Okay, I put part two on the same post, right after part one…so scroll down to find it.Clevven 461…a short story…in two parts…or maybe three…this is part 1

Clevven 461 worked in the castle.  Well, it wasn’t actually a castle, but there’s no other word to describe it.  Let’s just say it was castle like, and for the purpose of this short story, I’ll just call it the castle.  Anyway, the castle floated, was partially invisible, laid on its side, rather than straight up and down, and there were no doors, just huge cracks in the exterior, that were used both as windows, entrances and exits.  Other than that, there was nothing remarkable about the place, unless you count the fact that it was made of mostly pink and gray stone, when the stones could be seen, of course, and sometimes they were blue and black.

Clevven 461 was in charge of the staff who worked in the castle.  It was an important job and gave him a bit of power.  But Clevven 461 was nice, and rarely ever abused anyone or took advantage of his position.  Because of that, things ran smoothly and there were seldom any bumps in the road, as the old saying goes.

The two royals, if that’s what you want to call them, were also nice.  One was called “A,” the other “B.”  They had names and titles, of course, but thought them too confusing for the commoners, so they went with A and B.

Every now and then, the castle would start to float away, which could be quite inconvenient.  “C”, A and B’s only child, enjoyed when that happened and called it the Great Escape.  It wasn’t much fun for the staff, however, and trying to get the castle back to it’s proper position was difficult at best.  If was raining at the time, things got rather dicy, since that’s when the Rain hogs came out.  And you know what that means, right?  Ever try securing a castle while being dive-bombed by Rain hogs?  Yeah, I didn’t think so.  But take my word, it’s NOT easy.  Even with the help of the resident Witches, it’s still not easy.

to be continued…unless the Rain hogs get everyone first.
I thought I felt a few drops when I left.

 

Phot: hesamLink
Unsplash

Part 2

 

Clevven 461 had no family of his own, so he was happy to watch over C.  In the beginning, before C got her wings, taking care of her was rather easy.  Sometimes Clevven 461 would simply strap her to his back and carry her around all day.  But as she grew, that went from difficult to impossible.  Now watching over her was almost a full time job, since he spent much of his valuable time looking for her.  C, on the other hand, thought she and Clevven 461 were playing hid and seek, and saw no reason to change her behavior to make life easier for anyone.  At first, she liked to hide in the invisible part of the castle, but when he couldn’t find her, she ended up spending hours sitting behind a glass wall, waiting and waiting and waiting.  She didn’t realize that Clevven 461 knew exactly where she was, and knew that if he left her there, he could attend to other matters.

C didn’t know why Clevven 461 didn’t have wings.  She felt sorry for him and for herself, because she wanted to fly with him.  He was her best friend, after all.  Sure he had other attributes, he was fast, could hold his breath for a long time, and he could burn things with flames from his finger tips, but he couldn’t fly.  He was also strong.  She had seen him fight two Rain hogs and win.  Everyone respected him for his fighting skills.  But even though he was constantly busy, C felt that Cevven 461 was lonely.   She wasn’t sure what he was, or where he came from.  She’d never been without him.  She knew that he was old, but she didn’t know how old.  She also knew he wasn’t all one thing, that he was made of parts of things, but she didn’t know what.  Actually, she didn’t know what she was either.

“Clevven 461,” said C.  “What am I?”

“You are my charge, sweet one.”

“I know that, silly, but what AM I inside, like a breed or species, or bug.”

“You are not a bug.  Of that I am certain.  As to the rest?  You’ll have to ask the chemists.”

“Don’t you know?  I mean why do I have wings?”

“So you can fly, I would imagine.”

“You know what I mean.  A and B don’t have wings, and neither do you.”

“Fairies do.”

“Am I a fairy?”

“Maybe a little part of you is.”

“And what of my claws?  When I’m angry, they come out all by themselves?”

“Perhaps you’re part kitty.”

“Really?” she said excitedly.

“I do not know.”

“And no one else has orange eyes.  Just me.”

“They make you more beautiful.”

“You’re no help at all, are you, Clevven 461,” she sighed, unhappily.

