ToT - My Favourite Martian

He snores (especially when he falls asleep before me).
He farts and belches and smells of garlic (not all the time but...).
He spends an eternity in the bathroom (particularly when I have needs).
He spurts toothpaste all over the bathroom mirror, up to the boiler, some specks even reach the ceiling (I'll never understand how he does it).
He leaves the toilet seat up and sometimes remnants of his scatological activities remain to be seen after he's finished (possibly thinking he's a dominant male marking his territory).
He doesn't hear very well when something is required of him but catches all the nonsense he isn't supposed to hear.
He leaves all the decision making to others so that he can later complain he never has any say in the matter.
He refuses to acknowledge others' ideas but comes up with them a little later as if they were his own.
He's obsessed with football (yes, football - the game where the ball is actually played with feet) and doesn't miss a game on TV regardless of what else is on and what others may be interested in.
He doesn't leave the remote control out of his sight and even if he dozes off he'll register if someone has touched it and feel offended if they have switched channels while he's 'watching'.

If all this (and there's more) sounds like a male specimen of Homo Sapiens, you're right. But don't they say men are from Mars and women are from Venus? Well, I still wouldn't trade my human Martian for any alien.

Tuesday Tales - All in the Family

Nessa hosts this new meme where the idea is to post a short (500 words or less) story based on the week's theme which is a title of a TV show. The story, however, doesn't have to have anything in common with the show.

Another somewhat depressing story this time but at least this one's fiction...




She was a waste. Mark told her so. Her bruises reminded her of it. She sat in the dining room, staring blankly at the opposite wall. A once white wall spattered with grease stains, streaked with cobwebs. She didn’t notice. She didn’t care. She was a mess. Mark was right. She was no good. Her dad had told her so. Her dad also told her she was not supposed to have an opinion of her own. He told her that she was clumsy. That she caused damage. That she couldn’t do one thing right. That she had no taste in music. That she was a waste. That nobody would ever love her. She believed what dad had said. Even when Mark came she believed what she’d been told ever so often. Still, Mark loved her. He said so. But she was no good. She knew it. And if she happened to forget for a moment, Mark reminded her of it. She never said the right things. She couldn’t keep the flat tidy. She couldn’t make a decent lunch. She never bought the right things. She was no good. And now there was this cluster of cells multiplying inside of her body. Growing ever so slowly. Becoming another human being. Another good-for-nothing human being. She’d carry it through. She’d give birth to it. Then… Then she’d disappear. End her life. Just like her mother had done before. She’d never known her mother. But she’d heard rumours. The neighbours talked. It wasn't right. It was all supposed to stay in the family. Dad had told her so. And this time she’d make sure she wouldn’t disappoint him.

In Search of The Invisible Man and how much more miserable can it get

It has been raining sans cesse for the last two days again, the sky draped in an impenetrable layer of the miserablest grey there is, the temperature never exceeding 7°C. In the last five months we have hardly ever seen the sun for more than a few hours on end (with intervals of several days in between) and my level of frustration has soared beyond every limit. I am officially desperate!

*

I was looking forward to this week's Nessa's prompt, The Invisible Man. I had a few ideas I wished to pursue but nothing ever came out. The elusive Invisible Man refused to reveal himself and remained invisible to me.

Then I felt an urge to write something I didn't really want to write which somewhat fit the theme. It is not fiction although I allowed myself a little bit of creative freedom.



He was firmly nestled in my life and then, one day, he wasn't. I knew it would happen at some point - he'd told me so himself - but not so soon, not like that. He didn't just gradually dissolve into oblivion as I quietly hoped would happen some time in the distant future. No, he had to go with a bang, never looking back as he left behind a body with the chest ripped open, the heart torn out; a tangled mess of emotions lying bleeding in the middle of the debris of a shattered relationship.

