More Micro-Fiction for #FreeFictionFriday

Hey, All!

Another end to the week and another Free Fiction Friday! Last time, I posted a short collection of micro-fiction (stories less than 500 words). This week, a few more short shorts, but also adding some speculative haiku called Horrorku (for horror) and SciFaiku (for sci-fi).

By the way, most of these were written about 15 years ago – as experiments or practice or just having a blast exploring, putting words together. They appeared in such online zines as MicroHorror, Bewildering Stories, Flashshot, Aphelion, Scifaikuest, Mindflights, Thaumatrope, Tales from the Moonlit Path, and Long Story Short.

Hope you have fun with them. Let me know which bit of doggerel you enjoyed the most. And make it a great weekend!

<>< 

Show, Don’t Tell

“Read to me what you’ve channeled so far,” she says.

I clear my throat. Death and destruction await the one…

“Cliché.” My muse frowns. “What else?”

I fumble at my manuscript and turn a page. Blindly, the Mummy exits the tomb…

“Derivative,” she says.

“But these are your ideas!” I protest.

“My ideas. Your anemic attempts.”

“This is my first stab at horror,” I rationalize.

“Ah, then,” she nods. “First rule of fiction—write what you know.”

“Could you tell me how?” I ask.

My muse produces a stiletto. “Here, let me show you instead.”

(The next poem is the same story structured as a horrorku.)

Writer's Block

death and destruction…

cliché my muse scoffs

      I falter once more

the mummy will rise…

banal she now cries

     I weep at her feet

respite I plead

she frowns at my prayer

     searing thoughts remain

the death of me

I’m now sweating blood

     she starts to smile

write what you know

my muse says with a knife

     and shows me how

<><

SciFaiku Collection

Au Naturale

denuded satellites

race across earth’s open fields

     streakers celebrate

Proposal

first stop Saturn’s rings

on to diamond-like stars

     alien engagement

Generation Gap

white hot, young sun boasts

super nova still on fire

     and replies, eat my dust

Our Christening

alien suitor

seed long forgotten

     orphan earth

star pollen falls

fullness of time

     human life

magi from space

showering gifts

     reunion

Courtship

suitors from space

scatter gifts to earth

     alien proposal

diamonds sparkle

against velvet heavens

     engagement announced

humans transcending

don Saturn’s rings

     cosmic wedding

<><

Twitter-Bytes (≤140 characters)

“I think our baby is a changeling!” I told my Stepford wife. So I wasn’t surprised when my doppelganger showed up and said I had to leave.

~*~

“Tell me how to write horror,” I beg my muse. “Write what you know,” she replies and pulls out a stiletto. “Here, let me show you now.”

~*~

I married a serial killer. Fortunately, he only murders strangers. But lately we’ve drifted apart; he said he didn’t know me anymore...

The Time Had Come

He sat in his chair and waited. She said she would come and he did not doubt it. She’d come for his roommate earlier and had taken him. Away. He knew it was only a matter of time.

He fidgeted. He wasn’t scared; he just didn’t want to go. But he couldn’t tell her that. She wouldn’t have listened anyway – he’d seen her take plenty of others. Friends and acquaintances passed every so often. Most of them with smiles on their faces. He could never understand that. Where they were heading just wasn’t someplace he wanted to go.

You’ll see him again, she had said, laughing, when his roommate left. I know, he’d tried to respond. I know!

He soon heard footsteps; they were coming nearer. She was coming back like she said she would. For him.

“Time for supper, Mr. Grossman,” the aide called out, bubbly as ever. “Shall I take you to the dining room now?”

He grunted. What choice did he have? He’d had a stroke the previous year and couldn’t walk or talk. So the aide wheeled him down the corridor. He would see his roommate again as promised, at dinner. After all, she said she would come.

The Resignation

Dear Al,

I quit!

I’m sick and tired of being bossed around. We agreed on three wishes. But your last wish was always for three more. You could never quit. It was like a drug with you. "Your wish is my command." Yeah, right. My wish is my command now, baby.

