Writers cramp! © - Flash Fiction 2015 ~

FRIDAY NIGHT ~ 16th JANUARY 2016

18/1/2016

Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers ~ Writing challenge.
https://flashfictionforaspiringwriters.wordpress.com
Hosted by Priceless Joy.
The goal is to write a story between 100-150 words (give or take 25 words) based on the provided photo.

Picture © Etol Bagam

FRIDAY NIGHT
by John Yeo

Bill entered the bar and spat on the wooden floor. A gooey green mess landed at the feet of a woman, seated at a wooden table. The heavy makeup she wore hid the hard, world-weary face. Bill, adjusted his trousers, balanced on an ample waistline. Lank, greasy black hair hung beneath a grubby hat.
“What the heck? You dirty, lousy, good for nothing!” Lucy spat right back into his bleary red-rimmed, black eyes.
Bill took a wild swing, with his right hand, a sledgehammer of a fist missed by a mile. He cursed loudly, then doubled up in pain as Lucy kicked him square in the groin.
A nasty shouting and screaming row developed. Bill wildly attempted to grab a fist full of Lucy’s long brown hair as her sharp, finger-nails gouged tracks across his already scarred face.
The bar swiftly emptied as the police arrived, to end this public dispute.
Bill’s final words to Lucy were “Where’s my dinner?” The couple walked off arm-in-arm.
“Happens every Friday night!” said the barman to the policeman.

(174 WORDS)

Copyright ©. Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

GROUND CONTROL ~14th JANUARY2015

15/1/2016

A Prompt response for Inspiration Monday: 'Ground Control'
http://bekindrewrite.com

Images © Copyright John and Margaret

ENCLOSURE
by John Yeo

“I used to be able to walk for miles through grassy fields, just enjoying the seasons turning around in the perennial cycle of life, death and birth. Wildlife was prolific in those days, the hedgerows would be full of birdsong and interesting little rustles and sounds of scampering and scurrying little feet. I would take a pen and a notebook to record my thoughts, sometimes a piece of poetry would seep into a corner of my mind and I would hastily sit on the grass and put pen to paper. There were times I would sit and sketch Many a time, I have been caught in a storm and hastened to the nearest hedgerow and dived beneath the bushes and elderberry trees seeking shelter. Mostly I remember sunny days, cloudless blue skies, and perennial wildflowers everywhere. Life drifted on smoothly, with the peace to ramble the fields and think alone.Then came men with guns, and fences appeared, with signs that warned. ‘Private Property. No Trespassing, Keep Out.” Life became restricted to tiny pathways of muddy footpaths sometimes overgrown and impassable. The times had changed and brought Ground Control with fenced enclosure.”
“Yes, Mr Robinson, now try to rest before ward rounds and the doctor arrives.” A busy nurse bustled in and tidied up his bed.
   “Now I have this harsh dementia and my short-term memory is gone, at least I can stroll those bygone lanes again in my mind, nurse.”
   “Yes, Mr Robinson, try to rest now.”
   “I feel as if my mind is fenced and restricted, I can no longer freely think and enjoy the world of now, I am restricted to tiny foggy footpaths of memory, sometimes overgrown and impassable. I feel I am grounded, not in control, fenced in by the evil of dementia.”
   “Yes, Mr Robinson, do you need the commode now?”
  “No thanks nurse, I think I will sleep for a while.

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~All rights reserved.

Image © Copyright John and Margaret

WEIGHTLESSNESS ~6TH JANUARY 2016

8/1/2016

Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers ~ Writing challenge.
https://flashfictionforaspiringwriters.wordpress.com
Hosted by Priceless Joy.
The goal is to write a story between 100-150 words (give or take 25 words) based on the provided photo.

