What Happens Next?

Ingerstall

It was damn dark.

She unblocked the phone with his finger.

"The cheating bastard. That bitch will never get the jewels."

She buried his hand. The rest of the body was somewhere out there, floating in the cold river.

So, what happens next, she thought.

"Get the damn jewelry box, that's what happens next."

Total silence.

"Fancy house, he bought her."

She roamed about in the bedroom.

"Ah, here it is."

When she opened the jewelry box, she gasped. A bullet?

When she turned around, it was too late.

Damn, it was dark and she had killed the wrong twin.

100 Word Stories

Remote

 

Roche

The remote is not working. I cannot change the colors. What? We always change the colors. Summer, Autumn, Wint... Why not? But we just need a new remote. Well, you're the Creator. That's your job! Mine is to change the colors. OK, whatever."

No Autumn this year.

Then, he sneered.

"No help from above?! OK, then. I'll be God for a season!"

He painted all the houses red. The fences became bright orange and the stones of the pathways golden.

People smiled, amused.

He spread his wings, waved and smiled back, proud of the village he was in charge of.

100 Word Stories

NaNoWriMo November 2022

 

NaNoWriMo

November is right around the corner and today I have announced my project.

The Door Between Us will reflect my life path in the past few months. I am unsure whether it'll turn into a novel inspired by real life events or if it'll remain an account of what has been happening. I'll make the final decision after the first week of writing.

As always, I'll work at Milk Wood where my writing community, the Virtual Writers, gathers daily at 8am SLT (Second Life Time).

If you're in Second Life and are doing NaNoWriMo, feel free to join us.

Thumbs Up

Tatty Soup

Thumbs up to the guitar player and his song and his hair and his boots and his eyes, contacts, and... No, this doesn't work. She stretched. The damn guitar was more interesting than everything else put together, and it wasn't even a nice guitar. Why did she have to praise the guy and pretend the whole concert had been amazing? No. She was going to be honest, brutally honest if need be. She opened a new message. "Thumbs up to the guitar player and the song and the hair, wow! And the boots, nice!" She sighed. Yup. Perhaps next time.

100 Word Stories

Invitation! A Road Paved with Women's Words

I invite you to join me at SLEA2!

Writing has been both a passion and a lifeline for me.

When Kisma K. Stepanich-Reidling (kismaksr inworld) invited me to take part in The Temple of the Divine Feminine, I accepted the invitation immediately!

What a thrill to join women from different corners of the world, different ages, different walks of life, all sharing their creativity at the SLEA2 - photography, painting, sculpture, videos, readings, and writing!

One of the events of this remarkable project is "A Road Paved with Women's Words", a discussion panel that will bring together three women writers in Second Life, myself, Jami Mills - Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the online RezMagazine and Angela Thespian - Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the online FOCUS magazine. Our moderator will be Kisma Reidling.

For more information, check the official website of the Second Life Endowment for the Arts and for a detailed tour of the SLEA Region 2, drop by Tara's blog post.

My talk is titled "When Two Words Become a New Path in Life" and I'll take you on a journey of hope and healing, creativity and empowerment. I will tell you how virtual reality and words, many words, can change your life.

Date: Friday, 14 October 2022

Time: 1pm SLT

Location: The Temple of the Divine Feminine

Event: In voice and text in local.

Speediest

Tierra de Fuego

"Grab your passport and run." Good advice from the boss.

When his underboss took me to the airplane, I looked unsure. I was the only passenger and I seemed frightened. He nodded. I grabbed my notepad and showed him my notes. "I'm just a journalist." He nodded some more.

When he grabbed his gun, I smiled. He was confused. I clicked the button and the plane exploded, underboss included.

I'm not sure why I needed the passport, but who am I to question the boss. After all, whatever he decided was the speediest way of getting your life significantly shortened.

100 Word Stories

January Code

 

Tatty Soup

Millions in the bank. She laughed, the fire pit crackling.

The safe. She had cracked it open so easily.

And the code. It was right there for her to grab.