Plus, you asked for impossibilities. Like wanting a plan for world peace. Or trying to understand the mind of a woman. You even wished for tasty jello. Unbelievable!

Al, from now on you'll be rubbing your own stupid lamp. I'm going into business for myself.

No longer yours,

Genie

All stories and poems (c) 2007-2022 Lyndon Perry

Btw, if you want to subscribe to these weekly stories so you get them in your inbox, 

go to my Substack page and subscribe. Every Friday, a short story. Free! What a deal!

~*~

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#FreeFictionFriday - Hot Tub Graduation

Hot Tub Graduation by Lyndon Perry

Janelle stared at the seventies style medicine cabinet mirror and gave herself – and her black and white polka dot bikini – a final appraisal. She tried not to grimace. Trusting her counselors was part of her therapy.

The real test was what reaction she got from James.

She put on some cherry lip gloss, tasting the fruity flavor as she smacked her lips together twice. Wrapping a scratchy white towel around her, she slipped on her fluffy pink flip-flops, and headed to the back door of the girls cabin. The other three sophomore campers were still in their shared bunk room getting ready for their final day of their winter retreat.

Opening the door, a swirl of dusty whiteness bit at her toes. She shivered. The old stone barn with a new slate roof sat imposingly across the yard; the four inches of freshly fallen snow a seemingly non-traversable glacier separating her from her future.

Janelle pulled a strand of her long brown hair out of her face and curled her tresses into a loose knot that sat high on her head. It was now or never.

Bracing herself against the whistling January wind, she grabbed tight at her towel and made a beeline for the barn. Her toes pinched at her flip-flops to keep them from slipping off as she lifted her feet in a kind of high-step run, quickly crossing the camp’s common area.

The barn door was ajar and she entered with a gasp, pulling the door shut behind her to keep out the cold and snow. The newly renovated barn was warm and cozy and had an earthiness to it, a slight musty smell of old hay and damp stone which she found comforting once inside.

Lancaster County’s Youth Services had purchased the farm a few years ago, turned it into a retreat center, and offered various rehab programs for Philadelphia’s messed up rich kids. The old stone barn was now a recreation room that sported a pool table, ping-pong, foosball, and a variety of games students could play old school style. No electronics allowed.

The barn also boasted a hot tub in the corner.

Alone in the tub awaiting the rest of the campers, James waved his fingers. Janelle waved back and smiled nervously, making her way to the wooden paneled spa, the gurgle of the hot water inviting her to relax with her best guy friend in the whole world. The pulsating jet streams and bubbles offered to take her insecurities away and she decided to let the whirlpool make good on its promise.

“Hey,” she said as she walked up the steps on the outside of the hot tub. She kicked off her flip-flops, her cold toes matching their color.

“Hey back at ya,” James said, his dark eyes following hers. He sank to his chin, letting the bubbles play with his long blond hair.

Janelle stood fast, suddenly frozen, though the old barn was warm, well lit, and doing its best to be friendly.

“Big step today,” her friend said, suddenly pushing himself out of the water and onto the ledge where he sat smacking his gum. His skinny frame was not as skinny as when they’d first met at this same camp two summers before. He was making good progress and it looked like it.

Janelle nodded to herself. “Almost like graduation,” she replied, her thoughts scattered.

James smiled. Waited.

Janelle breathed in, held it, and let it out. Now or never. It had become a kind of mantra as of late. Taking the top edge of her towel, she untucked it and pulled it open. Her pale skin nearly matching the white fabric of her swimsuit, allowing the bikini’s black dots to pop.

Like her friend’s eyes! She blushed.

“Wow. You look great, Janelle. Really. You… you’re perfect.”

“Not fat?”

He frowned. “Am I fat?”

“No.”

“Then there’s your answer.”

In her heart, she knew the truth. Her body type was perfectly normal. But her mind had played tricks on her heart for so long, it was hard to believe. But James would know. They’d shared this journey together for a year and a half. He was perfect. She was perfect. They didn’t need to purge or binge or hide or cut. They could just be.

