F is for Forgotten

Here's another drabble for your reading pleasure.  For those of you who don't know, a drabble is a story told in precisely 100 words.

Today's word: FORGOTTEN

You don't need a definition for this one, so let's dig in!

Forgotten

The box lay on the table, unopened and untouched.  The accumulated dust on the green paper proved that it had resided there for many years.  The rest of the room was buried under a similar layer of grime.

This room was home to many forgotten objects.  Objects that people left behind when they moved on.  Knickknacks dropped but deemed too unimportant to warrant a return trip.

Charles stared at the green box.  His first acquisition.  He didn’t know what was inside, but he treasured it nonetheless.  Having been abandoned at birth, he knew what it was to be left behind.

E is for Erinaceous

Welcome to the second week of A to Z!  Today I have a silly little poem for you.  For some reason, today's word just begged for some poetic expression.

Today's word: ERINACEOUS

The word erinaceous means this: of, or resembling a hedgehog.

Once I stumbled across that word, I couldn't resist!  Enjoy!

Erinaceous

She walked into the room,

alluring and vivacious.

A drink in hand, she milled about,

and her laugh was contagious.

She drew near, and I froze.

Never been the most loquacious.

I feel silly now that I was flattered

when she called me erinaceous.

D is for Dismemberment

I have a short bit of flash fiction today.  This one was kind of fun to write.  We'll see whether it's fun to read.

Today's word: DISMEMBERMENT

Enjoy!

Dismemberment

My heart is in the garbage can.

My eyes are under the rug.

My tongue is in the wood chipper.

My feet are incased in the concrete of the patio, right under the table with the yellow umbrella.

My nose is in the freezer.  I’m not sure how it got there.

Oh wait, I do know.  It happened because I trusted you.  I opened myself to you, allowed myself to care, and you stomped all over me.  With my best friend, no less.

Yes, you both claim nothing happened between you, but I know better.  You’re not fooling me.

You’re cruel, and you dismembered me with your betrayal.

Now, you’re probably rolling your eyes and thinking that I’m being overdramatic.  I’m not claiming the dismemberment is literal.  I’m speaking metaphorically here.  I thought I should make that clear so you don’t start thinking I’ve gone crazy.

You’re thinking it anyway, aren’t you?  Aren’t you?

Oh well.  I swear that I’m done now.  Really.  I mean it.  No more notes in your car.  No more knocking on your door at 3A.M.  No more messages on your answering machine.  I’m serious.  You won’t need to change your phone number for a third time.

You’re not worth it to me.

Seriously.

C is for Cacodoxy and Celebrate the Small Things-April 3, 2015

Today's piece is a drabble.  For those of you who don't know, a drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.  That count does not include the title.

Today's word: CACODOXY

Cacodoxy is defined as an incorrect doctrine or opinions.

I hope you enjoy!

Cacodoxy

“One man’s Truth is another man’s cacodoxy.”  That’s what my grandmother once told me.  Isn’t it amazing that I made it past childhood with any sense at all?

Her nonsense failed to intrude upon the Truth that grew quietly inside my brain.  I saw the insect-like behavior of those around me.  Scurrying about, swarming upon anything rotten.

Foul creatures.  They’ve nothing to offer.

I’ve been told that interacting with others would help me to learn.  Until this morning, the idea seemed ridiculous.

That traveling salesman taught me one interesting fact.  It’s possible to stuff an entire human body into a briefcase.

Now on to Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain.  TheCyborgMom and I are her co-hosts.

This has been a hard week.  A stomach bug hit both my boys, and they were down for days. The good news is that they're now back to their normal, happy selves.  I'm definitely going to celebrate that.

I'm looking forward to Easter, because my kids love hunting for eggs and go crazy over Easter baskets.  Seeing their bright smiles always makes my day.

Jude's birthday is Monday.  He's going to be six.  We're celebrating his birthday on Saturday though.  I know he's going to love his birthday present.  I might post pictures of him and Lyle playing with it sometime next week.

What would you like to celebrate?

B is for Blennophobia

It's time to celebrate the beautiful letter B!  Today I have a piece of flash fiction for you.

