Beasts stand motionless, staring into my yes. There, look. A grotesque creature. It drops its jaw, silver fangs glint in the gloom. At its feet a slather of slime. A doll grins and tilts its head, I’m scared. Is that a train I see? Yes. I should run for it and escape. But I can’t. Why can’t I?
Debris surrounds me. Bits and pieces everywhere, from here to the very edges of this petrifying vault. How did I end up in this chamber of horrors?
Why this salty taste? I’m thirsty. Where’s the drink I was enjoying just moments ago, where?
I hear water, I see water. It’s like the tide’s coming in. Now it’s silent, yet I hear voices. No, just one voice. Shhhh. Listen.
“Ron, it’s late. For goodness sake come to bed”!
“Sorry sweetheart, I need to put away Tommy’s toys, clean up the ice cream he spilled and the crisps I dropped. My glass too, it fell to the floor and smashed. Oh no, the sink’s overflowing, I was going to do some washing up! I must have been fantasising. Please don’t fall asleep, I’ll be as quick as I can. Don’t forget we have unfinished business to attend to … if you know what I mean!
“In your dreams!”.
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Thanks to Brenda for hosting The Sunday Whirl where this week’s words are –jaw, debris, stitch slather, voices, beasts, tides salty, vault, edges, silver & tilt.
I used all but one, but I hopefully my piece had you in ‘stiches’ in which case I virtually used them all!
Babs seemed intrigued by George’s shirt; “what’s with that great big mark on it, did you spill some paint or something?” she asked; “no” he replied “it’s a trendy shirt from that bohemian woman in the market, Len want’s a younger looking crowd and I thought this might help – by the way, while I was there I went over to the second hand book stall and said, ‘I need a new bookmark’, and the bloke said ‘take your pick, and by the way my name’s Bob not Mark’ ”.
“I remember when I was really young”, said Ted, “I wasn’t happy with the mark my teacher gave me for my English test so I begged him look it it again and he actually agreed to do it, when I got home that afternoon my Dad asked me how it went and I told him the teacher said it was remarkable!”
Arthur was studying a piece of paper and Fred asked him what it was, “well”, said Arthur, “I’ve been having a problem with my cows barging through the hedge and wandering into my neighbour’s field just lately so I got that electrician, Mark the Spark to give me quote for installing an electric fence, I was shocked by the price, I still am, but I guess I’m going to have to do it” ; ”hopefully your neighbour won’t be dead against it”, quipped Colin – and he was off!
“I wasn’t allowed a calculator for my maths exam, I was really counting on it – I passed all my exams with ease, english e, maths e, geography e, art e – I’m taking an archaeology exam, even if I pass my future will be in ruins – the sweater I bought was picking up static electricity, I was given a replacement free of charge – I heard a joke about electricity but I’ve forgotten watt it was – I asked an electrician to fix my electricity and he re-fused – when he got a shock he said ‘that hertz’ – his favourite band was AC/DC – when he got a new car, it was a Voltswagen – I fancy a job cleaning marks off mirrors, I can see myself doing that – I hate spring cleaning, the damned things bounce all over the place – for my birthday I was given a shirt with dirty marks on it, but I appreciated the sediment….”
You may recall that last week Landlord Len asked for suggestions to make the pub more appealing to younger folk something that didn’t go down too well with the regulars; however, they did as asked and the ideas include installing acharging point at every table as they tend always to be glued to their phones, a crazy golf course around the bar and between the tables, movie nights, snail olympics, speed dating, first round free, drag queen nights and complimentary ear plugs because youngsters often scream like banshees – none of which really hit the mark.
As he thought about what to do, something his dearly departed Maggie would have said came to mind – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it; ‘you’re right my love’, he thought, ‘let’s just keep it the way it is’.
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Thanks to Denise at GirlieOnTheEdge for hostingSix Sentence Storieswhere this week’s given word is Mark.
He had often walked down this street before. He’d watch from behind a lilac tree hoping any that second she’d suddenly appear. He had an overpowering feeling, knowing that somehow she was near. There was nowhere else he’d rather be than the street where she lived.
People watched and stared, but it didn’t bother bother him. It bothered her though. She could no longer let the time go by.
Constable Clutch grabbed him by the arm. “Let go officer”, he said.
“No, Zee Parker. You are under arrest for violation of the Stalking and Harassment Act 1997, anything you say…”
Before I start – I have an extremely busy few days coming up, both entertaining and being entertained, so I’m afraid I won’t have the time to drop by your blogs and leave comments in the normal way. Please don’t think I’ve forgotten you, I’ll be back next week!