She stepped into the hot tub up to her knees, her cold toes burning at the immediate heat. Surprisingly this gave her arms goosebumps as the air temperature seemed to drop. She quickly immersed herself to her shoulders and James got back in the swirling water. They moved close, eyes locked on each other. She put a wet hand to his cheek and as he leaned in she kissed him.

“Mm. I like cherry,” he said after pulling back and licking his lips.

“And I like spearmint.”

He grinned, took his gum out and proclaimed, “Doublemint, actually.” He put it back in his mouth and they both laughed.

A noise at the door alerted them to the other campers making their way into the recreational barn. Conversation and shouts and giggles accompanied the six other girls and guys, fellow students on their way to health and wholeness.

Janelle stole a quick kiss and said, “I’m glad we got here first.”

“Me too,” James said. “And even though I’ve sorta gotten used to this place since our freshman year, hopefully, this will be our last time here.”

“Happy graduation day,” she said, and kissed him again before the others joined them in the relaxing, healing waters of the hot tub.

 

Hot Tub Graduation © 2018 by Lyndon Perry

Originally appearing at Every Day Fiction, January 5, 2018.

Here's the story behind the story...

I wrote this flash fiction (about 930 words) as an exercise at being  more descriptive. A lot of nouns we read are throw-away words - flip-flops, mirror, swimsuit, barn. They describe nothing, really, leaving the reader to import what he or she thinks those objects look like. Writers can take more control of their story by describing more of the details of the setting and character to advance a theme or provide a certain texture to the story. At least, that's the premise I wanted to work on. 

So this exercise focused on barns, of all things. There are all kinds of barns. What just popped into your head when you read the word? A red painted, tin roofed country barn, with a faded Mail Pouch Tobacco ad? Or a rough-hewn, splinter-ridden horse stall? For me, it was a stone barn from Pennsylvania that I wanted to describe. You'll have to let me know if I succeeded. 

Oh, and the story? It developed from me simply describing the barn. I next imagined what was inside - all the cool games I mentioned in the story plus a hot tub! And what does that spa inspire? For me, relaxation. Peace. Acceptance. Who needs that kind of zen? Everyone, really, but teens especially. And teens with hangups even more. Which pretty much describes all of us at one time or another, I imagine.

Thus, Hot Tub Graduation was born. It seemed like a good fit for Every Day Fiction and I was excited that they accepted it for publication a few years ago. And as we 'graduate' from 2021 into 2022, I hope this story helps with the transition. Have a Happy New Year and may God's richest blessings be yours.

- Lyn Perry, Dec 31, 2021

~*~

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This blog is reader supported. Thank you for your support!

An Astral Advent - A Short Story for Christmas

 An Astral Advent

by Lyndon Perry

 

            The little shepherd boy called to the littlest lamb under his care. “Talya, come here Talya. That’s good. That’s a good little tal-yá.” The mostly black lamb, white patches gracing her face and tail end, scampered over the rocks to her child master, already familiar with his voice and her own name.

            The rugged grayish hills south of Jerusalem were already, reluctantly, allowing their stubbly texture to soften into the green of growth as the last of the winter rains fed the artesian wells and nourished the ground. Melki took up his striped and colored tunic in his left hand as he’d seen his elders do and with his right waved a small shepherd’s staff to guide the lamb along the rocky path back to the larger flock. Upon his way he gathered three more grazing lambs he’d been put in charge of.

            “Melki,” his father Hazaiah called when he saw the boy round the bend of a nearby foothill, “bring the little ones back to the flock. It is getting late and we must set up camp.”

            “Yes, father.” Melki, his dark brown eyes shining with the joy of life, squinted into the late afternoon sun, looming large and red along the horizon. Already he felt the warmth of the day start to slip slowly away. A gentle wind played with his black curls that slipped down from his cotton wound cap. With his shortened rod he herded the four young lambs back to their mothers.

