Month: May 2016
SPF: The Troubleshooter
Hello! (gasping for breath) here I am with a short story (within 200 words) for the Sunday Photo Fiction (22/5/16).
The Troubleshooter
Words 194
“Pia!” Molly snatched the glass from her.
“I never had a blue drink before.” Pia said sulkily.
“How was it?” Sid flicked it a longing look but a glare from Molly quelled him.
“Papa will be back with his guests any minute.” Molly fretted while Pia was quite unconcerned. But then she was barely 4 years old. “He will be very angry.” Molly warned.
Pia’s lower lip trembled and tears filled her eyes.
Sid rushed to help. “If I tilt the table like this, Uncle may not notice anything.”
“Sid!” Molly rushed to stop him, casting an agonized glance at the French windows. “Do you want to break the glasses?”
Chastened, Sid busied himself with a rubber band. Pia wandered over to him. “I want to play too.”
Molly looked at them in disgust – why did she always have to clean up after them?
Molly picked up a glass of water. She stretched up on her toes, and with her tongue sticking out, poured it over the blue drink. After a quick level check, she topped the yellow drink as well.
Molly smiled in relief. Now, nobody would realize anything was amiss.
Not quite sure if I am in time or not but still, here goes - do let me know how it was!
Thinking…
Hello! I know what you all are thinking – now what 🙂 And you are right! As usual, I am up to no good, poking my nose into stuff that are not my business. But what to do – Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers (photo prompts and 100 word stories) has me hooked. I find it fascinating how a single prompt can inspire such a diverse range of stories – quite remarkable. Anyway I couldn’t quite resist, so here I am with another attempt. But first the prompt.
Thinking…
Word count – 99
There was a gasp of horror and a crowd gathered.
Help! Someone save her! Mommy, take me along, Mommy I want to swim too! Someone do something! Hurry!
The waves thrash her body dragging her deeper into the ocean. Floating all alone in the sea under the blazing sun. Until the predators arrive one by one, to nibble at her flesh. She lay passive as they swarm all over pecking at her mortal remains.
Unknown hands drag her daughter away. She is alone. Then the predators arrive…
“Mommy?” A hand tugged hers.
Shuddering, she stepped back from the edge.
========================================================================
Do let me know what you think. And for amazing stories on this photo prompt click here. Perhaps you could even participate! Click here for more Short Stories or here for more information About the Blog
For the readers of Moonshine, here’s Chapter 62 and a little something for the fans of Calvin 😀
Quote for the day: “A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.” ― Graham Greene, The End of the Affair
Have a great weekend all of you and dont forget to leave me a note 🙂
Weather Woes
But first some good news! After days of patiently putting up with my rants about the weather you certainly deserve it 🙂 I am pleased to report that finally the weather has take a turn for the better. Believe it or not, on Monday, the temperatures plummeted from a sizzling day temperatures of 47 0 C to a pleasant evening at 27 0 C.
A thunderstorm accompanied by a shower overcame the sun (for the moment at least) and brought cheer right back into our lives. Even the staid seasoned trees look positively thrilled – clean green and fresh. I cant help but be infected by their silent but all pervading joie-de-vivre.
On the flip side, several flights were delayed or cancelled. But the respite couldn’t have come at a more timely juncture. Things were quite awful in most parts of the country and temperatures at the India-Pakistan border were higher by 10 degrees or more. Actually am not sure there has been any relief for the army jawans who patrol the borders in the most unbelievable heat and dust of the Thar desert. According to newspaper reports, they were able to roast papad by just placing it on the hot sand and cook rice by just keeping it out in the sun for 3 hours.
And then there was this tragic incident. A villager, while entertaining guests, forgot about his camel left out in the heat with his legs tied. When he remembered and went out to release it the camel turned violent. He picked him by the neck and threw him down, he then chewed off his master’s head. The camel went berserk and 25 men struggled for over 6 hours to bring it back under control. Poor camel – the heat must have literally fried his brains (my sympathies and condolences to the villager’s family).
That’s all on the weather front for now at least – for this isn’t the end of summer. So as they say cheer up the worst is yet to come. And memes like this are bound to crop up (again and again) before the mangoes bid their final adieu for the season.
