Silence

 

This silence is deafening...

The Book, a Gift From a Stranger

Milk Wood

It's almost half past four. I pick up the book, a gift from a stranger in the park. "It's about France," he said with a smile. It hit me then that if I don't leave, she will destroy me. "Why do you hate me so much?" She asked. I don't. I never have. Wrong answer. And after that, she punished me for weeks with silence. I grab my small backpack, my whole life in it, and go. A gift, a smile, a gesture of generosity, and I am free. That's all it took. Amazing, isn't it? That's all it took.

100 Word Stories

Car Crash

Santaurio

They survived the car crash. They survived the cruise ship sinking in the Mediterranean. They survived the train wreck in Sri Lanka. And the list went on and on. A tsunami, a volcanic eruption, a flood, a tornado, even a pandemic. Until that long-awaited trip to the North pole. "Take the icebreaker. It's safer," someone said." No, of course not. "Let's do something dangerous. Nothing ever happens to us." They rented a small plane. Did they know how to fly a plane? Not really. And that's where the list stopped. Simulation terminated. "Lousy game. Good thing it was dirt cheap."

100 Word Stories

Benefits

 

Collins

Love is such an illusive word. It's not a word, she promptly said, it's a feeling. And there I sat, wondering what she meant. She had never loved anyone and here she was, full of herself, pontificating about love. I just sat there, chain-smoking, which she hated. She pretty much hated everything about me. I'm not sure why she married me. In the end, love is such an illusive word, isn't it? It just means that sometimes you do things for love. She wouldn't have to suffer with my wrong-doings. That hammer was indeed sturdy, as promised at the store.

100 Word Stories

Position

 

Matanzas

The yacht was tired. The crew and the passengers were also tired. No radio signal.

The Captain looked at the First Officer. "Let's rest here."

Suddenly, something something "What's your position?".

"Captain, we need time to fix the hull."

"We'll stay here. Nice, tropical island. We'll be fine."

When the search party arrived, the locals snickered.

"Where are they? The yacht is right over there."

The locals snickered some more.

No one was found.

However, there were some suspiciously fresh bones, hanging above the doors of the houses.

That's when the search party decided to leave as quickly as possible!

100 Word Stories

Crack

 

Japanchubu

It was an ancient building.The crack on the wall grew bigger. But he wasn't going to let it crumble on his watch. So, he filled the crack with cement. When the wall collapsed, he was in Aruba, sunbathing. Everyone was horrified. Cement? Apparently, bad cement, who would've thought. The horror! Who had done that? However, they did find a secret room with a long-lost treasure. So, he went back and bragged. Not a good idea. "But, what about the treasure? And a crumbling wall adds character!" He shouted while being dragged off to jail. To brag or not to brag.

100 Word Stories

Pester

 

Slaughterhouse

Those YOU posters... YOU must apply. YOU must, YOU.

Wear something proper. Speak correctly. You don't want to sound like a moron, do you?

No. But he didn't want to be pestered all day long about a job he didn't want either.

Look at that, the future of our nation, that poster says it all, aren't you proud?

He was annoyed. Proud? No. So, he spent the whole night slashing them. The scandal! That's how the I'm-Not-An-Asset movement started.

100 years later, employees were still an asset, in the worst possible way... He went from annoyed to angry, murderously angry.

100 Word Stories

Pillows

Izzie's

These pillows are good quality, she thought. The price was acceptable. So, she bought them. She placed them in her garden, dreaming of perfect soireés with her super elegant friends dressed in their pricey clothes, smiling fake smiles, dragging along bored little husbands with perfect bank accounts that they spent in perfectly useless facial creams. Argh! She hated them. The pillows. Good quality. Well... Would they endure something rougher, she wondered, something a bit more... But then she remembered her mother's words "a clean conscience makes a soft pillow". Perhaps she shouldn't have wiped those perfect smiles off their faces.

100 Word Stories

Aurora

 

Whisperingwind

"My name is Aurora," she said out loud over and over again. There were only a few days left till the end of the year. She was ready. Leave, she thought, leave. Go make your dreams come true. The dreamcatcher freed you from your nightmares. Just go. And she packed everything she had. A moment of hesitation made her stop. The door was open, just waiting for her to leave. She looked at the wall. "Come," she said. "Come with me." She took the dreamcatcher with her, an entanglement of past tears, hope and healing. "Aurora. My name is Aurora."