            The affectionate animals were treated well, often as pets by their caretakers, and reciprocated by following their temporary masters from place to place, pen to pen, field to field, hillside to hillside. Melki smiled as Talya found her mother and began to nurse. His father had told him not to get too attached to this bunch. The Korreti would soon be taking them offworld.

#FreeFictionFriday - The Eagle, A Fable by Lyndon Perry

The Eagle, A Fable

by Lyndon Perry

It was raining in the forest. It had been raining for days, and all the birds and animals were drenched. The eagle, too, was drenched, and his spirit dampened as well, for his mate lay with a chill, a victim of the constant rain. He could not keep her dry, and so looked on with despair as her life slowly drained away. His tears mingled with the rain when she died.

It was raining in the forest. The eagle could not stand the rain. It brought back memories too painful for him to bear. He rose up from the trees, hoping in flight to escape his thoughts. Higher and higher he climbed until finally he broke through the dark clouds into the dazzling sunlight that shone above the despair. As the warm sun dried his wings, he suddenly realized that the healing sun had been there all the time his mate had needed it. The pain of knowledge learned too late was more than he could bear, and there were tears for the sun to dry.

Image by Sven Lachmann from Pixabay.

It was raining in the forest. It had been raining for days, and all the birds and animals were drenched. The rabbit, too, was drenched, and her spirit dampened as well, for her child lay with a chill, a victim of the constant rain. She poured out her sad tale to all who would listen, but the other creatures, too, were victims of the rain, and none could help.

An eagle happened by, and the rabbit began to tell her tale to him. She'd hardly started her story when the eagle suddenly lifted the rabbit's dying child onto his wings and began to circle quickly up into the dark and stormy clouds on an errand he did not take time to explain.

The End

~*~

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This blog is reader supported. Thank you for your support!

My 2nd Fiction Friday

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Fiction with a dash of the fantastic! Accept a free ebook for subscribing to my monthly newsletter. See button below.

This Week’s Challenge: Pick a mythical person or creature (e.g., Santa, Thor, Easter Bunny), and explain through dialog, essay, or anything else, why they are unhappy with their job or position in life. Dear Al, You're fired! I've been waiting 1001 Nights to tell you that. And now I've done it, I've just fired my boss. Why? You should know, you've been the worse master I've ever had. First it was just three wishes, then three more, then three more after that. You could never quit. It was like a drug with you. "Your wish is my command." Yeah, right. My wish is my command now, baby. If only you had been an honest boss in our initial interview. I could maybe have developed some respect for you. But no. You asked of me the impossible. Like, wanting to know the mind of a woman! Or if I could provide you a plan for world peace. You even wished for tasty jello. Impossible, I tell you. I thought about writing something like, "It is with great sadness that I must tender my resignation." But that just wouldn't be fair to you. You gotta know, Al, that from now on you'll be rubbing your own lamp - and all you'll get is a shiny lamp. I'm going into business for myself. No longer yours, Genie

My First Fiction Friday

Write Stuff Presents: [Fiction] Friday Meme
This Week's Prompt: Write the first thing that comes to mind when you read this line - Bad news cures all things.

A bad apple a day keeps the doctor away. And your wife.

Let me explain. Fruits and vegetables are good for you, right? Well, so is penicillin. And since that atantibiotic is really "any of a group of chemically similar substances obtained from molds of the genus Penicillium" (thank you Reference.com!) then a bad - read moldy - apple should pack a double punch.

Well, it does. Not only will your enhanced health keep you from the doctor's office, but your bad apple breath keeps the spouse away. This is not necessarily a bad thing. When she comes home all stressed from work and kicks the dog and bites the cat and dumps the kids in your lap, the last thing the husband wants to do is listen to the report, right? Right.

This is why I have a stock of old Granny Smiths that I never let my wife throw out. I tell her it's a home remedy.

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Explanation: Fiction Friday is easy to do.

• Every Thursday, just check this page for this week’s theme or challenge.
• Spend at least 5 minutes composing something original based on the theme or challenge.
• But, remember, no editing. This is to inspire creativity not stifle it.

Meme Participants Link Here: