Watermelon summed up summer with it’s brightness and freshness. It was better then any other fruit and more refreshing then oranges. We joked about melons growing inside of us as we swallowed the seeds, red water juice dripping off chins and fingers. The rind we give to the dogs to chew on, they too loved watermelons and we’d get back to our play.
With a twist of the eyeglass, the colourful shapes inside tinkled down and formed a never ending cycle of patterns.
(Inspired by; https://sammiscribbles.wordpress.com/2020/06/06/weekend-writing-prompt-160-kaleidoscope/ with thanks).
I fell through a puddle and ended up in a world that was the same as my own but different because everything was backwards.
I walked the streets and saw the names of shop signs were written backwards. People, cars and animals moved backwards, never seeming to look where they were going but still reaching their destination without accident. I listened to conversation and realised that all the words spoken were backwards too.
‘Why is this?’ I cried.
‘Dlrow noitcelfer a si sith esuacbe,’ a man explained.
I didn’t understand him and laughed.
‘!Edur,’ the man said and walked away.
Going to a playground, I saw children playing and tried to join in but they were all going backwards and I kept going the wrong way! The children shouted at me and pushed me out of the playground.
I fell into a puddle and the world tipped the right way again.
‘Are you all right, love?’ an old lady asked me.
I sat up, looked around and saw everything was right again.
‘Yes, thank you. I’ve just come back from that other world down there,’ I explained and pointed at the puddle.
The old lady winked and said, ‘the reflective world is a fun place to be.’
(Inspired by; https://flashfictionforthepracticalpractitioner.wordpress.com/2020/05/13/flash-fiction-for-the-purposeful-practitioner-2020-week-20/ with thanks).
I sat at a desk in the cleared dinning room which was now the reception of a imaginary hospital. I shuffled blank pages around to pretend I was working.
‘Hello!’ my seven year old daughter, Adile spoke.
I looked across at her with her waterfall of blonde hair and pink summer dress on. In her hands she held her favourite teddy bear. He was a medium size, with curly brown fur, a red faded bow tie at his neck, one ear and two black eyes.
She slide teddy on to the desk then with a determined but grim face began telling me a story, ‘we need to see a doctor. Teddy had an accident and he’s got a huge cut in his side and all his stuffing is falling out! You aren’t feeling so good, are you Teddy? So, we’ve come to the hospital to make him feel better.’
‘I see!’ I cried, ‘right, I’m sure we can make teddy better. Let me get some details down then I nurse will come and to assess you then the doctor will examine teddy.’
Adile nodded.
I grabbed a pen and piece of paper, ‘name please?
‘Mr. Teddy Bear.’
‘Age?’
‘Erm…five!’
‘Address?’
‘My house.’
‘Which is what?’ I asked.
Adile recited our address carefully.
‘Phone number?’
Adile thought and repeated the numbers of our house phone.
Then, though it was silly, I took Adile’s name and details, so it seemed this make belief game was real. Then I questioned what was wrong with teddy and wrote the details down.
‘Can you draw me a picture of his injures?’ I asked and handed Adile pencil and piece of paper.
Adile nodded and got to drawing a teddy like shape with a hole in his side and a cloud coming out of it.
‘There!’ she said and give it back to me.
‘That’s good. Please take a seat and wait for the nurse to call you,’ I said and pointed to the dinning room table chairs which were lined against the wall.
I put the paper I had written on and Adile’s drawing on a clipboard then I got up and left the room. Going into the living room, I changed my pink jumper to a blue one and put a nurse’s hat on my head.
I walked back in, stopped in the doorway and looked at the clipboard, ‘Mr. Teddy Bear?’ I called.
‘Here!’ Adile answered with her hand up.
‘I’m the nurse. This way please,’ I said and lead them into the conservatory. I sat down on the floor before the coffee table and Adile sat down on the other side. Teddy on her lap.
‘So, what’s the problem?’ I asked.
Adile launched into her story of teddy’s injury again.
I nodded along then asked to look at him. Adile placed teddy on the coffee table and I looked at the large hole inside and some stuffing poking out.
‘That looks sore,’ I said, ‘does it hurt a lot?’
Adile lent her head down as if listening to teddy whispering to her then spoke, ‘he says it hurts loads.’
‘Oh dear!’ I cried, ‘let me take your vitals and we shall rush you through!’
From the children’s doctor’s kit, I got a stethoscope and listened to teddy’s heart. I wrote some numbers on the paper. Then I took his temperature and so forth, as if I was a real nurse carrying out all the needed tests.
‘Right, that looks okay, Mr Teddy. I’m going to speak to the doctor right now and then we shall get you into surgery.’
‘Is it that bad?’ Adile shouted.
‘Yes I’m afraid so. We need to stitch up that cut and give you a stuffing transfer right away!’
‘Oh no!’ Adile moaned and hugged teddy tightly.
