Author: athling2001

by

Friday Fictioneers 6-18-2021

PHOTO PROMPT ©  Alicia Jamtaas

“Nobody lives there.”

“The Little People do.”

“Why would they live in a Big Person house?”

“They drove out the Big People.”

“You are so full of it.”

“You don’t believe me, go look inside.”

“I’m not looking inside.”

“Chicken.”

“Damn right. I bet there are snakes in there.”

“No snakes.”

“Then you look.”

“I don’t need to look.”

“Are you sure? No snakes?”

“I promise.”

“Come with me and I will.”

“Okay.”

They snuck up on the building, circling around to the far side where a wood door hung partially open. Peeked inside……

“Surprise!” shouted all her friends.

by

Response – JSW Prompt 6-14-2021

The JSW Challenge is open to anybody who wishes to participate. Using the writing prompt, write a flash fiction no longer than 500 words and post it to your page. The Challenge starts on Monday and runs through Sunday each week. Please remember to link your story back to this post so everyone can read your entry.

“You mean there are ponies all the way over there?”

“Yes, I do.”

“But why can’t we see them?”

“Because they are too far away.”

“I want to see the ponies!”

“I know and we will as soon as the boat tour starts.”

“Can we pet the ponies?”

“No, no. They aren’t pets. They are wild.”

“What does wild mean?”
“It means they live on their own and take care of themselves. They aren’t ponies like at the carnival.”

“I want to ride the ponies.”

“We can’t ride theses ponies. They are wild.”

“Can we un-wild them?”

“Tame? No, because these ponies don’t belong to us. They live out here on the Refuge because they is where they belong.”

“Can we take one home?”

“No, they are wild.”

“It could live in my room with me.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because they are wild and they don’t belong to us.”

“But I want a pony.”

“You have plenty of ponies at home.”

“They are fake.”

“But you enjoy playing with them, don’t you?”

“Uh-huh.”

“So we’ll take pictures of the ponies we see today and you can hang them on your wall to look at when you play with your ponies.”

“I want to see the ponies!”

“I know. The boat is coming.”

“Where is it?”

“I don’t know for sure, but it is coming.”

“Here?”

“Right here.”

“To see the ponies?”

“Yes, to see the ponies.”

“Can I pet the ponies?”

“We already discussed that. No, the ponies are wild.”

“Can I ride the ponies?”

“No, they are wild.”

“I don’t want them to be wild.”

“Well, they are.”

A boat appeared in the distance, gradually growing closer.

“Is that the boat?”

“Yes.”

“Our boat?”

“The tour boat, yes.”

“Is he coming?”

“Yes.”

“Right here?”

“Yes.”

“Can he come faster?”

“No. He knows what he is doing.”

“What if he’s wrong?”

“About what?”

“Coming faster. What if he can?”

“He can’t come any faster.”

“The boat is coming! The boat is coming!”

Yes, please, the boat is coming finally.

The tour boat pulled up to the dock. “Come on aboard,” the old man at the wheel said with a sweep of one hand.  “Captain Jack’s Pony Tours.”

They stepped on board.

“Are we going to see the ponies?”

“Yes,” the old man answered. “There are lots of ponies out today.”

“Can we pet them?”

“Your best view,” the Captain said, “Is going to be from the bow of the boat. The front.”

Cassie dashed off to the bow. Mother followed more slowly.

“Just remember,” Captain Jack said, “you have to stay real quiet or you might scare the ponies back into the brush.”

“Are we going to see ponies?” Cassie whispered.

“Yes, now Shuuuuh.”

The vacation might be salvageable after all.

by

Retro Thursday 6-17-2021

 BY ATHLING2001

Writing 101, Day Thirteen: Serial Killer II

Everything I’ve learned about living I learned from being bipolar. It’s true, funny as that sounds. The old saying is ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’ I should be a mountain woman then, or a polar bear. I can never not remember feeling like this, struggling through a world that felt as foreign as an alien landscape. I had ‘friends,’ yes, but still felt awkward and on edge, trapped behind unbreakable glass walls. I didn’t know then, and I still don’t know now, how to relate well in a group. I’m better one-on-one because when I focus on one person, I can more easily pick up their body and facial clues. Ask me to do this in a group… forget it. Ask me to do most anything in a crowd and I’m sorry but I’ll disappoint you. I don’t Christmas shop on Black Friday or Christmas Eve. I don’t go to see movies when they first hit the theater. I don’t go to the grocery store when they are busy. I don’t function well in large crowds. The noise and colors and confusion overwhelm me and I have to leave.

For some, this ‘condition’ might seem the loss of something in my life, but in reality, once I began to understand, and accept, my differences, they have become a plus. I might not be out in throngs of ‘friends’ but those friends I have are close to my heart. I hold the power of silence around me, the ability to step out of time and just be, even if it is just for a moment. My differences have shown me what it means to be a responsible adult, not only to myself, but to my family, friends, community and my world. That doesn’t mean I’m always Ms. Responsible Adult, but at least I’m honest enough to admit when I fail my own expectations. I know how to pick myself up and keeping moving on, a skill that seems sadly lacking in the world today.

Overall, I have been blessed with this difference. And I’ve finally reached the point in my life when I can see and relish those blessings.

What *negative* aspect of your life has turned into a positive?