But let us make hay while the sun shines – oops wrong quote ;). Make every dull day count 😀
And now on to Moonshine – Chapter 61 and Calvin. All those rooting for Hobbes raise your hands 😀
Quotes for the day
“Pray don’t talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing. Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain that they mean something else. And that makes me quite nervous.” ― Oscar Wilde
“Don’t knock the weather. If it didn’t change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn’t start a conversation.” ― Kim Hubbard
Before you go, do leave me a note, about the weather if nothing else (go ahead make me nervous)
Protected: It’s Complicated
The Wait for the Waiting Room
Hello All! Looking forward to a relaxing weekend? So am I! But like I said before it’s hot and in an attempt to keep my mind of the blistering heat, I tried to pen type a flash fiction (a story in 100 words or less) inspired by the photo below. Hope you like and will perhaps even participate! Details and links after you read mine 😉
Word Count: 100 (not including the title)
The Wait for the Waiting Room
I shivered as I took my evening walk around the campus– home for me but hospital to most.
An auto stopped beside me. A middle-aged lady poked her head out and asked, “Where’s the patient registration counter?”
“That.” I pointed. “But it is closed now.”
“I know.” She smiled. “I have come to queue up for it.”
“But the counter will open at 8 am.”
“Yes but by 6 am the queue extends well beyond the gate of the hospital. If I join the queue by 3 am, I can be assured of a doctor’s appointment for my ailing husband.
Written for Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Friday Fictioneers - a story in 100 words or less inspired by the above photo.Get writing or you could read all the other stories here.
Haiku Season
It’s awfully hot (470 C/117 0 F with 60 % humidity) and there’s no sign (or hope) of any let up. I wonder how long people (and the birds and animals) can keep up in the face of this relentless blistering blazing sun. Something is surely going to give and soon. So far electricity is on our side (touch wood and fingers crossed) but with demands and loads soaring, a breakdown not only seems inevitable but imminent.
And somewhere I feel guilty – it wasn’t this bad just a few days ago. Methinks the sun got a bit cheesed off on my obvious partial and support for the amaltas and decided to show who the boss actually was. As a result, despite me bragging that I wouldn’t miss the unfolding spectacle for anything, I am now ensconced in the darkest corner of my house, curtains tightly drawn to keep out the sun, light and view.
The irony of it didn’t escape me:
googling images
amaltas bloom
outside my window
The only good thing is that I managed to come up with a half way decent haiku! And get the stamp of approval from the reigning Haiku Queen herself (after a bit of rewriting of course).
Wondering who the Haiku Queen is?
She is none other than our very own smr. She won this year’s grand prize winner of the prestigious IAFOR Vladimir Devidé Haiku Award 2016 (no surprise for me – I always knew she was brilliant).
sunny afternoon
a shadow
on the mammogram
Suraja Roychowdhury, United States
Her submission was chosen as the best one out of a record 680 submissions from 60 different countries. My heartiest congratulations to her and best wishes for many more such finely crafted gems.
The other submissions are pretty awesome too – if any of you enjoy haiku it is worth it to check out the link above. And if you like, you can read more of smr’s awesome haiku and even better tanka (and some pretty cool poems) at Allpoetry.com. Registration (though free) is mandatory.
On to Calvin now – he is feeling pretty neglected I can tell especially what with Hobbes ragging him no end.
Quote for the day: “One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.” JW Goethe.
I know Moonshine does quite measure up to any of the above but still if you insist 😉 here is Chapter 60: Making Dreams Come True
As usual, I look forward to your comments and smileys 🙂
Protected: The Trap
Hot on the Trail
Not so long ago, just two months ago to be more precise, I was busy Chasing Spring – remember? And I had hinted then that I was hot on the trail of something else as well. It is time for the unveiling.
I was trying to track Mother Nature as she dealt with the changing seasons – the bitter chill and frost of the winter to the unrelenting merciless sun rays – with her usual no-nonsense nonchalance and elan.
Tip: Taking a leaf from Mother Nature’s kitty, for best results, scroll down at a leisurely pace.
Here’s the first set of pics taken on 12 March 2016 around the campus
Down the road
By the lawn
View from the terrace
And then comes the next set taken about exactly a month later, i.e on or around 12th of April 2016
Down the road
View from the terrace
She waits for her time
Or is this the end?
The temperatures skyrocketed as we slipped into May. Whilst mere mortals writhed and groaned under the weight of the blazing sun, she decided if you can’t beat them join them.
Now just hold your breath:-
Down the road
Further down the road
View from the terrace
Where have all the branches gone?
By the lawn
Outplaying the Sun
And the winner is….
I dare not draw the curtains even in this heat for fear of missing out the breathtaking sight of the Amaltas in full glorious bloom – enough left over to carpet the roads as well.
I am completely bowled over, fascinated and enthralled by the complete wardrobe overhaul without moving an inch!
And all from thin air…
I wonder if trees get a headache while in the sun? If not, I am all for being born as a tree in my next life 😀
After this, I wouldnt blame you if you didnt much care for Rajani’s escapades – well anyhow here’s Chapter 59.
And a bonus short story – The Trap – do let me know what you think!
Stories and more 