100 Word Stories

The Lion That Ate Cherries

 

Mistll

He was furious. The Lion That Ate Cherries? What kind of a Xmas gift was that?! He was a writer. He wanted books, not worthless pseudo-art. And, on top of it all, that creepy cousin, smirking... No! And then, it hit him. The photograph. He remembered the photograph. "I'll take it. The painting, yes." Everyone mocked him. He smiled. Two weeks later, he arrived at a remote village in Africa. An elderly woman opened the door. "I've been waiting for you." Right there, a whole library of first editions, rare books, a dream come true. "Your grandfather knew you'd understand." 

100 word Stories

Eaten by Lions

 

Milk Wood

He grabbed the book Eaten by Lions. The book was in the secret room.

Gladiators, hungry lions. Boring. On top of it all, the blasted book weighed a ton.

One day, two days, and his hair turned gray.

Three days, four days, and he looked like a 90 year old man.

The book changed too. It looked less dusty, less moldy.

And he couldn't remember a single word.

But why did his master want him to read that book?

When he exited the tower, he understood why.

His 90-year old master looked much younger.

Eaten, but definitely not by lions. 

100 Word Stories

Trailers

 

Milk Wood

A pot of tulips. Why hadn't she tossed it in the garbage when Mr. I-Love-Tulips left her? No, she took it to the trailer, all she could afford now. When enough tulips had bloomed, she cut them all off and sent them to his workplace, with a note. “You forgot these.” Yes, it was petty. Yes, it was vindictive. However, she decided to grow some more tulips and send them to him for his birthday. She was sure he'd be horrified to see tulips without a pot. Dead and all that. Life's tough. But at least, he would have tulips.

100 Word Stories

Contact Lens

 

Borgatti

"What kind of flower is that?" She asked.

"This is a very special flower," he answered.

"What do you mean?"

"It's a contact lens. It helps us to see the future."

She looked unsure.

"The future?"

"Yep."

She looked even more unsure.

"How so?"

"Look."

Then, he whispered and the flower wavered slightly in the wind.

"In a year's time, this garden will be wonderful, full of life, and filled with beautiful flowers. You know why? Because when you cherish something, everything flourishes."

She smiled.

Just as he thought, that small flower helped with a lot more than the future.

100 Word Stories

NaNoWriMo 2023

Goal achieved....

However, this year's NaNoWriMo left a bitter aftertaste.

I have been a WriMo since 2013. I have written several novels and I have spent many hours editing and revising stories, both fictional and non-fictional. As an active member of a writing community, the Virtual Writers, I have hosted a countless number of writing sprints. I have hosted a couple of workshops on writing in general and on writing in a virtual world in particular. I have always tried my best to motivate and encourage my fellow writers when the dreaded NaNo slump takes place, usually during the second week of November. All this to show you how committed I have been, over the years, to the NaNoWriMo project.

And then... a bomb exploded.

Right when we didn't need any distraction, in mid-November, very concerning information came to light about the forums, how they were moderated, and about some of the moderators.

I don't like forums. I don't use forums. So, I was horrified, to say the least, when I read the testimonies of many forum users, especially but not only, those in the Youth Writing Program (underage kids) about the way the forums were moderated. Some of these testimonies mentioned actions that are clearly indictable offenses.

I was even more horrified when I realized that forum users, including underage kids, had been drawing attention to these issues for months, if not years.

I don't know why this went on for so long without being addressed.

As a result, I now avoid associating myself with NaNoWriMo in any way, including hosting writing sprints during NaNoWriMo events.

My writing community has removed all references to NaNoWriMo in our resource material, and we are seriously considering organizing a writing event by ourselves. A final decision will be made before the April Camp NaNoWriMo.

Soooo....

What started so well, took a clear tumble.

I was, nevertheless, able to keep my head above the waterline.

And finish what I started.

I did miss a few goals (grayed out icons).

But I managed to drag myself to the finish line.

It's sad that such an amazing idea (I'd even say energy), that prompts people from all over the world to write their stories, ends up facing such a serious hurdle. The allegations made were so shocking, especially those involving underage kids that, as a former educator, I will not suggest NaNoWriMo to anyone else and I will definitely not recommend the Youth Writing Program.

May this storm be the motivation to (re)build on more solid ground.

