Humans

His sad eyes observed them from a distance. His intensive gaze folled their every move. They had no idea, because he had hid himself well enough. They did everything without rush. The noy tarted fire. He had kneld downin fron of it and bowed from time to time to blow the sparkles. To this sad creature the humand were something knew. He had never seen any of them, he was told, however, that humand are pure evil. Now, he was here observing these tiny creature, who worshipped a pile of twigs. They didn't seem too dangerous at all. They looked so fagile without horns, fangs or claws. Suddenly, a small flame started lucking the pile of twigs. He wasshocked and scared beyond belief. Humans could rise the god of fire. They must be extremely powerful and cruel. Fire was known for its insatiate greed. Everyone knew that no prayers would stop it and no sacrifice was good enough. 

 

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Sun

He couldn't stand rain. Emotionally, literary and psychologically. It made him depressed and stole away any will to get out of the bed. If he was surprise by rainshower on the street he got sick and was almost always eventuly was sent to hospital , because the complications had gone too far. Nowadays, he seldem left the comfort of his own apartment. Luckiy, technologies could become immensely help. One day his niece draw a sun on his window. He was furious at first, especially, when he found out that you could not just wipe it off. However, later he had to admit that it was genial idea, for now he always had the sun outside and just looking at it made him smile every time. 

Spilled Words

She couldn't believe that she had actually dropped it. All her weekly words were scattered all across the road. She knelt down and started picking them up one by one, carefully examining before putting them back in the basket. Some irregular verbs were broken and now she will sound stupid. Fortunately nouns were are more solid and were intact. She took good care examining adverbs and adjectives. Some of them she tossed aside, because you couldn't use chipped or broken adjectives or adverbs, it could cause huge missunderstanding. It could even be dangerous. Pronouns elastic as usual, so no problem with them. She couldn't find some articles and some possesives seemed to have been chipped of, but that was not a big problem. Most of the people didn't know how to use them properly  anyway. She might even get some in the town's Spare Words for free. Anyway, she will have to be very concise this week, because she had lost part of some very important vocabulary.

Almost a Fairy Tale

Once there was a demonic king who had enormous power. He was cruel but his manners were seemly. Thus he could order a regular beheading of five people and they all were almost pleased at the turn of events. On the global scale he was not the worst of course but this knowledge didn't help the people of his kingdom. There were many rebel groups that made plots to overturn him. There were various attempts but none of them was successful. It almost seemed that it was impossible to hurt him. Therefore everyone was surprised when the king was killed by a small peasant boy. He had brought with him a tiny, slimy frog which appeared to be poisonous. Living by the river had made peasants immune to the poison of the frog so noone had any idea that it might kill the king. Oddly enough that was the key to their success because the king had the ring that changed colour when someone nearby had a plan to kill him. The boy had innocently showed the frog to the king, the king had patted it and few moments later had dropped dead. I could say that further on they all lived happily ever after but that would be a lie. They had a horrible  uncertain period  full of riots where one family turned against another while they found a new suitable king. After that the situation improved a bit but even that didn't last long as they were soon conquered by a fierce king from far away and his rule was worse than ever.

Modern Courtship

In this world of emojis and gifs, she was starving for real conversations. She could not understand this weird form of communication when you receive several messages a day and they all are empty. Well, yes, there are emojis, gifs, songs even in them. On especially important occasions you get "sup" or "morning darling, have a great day" or "I miss you". However, there are never real questions or real emotions. Just an impersonal dose of attention that ticks all the boxes in romantic message manual. She never knew what to answer to this rubbish so she decide to ignore it. 

