FFftPP – Something Wicked This Way Comes
Here is my story for Roger’s Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner. We get a phrase to use – “What is the peculiar smell?” and a photo, along with 200 words.
To read this week’s other stories, click on the blue froggy.
Photo from pixabay.com
“What is that peculiar smell?”
“‘tis the stench of death, come for us on wings of deepest black. Forsooth.”
“What? What? What’s he saying?” The other meerkats shook their heads. “Ever since that tourist safari chap dropped The Complete Works of Shakespeare he’s been insufferable.” The other meerkats nodded.
“For ’tis the cruel arrows of fate which approacheth or mayhap a harbinger of doom which cometh on paws of death. Forsooth.”
“Paws of death? I suppose he could mean… a lion’s coming?” The other meerkats looked around, panicking.
“And here he cometh as ‘twere Hades himself risen from the circles of ever fiery Hell our souls to claim, forsooth, our broken bodies…”
ROAAAAR! SNAP!
“… to rip aaaaargh!”
“Well, lads, that comes as a bit of a relief, quite frankly.” The other meerkats, eyes wide as saucers, nodded. “Okay, chaps, RUN!”
FF – Treatment Failed
Here is my story for this week’s Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle. The picture this week was contributed by J Hardy Carroll.
To read this week’s other stories, click on the blue froggy.
Copyright J Hardy Carroll
Josie looked up at the burned out windows as she huddled in the shadow of the broken building. The other kids thought this place depressing but she liked it here. Sometimes she fancied that if she looked hard enough, she could see the ghost of her mother staring down. It made her feel safe.
Her mother had been a “resident” here at Saint Joseph’s Home for the Feeble of Mind until the Great Fire of 1972. They’d been trying to cure her of her compulsion towards arson.
Josie shook her head sadly. Guess it didn’t take.
Sharing My World 2016 Week 13
Here we are again for Cee’s Share Your World.
Are you left or right handed?
I’m right handed. Very right handed. My left hand can do stuff but it needs to be trained.
This is the main reason I’m glad we drive on the left hand side of the road over here. I don’t like to take my right hand off the wheel, and since the wheel is on the right hand side of the car I don’t have to as I change gear with my left hand. If I ever rent a car abroad I’d be tempted to rent an automatic. They’re not as rare as they used to be so I expect most companies would have one!
If you had only one TV, would you prefer the TV in the living room or another room?
I do only have one TV (which is plugged in)! It’s in the living room. When did I last use it as a TV? Um, never. Everything I watch is recorded, catch-up or streamed. Here it is!
Entertainment Corner
Have you ever participated in a distance walking, swimming, running, or biking event? Tell your story.
Ha, no! It would place an unnecessary strain on the emergency services, having to airlift me to hospital after the first 2 miles.
Complete this sentence: Love is…
I’ve sat here for a while thinking about this. And I still have nothing to say. Love just is.
And with that cop-out of an answer I’ll leave you with this exciting discovery – it’s impossible to over-boil a hard-boiled egg! Last week I popped two eggs on to boil and went off to play Fallout 4. Two hours later I went back into the kitchen and saw to my horror the eggs still boiling away in the remaining two centimetres of water. They taste fine :-).
FF – The Final Sacrifice
Here’s my story for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle. I’m a bit earlier than usual as I have a day off today! The photo was supplied by Marie Gail Stratford.
To read this week’s other stories, click on the blue froggy.
Copyright Marie Gail Stratford
The city looked so beautiful, so peaceful from up on the ledge. Harry watched the people, ant-like, scurrying around, busy with their own lives. He felt strangely disconnected.
He had lost the house trying to prop up his failing law firm, the last straw for his long-suffering wife. She’d left with the kids. He had nothing left.
Hearing his law partner approach, pleading with him to come back off the ledge, he shook his head sadly.
“Here’s what you do. This roof has easy access, no locked door and no safety rail. Sue the owners. Save the firm.”
He jumped.
Limerick Challenge – Hope
Here is my Limerick for Mind and Life Matters’ Limerick Poetry Challenge. This week the word is “hope“.
To read the other entries, click on the blue froggy.
There once was a silly old bloke
Who treated his life like a joke
So it was no surprise
In most anyone’s eyes
When his hopes and dreams went up in smoke.
Sharing My World 2016 Week 12
It’s time again to Share My World, courtesy of Cee. Thanks for the questions, Cee!
Wanting something to quench your thirst, what would you drink?
Definitely something cold and fizzy. If it’s not (preferably ice) cold, it doesn’t work. I generally go for something with a good bite to it, like Diet Coke. I also always have a stock of diet lemonade in.
Mmmm. Nearly no calories of tasty refreshment.
What made you feel good this past week?
Hmm, same old same old really. I did go to a great gig in the village hall on Friday. It was a guy with an acoustic guitar and a guy with a violin playing Irish, Cornish and Scottish music. The organiser is one of my best friends (and mother of my godson) and she supplied me with home-made brownies and cupcakes throughout (I got extras after I agreed to babysit tomorrow evening). I also won a big heavy wooden cheeseboard in the raffle!