“I’m sorry, sweet one.  I do not have answers for you.”

“What are you?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

“I’m not sure,” he said truthfully.  “I seem to have always just…been.”

“I’ve seen some of your gears, maybe you’re a bot.”

“No.  Well maybe partially, but I have consciousness.”

“And you eat and things.”

“Yes.  I do,” he said, smiling at her.

“Why do wear those clothes?”

“They suit me,” he said.

“Oh, like mine suit me,” she said, running her hands down the camouflaged body suit.

“Just like that.”

“Clevven 461…”

“Yes, my sweet?”

“I think I’m tired,” she said, closing her eyes.

“I think you are too, so just think of something beautiful and I’ll wake you at midnight.”

She grunted and curled into a ball.  “I wish you could fly with me,” she whispered.

“As do I my sweet,” he said, covering her with a sliver quilt.

He watched her for a few minutes, then he left her room and went about his duties.  He checked, to make sure the planets stayed in their orbits and the aliens kept their eyes on a blue rock that was threatening some of the others.  He had a snack, made sure the Rain hogs were gone, then went to a meeting with A and B, to ask when they were going to tell C, exactly what she was.

So, that was part 2.  Part 3 will be next.

A very short love story.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Remember when we were young and yellow?”

“I do.  You were beautiful.”

“So were you.”

“You’re still lovely.”

“I feel lighter.”

“So do I.”

“Shall we fly away together?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“I can hear the wind.”

“Goodbye.”                                  …

“Goodb…            ..         ..                …
..            ..            ..
….               …..          ….            ….

 

Photo:  Emannuel Phaeton
Unsplash

 

 

 

A short story about choices…

 

“Cool picture,” she said.

“How long before he dies?” he asked.

“Not long.  Is he dancing, or trying to run?” she said.  “Hard to tell.”

“Still, It does look cool.”

“Definitely cool,” she agreed.

“Art is an interesting concept,” he said.

“Do you want to go into space?”

“Like this?  No.  Do you?” he laughed.

“I get car sick, remember?  But I’d probably be okay if the ship was the Enterprise.”

“What about the Borg?” he asked.

“I think they killed all of them.”

“Don’t forget that it’s cold out there, and there’s no sound.”

“No birds or babbling brooks,” she sighed.  “No screaming kids or music.”

“None of those things.”

“No five star hotels either.”

“No mints on the pillow,” he snickered.

“So we’re staying?” she asked, smiling at him. “It’s kind of fun being on earth, don’t you think?  I mean these bodies, while tight and small, can do so many things.”

“Good point,” he said.  “I’m sure I can get used to only having two eyes.”

“Don’t be silly,” she said.  “Of course you can. You can always turn around, if you want to see behind you.”

 

 

Photo:  Pixabay

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hank…

Hank
was born
with a song in his heart
as a young lad
he sang all day
and fell asleep at night
with melodies
falling from his lips
as he grew older
people started to notice him
they liked his voice
and the songs he wrote
soon
he had a following
he sang in clubs
and in arenas
in the beginning
not many believed
that a prairie dog
could make the
Big Time
which simply goes to prove
that sometimes
everyone is wrong
and dreams do actually
come true

 

 

Photo;: Pixabay

Think before you leap…

they look innocent enough
glamorous
in their own
old-world way
enticing
inviting you in
but before you decide
to get involved
ask yourself this
is death by blood loss worth it
I mean
you know how vampires are
one sip
is never enough
no matter what they may tell you

 

 

Photo:  Cottonbro
Pexels

A short story about a car crash…and life and death.

“Wow.  I don’t think that guy’s gonna make it,” he said, looking at the guy laying in the street.  “He looks pretty bad.”

The man next to him nodded.  “I agree.  He doesn’t look good.”

“Whenever I see something like this, I always feel bad for the person’s family and friends.  It has to be a terrible shock.”

“Feeling bad only happens on this side.  When you leave here, you don’t think about those things because you know that this life is just an illusion.  People come here to learn what they want to learn.  When they’re here they don’t remember that they planned their trip, picked their parents, and came here to do what they wanted to do.  Forgetting is part of the game.  But once you know none of this is real, like you do now, life gets a lot easier.”