She just walked out of the office and no one noticed.

Doing that boring secretary job for six months was worth it.

The new generation bought the code from her for a fortune. Smart kids. Nothing like their mobster fathers.

It was much better to be in the cottage than in that horrible office.

They were looking for her, of course. But money buys a lot of things, including silence.

100 Word Stories

Crash

 

Ten Pages

The bikes were new. He sneered. He didn't know about the upcoming crash. He didn't know she'd made a decision. Which one should he ride first? Yes, this one. She had told him not to, but he wanted to ride those bikes. He didn't care about her. In fact, her words sounded like a warning, the bitch. He never cared about anyone else. He always did what he wanted. When the time came for her to say a few words at the funeral, she sneered and said "Hope you had fun being who you were. Your ride is now over."

100 Word Stories

Contact Lens

 

Ten Pages

"This is a contact lens."

"Where's the other one?"

He chuckled, burying his feet in the sand.

"Look."

He held it close to his eye and the wind picked up and the waves became wild.

"What's happening?"

"Want me to kill that bird?"

Before she could say no, the bird just dropped dead.

Horrified, she stood up.

"Where did you get that?"

"Aliens. I meet them every Sunday after church."

"Aliens?! Dead birds?"

He smiled.

"I don't know what else to do with it."

"Rain, dude, make fucking rain. Useless aliens... Giving you, of all people, a... freaking contact lens."

100 Word Stories

Mimes

 

Westdell

The Drunk Monk Tavern didn't have a nice brew or even acceptable food but had the best mime contests. Mimes came from miles away to take a chance at winning the big prize. And what was the big prize? Lily. Lily was the daughter of a monk, according to her mother. And Lily desperately wanted to get away from her dishonorable past . The only problem was that she couldn't stand men yapping on and on. She wanted a mime. Her mother agreed especially because they were running out of room in the backyard and the local authorities were getting suspicious.

100 Word Stories

Remember

Time Remains

I remember this. Everyone used to find it amusing and mother found it particularly useful. The others laughed and giggled and sneered. And mother snickered, looking like a child about to be naughty.

No one ever said a thing. No one ever stepped in. Father was just too busy to even know. Or perhaps he had decided that it was best for him not to know. She used to hang it around my neck, the string emphasizing the humiliation. And I had to do the house chores with that sign on. It said "Bought and sold". I do remember this.

100 Word Stories

Evidence

 

Japanchubu

"No evidence," repeated the impatient historian.

"But Professor..."

The historian stormed out.

Stubborn fuckers, he thought.

So, he went back to Japan to check the temple again.

"Doubting me... Unacceptable."

After weeks of research, he found the small button in a dark corner.

Click. A whole new room opened up.

"Damn, they were right," he whispered.

The historian quickly closed the secret room and pulled a chest over to hide the stupid button.

The next day, the button and his stubbornness were all over the news.

"They followed me..."

And this is how arrogance is the beginning of your downfall.

100 Word Stories

Archimedes

 

Octoberville

"Archimedes!"

Archimedes received an envelope in the mail for years. He opened that envelope to find it empty. But he kept all those envelopes, neatly organized by dates, in a shoe-box under the bed.

One day, a man arrived in town asking for him.

"Your instructions."

He rushed to his room. He unfolded all the envelopes open and there it was. A map.

He followed the map and at the location, he found a box.

"Oh, my God! I'm filthy rich."

Ah, his uncle, his only surviving relative, the trickster.

Good thing he hadn't thrown any of the envelopes away!

100 Word Stories

Deal

 

Nighthaven

Millions. To sell him for millions. He wanted the millions. He wanted the fancy cars, the huge house, the yacht. He wanted the girls, the jewelry, the paparazzi. He wanted the interviews, the autographs.

Then the millions came and everything else along with it.

It was fun, at first.

When that creep jumped over his fence and held him and his family hostage for half a day, demanding the release of another creep from jail, it wasn't fun anymore.

He stopped playing football. He moved to the mountains to be free.