Since then I ceased to exist for him (I almost ceased to exist, period). I doubt he would as much as flinch if told I was no longer alive. And part of me did die that day. What exactly had happened and why remains a mystery to me. I wish I could understand but I doubt I will ever find out about the true reason. The fact is, he’s gone, disappeared from my life, become forever invisible. On the physical level, that is. And yet, how could I ever forget the laughter, the silliness, the views on life the universe and everything that we shared so freely. How could I forget his empathy, his kindness, his willingness to accompany me on my journeys into the deepest realms of my psyche, to stand by my side as I faced some of my demons and exorcised them, as I made progress… ever so slowly but progress nonetheless. I’ve lost much ground since he’s gone.

We were friends. As simple as that. Nothing physical or romantic about it. We were but transient companions on our journeys through life. Yet the love that I felt… still feel… for him transcends the realms of the physical. He will always remain my invisible companion. Along with the memories of the fleeting joy. And the infinite sorrow…

Tales on Tuesday

Nessa of The Chrysalis Stage is hosting a new meme. The idea is to post a short story - 500 words or less - based on the week's theme. Each time the theme is a title of a TV show but the story doesn't have to have anything in common with the show.

This week's theme: Golden Girls



An eerie sound spread across the town. A deep moan as if the Earth itself writhed in pain. Moments later the ground shook and trembled.

Josh was excited. Maggie said she'd go on a date with him and he'd just finished his shower. He had been standing beside the bathtub wrapped in a towel when he suddenly lost balance. Something was wrong. The ground was shaking and one of the walls collapsed. He instinctively crouched and protected his head. He felt chunks of material hitting his back and then everything went dark.

When Josh came to, he didn't know where he was or what had happened. He felt a throbbing pain in the head and his left hand hurt like hell. He tried to turn around and assess the damage... There's little space around me but I can move slightly. The left side of the head is wet and sticky. Blood? Something must have hit me. At least two fingers on the left hand are broken and have already started to swell. Damn! Bloody earthquake! How will I get out of here? I must be patient. They'll search for me... I'll need water, though. The towel... it's still wet. I can suck it for a while. And there should be more in the tub... if only my head didn't hurt so much...

Time passed and nothing happened. Josh became anxious. He was cold and starved and had no idea how much time he'd been underneath. Panic started to set in. He wanted to bang those crumbled walls and set himself free but could hardly move his left arm. More time passed. He spent increasing amounts of time in a state of semi-consciousness. He was beginning to hope he'd just fall asleep and never wake up again.

Suddenly he heard voices. There was barking and shouting and pounding. He was so exhausted he couldn't move and he thought he'd just imagined the sounds until... something wet touched his cheeks and a raspy tongue licked dirt from his face. The face disappeared briefly and light entered his prison. More whining, that same hairy face with big chestnut eyes again, more voices... human talk! They found him!!! He'd be alright.

Maggie visited Josh in the hospital where he recovered successfully. She told him he'd been buried under the debris for 11 days and everybody had given up hope. On their final round Lady, a golden retriever, found him.

Later Josh and Maggie would visit Lady and his owner and they became fast friends. Josh would often joke about his golden girls saving his life.


(not happy with this - needs more polishing but I'll let it stay)

Tales on Tuesday

Nessa of The Chrysalis Stage is hosting a new meme. The idea is to post a short story - 500 words or less - based on the week's theme. Each time the theme is a title of a TV show but the story doesn't have to have anything in common with the show.