‘It’ll all be fine. Teddy won’t feel anything and afterwards, he’ll be as good as new. Can I leave to get the doctor now?’
Adile buried her face in teddy and nodded.
I left the room and went into the living room once more. I changed jumpers to a white one, took off the nurse’s hat, put the stethoscope on, my reading glasses on and tied my hair back into a ponytail.
I walked into the conservatory and announced, ‘I’m the doctor.’
‘Doctor!’ Adile cried, ‘please fix my teddy!’
Tears sparkled in her eyes and she was on the edge of a crying session again.
I knelt down and took both Adile’s hand and teddy’s paw.
‘It’s all going to be okay,’ I said gently, ‘I know just want to do. Would you like to come with me now? You can stay with teddy whilst I operate.’
‘Yes, please!’ Adile spoke.
I helped her up from the floor and we went into the living room.
‘Mr. teddy, please lay on the table here. Don’t worry, everything is going to be fine,’ I spoke.
Adile lay teddy on the coffee table and I handed her the nurse’s hat whilst asking, ‘would you like to be the nurse?’
With a nod, Adile put the hat on then patted teddy to comfort him.
‘Here’s a mask for you, nurse and also one for me,’ I said and we both put the green masks onto our lower faces, so our mouths and noses were covered.
‘Firstly, teddy let’s give you some special gas which will make you sleepy,’ I said, ‘nurse? Let’s count to ten together whilst I do this, okay?’
I picked up an empty paper bag and place it over the bear’s face. Then I gently and slowly pressed the bag inwards, so it crumbled and became flat. Adile and I counted to ten.
‘Mr teddy? can you hear me?’ I spoke.
Adile lent in then shook her head, ‘he’s a sleep,’ she added.
‘Good. Right. I got some stuffing here and I’m going to put it inside the wound now.’
I put a few handfuls of stuffing inside the teddy. Felt it and added one more handful.
‘Is that enough?’ Adile asked.
‘Yes, I believe so and now I’m getting the needle and thread….’
Adile gasped and put her hands to her cheeks, ‘No!’ she wailed.
‘It’s okay,’ I answer soothingly.
I thread the needle with brown thread and got sewing the hole closed.
‘Oh, teddy, oh teddy, please be okay!’ Adile muttered.
She started sniffing and sobbing. I reassure her as best I can.
I finished sewing the hole. I tied and cut the threads then smooth teddy’s fur to hide my handwork.
‘Nurse, I’m all done. You can wake him now,’ I say.
Adile gently shook teddy a few times whilst calling his name. I sit him upright and handed him back to her.
‘Teddy? Are you well again? Let me see!’ Adile said and she carefully inspected my sewing, ‘he’s fine now,’ she concluded and give him a tight hug.
‘Teddy needs some fresh and sun now. Can you take him outside to play? He should be able to now.’
Adile nodded and come over to hug me. Her warm arms wrap around my neck and I hugged her back. I took off the nurses’ hat and mask and kiss her cheek.
‘Thank you, mummy,’ Adile said.
‘Your welcome,’ I answered.
Adile rushed off and I tided things away and straighten things out again. In the conservatory, I paused and watched my daughter and her teddy bear playing in the sandbox, the sun bouncing off her blonde hair and her face full of happiness.
(Inspired by; https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2020/03/26/tale-weaver-268-medical-26th-march/ with thanks).
It’s always the same; butterflies in the stomach, dryness of tongue and bubbles of excitement. The actors and actresses wait in the wings. The stage hands roam and the orchestra tune their instruments.
The curtain goes up, the stage is light, the players become their characters. A story unfolds like real life; love, lost, mystery, murder and a solved conclusion. The audience absorb everything, caught up in events, forgetting that things are not real.
And afterwards, normality feels surreal and it’s like we are all just characters in a play of life.
(Inspired by; https://rochellewisoff.com/2020/02/26/28-february-2020/ with thanks).
Church bells rang to end Sunday service and the congregation came out. People stood talking and I bored as usual walked into the graveyard.
I adventured amongst the weeping trees and headstones, ignoring the ghosts I could see lingering, as a ten year old boy I had better things to do.
One old lady began shouting, ‘get out! You vandal! Stop disturbing me!’
‘I’m not doing anything!’ I yelled but she wouldn’t listen and carried on shouting.
I tried play but she flew and pulled me about like a whirlwind. Deciding it was best to leave, I ran back to my parents.
(Inspired by; https://crispinakemp.com/2020/02/05/crimsons-creative-challenge-65/ with thanks).
Once the Ferris Wheel had been the height of fun. It had over seen all the laughter of the theme park but now all the rides sat empty and only the wind came to play.
Sitting at the dinning room table, I watched my ten year old, identical triplet girls crafting a Halloween banner. It might only have been the first weekend of October but all ready my mind was on Halloween and I was encouraging my children to join in the fun.
The only problem was my three year old son, there was only so much crafting he was capable of. For awhile he had been happy to paint pictures, stick stickers and glitter on everything but now he was bored.