Image provided by Pixabay.com

WEIGHTLESSNESS
by John Yeo

“Ferdinand, I have to go to Weightwatchers this morning, I have a weigh-in. Last week I came out two pounds over my recommended body-weight. I keep telling that gruesome coordinator that I am heavy boned, and the more calcium I ingest the heavier I become. I think I will have to consider some elementary changes to decrease my bone-density. I was far heavier when I wore flesh, l needed a lot of food-intake to keep the whole apparatus alive.”
“Yes Esmeralda my dear.” Thought Ferdinand, breaking into the interminable flow of thoughts.
“Have you seen my robes? I will need to cover up if I am to leave the crypt, I am sure they are around somewhere. Last time I wore them was on Halloween night when we went out haunting together. I do resent having to go all the way to a public crypt to a Weight Watchers session. The rattle of all those dangling bones would be unbearable if we had any ears to hear with."
“Yes Esmeralda my dear.” Ferdinand replied.

(174 WORDS)

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

THE ERUPTION ~ 5TH JANUARY 2016

6/1/2016

A Prompt response for Inspiration Monday: The Crater Wakening
http://bekindrewrite.com

Image from the net

THE ERUPTION
by John Yeo

It was the swinging sixties everything was possible, life was exciting and definitely for living. James, Ruth, and Marg, were inseparable, they got through college together, gaining very high grades. The three friends were from the suburbs of London, the area in Surrey known as the Stockbroker belt. All three friends had the same interests and had unanimously decided to study geology at University.
It was Marg’s idea to take a gap year first, Marg had no trouble persuading her Father to fund her adventure. Marg had always been Daddy's little girl.
“Dad, I want to go to Costa Rica to see the volcanic crater Iratsu, to give me a basic knowledge before I study to become a volcanologist.”
“Will you be going alone?” asked her father cautiously.
“No Dad, I hope not, Ruth is asking her parents, and James is certain to be going. I am sure he will, He has a substantial allowance and he will be paying his own way.”
“I have no objections, if you are all going together.” said her father.
Six months later found the three friends staying in a hotel in San Jose, just 24 kilometres from the volcano, they had purchased camping equipment and began trekking through the stunning rainforest towards their goal. The green cultivated fields leading to the rim of the crater were a beautiful fertile introduction to the stunning beauty that was to come. When they reached their goal the beauty was mind blowing.
Ruth was stunned, “Look at the pool in the crater and the vegetation!”
There was an ominous rumble, almost on cue. “Wow!” exclaimed James. ”I wonder if we are going to witness an eruption? That hotel manager did warn us that the volcano has been rumbling lately!”
Ruth was warily dismissive when she replied, “ Yes! He also said there have been rumbles for quite some time.”
There followed another rumble from the depths of the crater and a distinct tremor, as the three friends took in the astonishing beauty of this volcanic crater.
Marg then broke in and said. “I think we had better get away from here fast. Let’s head back to San Jose! I have an idea we should be somewhere safe for the time being.”
Another rumble and a tremor sent the friends packing up fast and heading towards one of the farms on the rim of the crater.
A surprised farmer, who didn’t speak English, was persuaded to give the three friends a lift into the city, after accepting a wad of money.
“I always knew money talked.” James said, grinning all over his face as they sat on the back of a battered truck, that found every bump on the road.
A couple of days later there was a series of huge explosions that hurled out much ash, rocks, and debris, but the activity soon settled down to alternating periods of explosive eruptions and a quiet emission of steam. Ash was deposited mostly along an area that extended westward from the summit to and beyond the city of San Jose, 24 km away. The prolonged ash-fall severely damaged dairy, vegetable, and coffee farms, and for a while made daily life in the city extremely difficult.
There was a telegram summoning Marg home immediately, from her father, who had been following their progress from the beginning, using the limited information released by the media.

A year later the friends were studying together at University, relating their experiences to all their new interested friends, fellow students and lecturers.

Ten years after, James and Ruth, now married, visited Iratsu again. The wind and volcanic activity conspired to give the effect of a moonscape. There were several craters rimmed by gnarled, scorched trees, lined with brilliantly colored rain-fed mineral pools. The area surrounding its four craters was barren and rocky, a result of its last eruptive cycle.

They were stunned at the realisation they had been present, almost on the day the crater woke up.