This week's theme is Dark Shadows

~~~


“Don't be so tense. What are you afraid of?”

“I don’t know… nothing”

Wanda was lying on a bed, stripped down to her underwear, waiting to be spiked with thin stainless steel needles. She didn’t mind the pain as much as she was uncomfortable about her body being touched and prodded.

Wanda was a rather successful basketball player. She’d passed the junior selections with flying colours and was even drafted for the junior national team. She’d trained hard and possessed every technical skill needed but her lack of aggression and self-assertion had prevented her to get to the top. However, for the last few months she’d been complaining about a persistent pain in her Achilles’ tendons which had prevented her to give her best on court. After much pleading the club had arranged a treatment with an alternative therapist who, allegedly, had some success treating sports injuries. She’d had a few sessions before but never at his home. He said he’d try a new approach this time… electric stimulation and something about removing the mental blockades.

“Fine. Let’s try to relax you, then. Close your eyes and imagine the favourite place you’d like to be. Imagine yourself lying there... you’re breathing deeply… your lids are heavy and your body is completely relaxed…”

Wanda’s mind went into a frenzy. What is my favourite place? Is it a beach with warm golden sand and a soft breeze and the sea gently lapping the shore? Or is it a forest clearing smelling of pines and summer herbs with butterflies flittering around? Or… ? She couldn’t make up her mind and completely forgot about the man and his words until…

A hand touched her abdomen. Bare skin brushed against her thigh. She winced and opened her eyes as the weight of another body… a naked male body pinned her down.

“You are not hypnotised.” The simple statement gave her the shivers. She tried to scream and wriggle out of his grip but although she was a trained athlete, she could do nothing to counter the man’s force and his words only confirmed her fear. She knew he was telling the truth and realised he’d done this before. “Don’t try anything. I can disable you in seconds. You can not escape and nobody will hear you. Resistance can only get you hurt so you’d better stay calm while I give you the acupuncture of your life.”



Wanda was sure there were other victims and hoped at least one of them would stand up but no support ever came. She ended her life rather than being exposed to further humiliation when nobody believed her story. The man knew better than to leave any bodily fluids as evidence of his deed. Yes, she’d had sex, they said, but that proved nothing.

Some years later the man’s cottage burned to the ground and his body was found inside, the erection still discernible. There were no other remains. The cause of the fire was never discovered.

Tales on Tuesday

Nessa of The Chrysalis Stage is starting a new meme. In her words:

I have been looking for a Meme to do on Tuesdays. Not being able to find one I like, I made one up. I call it "Tales on Tuesday."

The idea is to tell a short, short (500 words or less) story based on the week's theme. To provide us inspiration, each theme will be the title of a TV show.

Your story does not have to have anything in common with the TV show.

If you want to play, the theme for Tuesday, March 23, 2010, will be "Lost In Space."

So, without further ado, this what I managed to come up with:



Where am I?

Myrme shook off her torpor and tried to get a feel of the place she found herself in. It was pitch dark so she couldn't rely on her vision. The surface was firm but felt strange although there was something vaguely familiar about it. The air was stale and damp. She could sense the putrid smell of decomposing matter. From somewhere in the distance she could hear the dripping sound of water. She couldn't tell which time it was as nothing penetrated the darkness.

She tried to recall something - anything - to help her understand how she got here, wherever "here" was. Was she abducted by aliens? Something had urged her to stray away from her colony, that much she remembered. And there was that huge fungus she had never seen before. The fungus... somehow she knew that it was important. She had to explore it, right? Right?? Anyway, she'd climbed onto it. And then something lifted the fungus from the ground. It soared through the air for a little while before plummeting into the darkness. Darkness... She tasted the air again. No, not this darkness. That one was different. That one smelled of earth, of pine needles, of things she was familiar with. How did the transition occur? She didn't know... she must have passed out.

She tried to relax, hoping the answers would come. If only her shoulders didn't itch so much. She remembered a tale the elders had been telling, the tale about the conception of the colony she had been part of. Would she ever be able to return? The legend said the Queen of her tribe had arrived in the land that now belonged to them on a metallic beast travelling with unimaginable speed. She'd had to cling to it for grim life until the beast slowed down enough she could let go without being crushed. Then she'd found the fertile soil that would sustain her family and started raising the babies. The rest, the legend says, is history. Something stirred in her mind... metallic beast? crushing speed? why do I feel I know these things? I must have been swallowed by one!

Suddenly Myrme felt she was being moved again. Moments later light flooded her prison and in an instant she was blinded by strong piercing sunlight while her body bounced off a pile of what felt like soft withered lettuce. Dazed, she wanted to hide but was hindered by strange pressure on her shoulders. As she tried to shake off the burden, she found herself airborne.

***

"Ma, I just emptied the bin on the compost heap as you told me, and there's a large ant with wings flying away from it!"

"Is it really? I bet it's the future queen of a new colony of garden ants. Now stop making things up and come here if you want some of this mushroom pie I just baked"