Today's word: BLENNOPHOBIA

Blennophobia is defined as the irrational fear of slime.

I hope you enjoy it!

Blennophobia

“Why would they choose an ambassador who has blennophobia?”  Yaxy looked incredulous in the way that only Yaxy’s people could.  Having three eyes meant having three eyebrows, and they all arched in unison.

Henry Archibald Armitage understood where she was coming from in her incredulity.  He also knew that Yaxy would strangle him if he ever accidentally divulged that he didn’t feel entirely comfortable with the way that triad of eyes zeroed in on him.

“Desperation, I think.” 

The last ambassador had all the qualifications anyone could ask for.  Linguistics training, negotiations experience, an unlimited amount of patience, and charm.  Everything should have been fine.

What they didn’t anticipate was what his lack of physical grace could trigger.  The stumble that wouldn’t have been hazardous at any other time occurred as they were walking past the fusion   reactor on the standard tour of the ship they’d conducted a thousand times before.  The Vinturian ambassador was vaporized, and the resulting war was brutal.

Henry wasn’t thrilled that he only had the job because every other ambassador from Earth had been killed in the war.  He was the best they had, but only because they had no one else.

Yaxy shrugged and set off down the corridor, her emerald robes swirling around her four trunk-like legs.

Henry’s stomach turned when he saw the new Vinturian ambassador making its way toward him.  The squelching sound and the trail of green slime trailing behind it triggered an intense wave of nausea.  He did his best to hold the tidal wave of vomit down.

As the Vinturian ambassador drew nearer, it became too much.  However, vomiting didn’t seem to be a powerful enough reaction to his discomfort, which was probably for the best.  Puking on the ambassador may have triggered another war.

Instead, Henry passed out.

A is for Abracadabra and the Insecure Writer's Support Group-April 2015

It's the first Wednesday of the month!  Let's convene a brief meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group.  We are all grateful for our brave Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh, and I'd like to wish him good luck.  He has an especially busy month ahead of him.  Hopefully his loyal clones don't freak out and run for the hills.

Alex's co-hosts for this month are Suzanne Furness, Tonja Drecker, Toi Thomas, Rachna Chhabria, Fundy Blue, and Donna Hole.

I'm not all that insecure this month.  I just started a new novel.  If anything, I just hope I can get the ideas in my head onto the paper.  It sounds like a basic enough process, sure, but it's far from simple.  Wish me luck!

Now let's move on to the next item of business, and it's an important one!

It's that time of year again!  Let's embark on the adventure that is the April A to Z Challenge!

Today I have a Choose Your Own Adventure story for you.  Don't worry, it's a short one.  Any variation of the story will come it at the length of a normal flash fiction piece.  I'm not that mean.  It is inspired by the word of the day.

Today's word: ABRACADABRA

Enjoy!

Abracadabra

The genie doesn’t look at all like children’s stories have trained you to expect.  She’s wearing a plain black business suit, and a briefcase is open on the desk before her.

As she shuffles through a stack of papers, you marvel at the number of forms a genie must have on hand.  Somehow you never imagined there would be paperwork involved in a genie’s line of work.

“Ah, here it is,” she says lightly.  “A request for the regeneration of a missing limb.  For the record, which limb are you missing?”

You stare back at her, your mouth open in disbelief.  “I would have thought it was obvious,” you growl.

A.)  If you’re missing an arm, click HERE.

B.)  If you’re missing a foot, click HERE.

Celebrate the Small Things-March 27, 2015

Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain!  TheCyborgMom and I are her co-hosts.

The A to Z Challenge is next week, so I've been working on getting things ready for that.  It should be a good time!

I finished editing a novella this week.  I'm happy with the way it turned out.  At least, I am so far.  I know how my mind can change on these things.

I also started writing a novel this week.  The inspiration kind of bowled me over.  I'm sure a lot of you know how that goes.  It seems like it's going to turn out to be a YA science fiction book.  Yeah, I know a lot of people sit down with something like that in mind, but I usually don't start writing with a specific audience in mind.  I tend to see where the story takes me.

What would you like to celebrate?