‘Mum! Coby is being annoying!’ Lottie cried.
‘He’s stealing all my pens!’ Hattie moaned.
‘Go away! It’s girls only!’ Kattie shouted and give Coby a hard shove.
He hit the floor hard and started crying.
‘Girls! Please!’ I snapped, ‘be nice to you baby brother.’
Picking the toddler up, I placed him on my hip, though he was getting far too heavy to carry around.
The girls all stuck out their tongues then got back to their banner making.
I signed, too tried to argue with them and sit at the head on the table with Coby on my lap. He snuggled against me, sniffing softly.
There was a bowl of squashes in the middle of the table which I had brought to do some autumn decorating with but hadn’t decided yet what to do with exactly. There where different varieties and colours; some looked like mini pumpkins, others mini watermelons, some were white and others were more tall then round.
A strange idea came to me, something I’d probably seen off a kid’s cartoon.
‘I’ve an idea Coby. Would you like to help, Mummy?’
He nodded into my chest.
I gathered what we needed then choosing one of the squash, I stuck googly eyes on it.
‘Look Coby!’
He laughed and I moved the squash about and made a ‘do do’ sound like the squash was walking along.
‘Do-do-a-do. Ah it’s such a nice day! But where are my friends?’ I spoke in lower pitched, funny voice.
Coby laughed and clapped his hands.
‘Do you know where my friends are?’ I made the squash say.
‘There!’ Coby said and pointed at the bowl.
‘So they are! Can you help me bring them to life?’
With a nod, Coby grabbed one of the squashes and we spent some time decorating a few of them. After, we played with them, giving them voices and making stories up.
When the girls finished the banner, we tided up and watched TV for a bit.
When their dad arrived home from his ruby matched, the girls rushed to show off their banner.
‘Impressive!’ he answered then listened as the girls told him all about which bits they had done.
‘Come see what Coby and I made,’ I finally got in.
The girls rushed back to the TV, happy they could watch something less toddler aimed.
Coby, I and my husband went into the dinning room and Coby delighted in showing off his brought to life squashes.
At the bottom of my great-grandfather’s land is a small shallow pond. In the summer, my younger brother, Dusty, and I would go to stay with him, great-grandma and Grant, one of our many cousins. We would spend all day playing outside. Unless it was raining then we would play in the barns.
Those were our golden days. We became wild children of the woods with no cares or worries. We would play all kinds of games, forge for food and create worlds of our own. Sometimes, the sound of the farm would bring us back to reality; the mooing of cows, the bleating sheep, a tractor engine.
We would stay out for however long we pleased then return to the large farm house for a hot meal, bath and bed. The fire in the kitchen would always be lit, no matter how hot it was outside.
The pond had held a fascination for both of us. It was where the Lady Of The Lake rose up from and give us Excalibur to help us on quests. In other stories; the water had magical powers, drinking it could bring you back from the dead or kill you or give you protection. Whatever we needed it to be in that particular moment.
The pond was also home to the ‘Bogoh monster’. He’d wait in the depths of the mud then crept out, grip you and try to drown you. He took on many different forms but was mostly like a kacken creature with a hundred eyes and two thousand tentacles!
We saved each other countless times from the Bogoh. It was one of my brother’s favorite stories.
I don’t know how many years, perhaps around thirty?- it’s been since I last stood at the edge of the pond. It seems a lot smaller then I remember but then so does everything else.
Looking down into the rippling water, it’s like seeing into a mirror reflecting my past. My younger self playing with Dusty, who has stayed eleven every since that day.
I can hardly remember it. There was a storm, we had gone to the nearest barn but Dusty had forgotten something and went back to get it. I thought he’d taken shelter somewhere else but next morning, Grant found him floating face down in the pond.
The Bogoh had gotten him.
Tears drop from my eyes, I brush then harshly away. I didn’t really want to come here but I had to say goodbye. All this has been sold, tomorrow work will start to make it gone and soon there’ll be houses built on my childhood world.
(Inspired by; https://scvincent.com/2019/08/22/thursday-photo-prompt-mirror-writephoto/ with thanks).
I didn’t like rainy days, it meant staying in and the kids got bored. I had a plan; ‘we’re going to make a circus!’ I told them.
‘I’m going to make my teddies into circus elephants!’ Jewel cried.
‘Can we make a tent for the big top out of sheets?’ Conrad asked.
I nodded and we all hurried around the apartment gathering up what we could.
‘We need some flowers,’ the twins, Letty and Hetty spoke out.
‘Look in the windowbox,’ I called over my shoulder.
Soon, the circus rolled in and we all had a great time.
(Inspired by; http://www.caramichaels.com/defiantlyliterate/2019/03/25/menagemonday-challenge-week-2×26/ with thanks).
Fighting Bowel Diseases One Day At A Time
Micro fiction contest
Daggers up!
The Story Files 