Blithely he experienced what he leant from the newspaper and the radio news.

His mum shared the romantic stories of her cheap novels, love was something earned, and if you were lucky, it worked out ok.

For twenty years he lived that way, then he met a girl and thought he was in love.

Marriage came, and with it, the expectation of a life shared, of acceptance, of mutual love and care.

Within a week, he was confronted by the stark reality that marriage was not as he imagined. Living with another person had its pitfalls, and he was not prepared; his romantic notion of love and marriage was very soon shattered.

There upon he entered a world of pain, misery and torture, not what he thought he was signing up to.

It took another twenty years before he found himself and discovered he could live a life on his own.

That was not so easy either as for a long time he dealt with the guilt of having failed in marriage, of having the break the commitment of his marriage vows but there were others dependent of him to maintain some degree of sanity in an otherwise dysfunctional and insane world.

Another twenty years passed before he became aware he had grown into the person he was. Finding yourself meant dealing with a lot of demons, facing up to the responsibilities his life present to him, the relationships with loved ones being paramount to his development as a person and maintaining his sense of belonging.

In reflection, he felt satisfied he needed to lose himself in order to grow and find a better and more lovable self.

 

 

Written for: https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2019/07/18/reenas-exploration-challenge-96/

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100 Word Wednesday: Week 129 – In The Car With Dad

Posted on July 19, 2019 by Michael

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Dad’s displeasure at the road closure was best described in the string of expletives uttered when he saw the road closed signs.

We would have to go the long way past the Houses of Parliament.

He had set opinions of politics. One was Politicians never knew what they were doing, apart from feathering their own nests and his opinions were correct.

An ominous silence settled over us as we drove past the Parliament and dad true to form let go his usual tirade.

We huddled in our seats, with no amount of placating from mum making any difference.

 

Written for: https://bikurgurl.com/2019/07/17/100-word-wednesday-week-129/

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Crimson’s Creative Challenge #36 – A Morning Cruise

Posted on July 18, 2019 by Michael

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My aged companion, Crisp, returned from her week away, reinvigorated and immediately took to her bed. “Big day tomorrow,” she said as she disappeared beneath the bed covers.

The morning had Crisp announcing a day cruise on the canal.

I was soon ready and following behind as she strode towards the canal.

It was to be a morning cruise with a box lunch, and Crisp was so excited she spewed forth a pile of questions to the ship’s captain.

The cruise was very relaxing, the boat drifted along, the Captain regaling us with stories of the various locations we passed and

I found myself nodding off.

A nudge in my ribs woke me to the sound of the lunches being handed out. Crisp reminded me of holiday etiquette, of not sleeping during the guides talk.

“Aye Aye,” I said as I took her rebuke on board.

 

Written for: https://crimsonprose.wordpress.com/2019/07/17/crimsons-creative-challenge-36/

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