March 14: Flash Fiction Challenge – Chisel.

Posted on March 15, 2019 by Michael

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March 14, 2019, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includes a chisel. Use chisel as a noun or a verb. Think about what might be chiselled, who is chiselling. Be the chisel. Go where the prompt leads!

He had the sort of features any sculptor would have been proud to have chiselled.

It wasn’t surprising considering his father had been a cabinet-maker and his grandfather had been sort after as a coffin maker of distinction.

Chiselling had been in the family a long time. His dad was famous for his chiselling, door jambs and dove tails to be exact. His grandfather as the maker of luxurious final resting places. It was a shame, not one such skill was passed onto him. He was referred to as having been finely chiselled from a unique family of chisellers.

 

Written for: https://carrotranch.com/2019/03/14/march-14-flash-fiction-challenge/

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Reena’s Exploration Challenge #78

Posted on March 15, 2019 by Michael

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PROMPT

“That proves you are unusual,” returned the Scarecrow; “and I am convinced that the only people worthy of consideration in this world are the unusual ones. For the common folks are like the leaves of a tree, and live and die unnoticed.” 
― L. Frank Baum, The Land of Oz

 

“They make us look good you know.”

“Who do?”

“The plain, the ordinary, the man and woman in the street. Without them, we’d just be weird. But because of them, we stand out, the eccentric beings who add a layer to life most only ever dream about or prefer to deny.”

We stopped at that comment to let it soak in and decide if we thought it reasonable or not. We looked at one another judging each other as being the unusual or just another leaf on the tree.

We didn’t think of ourselves as ‘common folk’, and we certainly didn’t want to go through life being unnoticed. Who would want that we collectively thought?

Amongst our number were people of merit and substance. There was the artist, who exhibited in galleries around the country, the writer whose recent effort had resulted in a best seller and the actor who after years of trying had finally hit the big time, at least in his head.

We were proud of the status we had achieved but we concluded we couldn’t have gotten to this stage in our lives without the common folk, after all, they were the ones who attended our opening and readings, they purchased our products, watched our performances and spread the word that we were people who deserved some form of success.

We didn’t ever have to prove we were unusual; we were who we were, we did what we did, and we were good at it. Nature had given us our talents, and we were fortunate to be able to exercise them to the degree we did.

In some cases that was what it was all about. Everyone had the opportunity to exercise their talents, but not everyone received the opportunity to realise them. We were lucky that way but always acknowledged the role the common folk played in our success.

 

Written for: https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2019/03/14/reenas-exploration-challenge-78/

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100 Word Wednesday: Week 112 – Lost Friend

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Michael

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We’d been part of the search party for the past two days but we had not found Darcy. We had fears he had slipped into the water where we’d last seen him.

It was against all hope that we hoped he’d wandered off into the bush and gotten himself lost. He did have a habit of doing just that, getting caught up in the scenery and forgetting where he was.

We were gradually feeling more and more helpless when the radio crackled and there was, his voice telling us he was sorry and he would be down in an hour.

Written for: https://bikurgurl.com/2019/03/13/100-word-wednesday-week-112/

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Tale Weaver # 214 – Curiosity – March 14th – Cyril Rum’s Curiosity

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Michael

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Cyril Rum, an angel on sabbatical, was a curious person.

Since making the decision to come to earth and see for himself how humans worked, he had grown to understand why it was so many of his angelic friends had advised him against it and why they avoided the earth.

It was a terrible place in so many ways, wars, famine, the gulf between the rich and poor was obscene, to say the least, and people didn’t seem to have a lot of regard for manners.

At the same time, Cyril did find the majority of people were reasonable folk, but the ones who gained the loudest voice were the rabble-rousers and the ones out to get what they could at others expense.

When Cyril had come to earth, he found himself a small house in a small town in a non-descript street.

It worked well for him as he could go about his business and not attract any attention.

As it turned out his neighbour the single and aged, Mildred Thrupp was a great asset to him as she was more than willing to tell Cyril everything he wanted to know.