“Life is an illusion?”

“It is.  People don’t actually die, they simply become pure consciousness.  That’s what we are, pure consciousness, energy.  People are still themselves when they die.  Then they make a new plan and reincarnate into a new body.  Consciousness always was and always will be, so everyone is eternal.”

“I think you’re crazy,” he said.  “And I don’t believe that guy’s going to wake up.”

“Where’s your car?”

“Right there,” he said, pointing to the mangled auto.  “Wait.  That can’t be my car.”

“Take your time,” said the man next to him.  “Then again, maybe you better hurry up, since they are loading you into the ambulance.”

“That’s me?”

“It is.”

“That’s how I look?”

“it is.”

“I thought I was bigger.”

“No one can really see themselves.”

“If I’m over there, then how am I standing here talking to you?”

“You need to follow your body.  There’s still time and you might be able to choose.”

“Am I dead?”

“At the moment.”

“What’s happening?”

“You’ll see.  You’re going to meet people who can help you.”

“Where?”

“Good luck.”

“Wait!”

And then he was floating above his body in the ambulance, watching the paramedics work on him and telling someone on the phone, that they were bringing him in.”

 

 

Photo:  Artyom Kulakov
Pexels

Pigeons…a short story.

“What do you think is wrong with them?” he asked, watching people rush back and forth.

“They spend all their time on the ground, Love.”

“That has to be hard,” he said, bobbing up and down.  “A kind of prison.”

“I was thinking.  Maybe we should fly to a warmer place this winter.”

“Leave Chicago?  How can we do that?  We’re Chicago pigeons.”

“We can be pigeons anywhere, Sweetie.”

“Leave the city?” he asked, looking around.  “I was born here.”

“So was I, but we can fly to another city, where winter doesn’t exist.”

He walked along the metal bar, thinking.  “Can we go where there are sky scrappers?”

“Yes, although they might not be as tall as these.”

“How tall?”

“I don’t know, but we can always come back, if we aren’t happy someplace else.”

“Someone just dropped the top of a bun over there,” he cooed.

The birds took off and pulled the bread into the bushes.

“Everyone will know we’re from Chicago,” she said, before taking another beak full of bread.

“How?”

“Our attitude, silly,” she said.  “Well, that and our accent.”

“We have an accent?”

“Of course we do.  Surely you know that.”

He did a little happy dance around the bread that was still on the ground.  She moved to his rhythm.

“As long as we can take part of Chicago with us, I’m wiling to try.”

And the matter was settled.  They finished the bread, found a few chips and a piece of cheese, then flew over to the lake and watched the waves hit the rocks.

“I love it here,” he said, touching her wing.

“I do too, but we can come back when winter is over.”

“So we will be SNOWBIRDS,” he laughed.  “Real ones.”

“Yes,” she snickered.  “Real ones.”

 

 

Photo:  Muhammad Murtaza Ghani
Unsplash

 

 

 

Dinner, roommates, and a chat…a short story

“What’s wrong with you?” she asked.

“I’m in love with Keanu Reeves, or maybe Ryan Reynolds.”

“Everyone is in love with those two, men and women alike.  Take a number.”

“I guess it’s just not meant to be.”

“Seriously?  Did you ever think it was meant to be?”

“Not really.  Maybe.  No, of course not.”

“There’s something wrong with you.”

“Hey, I can have my dreams.”

“As long as you know that’s what they are.”

“How about…”

“NO.  Actors are a no.  Don’t give me anymore names, and no characters from your magical books either.”

“Fine,” she sighed.  “It’s just that…”

“Don’t want to hear it,” she said, holding up her hand.  “Concentrate on the men who are alive and in your life.”

“But they’re real.”

“Sadly, that’s true.  You always want fantasy.”

“It’s less work.”

“I can’t argue with that,” she said, nodding.  “What about Dave?””

“What about him?”

“You two make a great pair.”

“Pair of what?”

“Never mind.”