But he still kept the millions... just in case.

100 Word Stories

Of Teeth and Such

 

Milk Wood

Screaming kids running throughout the house, trying to escape the evil toothbrush with that medicinal toothpaste from hell that tasted horribly. This is how I remember Aunt Ethel. She was relentless, always trying to brush everyone's teeth.

One day, she couldn't find any of us (we were hiding) and she walked outside, toothbrush in one hand and the damned toothpaste in the other, armed for a battle only she and us kids understood. But she just left, walked away and left.

That's why we all became dentists. Secretly, we hoped she'd come back to realize she now had an army.

100 Word Stories

Cross Country

Pure Dreams

Taking the cross country path was a last minute decision. And it looked like it was the right thing to do.

It was lovely out there. The trees, the birds, the stars. They even found a pathway where all the trees had exotic colorful lamps, guiding them through.

In their oblivious enchantment, they reached the end of the pathway.

"Great, now we have to turn back..."

They didn't know it yet, but they didn't have to, no.

The light mist lifted slowly. It looked so magical, so beautiful.

When they noticed the copious amounts of skulls, it was too late.

100 Word Stories

Pop

 

Gehena Vampire Clan

The cork popped.

"It's worth the wait," he said.

She smiled. Yes, two centuries.

"It'll taste sour at first."

She smiled. She didn't like sour.

"But the aftertaste will be sweet."

She nodded. She didn't like sweet either.

In fact, she didn't like anything except the taste of hatred.

Two centuries. And here he was, oblivious that he had betrayed her many moons ago.

She had used her powers to look different, more seductive.

That green bottle was somewhat beneath her, but it would have to do.

Perhaps then she would be able to taste something again. "Pop! And cheers!"

100 Word Stories

Camp NaNoWriMo July

Done. No Words is concluded and I will now proceed to the next phase, revising and editing.

This was a well needed step in a long healing process. No one will ever read it, except for one person (B.).

Onwards we go.

Choke

The words “Drink me” were on the label. No one had ever ordered him to drink anything, except his mother when he was a child. She used to say, drink this but don't choke. Why would he choke?

He examined the liquid. Pink. Well, odd shades of green and blue usually demanded caution. But pink?

He shook the bottle. Might as well mix this properly.

He took a sip.

When he started choking, he thought of his mother and the way she would stare at him, waiting.

He knew that look would haunt him to the end of his days.

100 Word Stories

Robot

China

The robot mixed the colors.

The robot tilted its head left and right, as he'd seen humans do. Somehow, that felt important.

And the landscape appeared on the canvas. Blacks and blues and whites and a house. The water was so dark the painting turned into night.

The robot paused. Why did the night sneak in? He wanted a bright day of blues and whites and... The black. It was the black.

The night looked nice too. But... A splash of white here and there and...

The robot tilted its head left and right. If he could, he would smile.

100 Word Stories

Camp NaNoWriMo July 2022

 

Cover photo by Engin Akyurt

Camp NaNoWriMo is upon us again. It's such a cliché, but time does fly.

This July, I'll write a personal account of the path I have been treading for the past few years. It has not been easy and it's now time to exorcize those demons, trap them and keep them locked up. Writing is a wonderful way to understand things happening around me and, finally, accepting that I am doing my best.

Let the writing begin!

Bleak

 

Milk Wood

"My computer isn't working properly. The USB socket is all messed up. And there's a koala wallpaper that is driving me crazy. I need this fixed asap. That's what I'm paying you guys for."

"Certainly. What's your address? I'll send assistance over immediately."

"Assistance? I can't answer the door. I'm in the pool. The doctor told me to meditate for half an hour in the pool every day."

"Perhaps after the meditation?"

"No, I have a major function later on."

"Tomorrow? After tomorrow? Any day in the future?"

"Are you being snarky with me, young man?!"

The future is bleak.

100 Word Stories

Blocker

Mystical Falls

"The bike?"