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

Images from the Net

THE OUTER SPACE ~ 31st December 2015

2/1/2016

Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers ~ Writing challenge.
https://flashfictionforaspiringwriters.wordpress.com
Hosted by Priceless Joy.
The goal is to write a story between 100-150 words (give or take 25 words) based on the provided photo.

This week’s photo prompt is provided by Sonya with the blog, Only 100 Words.

THE OUTER SPACE
by John Yeo

Billy and his pals were strolling home from school, when they came across this weird green structure in a back garden
“What’s that?” Billy asked. “I’ve never seen anything like that before, it looks like an upside down onion on legs!”
“Wow” exclaimed Tommy. “Funny looking thing. It’s got a lot of rust on the legs, perhaps it’s scrap iron, My Dad says scrap metal is worth a fortune these days.”
Mary, had a much richer imagination than the two boys, she took one look over the fence and said, “I’m frightened, that looks like an alien spacecraft.”
“No, whoever heard of a rusty spacecraft. They're all shiny and new when you see them on the tele.” replied Billy.
Tommy agreed, “No Mary, this is probably an old- fashioned TV aerial, gone rusty.
Just then two men in overalls appeared.
“Clear off you lot, ”
The children ran away fast from these warlike invaders.
“OK. Sebastian, let's get started there's a lot of work to do on our modern art sculpture before the exhibition starts!”

(175 WORDS)

Copyright Written by John Yeo. ~All rights reserved.

UNKNOWN SENDER ~ 30TH DECEMBER 2015

1/1/2016

A Prompt Response for Inspiration Monday:~ Unknown Sender.

http://bekindrewrite.com

Image © Copyright John and Margaret

UNKNOWN SENDER
by John Yeo

“Where did that come from?” Asked, Minnie Mills, when she entered the post-office and handed in the card that had been pushed through her door by the postman.
    Elizabeth, the very experienced counter-clerk, scratched her head in curiosity. “We never know. Are you sure you don’t recognise the handwriting? There doesn’t seem to be a visible postmark on the wrapper, it’s all smudged.” Elizabeth had worked in the village post office for twenty years and she knew everyone intimately, she was always very helpful, and rather nosey when it came to other people's post.
   “I wonder what it can be, I am not expecting anything and I have never seen that writing before. I have heard there are some dangerous people around who send out letter bombs and parcel bombs, to all and sundry.” Minnie exclaimed with a slight tremor of her normally stiff upper lip. Minnie had just turned 83 years old, the week before, but her mind was very sharp from reading the newspapers and watching television.
  Elizabeth smiled in disbelief. “No! Mrs Mills, I don’t think so. Who on earth would want to send a bomb to you? I can call the manager if you like, but I don’t know what he can do. I expect he will call the police, who will then call in the bomb squad.”
Charlie Jones the local odd job man was standing next in the queue, “Come on! Hurry up! I have work to do. Will you get a move on, I will take it outside and open it up if you like!”
“No thank-you very much!” Exclaimed Minnie Mills. “I don’t want your death on my conscience.”
Elizabeth gave him one of her special warning looks, and pressed the bell for the manager, who was in the office at the back of the shop doing his books. Bill Green had been managing this little village office for a couple of years now, having moved from the big city to enjoy life in the country with his family.
“Can I help you?” Bill asked the odd job man, then sold him a first class stamp and showed him the door.
Elizabeth rapidly explained the situation to the astonished manager.
“Well, there is a procedure to follow when we encounter a suspicious package. I have a special number to ring for instructions. Don’t do a thing until I come back.” He rushed into his office to make the call.
He returned in a couple of minutes and announced, “Help is on the way, meanwhile we must put the package in a bucket of water and take it outside, far away from the post office.”
A short time later an unusual looking van arrived with strange aerials on the top and headed straight for the bucket. Some minutes later an army officer entered the post office.
“There is no cause for alarm, this is definitely not an explosive device. We have x-rayed it and we ran a metal detector over it, and there is nothing metallic inside.” He reported, then drove off
to another investigation.
Elizabeth, the counter clerk was very curious, and when everyone had gone, she urged Minnie to open the parcel. “Go on, open it now in case I can help you.”
   Minnie gave her an old fashioned look, then said, “No I will take it home now.”
When she got home she gingerly unwrapped her package to discover a rubber Hot-Water Bottle, donated by Age Concern to keep her warm in the winter.
Ahh! That’s nice of them she thought, smiling to herself.