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“I really need this”, said Arthur, supping his pint so fast that half of it was running down down his chin, “that supermarket, Costalot or whatever it’s called, has opened a brand new branch in town and her indoors insisted I went there with her this afternoon, I grabbed a case of Budweiser and dumped it in the cart, it was only a tenner but she complained and told me to but it back, then lo and behold, she grabbed an expensive brand of face cream and dropped that in the cart; I asked her why and she said because it makes her look beautiful, and I said ‘so do a couple of Budweisers and they’re only half the price’ – it didn’t go down too well!”
“I was chatting with Billy Brand”, said Babs, you know, that guy that sweeps the streets, he told me he’s had enough of of clearing up other people’s mess and needed a change of career, but he couldn’t make up his mind about what he should do, he said he wasn’t suited to being a tailor, he couldn’t cut it as a barber, he didn’t have the patience to be a doctor, pool maintenance was too draining, there was no future in being a historian, if he was a masseur he’d rub people up the wrong way”; “so what’s he going to do?” asked Suzie at the next table, “ he’s got a brand new job as a cleaner at that new supermarket in town!” she replied!
“The other day I decided to have an tree removed”, said Ted, “it was too close to my living room window and the branches blocked my view so I called Jack, that lumber guy and asked him to do it for me, after he cut it down he left a stump and recommended a guy to remove it, well, the bloke dug up the stump and left a great big hole and recommended a landscape gardener who’d would make it look nice for me, to cut a long story short I came here for a pint while he was doing it and when I returned home I found he’d planted a brand new tree where the old one was!”
Over at the knitting circle Natilie was talking about a competition she entered, when her branch of the Women’s Institute challenged another lot of Winstitutors to a speed knitting event where they had to knit the longest scarf in the shortest time; “I was determined to win so I treated myself to that expensive brand of speedy needles, the prize was a meal for two at a posh restaurant and there was no way anybody but me was going win it; I practiced several times to make sure I was unbeatable, and on the night everyone was going at a hell of a rate”, – “I assume you won”, said Polly, “actually I came last” said Natilie, “but it’s taking part that counts, it’s not about winning”.
Colin had been listening in, and couldn’t wait any longer to get going, “I bought an umbrella with brand name Napoleon, on a windy day it got blownapparte – which letter of the alphabet has a shoe brand? Adidas – the most popular brand of car in Norway is Fjord – I‘m not scared of trees, they‘re all bark, no bite – the branch said to the tree, hello gorgeous, I’m growing on you – two owls sat on a branch, one said ‘I got married the other day’, an the other said ‘you twit, to who?’ – Chinese lumberjacks chop sticks – waiting is a boring job but it puts food on the table – the lumberjack cut down exactly 56,675 trees, he knew because he kept a log – I met a lumberjack in the pub, great feller – I got some face cream that made me shed tears, it was called moist-your-eyes……”.
Landlord Len has been thinking about rebranding the pub, the name would stay the same because that was Maggie’s idea – “I need to find a way to attract more young people because on some busy nights it looks more like a retirement home in here”, he said; needless to say it didn’t go down too well especially with thirty-something Suzie, “I want you to jot down any suggestions you might have and pop them in that box over there” – I for one can’t wait to find out what they write!
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Thanks to Denise at GirlieOnTheEdge for hosting Six Sentence Stories where this week’s given word is Branch
It’s my first go at driving a space car! It’s only a small one but I’m travelling alone so I don’t need a space-utility vehicle or a spacion wagon.
I’ve got a terrible sense of direction, I get lost driving to my local mall, so what I’m about to do is quite risky! I got myself a sat-nav gps thing, so I should be okay – assuming I can work out how to use the darn thing!
Three hours later
It’s seven in the evening, nearly time to go. Odd isn’t it? Down here it’s easier to see where you’re going when it’s light. Up there, it’s easier in the dark! Right, sat nav’s sorted, I’ve got my seat belt on and ready, steady….GO!
Blimey, this voice is bossier than my normal one, I’d better do as I’m told!
Head upwards and in 147 million 948 thousand 607 miles, turn right at Mars.
Will do!
Continue for 74 million, 402 thousand 197 miles until you reach Venus.
Okay.
Circle 270 degrees and continue forward for 81 million 4 thousand and 80 miles.
So far so good, or very far so good!
A long time later
You have reached your destination, for your health’s sake remain in your vehicle and ensure windows and doors are firmly closed.
Well here we are, on Uranus. I remembered to be careful how I pronounced it! I can’t say I’m very impressed. Not much of a view, infact it’s really dull.
I watched, humbled by the the solemnity of the mourners filing past a flaming pyre as the soul of a lifeless body departed for paradise.
Remains were scattered in the flowing muddy water amid swirling petals and scraps of yellow fabric.
The end.
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My piece was inspired by an incident I witnessed whilst walking along a river bank in Nepal. It seemed disrespectful to take photographs at the time, so I took this one after the funeral was over.