Cyril was particularly curious about the people he saw living in his street. Most were peaceful folk, trying their best to make good for their families and Cyril was very curious about families.

Being a divine entity, the concept of family was not known to him. Divine entities existed; they didn’t have a connection to any other entity other than to acknowledge them as entities in themselves.

So seeing groups of people living within the confines of a house and sharing so much of their lives he found curious. He found they did so to feel a sense of belonging, as that was something humans appeared to value. Cyril liked that idea and was curious as to why in cases of families who didn’t appear to have what others did in terms of wealth and comfort were very connected and supportive of each other.

The Turner family at the other end of his street were one such family. A mother and father and five kids who lived in a smaller house than others, who were dressed in not very smart clothes and who seemed to struggle to get by.

An example was one Christmas when on the kids came by selling home-baked cakes. When Cyril asked why they were doing so, he was told they were trying to earn some money to buy their parents a Christmas present. When he asked them why that was important they told him their parents both worked, long hours, their dad, in particular, had two jobs and their mother took in washing and ironing. The children thought their parents deserved something special that Christmas and they thought a subscription to a TV streaming site would be a good idea.

Cyril was so moved he bought all their cakes, not knowing what he might do with them.

Being an angel, he was able to add a little something to their coffers, and the children went home with more than they needed to get their parents their gift.

Cyril discovered the curious complexity of being human. Love was a feature he was more than curious about and set out to discover more and more about it.

 

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2019/03/14/tale-weaver-214-curiosity-march-14th/

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Crimson’s Creative Challenge #18 – Magic Potions

Posted on March 13, 2019 by Michael

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There were bottles in the window, and I wondered why. What had been the witch’s reason for putting these bottles where they now sat.

She was a well-known witch, who sold spells and potions and I did know the potions were contained in containers similar to the ones in the window so maybe she was advertising her wares without actually saying so.

My mum was a potion user, she regularly bought a potion or two. She liked the smiley potion and the good night one.

On Friday nights she mixed a teaspoon of both into dad’s dinner. She’d look at me and put her finger to her lips, suggesting I say nothing.

I never did as they went to bed early and left me to navigate myself round the TV. It was a win-win for everyone.

Whatever was in the potions they made dad a happy man.

 

Written for: https://crimsonprose.wordpress.com/2019/03/13/crimsons-creative-challenge-18/

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Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #4 – Myrtle.

Posted on March 13, 2019 by Michael

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It’s 3am, and I’m on my way to the bathroom, a usual night with the usual urge.

From out of the wall Myrtle drifts into the hallway as I wander by half asleep but aware of her.

She lingers there, her tresses and sheer gown billowing about her in a non-existent wind, but impressive all the same. In my mind I’m wondering how I might ask her that question, how is it she can conjure up such a spectacular sight.

Once her appearance scared the life out of me. It took a while to realise that Myrtle was as much a part of my house as I was. She doesn’t mean any harm, in fact, I’m convinced its company she craves as she is always about when I venture out at 3am, either that or she has some bizarre fixation on me, the bathroom and 3am.

I’ve looked into the history of my house. It was built in 1876 by Theo Waltz, a German immigrant who sold perfume from out of the front room. The only unusual account I can find is that of a woman who died in the house during a flood in 1922.

The paper at the time wrote up the story as a woman caught unawares by the rising water and unable to escape the house in time.

So if my ghost is this woman I feel sad she’s stuck here, with me while I go on about my life. Though I figure acknowledging her is the least I can do.

 

Written for: https://fivedotoh.com/2019/03/11/fandangos-flash-fiction-challenge-4/

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What do you See? March 12, 2019 – The Valiant Knight, The Sleeping Dragon.

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Michael

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Image: Alarie Tano

There’s a knight at night upon a bridge

Below sleeps the dreaded dragon.

The knight is on a mission

Being valiant is his goal

To rescue some maiden

To set the world aright.

