Story Fragment #21: Harry

Harry Manacort, the world-famous mystery writer, had a very serious quirk. He handwrote each and every manuscript and never allowed anyone to make a copy of it until it went to his editor. This drove his assistant, his agent and his editor crazy, as they were always concerned his work would be lost or damaged. However, after writing ten best-sellers this way, Harry wasn't about to start changing his habits now.

"Today," Harry thought as he entered his office, "I should finally be able to write the end of this novel." It was always a bittersweet moment, but even more so this time, as it was to be the last book in this series. He hated to say goodbye to such a popular character.

Sitting at his sturdy oak desk, Harry reached for his writing journal, only to find the spot on his desk where he kept it uncharacteristically bare. Had he put it somewhere else last night? He quickly looked around the top of the desk, then began to open drawers and search each one.

Just as he was about to panic, his assistant walked in the room. Seeing the look on Harry's face, Sean laughed.

"Looking for something, boss?" he asked.

Harry glared at him. "How would you know that?"

Holding up the missing journal, Sean replied. "Because I took it off your desk, just to teach you a lesson."

Story Fragment #20: Monique

Monique was having the most harrowing day she had experienced in quite some time. Anything that could possibly go wrong was doing so, in a big way.

First, there was no hot water when she turned on her shower, then she had to forage through her kitchen cabinets for a jar of instant coffee since she had apparently forgotten to buy K-cups yesterday. Getting dressed was no easier, as she went through four pair of hose before finding one without a run or hole.

All of this meant that she was fifteen minutes late leaving for work, so rather than walking she hailed a cab and managed to drop into her desk chair at precisely 9 AM.

Ten minutes later, Derek, her supervisor, strolled into her office. "So--ready for the big presentation at 10?"

"Sure thing," Monique responded, reaching toward the space beside her chair to grab her laptop bag. In that instant, she felt her stomach churn and her entire body go weak. Her laptop--with the only copy of this morning's presentation to a major client--was somewhere out in the city, in the backseat of a cab.

Story Fragment #19: Agatha

When Agatha went to the flea market, she never expected to see so many unusual objects and people. One of the first things she noticed was a mime wandering among the shoppers. Not really all that strange, she supposed--until you noticed that all he was wearing was a pair of rubber underwear.

The next thing that caught her eye was a booth selling candy pigs. They were molded in pink chocolate, right down to their little curly tails. She snapped a picture of the entire booth, then bought a dozen of the cute little porkers to take home.

The next aisle was even more bizarre, not to mention sinister. One seller advertised poisonous bunnies, claiming to have blended the DNA of a rabbit and a rattlesnake. To demonstrate the rabbits capabilities, the seller put a rat into the cage. The rabbit immediately opened its mouth, displaying large fangs, which it sunk deep into the rat. Within seconds, the rat convulsed and died. With a shiver, Agatha hurried on her way.

FRIDAY POETRY DAY: Halloween

Halloween

My brain is filled with eerie thoughts

To frighten adults and tiny tots

Thoughts of monsters fill my head--

Frankenstein, Dracula, and the undead.

© 2017 Teresa Kander

Story Fragment #18: Roberta the bored housewife

Roberta Atkins, known to her friends as Bobbie, had the same routine day after day. She would get the twins, James and Jessica, to the bus stop with only seconds to spare, after seeing her husband, Charles, off to the train station for his morning commute to the city. Then it was time to head to her daily yoga class, after which she would make a grocery run to pick up everything she needed for dinner. Then it would be time to head back home, have a quick lunch, run the dishwasher, do a load of laundry, straighten the clutter and do whatever other chores she could accomplish before she had to meet the twins at the bus stop. Once they were home, she would fix them a snack, get them started on their homework, and start prepping dinner. Charles would come rushing in just as dinner went on the table, and the meal would pass with everyone but Bobbie sharing the highlights of their day. Then it was time to load the dishwasher, get the kids to bed, and watch an hour or two of mind-numbing television before dropping into bed exhausted.

Imagine the surprise on her family's faces tonight at dinner when she tells them her afternoon had been spent at the firing range, shooting an AK-47 --and that she had bought one for herself.

Story Fragment #17: Surprising Message

As I walked the length of the strip mall that quiet Saturday morning, my mind was going in a hundred different directions. I had several errands to run, then I planned to spend the afternoon finishing a project for work. With all that going on in my head, it was surprising that the note on the sidewalk even caught my attention.

I think it was the paper itself that caught my eye, as it looked so completely out of place on the gray sidewalk. It was a lovely shade of blue, with geometric shapes outlined in black, and each row of shapes had a smaller inner shape, with the rows alternating turquoise, white and black. It was a tiny corner of the paper, which had been jaggedly ripped from the rest.

Fascinated, I bent to pick up the scrap of paper. When I flipped it over, I discovered a short five-word message: "Please help--trapped in Walmart." My entire agenda for the day had just been turned on its head.

FRIDAY POETRY DAY: Ice Cream

The frozen treat which fills my dreams

Is tasty mint chocolate chip ice cream

Its color is green

The chips can be seen

A small bite of heaven it seems.

© 2017 Teresa Kander