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Weekly Contest #252
“Anna … you know that curiosity killed the cat.” I always hated how he said my name when he used that know-it-all voice. Ann-ahh; nostrils slightly flared, eyes narrowed, and chin lifted so he somehow seemed to be looking down on me more than usual. God, I hated him. Had I just thought that? I remember thinking. Surely, I didn’t mean it? “Yes, but satisfaction brought it back!” Ha, take that! I had thought. You don’t know everything, and you can’t win every argument! “Ann-ahh nothing can bring back a dead cat”. I remember wanting to...
Weekly Contest #221
Have you ever seen your own gravestone? I sure hope you never do.Catching sight of your final resting place, even momentarily, will scare the bejesus out of the most hardened non-believer. It is a most extraordinary and extra-ordinary sight. Extraordinary from a who-would-have-believed-this-possible perspective, and extra-ordinary from a well-its-not-such-a-surprise-as-we-will-all-end-up-here perspective. It really is quite extraordinarily extra-ordinary.Be that as it may – nothing can prepare you for the sight of your own untimely (is it ev...
Weekly Contest #197
Someone is dead.I thought I’d get away with it. But Fate never plays along, does she?Two nights away; fleeing the suffocation of responsibility and constant demands. Reality disappeared with our fading taillights as anticipation erupted with a sigh of relief. I remember dropping my head slowly backward and staring blankly at the roof of the car, eyes clouded by visions of the weekend ahead. Time together at last.I’d found the perfect place online – sandwiching the research on “romantic getaways in remote locations” between my morning clients...
Weekly Contest #171
A mini-Memoir.We have valiantly tried to leave her in the nightmares of holidays past, but the legend of Candy and her malevolent modus operandi prevails. Her ghostly shadow of incompetence lingering on through many a mirthful tale.Like many great stories, ours began over a few glasses of wine. My good friend Tania informed us of yet another trip to visit her parents on the Italian Riviera. Rolling my eyes, at the injustice of being born to South African parents with no second home in Italy, or anywhere else, I poured another glass of wine. ...
Weekly Contest #169
Have you ever seen your own gravestone? I hope you never do. Catching sight of your final resting place, even momentarily, will scare the bejesus out of the most hardened non-believer. But there are pros and cons to this extraordinary sight. Extraordinary from a who-would-have-believed-this-possible perspective, and extra-ordinary from a well-its-not-such-a-surprise-as-we-will-all-end-up-here perspective. It really is quite extraordinarily extra-ordinary. Be that as it may – nothing can prepare you for the sight of your own untimely (ca...
I’m shivering again.Halloween has arrived unannounced this year, with only the constant cold as a sombre reminder of the long dark winter months that have passed by unnoticed. Thank heavens for summer’s hesitant appearance; her golden warmth slowly overshadowing the creeping chill that lingered through spring for me this year.But still, I am cold.The magnificence of the sunrise captures my gaze as anticipation warms my bones and I snuggle in deeper. Halloween has always been my favourite holiday with its ghosts and ghouls, witches and warloc...
Weekly Contest #162
“And then, pale and defeated, he suddenly looked up and swept his gaze over the congregation. Through the waves of shock, he found me – the calm in his storm. Our eyes locked and then his lit up with recognition and renewed determination.”Sitting in our favourite lunch venue, I take a sip of my bitterly strong cappuccino and melt further into my comfortable seat. This is no ordinary restaurant - it is the backdrop of the theatre of my life and has always been a reliable source of comfort and solace - even on my darkest days.This was als...
Weekly Contest #154
Death. I can smell when he’s coming. Wherever I go, I’m bound to catch a whiff of the odour most foul. I used to wonder if I was insane. Or if, perhaps, the tentacles of a deadly tumour were crawling through my brain. But it is Death and his sinister stench of decay that roams the pathways of my life.1920s London was not as roaring for the middle-class as it was for the upper crust and gentry. Even though it was a time of increased prosperity, my family still lived a frugal life. We were educated and went to our warm beds with full bell...
Weekly Contest #150
A Rubik’s Cube saved his life.Sam was always such a happy boy. Slow to warm up, yes, but a social butterfly once he got going. Everybody loved him. From his teachers to his school friends, to his family. Hell, even the cashiers at our local supermarket loved him.Such a sunny disposition he had. I even used to call him Sunshine Sammy. But that was before the gray storm clouds moved in and eclipsed his wide smile, leaving his warm brown eyes cold and dark with despair.His favourite song was even filled with sunshine, and I would sing it f...
Weekly Contest #149
He led her down the stairs. Bright tinsel snaked its way along the balustrade, and people were already gathering in the Christmas wonderland below. They were all waiting for her. It was Christmas Eve, and Rudolf had chosen this day specifically. Her anxiety grew as they descended. She focused on the large overly adorned Christmas Tree in the corner but looked away with a shudder of revulsion when her eyes fell on the fat Santa shadowed in the corner of the room. His ruddy cheeks and twinkling eyes were strangely at odds with the fear that ...
Weekly Contest #144
“Yes, yes! That’s it – now smile. Not so wide, more seductively. Tilt your – yes! No! Stop blinking!” He rolls his eyes heavenward and sighs. Her shoulders slump and her not- so-seductive smile disappears. But when he looks up at her again with pursed lips and narrowed eyes, her smile is back, and her head is perfectly tilted. “Sorry, Jed. It was a late night again. I’m ready now.” With a sigh of a thousand sighs, he points the camera at her and pulls the trigger again. This time she does not blink at the explosion of light but mainta...
Weekly Contest #143
Like everyone else in the town, he’d heard about the events with the rowing boat. He just couldn’t remember them, and one year later the details remained submerged in his tortured mind.God knows he’d tried, but his memories of that day were as elusive as the whispers of a story he couldn’t quite hear. He’d given up trying to drag them to the surface - along with the recollections of his life before.On this ordinary autumn day, he awoke with the usual birdsong at the usual time. He had his first coffee of the day on the deck, just like every ...
Weekly Contest #142
How strange. I’ve been coming to this library for as long as I can remember, spending countless afternoons in the company of the old Librarian and my beautiful mom. My memories are wrapped in the mustiness of old books and filed along the rows of the dusty bookshelves. I feel the familiar ache for those peaceful days – and Mom. Walking through the dark-wood doors like the velvet curtains that open onto a magical stage, the feeling of entering an enchanted realm is magnified. Something has changed. Have they refurbished since my last v...
Weekly Contest #141
One star? ONE STAR?! Who does Ted even think he is? How dare he give me a one-star rating? What have I been thinking? A competent Salesman on a good day, and an uninspiring manager on a normal day, a gleam of unopposed charmer runs through him. He knows what he wants, and how to get it. Just like I do. Ever since the first day he arrived - strutting around the office in his hip-hugging jeans and blue shirt that perfectly matched his eyes (how does every shade of blue somehow perfectly match his eyes?), I knew I was in trouble. ...
Weekly Contest #140
“I wanted to figure him out.” I had opened the floodgate and had no choice now but to wade through. “I thought you were one of the clues.” I was wrong. Dead wrong. But now it was too late to do anything, and I was going to have to face the consequences of my actions. Or was I? “It wasn’t always like that though,” I murmured looking at the torrential rain drumming against the window in a frenzied battle with my heart. Watching the whipping wind and exploding raindrops, I wondered if this was divine intervention? The wil...
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