"Yes! She took it. She says the oddest things. She listens to what I say and reorganizes everything in her head only to spit out sentences filled with hatred. And she says one thing one day to say the exact opposite the next, but swearing she never ever said what she said first. She is crazy. So, I blocked her. There."

"I wasn't talking about her. And I said blocker, not block her."

"Oh... Well, I suppose I'm a pop-up blocker then. She won't pop up in my life again, that's for sure. Sadly, neither will my bike."

100 Word Stories

Anywhere

Majesterium

Anywhere was a town in the middle of nowhere. Life was tough.

One day, a stranger came into town. They didn't like strangers.

"Anywhere a man can sleep around here?" He asked.

No one answered.

The next day, he was gone and he never came back.

However, he left a thank you note and a stone."Bury it."

And they did.

A year later, they heard some noises, dug up the stone, but it had disappeared. Instead, they found a tunnel with thousands of precious stones.

The... stone... had hatched and people began to think that perhaps strangers weren't always bad.

100 Word Stories

Scoreboard

 

Bmc Village

The scoreboard was off. The race was over.

She had taken her jet ski to the limit and broken it.

The scoreboard would be on again in a few weeks and she had no money.

That's when her life of crime started. A few tools. A few parts. A whole jet ski, why not!

She painted it in her colors so no one would recognize it.

Now, she was sitting in jail. Not because of the jet ski but because she had messed with... the scoreboard.

She thought, what the heck, I'm not going to be dead in the water!

100 Word Stories

100 Word Stories

May 31 2022. The seventeenth anniversary of the 100 Word Stories Podcast. It's a remarkable body of work by Laurence Simon (R. in Second Life). He vowed to write a story, 100 words long, every day till the day he dies. And he has written hundreds of stories.

Inspired by R.'s commitment to story writing, I started taking part in the Weekly Challenge. My very first story was read in January 2012. It was called "I Don't Know". I remember that it took me hours - yes, hours! - to write and polish 100 words! And I was so nervous about sending it out.

It's hard to believe 10 years have gone by. I've written over 500 drabbles, continue to take part in the podcast and am forever grateful to R.'s inspiration and generous support over the years.

More stories to come!

Major Consensus

Wonderland 2.0

Major Bunny hurried through the main hall.

"What happened?" Asked Benny, the only human around. He had been adopted by the Bunnies as a kid.

"Not now, Benny, not now."

The bells clanged, prompting everyone to gather.

"Fellow Bunnies, we've been called to action."

Everyone murmured.

"Consensus Bunny has received the order. This is not a drill."

That's when the bunnies stopped being bunnies. And how relieved they were. Thousands of years pretending.

They were still small, but they weren't cute anymore.

"Let's harvest some humans!" Shouted Major Bunny.

And the mob scattered in all directions, much to Benny's horror.

100 Word Stories

Spook

Raven Lake

Frederick was an old ghost. He enjoyed startling anyone who approached the house. But that didn't last long. After a century or two, another old ghost showed up, Victor. They argued. Victor laughed and Frederick punched him. Victor punched back. Exhausted, they agreed to frighten the town folk together. It was a good thing Victor showed up. The new generation wasn't as gullible. They would laugh and pull out those hideous little devices, pointing them left and right. It was humiliating. He'd have to talk to Victor about it. Perhaps they could punch a few of them! Ummm... Too much?

100 Word Stories

Train

Tierra de Fuego

"The pilot wasn't trained properly," said the inspector.

"I trained him myself. I've been training pilots for 30 years, as you know."

"I think you're losing your... skills."

Silence.

"How about the huge hole on the side of the plane?!"

"It'll go in my report, but it wasn't the cause of..."

"Not the cause?! Five people were sucked out."

The inspector smiled and walked away.

Thirty years. He waited, thirty years. He had always wanted to be a pilot, but the idiot flunked him again and again. He ended up becoming a mere scribe. This is how you get even.