Brand Awareness Report

 

Wonderland 2.0

The secretary was rushing back and forth, folders everywhere. She was so upset that a pile of papers started to spin around all the way to the ceiling. "What's happening?" She threw her hands in the air. "Brand awareness report. I have 10 minutes. 10 minutes?!" He offered to help, but at that point everything was beyond any help. "I quit, there." And she stormed out of the office, a trail of paperwork swirling behind her. He just stood in the corridor, wondering how she had managed to get the papers to do that, a shiver going down his spine.

100 Word Stories

Bread

 

Asalia House

"Bread crumbs, I need bread crumbs," thought the restless crow. He wasn't hungry. He just wanted bread crumbs. He read a story about dropping bread crumbs to leave a trail. He wanted to leave a trail! People would trickle out of the forest into the open field and marvel at his beauty! But he found no bread crumbs. He did consider resorting to his collection of glass eyes, but it was becoming more and more difficult to steal them from grumpy Old Maggie. So, he just sat on his scarecrow and waited. And he waited for a very long time!

100 Word Stories

Stolen

 

Milk Wood

"Nothing but a crappy painting. A bunch of odd flowers on a dark blue background," she said. The neighbor advised her to have an expert look at it. "Preposterous!" She knew her art. So, she tossed it in the dumpster. When it was dark, the neighbor grabbed it. He wasn't stealing it! He had it appraised and... it was worth a million bucks! He bought a new house and a new car and told everyone he had won the lottery, just in case. Oh, and he still drives by the old house to check the neighborhood dumpster for crappy artwork.

100 Word Stories

Detail

 

Nostalgia by Cicca

The doors to the art exhibition opened and a flood of enthusiastic visitors roamed the room. One piece in particular caught everyone's attention. "The detail is remarkable," they said. "Art is a remarkable... thing, isn't it?" And someone replied "Yes, it is, remarkable!" People stared at three copper panels, a nose and two eyes, gigantic and kind of lopsided. "Just remarkable!" And this continued for hours, the word remarkable passing on from visitor to visitor like the plague. Suddenly, the eyes bulged and the nose sneezed on the stunned visitors who quickly decided that art wasn't that remarkable after all.

100 Word Stories

NaNoWriMo 2023 Pep Talk

 

Milk Wood

Pep Talk written for the Virtual Writers in Second Life

Ignite Your Creative Fire: A Pep Talk for the National Novel Writing Month

Welcome, writers, to the National Novel Writing Month!

Whether you have mapped your way thoroughly for the upcoming month or you have decided to ride the wave of spontaneity, the time has come for you to embark on an exhilarating adventure.

In the whirlwind of NaNoWriMo, momentum is your greatest ally. Just keep writing, even when your characters decide to rebel or the story seems to run amok. Remember, the first draft is not meant to be perfect; it's all about capturing the essence of your story. Allow your ideas to flow freely. Let your imagination run wild. Word after word, chapter after chapter, build the foundations of your novel.

Every writer faces rough times during the writing process, moments when inspiration seems to vanish and motivation fades. These hurdles are part of your journey. Instead of growing disheartened, view these challenges as opportunities for self-discovery. It's OK to doubt yourself. But know that you will become a stronger and better writer.

Writing can sometimes feel like a solitary endeavor, but during NaNoWriMo, you're not alone. Engage with your fellow writers who are also on this journey. Connect with your writing buddies who can offer encouragement and support. You're part of a collective undertaking. A strong support system provides the motivation you need to keep pushing forward.

As National Novel Writing Month starts, remember that you have the power to create something remarkable. Believe in your ability to write stories that captivate, characters that come to life, and worlds that take readers on fascinating travels. Enjoy the journey! It is as much about self-discovery as it is about writing a novel. NaNoWriMo is your chance to ignite your creative fire and unleash your potential.

So, go forth, fearless writers, and write your way to greatness!

Daily writing sessions at 8am SLT @ Milk Wood . Join us!

A Vision of Everything

 

Tim's Dreams

Black and white. A vision of nothingness inside a vision of everything.

And he points. No one knows.

And he moves forward, alone. The balloons he 's holding will be black. The stars hanging from them will be black.

And the more they fly, the less white he will see.

And nothing is there anymore. Just stars hanging from balloons, flying away in silence, ahead of him. No one knows.

And he stops. He wants to smile, but he can't.

Three cheers and all that. Be brave and all that.

Black and white. A vision of everything ahead of nothing.

100 Words Stories