Memory Tricks

She stared at the bloody knife on the kitchen counter and couldn't move. Thoughts run through her mind like rats with Rabies. Horrified she has to confess yet again that she couldn't remember what she was doing the last two hours. It had happened before but usually it was just some minutes, maybe half an hour. She didn' t drive anymore because she was afraid that she might hurt somene, if she again experieces this black out. She had notice that during the blackouts she did things that in normal circumstances would just cross her mind. Like, suddenly leaving a place, slap loudly on the table or just song out loud a song. She was now looking at the knife and was convinced that it was blood on it. She had no idea where it came from, though she remember the rage she had in her when she Last talked with her husband. A sudden beeping noise startled her and she mechanically opened the oven. There was meat and she exhaled in relief. 

Desperation

She stood there motionless and stared at the black water. One lonely teardrop rolled down her left cheek. She paid no attention to that. She had a desicon to make but she felt almost numb. There was fog in her brain and only one thought turned in a loop, reminding and tearing her apart. This thought reminded her that she had no tribe, no husband, no place to be long. There was absolutely nothing worth living in her life. She put her right feet in the cold water and then left. She could feel cold seeping into her knees and thighs up to her bely. She moved forward, soon she was fully submerged. She made few strokes that brought her closer to the center of the lake. She knew that she will not have enough strenght to swim back. 

Escapade

From distance it looked so sirreal, like my eyes didn't have enough focuss. These fluffy blossoms of the smoketree seemed almost edible. I imagined they could taste like cottoncandy. I stopped there in awe and just looked at it bevildered. My dog was not so patient. He had sniffed everything around the tree and was no more interested in it. So, he made a sudden movement and I lost grip of the leash. He continued in slow trot through the park. I called out his name, wistled, and made many more beconing sounds and gestures, but he just looked at me like I was mad as March hare and continued his explorations of trees and bushes. I hurried after him but he never alowed me to come close enough. It took me an hour to stop chasing him, give up and go home. I knew he would come back when he will be hungry so I left my garden gate open. It was late evening when he arrived all wet and muddy but beamimg from happiness. I scolded at him but it was clear that he didn't feel sorry at all. So I stopped and bent down to fill his bowl. He licked my cheek and was instantly forgiven.

The River

The world went dark. The fierce wind blew from North. Thomas was determined to get to the land safe in his little shaky canoe. He paddled hard and fast but the wind was very strong and it took all his willpower to continue. Suddenly, lightning discharged in the dark sky, almost immediatelly followed by wrathful thunder. Thomass felt uneasy. The river was wide and the bank was still far. Big raindrops whipped him painfully and his strength was depleating, but it didn't stop him. Somewhere in the distance he heard a cry. Bewildered he stopped padling and looked around there was no one. Yet again - the cry, this time closer. Thomass was convinced that it was a child. He started frantically looking around, but the rain was heavy and he could not see too far ahead. Another cry to his left. It felt like this crier was circling around him. The thought about a child was instantly dropped and Thomass returned to padling, he had heard too many horrifying storries about this river to sit and wait for his death to come. 

Milestone

Six years, it was a milestone. That's what Susie thought awyway. She had been in this position at work for six years and was sure that she either deserved a promotion or she should leave. To be honest she was not the best employee, not even close. She usually arrived late and left early. She pretended that she knew less than she actually did just to avoid some extra work or question. Sometimes she even went so far that half of the working day she pretended to be doing someting, while she actually watched some TV series. She had this amazing skill to hide what she was doing with subtlety of a spy. Nevertheless she was wholeheartedly convinced that she should get a promotion. 

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Albert

Everything had to be perfect. This thought has killing Albert whenever he was doing something. He often gave up things because he could not reach the perfect image of that which he had created in his head. Albert would never be a painter or musician because there are too many hours of imperfection that one has to face to get to a decent skill level. He found it teriblly irritating. That feeling crawled up un down his body under his skin and made him sick. He could hide that from others quite well but what was left uncovered was a sudden burst of anger here and there. Like small fireworks they were over soon and Albert was back to his composed self. That left some people puzzled, astonished even but in most cases was seen just a funny side of his character. No one knew how much effort he put in keeping his thoughts tidy and organized and how miserable he felt after each of the outbursts. 