“Fantasy gives me everything I want and then some.”

“It gives you alone time, end of the world apocalypses, and time to talk to the cat.”

“I know,” she said, smiling.  “I love those things.”

“Why don’t you like people?  Do you want olives on your salad?”

“Yes, please.  And it’s not that I don’t like people, it’s that people interrupt my life.  They want me to listen to them and then say things back to them, when I just want to think and write stories and…”

“I get it.”

“You do?”

“Yes.  You’re…a hermit.”

“Hermits are good.”

“Hermits don’t live in the middle of a city.  They live in the mountains in caves where they wear bath towels and sit with their eyes closed until they die.”

“I’m a different kind of hermit.”

“Shredded cheese?”

“Yum, and I’d feel safe with Keanu, and I’d never stop laughing with Ryan.”

“I’ve told you a million times, those are the roles they play, it’s not who they are.  Do you think Keanu goes around killing a million people a day?  Do you think he’s Nemo? Do you think Ryan is a real bodyguard, or wears a full red body suit?”

“Of course not.  And it’s NEO, not Nemo. Nemo is a fish.”

“Whatever.”

“You’re right.  I know you’re right.”

“Are you flying tonight?”

“I think so.  It looks nice outside.  Wanna come with?”

“Sure,” she said.  “Let’s eat, then grab our brooms.”

“Sounds like a plan, and this salad is delicious.  Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, and I’m in love with Antonio Banderas,” she giggled.

“I know, I just didn’t want to say anything.”

 

 

A Short story about fangs…

“Hi.  I’m a vampire,” he said

“Really,” she muttered, looking him over.

“Yes.  Really.”

“Let me see your fangs.”

“Right here?  In line in the deli?  I just came in for a coffee cake.”

“You’re the one who told me you’re a vampire.”

“I just didn’t want you to freak out if you picked up my vibe.”

“Your vibe?” she said.  “What vibe?”

“My vampire vibe,” he whispered.  “I thought you might, you know,” he gestured with his hands, “feel that I was a little different.”

“Different than what?”

“Different than a human, of course.”

“Are you a new vampire?”

“Why do you ask?”

“You seem new.”

“I do?”

“Like you’ve only been one since the day before yesterday.”

“Two years, actually.”

“You eat coffeecake?”

“Yes, why shouldn’t I?”

“I thought vampires only drank blood.”

“Myth.  We eat just like everyone else, but we need blood to live, so we drink it.  We have a standing order with the Blood Bank down the street, but blood from there is not the same as when you’re drinking it from a huma….  Never mind.  But yes we eat food.”

“I’m just gonna let that one go.”

“Thank you.”

“Sure,” she said.

“My name is Nick.”

“Nick, the vampire,” she said.  “What about sunlight?

“Myth.  Made up so that you don’t recognize us when we’re out during the day.  Makes it easy for us to move around, since you only expect to see us when it’s dark.”

“What kind of coffeecake are you getting?”

“Chocolate chip, with nuts.  How about you?  What are you getting?”

“I don’t know yet.  I have to wait until I get to the counter to decide.  Are you undead?”

“Uh, maybe.  But I’m alive too, so I guess I don’t really know what I am.”

“Were you born a vampire?”

“I wish.  The Born get a lot of perks.”

“The Born?”

“The Born as opposed to the Made.  I just graduated from high school and went out with my friends and after that I don’t remember much until I woke up laying on the grass in the park.  Some guy told me to come with him and I did.  Now I’m in line waiting for coffee cake.”

“What about your parents?”

“You mean don’t they wonder where I went?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”

“I call them now and then.  They think I moved to a different city and have a good job.”

“Seriously?”

“People believe what they want to believe.”

“I guess.”

“That’s not exactly within the rules, so don’t tell anyone.”

“Promise.”

“Well, you’re next.  If you want we can have coffee together.”

“I have to go to work.”

“NEXT!”

“Thats me,” she said, stepping up to the counter.

She placed her order and moved to the side.  He smiled at her and said maybe he’d see her again some time.  She said, “Maybe.”