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved

BOXING ~ 23RD DECEMBER2015

24/12/2015

A Prompt Response for Inspiration Monday:~ 'Boxing'
http://bekindrewrite.com

Image from the Net

BOXING
by John Yeo

Jim always walked to the town through the farmer’s fields He loved to watch the seasons change and drift along. The county of Kent is popularly known as the garden of England. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, it was a glorious Spring day. Jim always took his faithful dog Rover along with him for company.
This was to be an unforgettable day for both of them, Rover was busy chasing rabbits and sniffing around the dried-up cow pats exploring the interesting smells. When suddenly the dog rushed forward, barking furiously at a very large, unusual creature that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. Jim couldn’t believe what he was seeing, he rubbed his eyes in total disbelief, in front of him was a very large Australian Kangaroo, that bounded directly towards Rover, his ears pulled back and his large long tail dragging along behind him. Rover changed his bark from an aggressive loud noise to a frightened whimper as he turned tail and fled. Jim stood his ground and looked the unusual creature straight in the eyes.
”Hallo! where have you suddenly appeared from? You are a very long way from home.”
The Kangaroo suddenly reared up on his hind legs and assumed an aggressive boxing stance. Jim instantly turned and fled in alarm with the large creature leaping and bounding along behind him. Jim was stopped in his tracks by a six foot high hedge, one look behind at the aggressive Kangaroo and Jim leapt over the fence into a field of cattle, Rover wriggled through a gap in the fence and followed.
A huge Bull bellowed at this intrusion into his private space, and started charging across the field towards Jim with his head down, just as the Kangaroo came flying over the hedge. The two creatures took one look at each other and fled in opposite directions.
Jim climbed a tree and watched, as three tractors appeared and drove the Kangaroo towards a large lorry marked in bright letters Circus. The drivers were laughing and enjoying the spectacle immensely. Someone had telephoned the local papers and a large crowd had gathered and witnessed Jim’s amazing leap to freedom. Jim soon became something of a local celebrity, and was wined and dined as his leap to freedom, became the leap to a beginning of many after-dinner speaking engagements.

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

Image from the Net

VIEWPOINT ~ 15TH DECEMBER 2015

17/12/2015

Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers ~ Writing challenge.

Hosted by Priceless Joy.

The goal is to write a story between 100-150 words (give or take 25 words) based on the provided photo.

Image supplied and credited by Priceless Joy on WordPress

VIEWPOINT
by John Yeo

Officer Tom was puzzled at the disappearance of the owner of the cycle.
"Look!" said Mary Jones, "It must belong to some one. It's been leaning up against that lamp-post for days! I think someone got off, climbed the wooden stairs, then just disappeared."
"Hmm!" Police Constable Jones proceeded to write something in his notebook, then he asked, "Where do the stairs lead?"
"Up to the roof,!" replied Mary. "Why would anyone want to climb up to my roof?"
"Ah! I had better take a look on that roof."
Soon an ambulance and a police car arrived. Two paramedics carried a figure on a stretcher down the stairs to the ambulance and he was taken to hospital followed by the police car.
Officer Tom then congratulated Mary.
"Madame, you have just saved the life of a peeping Tom. He had a serious fall on the rooftops a few days ago and was unable to move following a broken leg. He had some very expensive telescopes, and an amazing assortment of women's underwear up there.