Gloom

This mellow and enthusiastic creature was ill-fitted for this dreary room. Adams furry friend radiated happiness whenever he was. However, it didn't help Adam to feel better in this doomed hour. Adam's mood was down for good. It was the most horrible day in his life. Like all evil forces had been coordinated by some higher superpower to crush all Adam's hopes and beliefs in one day.  Even his furry friend Basker couldn' t drag him out of the missery. Not even for a moment. Adams eyes were dead. There was no spark left in them. Even nature, as it often is, had felt sympathetic and opened all its water containers in endless, steady rain. The gloom form the outside and the room seeped through the skin directly into his broken soul. Basker put his heavy head on Adam's feet and looked up at him with that heartmelting gaze that only dogs can make. Adam didn't even stir.

Chain of Events

Aunt Maude put a curse on my neighbours. This was all one big misunderstanding but my aunt didn't want to hear any of my explanations. It all started with the broken flower pot and in two days time escalated to bronek marriage curse. If only I had been more focused on that crazy morning. It had been scorchingly hot for a week then and the nights were not offering any relief. Our air conditioning was broken and I had spent most of the nights twisting and tur i g in my bed eather than sleeping. So my brain was foggy and I just didn't push the brakes. I continue my slow drive across the street and up to my neighbours front door. The sound of broken clay woke me up from my daze and prevented from rudely entering the neighbours' house while still sitting in my car. 

Money Tree

It was rain soaked evening in October when the trees began sprouting money.we didn't notice it imediately because our Apple trees looked like always in October with some leaves left here and there. On that particular rainny day I decided offer my dog a company and walk in the garden. At firts I thought that those were regular buds of new leaves as the autumn wax quite warm this year. However, a closer inspection revealed that those were paper buds. I was shocked. I kept coming back to garden every day to oberve the progress and on the twelvth day they were fully grown Euro notes. I collected plenty of them and and spread them in my guest bedroom's floor. Now I had a dillema - should I try to use them in shops. Will it be considered a forgery? 

gossip

The gossip that he was broken, was a mistery for my brother. He was always Led a weird life but for the last decade he had made some really crazy choice. Therefore people had started spreading the rumours that there is something wrong with him and most of them thought that it was his exgirlfiends fault. Everyone who met her was convinced of one of two things either that she is dumb beauty or pure evil strategic bitch. There was noone who truely believe that this might turn into something serious. Big was their surprise, when they got married. This is when things got out of control and my brother lost himself. This was also the reason why people believe that he wad broken. I believe that he wasn't broken but just cracked open and his true face was now visible, for I have known him better than anyone. 

Accident

The day the neighbours burned down their house, we purchased the 'rustbucked'. Some would say that it was just a coincidence but they certainly were not familiar with our family. Noone knew of course that it was Chriss who started it all. He had just swithched from experiments with water to his new challenge experiments with fire. He had started it slow with some tiny fireballs made from matches. However, everyone in our family knew that this force is unstoppable no matter what we said or did. So, when Chriss set his first match on fire, our father opened site for used goods and begun to search for portable housing. The closest for the price we could allow was aforementioned 'rustbucked'. None of us, however, could have imagined that it Will not be our house that will burn down. It involved an accident, a stray cat and some bad timing and as a result our neighbours are now closer to us than we expected it will be when we moved in this neighbourhood. 

Surprise

On the spur of the moment Jane grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed intensly. Then, as suddenly as it begun it was over. She beamed, giggled and hurried away. Jim stood there amazed. He liked Jane. He liked her a lot. However, he was never brave enough to ask her out or talk to her about this. She seemed nice, quiet and shy, and now this. It was so not-like-Jane, but he would lie if he said that he didn't like it. It was so shocking, that he didn't dare to move for some fifteen minutes. When he came to senses he walked back to his work place and started and e-mail. It took him half an hour to polish his three line message in which he asked her out on a date on Saturday. He held his breath and pushed send. 