When you’re alone at home, do you wear shoes, socks, slippers, or go barefoot?
I have quite thick soft carpets so just socks generally (whether I’m alone or not). If I spend significant time in the kitchen when I’m making pizza dough or preparing a big vat of chilli I wear an aged pair of slippers, as the floor in there is wood.
Would you rather live where it is always hot or always cold?
Tricky – I don’t do well in extremes of temperature. Of course one gets used to a certain temperature after a while. A couple of days last week were over 10C which I found quite warm, whereas if we get 15C in mid-summer I find it freezing!
Although I like snuggling up in the cold weather, it gets old after a while (and my electric/gas bill during the winter is many times that in the summer), so I’m going to go with (drum roll….) always hot!
FF – Modern Art
Here is my story for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle. This week’s photo was contributed by Ted Strutz.
To read the other stories, click on the blue froggy.
Copyright Ted Strutz
“Jeez, mate, what the Hell is that? What a mess!”
Pedro looked the passer-by straight in the eyes. “It’s new, it’s bold, it’s modern, it’s art!”
“Yeah… it’s not though, is it? It’s crap and you’re a hack.”
“Hmm, maybe it could use a little extra something…” mused Pedro, eyes flashing angrily. “Wait right here.”
For days the artwork “Man With Head Smashed In By Sledgehammer Next To Toilet Of Flowers” took the art world by storm. That is, until the sun came out and the “beautifully detailed figure” (Modern Sculpture Magazine), the “utterly lifelike mannequin” (Art Today), started to stink.
Limerick Challenge – Dream
I thought I’d have another go at Mind and Life Matters’ Limerick challenge. This week’s word is “Dream“. I couldn’t get it to scan quite right, but here is my entry :-).
It’s good to have hopes and big dreams
Polish your life till it gleams
And if things go wrong
Try to burst into song
Think of kittens, ice cream and sunbeams!
I hope you enjoyed it! You can read other entries by clicking on the blue froggy.
Sharing My World 2016 Week 11
Here is my post for Cee’s Share Your World.
How many siblings do you have? What’s your birth order?
I have one brother. He’s 18 months younger than me and lives about 7 miles away.
In a car would you rather drive or be a passenger?
Mostly I would rather drive. Maybe it’s a control thing. It is nice to be driven around sometimes, but that rarely happens as I live alone, so it’s nice for a change! On a long journey, I’d definitely prefer to drive, though. And I like my car!
When you lose electricity in a storm, do you light the candles or turn on the flashlight? How many of each do you own?
This rarely happens, though by coincidence it did happen a couple of weeks ago during extremely high winds. I like candles but I worry about the house catching fire 🙂 so I go for torches (that’s what we call “flashlights” over here).
I have one in my work bag, one in the car, one in my bedside table and two in the kitchen drawer. One of them is one of those which has different modes and can be hung up or arranged like a lamp – that one was very handy in the blackout for showering and whatnot.
List at least five of your favourite types of animals? (any animal to domestic to wild to marine life)
I like small furry animals the best.
Cats, some of those cute little guys you get in Australia like koalas, quokka (quokkas?) and wombats. Here’s a link to a Daily Mail article with those guys in. I think pandas are cute and also meerkats (why is meerkat not in my spell checker? – it wants to change it to “beermat”). I think raccoons look quite cute too, at least in the picture I got from Goldfish’s online store.
How cute is that?
The End of Days
I thought I would do a story for Sunday Photo Fiction this week, which is hosted by Al Forbes and asks for a story of around 200 words. The photo looked like fun! It’s a smidge over 200 words, sorry. I cut it down as much as I could!
To read the other stories, click on the blue frog.
With a flash of lightning and clap of thunder a dread figure appeared. All the Peoples of the Earth looked up in dismay.
“THIS IS THE END OF THE DAYS OF MAN!” it declaimed. All the Peoples of the Earth wept in fear.
“YOUR TIME AS A RACE HAS COME TO AN END!” it continued. Everyone cowered in terror. “TODAY IS YOUR LAST… huh?”
There was a faint ringing sound. The Peoples watched as the demonic figure tapped its ear.
“I’m a bit busy, can’t this wait?” it said in a more normal tone of voice. “Say what now? You’re kidding me… huh?… No, no, I’m not happy, this is unbelievable. Fire the intern! Bye, bye, goodbye, bye.”
“AHEM. PEOPLES OF THE EARTH, HARKEN! THERE HAS BEEN A SLIGHT COCK-UP IN THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT.” The Peoples of the Earth shivered in confusion.
“ALLOW ME TO START AGAIN.” The figure cleared its throat. “THIS IS THE END OF THE DAYS OF DAN. IS THERE A DAN HERE?”
A small figure hesitantly raised its hand.
“AH, DAN, COME WITH ME, PLEASE. YOU’RE ABOUT TO HAVE A VERY BAD DAY. AS FOR THE REST OF YOU… I GUESS YOU’RE FINE. FOR NOW. FAREWELL!”
With another flash of lightning, both demonic figure and unfortunate Dan disappeared.
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I totally didn't win!
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