100 Word Stories

Every Good Intention

Tatty Soup

Every good intention starts with a candle, he thought... at first. The solemn emptiness was cold and the minute light gave him hope, a nervous flicker betraying the uncertainty of the moment. Was he really good enough? Was he worthy? He shifted his weight from one leg to the other. Every good intention starts with a candle. But he doesn't think that anymore. The nervous flicker turned into a blazing nightmare. No one asked. So, he never mentioned his candle. And when someone said "Shall we light a candle, Father?", he always remembered the cold horror, crawling up his back.

100 Word Stories

Thicket

 

Wonderland 2.0

The tiny hops of joy brought light to a golden field. The sun. The warmth. Her smile covered by a mask. She motioned to pick a flower, but hesitated and smiled.

It wasn't the time. Let them live, she thought. Let them live.

Cast a spell, the old woman had said. And she smiled once more.

Kindness. She nodded. Was kindness a spell?

Early bird and all that, but with kindness.

The tiny hops of joy brought a glow she could not explain, a glow of gold, a smile of joy. And she hopped, her face covered by a mask.

100 Word Stories

Twist

 

Time Remains

He twisted the cord of the phone. The sweet smell of success in a single sentence. Nothing felt better than to hear someone say "I hate you". He grinned. Hate is such a gracious way of living. He hated everyone and he was happy. No one bothered him. He bothered no one. And he was happy. The day he fell in the living-room, a sharp pain on his chest, he wasn't alone. The dark tall figure by the door grinned and said "It's time."

All he could mutter was "I hate you" but this time he was definitely not happy.

100 Word Stories

Camp NaNoWriMo Done

 

This year's April Camp was bittersweet, I must admit.

I was too ambitious. Four short stories in four weeks, considering what is going on in Real Life, was indeed very ambitious.

However, I did manage to set the basis for one (yes... only one) story. And I did reach the 20k mark I had established as a goal.

That 20k number is a mix of the amount of words written and, when no words were written but research was done, the amount of time spent, per NaNoWriMo's suggestion - every 30 mins = 500 words.

So, it's done. More in July! Well, more tomorrow. I'll continue to work on this story and get it finished before July arrives with another Camp!

Chewy

 

Milk Wood

"I like it chewy."

The man sitting by her side opened his eyes and sneered. "You have no teeth. How can you like it chewy?"

"I have teeth!"

"Yeah, OK, you have teeth."

"Look." The woman opened her mouth.

"What in the name of God is that?!"

She grinned as a set of four metal teeth slid down from inside the gum. "New thing."

"That looks frightening."

"But it's very handy." She grabbed the metal jar where a bunch of wooden spoons rested, and ripped a chunk out of it.

"Yes, handy, I bet. No more problems with cans, huh?"

100 Word Stories

Free

 

The Tower by Rebeca Bashly

Bow and bow again. No end to the bowing. No end to not looking straight in his eyes. No soul. No tears. Just bow. Bow and scream inside, because you're alive. You're alive and he thinks you're dead. He thinks you have lost your way. He thinks you are nobody. You belong to him. You're dead. So, bow. Stretch your arms defiantly and bow, again and again until he understands. It's no longer submission. It's preparation. It's knowing. It's getting ready to jump and run. And when he finally figures it all out, yes... by then, you'll be long gone.

100 Word Stories

Mice Cream

 

Collins Land

"Mice? No, no. Forget about that."

The man stood at the entrance. He hesitated. The smell was obnoxious but the hunger... oh, the hunger.

"With carrots. A carrot creamy soup. Much better than with mice."

Someone murmured in agreement.

He ventured inside. Two men were skinning mice. It was disgusting.

"Add some spices. Oh, yes? Are you hungry, my friend?"

He didn't know anymore.

"Have some soup." The man smiled.

His stomach growled, so he did. It was not that bad.

In the bowl, he found a large chunk of bone.

"Mice?"

The men looked at each other and sneered.

100 Word Stories

No Preventive Maintenance

 

Time Remains

"The landing was scheduled for eleven. What's going on?"

The voice on the phone stumbled.