Therapy

Sam visited the grave twice a month and left fresh flowers. It was not one of his relatives . In fact Sam didn't know the person. It had started two years ago. Sam had had a terrible day at work and he was not ready to bring this mess home with him. So, he just drove around until he suddenly found himself in this cemetary. He got out of car and walked around. There was something about this particular tombstone that made him stop. He stood there for couple of minutes and then just started to tell all about that horrible Day. It was not just talk one might have in one's head. It was solid, loud speach. He talked and talked. He could not stop. Two hours and rough throat later he abruptly stopped, bid goodye and walked back to his car. He felt free. He was sure he would never come back here but a week later he was there with a bunch of flowers. Noone knew about this, not even his closest friends, nor his wife. It was his weird secrets that made him feel better. The only place where he could be himself and talk out everything that eats him alive. He was sure that noone would understand it. It's been two years now, but he still comes here. Sam has changed, looks healthier and happier. 

Flat tire

Bang! I was started from the sudden noise. I had feeling that it came from the back of my car. I kept my car steady while examined views in all three Windows. Nothing. The back window was in its place. I still decide to stp the car. I slowly walked around it but there was nothing wrong with it. Not even a scratch. Weird. I was in the middle of the forest with just some few bypassing cars. Where did the bang come from? I got bact into the car and after just few meteors I heard weird repetitive sound like something had stuck around one of the tires. I knewfor sure then that I have a flat tire. I pulled over again and got out of the car. This time I could clearly see it and hear it. The air escaping through coinsized hole made a very distinctive sound. I opened the boot of my car and took out the safety triangle and place it on the road at a distance what I hoped was correct. Then I took out my spare tire and jack. I had never changed the tire myself but I knew the steps. So there I was with the jack in my hands and totally useless. My jack was clearly broken.I took out my phone only to discover that there was no recepti on. I felt tears burning my eyes. I stood there helpless and alone. It was cold and I knew that I cannot keep my engine on for too long. Few cars slowed down as they passed by me but they didn't stop to help. If I had been long-legged  blond damsel in short skirt, I 'd be rescued in no time. But I was short, plump and crazy haired brunet therefore I stood on the side of the road and stretched my hand out in humiliation. The fifth car stopped and I was over the moon that it took only twenty minutes. The man got out of the car and I quickly explained the situation. While I was blabbing away he took my jack and with one quick, swift movement turned it into a perfetcly normal and functional jack. I was mortified with shame. I must have looked like total idiot. He didn't laugh at me. I did it myself. He didn't say much just changed the spare tire and said that I have to stop at the nearest gass station and ckeck the pressure. I thanked him. Repeatedly. He brushed it all away in modesty then looked me in the eyes and smiled. We partded and I never saw him again. He now has a funny story to tell his friends, I sure do. 

The Star

What was the adage, never work with children or animals. Now Rex was missing and God knows when we will find him. The whole crew is out loaded with dog cookies skimming the streets, backyards and dumpsters. Rex is our star but he is one hell of a prisonbreaker. This is is the sixt time this week he has foud yet another gap in our security system and slipped away. He usually returns When he is hungry but he is also an adorable beggar and people tend to offer him even their only meal. He knows how to play his part far too well. He also would not allow anyone to catch him and lock up. And yet every single person of this film crew loves him deeply. Therefore after sleepless night spent in hopeless search to find him, e eryone cheers loudly when he returns next morning all muddy and happy. Despite their exaustion everyone pats him in the head and someone offers him some food. The crew picks up the gear and is ready within minutes to start shooting. Noone knows how long the star will give us his attention. 

Smile

I smiled at him while he was preparing my Coffee. It was a proper smile that starts at your deepest self, brushes against your muscles making them soft and amicable then curls up the corners of your lips and ends up as a twinkle in the eyes. He smiled back. It was just a good service smile, that lingers only on lips sometimes parting them. I felt a ping of disapointment, but I took my coffee and gave away one more real smile acompanied with a soundtrack of my bank cartd transaction. He smiled back with a clumsy half real smile and handed me receipt. I had pierced through his armors, my job here was done. 

