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Archive for November, 2017

Pegman – Dark Days

November 6, 2017 43 comments

Here is my story for What Pegman Saw, which this week sees us in Cordoba, Argentina.

I’m not sure what my story is this week. Is it post-apocalyptic? Dark almost-but-not-quite-humour? A damning indictment of the “haves” and the “have nots”? Bittersweet or just plain bitter? Nooobody knoooows.

Copyright Google

 

Juan gazed across the city at the skyscrapers. Every city had them – bastions of so-called civilisation amidst the ruins. The global drought and subsequent world-wide economic collapse had devastated the world. It hadn’t rained for three years.

Those few had the money to dig deep wells, desalinate water, grow crops. Not for the likes of him, of course. They didn’t have to drink boiled urine. They didn’t have to eat rat, though even the rats were dying out. That chap from down the street was starting to look pretty tasty.

He could leave the city, but Cordoba was his home. He’d been born here, and he’d die here. Probably fairly soon.

No – he mustn’t think like that. There was life, therefore there was hope! Feeling cheered, he ran across the road, chasing a feral cat.

He never saw the truck. Never felt the first drops of rain begin to fall.

 

Categories: Fiction Tags:

Sharing My World 2017 Week 45

November 5, 2017 33 comments

Here is my post for Cee’s Share Your World.

share-your-world2

Where do you eat breakfast?
Nowhere. My body seems to need a couple of hours before it can happily accept food. If I ate breakfast it would be at my desk at work, as typically I’m at work around an hour and twenty minutes after the alarm goes off.

Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want to have an evening with?
It doesn’t say “alive or dead”, but I’m going to go with Hitler.

I would prepare a nice meal catering to his German tastes (or Austrian or whatever). We’d have a chat and I’d turn the conversation to politics. After dessert I’d offer him coffee to round off the meal and, having absorbed his view of the world, I’d then take the opportunity to kick the ever-living shit out of the racist homicidal maniacal asshat.

Next week – my brunch date with Saddam Hussein.

If you could be a tree or plant, what would you be?
If I could be a tree or a plant, I’d turn the “opportunity” down, thanks. If I had no choice I guess I’d be a cactus. One of those flowering ones. Then when people come to admire and poke me they’d get a nasty needle in the finger. A plant’s gotta have some fun.

What inspired you or what did you appreciate this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.
Nothing really happened this week. So I’ll post another thought-provoking quote from InspiroBot.

“If someone can live through the afterlife, they can also stabilise wild animals.”

What? What? What does that mean? Does that even make any sense? Obviously that’s too deep for me.

 

Categories: About draliman Tags:

FF – Kidz

November 1, 2017 57 comments

Here is my story for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle. This weeks’ photo was contributed by Sarah Ann Hall.

(For non-UK persons, a “GCSE” is an exam taken at age 16.)

This might be a bit hard to read but I find some kids a bit hard to understand so there you go. Authenticity.

Copyright Sarah Ann Hall

 

“I wanna makes an impression in da interview so I smashes dis vase an I’s like coz dis one’s fake innit coz I has GCSE Art wot I almost passed an I sees from der faces it woz like a real one…”

Sigh.

“… an I’s like whatevs an dey’s like get out an I’s like talk to da hand an dey’s like priceless Ming an I’s like wot like in Flash Gordon an den dey frew me out.”

“So, you didn’t get the job, then, dear?”

“Nah. An I need an advance on ma pocket money coz dey sending me da bill innit.”

Sigh.