She looked at him again, standing there in his Janis Joplin T-shirt and torn jeans.  His black hair was messy, in just the right way, and he had a great smile and dark eyes with thick black lashes that brushed his very white skin.

“I’ll meet you out in front,” she said.

He grinned at her, and ordered his coffee cake.

 

 

 

Goddess…

“Listen, daughter mine,” said the woman.  “This is the Goddess.  She has many names, and faces.  She is me, She is you, She is Nature, She life.  She is all that is, and more.  Every single person who has ever lived, came from a woman.”

“Even grandpa?”

“Yes, even him.”

“I didn’t know he had a mother,” said the little girl.

“Everyone person has, or had, a mother, and every mother is a woman.  But men don’t respect the Goddess.  They don’t respect women.  They fear Her and us.  You have to know this, daughter.  You have to be careful.”

“What about daddy and grandpa?”

“They do not fight for us, or with us.  They love us, but they are men.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you will always be on your own. You have to be strong and learn how to fight.”

“But they’re really big.”

“They use their size against us, like all bullies do.  I will protect you to the best of my ability and I’ll teach you how to defend yourself.”

“We had a bully in school and Sandra beat him up.”

“Good for her.”

“She got a lot of detentions and nothing happened to him, even though he knocked Kathy down, kicked her, and called her names.  We all saw it, and we all told the teacher, but they didn’t even call his parents.  He had to go to the nurses office because his lip was bleeding and he was crying like a baby.  Kathy didn’t cry.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you.  The world you will grow up in is not fair.  It’s set up against you just because you’re a girl, and no matter how old you live to be, the world will never treat you fairly.”

“Why?  I didn’t do anything wrong.  Neither did Kathy or Sandra.”

“You don’t have to do anything wrong.  You will always be blamed for what boys and men do to you.”

“That’s not fair.”

“No.  It’s not.  It’s hateful and evil.”

“Maybe we should get rid of daddy and grandpa.”

“Maybe.”

“Why doesn’t the Goddess help us?”

“She’s an idea.  It’s up to us to make Her real.”

“I’ll draw a picture of Her.”

“Great idea.”

“You wear her on a necklace.”

“I do.”

“Why?”

“To remind me of how angry I am.   And so I never forget to love the rage I hold in my heart against this place.”

“I’m not having any babies.”

“I’ll remind you of that when you’re older.”

“Okay, cuz I might forget.”

“You’ll think you changed your mind but you really won’t.  Your body can betray you.”

“Why?”

“Hormones, baby.  We are animals, after all.  We have to fight them all the time.”

“Is it okay to love daddy and grandpa?”

“Yes, they would both die for you.  Unfortunately, they won’t attend a demonstration for you, walk a picket line, or do anything else, but they would be willing to kill another male if they had to.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Neither do I.”

“Can we get ice cream?”

“Sure.  I thought you’d never ask.”

“Really?”

“No, I’m just teasing you.”

“We can hang the picture I’m going to draw on the refrigerator.”

“Absolutely.”

“What’s the name of the Goddess you’re wearing today?”

“This is Medusa, baby.  She went away from the world of men, but they hunted her anyway. She bothered no one, and they hated her and went after her because she was a woman and because she had power.  It’s the way of things on this planet.  Medusa never lets me forget what it’s like to live here.”

“She’s beautiful.”

“Yes.  She is.”

“Will you get a necklace like that for me?”

“It’s at home.  I was just waiting for you to ask for it.”

“Thank you.”

“I love you, baby.”

“I love you too.  I’m gonna beat them.”

“I’ll help you, baby.  So will all my friends.”

“Will that be enough to win?”

“I’d like to think so, but they might just kill all of us.”

“That would be better than not fighting back.”

“It would be.”

“We should get matching t-shirts.”

“Great idea.  We can have your drawing put on the front.”

“We can get them for your friends as well.”

“Yes, we can.”

“I want chocolate.”

“Me too.”

“I’m so glad I chose you for my mother.”

“So am I, baby.  So am I.”

 

 

Photo:  Maniraj Madishetty
Unsplash