The Book

I love the smell of books, both old and new. Each of them has its own story of how it happened to be a book, about author's aspirations and struggle, about its readers about its place on the shelf. My shelfs are all overloaded with books. My books, my mom's books, my grandmother's books, found books, borrowed (never-to-be-returned) books and even one or two stolen books. I have read most of them but there are still quite many that I hadn't even paid attention to. However, it does not stop me from buying more books or going to the libraries. I'm not huge fan of libraries. Mostly because I have to return the books. It is very hard if the book has been really good. I have been challenged by my sister to live half a year without buying any new books. So, here I am, in the library. Again. For the third time this month. I just brought back some crime stories and now I crave for something different. For some good fifteen minūtes I wonder through the fantasy section, before I stumble upon magnificent looking hardcopy with a huge dragon on it. It is extremely thick and I already know that I will take it home. The surface seems to be real leather and I kind of expect for the dragon to wink. But it doesn't of course and I briefly flip through the pages. As I do so a small slip of paper falls out and slowly swirls down on the floor. I pick it up and I face some odd writing, that i have never seen before. The letters are drawn with great care and look beautiful. I put it back in the book, close it and head towards the librarian. It's time to take it home. 

Neighbours

It was a disaster! Both lovely, abandoned medows on the north and southof my backyard were now infested by neighbours. Every spare minute they now spend there digging, mowing and planting. They are loud and there are many of them. The worst of all they are there for good. I don't like it. I miss my solitude. I don't want to work in the garden anymore because I have the feeling that they are watching me, judging me. 

Stranger

She couldn't believe it the stranger was the man of her dreams. Those dreams were not very clear, not like in the movies where you have a whole storyline. Her dreams were more like a foggy mess, the setting was extremely weird and timelines were messy. Only one thing never changed - the man and now he was there, in front of her. She felt this sudden urge to talk to him, to hear his voice. In her dreams he never talked. 

Wallet

She opened her handbag and tipped the contents on the floor. It must be here she was completely sure of that. She had paid for the Coffee at the centrālā station and put the wallet back in her bag. Yet it was no where to be seen. She thought back of her trip in the train and couldn't recall any suspicious person being nearby. She remembered now that she had herwalket on the train as she had her monthly ticket in her wallet. There was just this girl who sat next to her and seemed a bit lost. It couldn't have been her, could it? She seemed so fragile and scared. Do kids practice pitpocketing? Then she remembered Dickens. Still she had this odd feeling that if she searched good enough she would find it eventually. There was no reason behind it but she continued to search for it in all the rooms of the house. It continued for good two hours before she was ready to admit that it had been stolen from her bag on the train by a kid. 

Presentation

3...2...1, then it happened! The Light from the overhead projector illuminated the room with bluish light. She felt this tingling feeling all over her spine. This was it. All the hard work and Late hours that she had stolen from her family, from her son. The moment for her to shine. Then she heard giggles of her son and realized , that Jack had switched the files and insted of their presentation used her son's video. She was mortified but she composed herself quickly and rushed to the computer. By thd time she reached it Jack had already acknowledged his mistake and stopped the video. The he sat all red, embarrased and unable to say ir do something. She had to stepin and fix things, as usual. She had learned long ago that you can no rely on men. They were useless in crisis situations. 

Burgler

I woke up from the sound of glass shattering. Then there were some bumping norises, like someone was bumping on the furniture. Some part of me wanted to go and see what was there, but the other part ordered me to take my pilow, blanket and phone and lock myself in the bathroom. I had seen to many movies and New which is the right choice. I didn't posses anything worth my life. So, fine minutes later I was in my bathroom on the phone with a friend of mine. He arrived one terribly long half an hour later only to inform me that my dog had tried to taste my newly made Jam and broken most of the jars scared himself out of the room. We laughed, we had some tea and talked about some more crazy and funny episodes involving dogs. 