(175 WORDS)

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

ACCIDENTAL GIFT ~ 14th DECEMBER 2015

15/12/2015

A Prompt Response for Inspiration Monday:~ Accidental Gift.
http://bekindrewrite.com

ACCIDENTAL GIFT
by John Yeo

Sally-Anne was always adamant that she would get her way, and she used every trick in her extensive repertoire of ploys, to engineer the result she wanted. Living the life of a picture-book that portrayed exactly the front she wanted the world to see, the world became her plaything.
One sad day she was confined to the house with a severe lurgy, this dreaded lurgy kept her housebound and inactive for several months.
Her doctor was at his wits end, trying to find the right combination of medication to counteract the infernal symptoms, but sadly, sharp-tongued Sally-Anne, didn't respond to anything he prescribed.
"Mrs. Wood," he began, one memorable day, "I would like to try something really new; a revolutionary new treatment for this unusual variety of the dreaded lurgy, that we are battling against here."
"Yes please Doctor, anything to get my health and strength back again, my family are having to cope with my persistent problems."
Several days later she found herself on an operating-table, undergoing surgery performed by the world famous brain surgeon James Steele
The atmosphere could have been sliced with the proverbial butter knife! The manipulative madam had many underlying issues to contend with. Since heaven knows when, the problems with her ever-moving, ever
mindful, reviewing and mistaken interpretation of many mundane issues had sadly overtaken the reality of her existence. Sally-Anne was a bright young woman who under normal circumstances would have gone a long way in life.
The surgery was an incredible success and Sally-Anne became a well-respected, well-liked member of her community.
Then one fateful day, her son started violin lessons at school and brought his instrument home to practice. Sally Anne was delighted and so proud of him.
A few hours later, Sally-Anne idly picked the violin up and to her amazement, it felt familiar, as if it was an old friend. She began playing the most beautiful music, drawing her neighbours and people from the street to stop and listen.
Word quickly spread around, and Sally-Anne eventually became a famous well loved violinist, respected the whole world over.
The scientific community were incredulous and after much discussion it was decided that this was a wonderful accidental gift, an accidental side effect of her recent brain surgery.

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

'SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE' ~ Image © Copyright John and Margaret

DEPARTMENT OF SILENCE ~ 9TH DECEMBER 2015

11/12/2015

A prompt response for Inspiration Monday ~ Department of Silence

Image © Copyright John and Margaret

DEPARTMENT OF SILENCE
by John Yeo

Jim and Bill worked in the post room of St Mary's a huge General Hospital. This was a busy challenging place to work, before the advent of computers. Ken on the post van would throw six sacks of mail on the loading bay, three times a day.
"There you are boys! Another load to stop you two dropping off."
Laughing his head off as he drove away fast.
"Thanks for nothing!" Jim shouted back with a grin.
Then there was the internal mail coming in thick and fast, at all times of the day. Sometimes there would be a huge pile of unsorted mail, sitting on the bench, and both men would quickly get to work, clearing the backlog in no time.
Bill was the detective of the two, there wasn't a scrawling, squiggly example of a young busy Doctors handwriting, that could defeat him. Bill always found a home for the most obscurely addressed letter.

One day there was an unusual package addressed to the head of the "Department of Silence." Jim picked it up first and said to Bill.
"This is certainly one for you to work out! There's no such department here that I know of!"
"Ah! Hmm!" murmured Bill, "I can think of several places this could be destined for. Either the Sleep Clinic, the Acoustics lab, The Audiology and Hearing loss department, the Chapel, or in my opinion, this is meant to send us to the silence of the hospital Mortuary."
"Wow!" Jim exclaimed. "I had better call security to get the bomb squad in. Let's get out of here!"
Soon the hospital was drowned in the combined sirens of the emergency services.
After a total evacuation of the building, an army officer removed the package and ordered a controlled explosion in the hospital grounds.
The officer in charge congratulated Bill and Jim on a quick thinking response. "Well done! How did you guess that was a suspicious package?"

"It was the address that gave it away," said Bill quietly. "Silence is not only golden, it is virtually impossible to achieve in a busy hospital.
I thought at first they meant department of Science, but that's all over the place in here."

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.