The dragon will prove his nemesis

It will thwart his every move

Nothing will come easy

It’s the path he has chosen.

As it’s the plight of the dragon

To be life’s obstacle

Growling and roaring;

Showing him the error of his ways.

In the end, the dragon loses,

At least it seems the way of it.

The knight is victorious

He has stories told about him

And becomes the source of legend.

Around him, he is cheered

And while the adulation happens

The dragon goes back to sleeping

His role in this complete.

 

Written for: https://helenevaillant.com/2019/03/12/what-do-you-see-march-12-2019/

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Wordle #124 – The Bare-Faced Liar.

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Michael

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This week’s words: Slap Catch Pummel Linear Melodramatic Stringent Harbour Bare-faced Cupid’s Bow Windowsill Crestfallen Silent Treatment

Lily Snucks was determined to catch out her cheating husband one way or another.

She was aware he had fallen for the young girl with the Cupid’s bow. She was crestfallen from the day she was standing at the windowsill watching her husband arrive home in a car she hadn’t seen before.

The silent treatment that followed did little to change the situation as he was into melodramatic moments and had uttered bare-faced lies about what he was up to.

The slap of his denial gave her had injured her significantly. As it was their relationship had followed a predictably linear line from childhood sweethearts to aging antagonists, but despite this she did love him and had no urge to look elsewhere for company, unlike him and his midnight harbour cruises which were a far cry from the stringent measures she placed her under in terms of their living budget.

Everything came to a head when she found lipstick on his collar, and she vented her frustrations by pummelling him with her tiny fists, but it was all to no avail.

He and his girl with the Cupid’s bow sailed off on the harbour leaving her a crestfallen wreck.

 

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2019/03/11/wordle-124/

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Sunday Photo Fiction – March 3, 2019 – Our Little Girl Walked

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Michael

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Image: Courtesy of Lakshmi Bhat

We were never sure if she might walk so when she did it was a source of great joy to us. At three months she was a near death cot death. It was luck that she was found when she was. My wife understandably grabbed her in a panic and ran to a neighbour who was a nurse.

We think in hindsight her running and jolting her as she did was enough to start her breathing again.

From there it was a matter of discovery. She was a delayed child, which meant there was some brain damage, which might also mean a lack of mobility and later speech. Though her crying was hearty, to say the least.

We did all we could to stimulate her growth, encouraged her to play, to interact, to gain confidence in her mobility which we were told might never happen.

So imagine our joy when after two years of struggle she up and walked, left her mark as she went but we didn’t care our little girl was walking, and she’d proved our doctors wrong, and we couldn’t have been more pleased.

 

Written for: https://sundayphotofictioner.wordpress.com/2019/03/09/sunday-photo-fiction-march-3-2019-2/

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Reena’s Exploration Challenge – 77 – Woman

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Michael

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Image: Woman – Her Journey

Every woman I know has had it tough by virtue of birth.

This, of course, is my male perspective on women.

I’ve been fortunate in life to have known some very strong and determined women, my mother was one. In her own way, she brought my brothers and sister up to be the people we are today.

My mother came from a completely different era, what we might consider ignorance now was the norm back then. My mother didn’t have access to the world as we know it and she was unworldly we might say. But fundamentally she was a woman who knew right from wrong and was quick to point it out to us when needed.

Since my mother died early, 57 is young these days, I’ve been surrounded by women of different kinds. The woman I married was a strong-headed woman, she knew what she wanted in life and made it clear I wasn’t the one delivering what she wanted.

But we did have three daughters each of whom has grown to be women of merit. They are in their own ways strong and independent women, determined to make a go of this life, industrious and loving of their families.

They haven’t had it easy, marriage, as I know, is hard work and two of my girls have had failed marriages, not all their fault either.

But like so many women of virtue, they have bounced back more determined than ever.

They are far superior at nurturing than we males, and for that reason alone we need them in our lives and respect them for all they provide for us.

 

Written for: https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2019/03/07/reenas-exploration-challenge-77/

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