The House

The door slowly opened and revealed the scene behind. She pushed her head first through the doorframe, her feet solidly planted on the rug outside. The room was dim and the air was heavy, as if noone has been her for years. Invisible strings of web stretched all over her face, making her crindge in disgust. She quickly brushed this mess of her face and shivered. Then she took several steps inside. Each sound of the  steps was silenced by the old carpet which covered the whole hallway. Every corner of the place had that feeling about them that you get when you enter an old castle. This was of course no castle, just her greataunt's house. 

Crisp

Bacon sandwiches always reminded her of her long deceased dog. Crisp was an amazingly clever dog. He was not of any fancy breed. In fact she found him starving on street. She had no idea how old the dog was but he was past his puppy yeras for sure. Maybe the street had made him more mature. She had spotted him in the alley next to the bin. Two gorgeous, clever eyes looked into her soul and she without any hesitation dug out her only bacon sandwich from her bag and offered it to him. He devoured it with pleasure which made her happy. Then she bid goodbye and went home. Next morning he surprised her at her door. Everyday he would appear in mornings and evenings with a mild bark at her door and she would feed him, everytime trying to pat him a abit. A month later he was already living in her kitchen, had his own mat and demaded every scrap of food she was eating. She adored him and took him with her everywhere she went.

Race

I wanted to be a winner, and that meant I was willing to cheat. I did my warm up routine , stretched my limbs and jumped up and down to loosen up a bit. My oponents seemed composed, relaxed even, like there was no pize at the end of this day. Fools! I looked once more at the map and went through the points in my strategy. Not that I needed it, I had well memorized it. It was more like a superstitious, mental routine, that shoudn't be skipped. I put my map bak in my pouch and took my place at the line. PUF! With a sad sound from the sport's gun everybody crossed the line and headed towards the wood. Some crazy sprinters took the lead but I knew better no to push too much, rather quickly locate my own speed. It could be hard for rookies because there always be someone faster than you and the preassure to keep up is enormous. I burnt in my first three competitions before I learned how to suppress this wild urge. At the edge of the wood I see some victims of lack of selfcontrol and knowledge - red faces, sweaty and without breath already. I stop at the oak tree and and turn east, not many have chosen this direction. My pace is steady and my breathing rhythmical, but my eyes dodge from one tree to another searching for clues. Suddenly I spot something red and move that way. The clue is bigger than I expected but also seems a bit off the map. Maybe tha's why noone seems to be there yet. As I approach I am surprised that they have chosen so dense bush and I don't see anyone nearby no referee, no other contestants. Weird. I bent down to see if I can crawl under it and reach the clue. Two vacant, pale eyes stare directly at me. I step back but loose my balance an fell over. It was no a clue but a adead girl. I panick and start running away from that place. Running calms me down. I must tell someone a tiny voice in my head says but the calm and wicked voice says that someone else will do it. If I tell it now they will interrupt the competition and I will loose my chance to win. I cannot allow that to happen.

Mission

One flashlight flash meant danger, two flashes meant it was safe; but she saw three flashes that night from beyond the bog, and they had never talked about what three flashes meant. Her mind raced through all possible explanations, but she couldn't stick to one reaosnable enough. Nothing seemed right. Maybe he was caught and she have to run away. Maybe there was nothing there and he is just pulling her leg or maybe he needs help. She was scared beyond belief but she decided to lurk forward. She had this crazy idea that she might see or hear something that will help her dechiper the signal. Slowly and very carefully not to make any noise, she crawled in the direction Tom had gone. The soft soggy ground was helpful ally. The only problem was those little, dry twigs she had to brush away from her path making the progress sluggish. Suddenly, an incredibly loud and agonizing scream pierced her ears and what was worse, someone or something had called her name.