"I don't care. Where are they?"

Some problem...

"Are they coming or not?"

Silence.

"If they aren't coming, I need to dispose of these samples. You know how human samples deteriorate quickly and the fridge you left here is crap."

A chuckle.

"Oh, funny, is it? You won't find it so amusing when it's your turn to do a tour here on Earth and have your crappy fridge stuffed with beers just because you don't want them to think you're an alien, which you are!"

100 Word Stories

Too Much to Bear

 

Tatty Soup

It was just too much. Pack your bags, quickly. And this urgency... This overwhelming fear... How can we choose which parts of our lives are salvageable? Photos, documents, diaries, books? Books? Which ones, because they are so heavy... Just one. Choose one, quickly. And we don't know which one to choose. I chose "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly". It's small and oh, so big. And we took some seeds. Seeds are light. We need seeds to start over. The bags were placed at the door, side by side with the million steps that would take us away, for now.

100 Word Stories

Camp NaNoWriMo April 2022

 

Four Times One is the name of this year's Camp NaNoWriMo project. The idea is to write a short story each week. 20k words, about 5k per story. If Real Life decides to mess with this plan, I'll extend it to July's Camp. One week prep'ing, one week writing. Do I know what I'll write about? No. And I'm not sure this is a good plan! But... NaNoWriMo's idea is to get you out of your comfort zone, right? So, there! No preparation at all. Here we go!

Slippery Slope

 

Wonderland 2.0

I thought it was risky, but they said "this way". And we all went "this way". The problem with blindly following what others say is that we often end up in rather complicated situations. In my defense, there was a sign that clearly said "This Way". And usually, signs are supposed to be reliable. This time, this particular sign wasn't. And off we went, blissfully unaware. When we reached the end of the tunnel, they pushed us into the pit. And we had to decide whether to take the blue pill or the red... Wait a second... Alice?! Rewind. Rewind!

100 Word Stories

Hair

Time Remains

 

"What have you done?"

My sister shrugged.

"But your hair..."

She smiled and shrugged again.

"Is something wrong?"

She shook her head and mumbled something about a sign.

"What sign?"

She was moving on, away from vanity.

Being a shampoo model had been very profitable for her.

"What about your job?"

She looked at me.

"No, no no."

My hair is now long enough for me to take her old job. I'll get my own place and I'll be filthy rich. Life is a lot simpler than we think. It just takes a bit longer when we're talking about hair.

100 Word Stories

The Books

Mistll

The books on the shelf stared at him sternly.

Feeble. Uncompromising. Late.

The titles suggested a series of events that could easily be totally uninteresting or a complete disaster. Being such a positive person, he thought they were a sign that something dreadful was about to happen.

When a car exploded outside (certainly because of some lunatic defending lunatic ideas), he grabbed the three books and ran, hoping to save himself. He was about to burn them when they arrested him. "Subversive, subversive" they shouted.

While they dragged him away, he pondered about the different meanings of the word "late".

100 Word Stories

Cliché

Saltwater

"A perfect storm," he said.

I replied "what comes around goes around".

He nodded. "If walls could talk..."

"Yup, but sometimes ignorance is bliss."

He nodded again.

There was a moment of silence while we looked at the sea.

"We must think outside the box."

I replied, "but we must be careful not to open a can of worms."

"True. Oh, well. It doesn't matter anymore. He's dead as a doornail."

I smiled. "Good things come to those who wait."

"And we did wait a long time," he said.

"We did. My finger was freezing," I replied, holding the gun.

100 Word Stories

Brownie Mix

 

Milk Wood

When the neighbor started digging holes in his garden at two in the morning, I thought I should do something about it. I took a spade and trotted across his garden. It was a body missing a finger... I put it back in the ground. Should I call the police? I had committed a crime too, trespassing on his property. When he knocked at my door the next day, I froze. He smiled. "Here, have some brownies. It's my own brownie mix recipe. I add a pinch of this and a pinch of that." I sure didn't like his sneer...

100 Word Stories