Fiction Friday - Spartacus!

Thanks to D.B. McNicol for the image.

"Well, he's dead for sure. Look at those hollow eyes."

"His eyes always looked kind of hollow to me. I mean, he's a lizard. His eyes are just two black dots anyway."

We looked into the tank of my Dragon Amigus - like a Bearded Dragon without the beard. I could tell he was dead, but Bentley wasn't convinced. He was 12, my neighbor's son, and at that questioning age.

Unprompted, Bentley lifted the mesh lid and poked at the lizard, who promptly fell off his perch on the little plastic tree and rolled onto his side. Dead.

I had never wanted a furry pet, or anything that would take over the house. I had dog-sat many times, and never wanted to be that burden to a friend. My best friend traveled a lot, but loved having a dog at home.

~~
"Would you stay with her?" She asked, the first time.

"Can I just come by to walk and feed her? Why do I need to stay?" People always assume it's a pleasure to sleep in their house, like a vacation.

"Maybe someday, but she's still a puppy. I don't want her to get lonely." The "puppy" didn't look like a puppy, but whatever. 

In time it became apparent that my friend's dogs remain puppies forever. We never got to a point where she'd leave the dog alone overnight, and I eventually stopped dog-sitting.
~~

A reptile is easier. They just need water in the rock, and a couple crickets every other day. When I got Spartacus I knew my kind of pet-sitting wouldn't be a burden. No one would have to give up the comfort of their own home for me! And for a quick overnight or weekend jaunt, I could just drop extra crickets into the tank. 

It was rare that I was gone long enough to make a request for someone to check on Spartacus. I was confident it was an easy task. Much easier than the heavy burden of moving out of one's own home for a weekend or more. 

Turned out, her friend was grossed out by the crickets. She didn't even need to touch them, but the idea grossed her out. She told me what a fantastic friend she was for doing me this favor. I refrained from calling myself a great friend for the many, many times I stayed with her "puppy". Our concept of "burden" was clearly very different.

Well, now Spartacus was gone.

"Will you bury him?" Bentley asked.

"Nah. I think we should just set him under that bush out back. Let nature take its course. What do you think?"

"Cool. Can I do it?"

We placed Spartacus under the bush to feed the birds or whatever preyed on his kind. Not even a burden to mother earth.


Every Friday, a new flash fiction story, inspired by reader comments, when possible. Feel free to leave a prompt for future use in the comments below. I hope you liked that story, based on the prompt "an experience with a pet and how it changed you" given  by Dihiwi (of In My Own Words) during the A-to-Z challenge, on my "T" post (here).

If you choose to join in for Fiction Fridays, post a link to your story below in the comments. Next week's prompt is: "a co-worker's party". If you join me next week, be sure to come back and share a link to your story!

Fiction Friday - The View

Thanks to D.B. McNicol for the image.

Looking out the kitchen window, Linda sighed and sipped her coffee. It was a pretty landscape, when it was clear. Their house on the hill afforded a sweet view down through rolling hills toward the valley below. Sadly, the growing industrial boom in the area meant increasing smog and a hazy horizon.

She turned away from the window and sat down to do the crossword. No point looking out at that mess.

Logically, it had been inevitable from the day they moved in. The job Duke had been offered at the plant in the valley was too good to pass up. When they were house hunting twelve years ago, there were several suitable places in town. This hillside development was just going up at the time, so they obliged their realtor by checking it out. The view and the park-like gardens laid out within the community were a big draw. Linda fell in love with the place, and Duke conceded to the longer commute into town.

It was worth it. A move she never regretted. The gardens were well-tended and were lovely to walk through in any weather. The view however, was now only pretty around midday when the sun was overhead.

Duke made a good living.
The kids had graduated from a quality high school.
Life was good, Linda knew.

And yet, every morning, that hazy horizon taunted her. It was a bad sign for the future. Maybe not her future, but what kind of world would Kim and Topher be raising families in? If they ever married. Kids these days.

Maybe that was the trick: No long term commitments because there's no guarantee that tomorrow will be worth the future you invest in today. In this crumbling world, Linda decided, it's better to be old. Old, and sitting with a newspaper and a pen, trying to remember the name of that South Pacific waterfowl.
 
Every Friday, a new flash fiction story, inspired by reader comments. Feel free to leave a prompt for future use in the comments below. I'm down to my last prompt. I hope you liked that story, based on the prompt "hazy" given  by Jz (of A Reluctant Bitch).

If you choose to join in for Fiction Fridays, post a link to your story below in the comments. Next week's prompt is: "an experience with a pet and how it changed you". This is the last of the prompts given me in the comments. After this one, I will start going off the rails with random online prompts or outside inspiration. If you join me next week, be sure to come back and share a link to your story!

Fiction Friday - The Hike

It was hot and sunny today, and the pack was heavy. 

Fortunately the air was growing cooler the higher they climbed, but Hunter was still sweating from exertion. Up ahead, Levi had stopped by a tree while the rest of the group hiked past. As Hunter, bringing up the rear, drew level with him, he asked, "Want me to carry the pack for a bit, Dad?"

Hunter smiled and hefted the pack higher on his shoulders. "No thanks. This is for your Uncle Cameron and me to carry."

"Okay." Levi, tall and lanky at 18, hung back to walk alongside his dad for a while. 

"I'm glad you wanted to come with us, son."

"Well, we've hiked Mt. Hood before, and with Grandpa, too. Tom and Cal might not remember... were they even with us that trip?" He referred to his two younger brothers who were back home with their mother.

"Hmm... I don't think so. Wasn't that your first overnight trek?"

"Yeah! That's right!"

Soon, at a clearing up ahead, the group stopped for a lunch break. Everyone was sitting around digging into their backpacks. Cameron came over to Hunter, holding out a sandwich. "I'll trade packs after lunch."

"Sounds good." The heavy pack landed with a THUNK and Hunter accepted the sandwich, leaning side to side and stretching his shoulders. The twins sat together, looking around at the group. Cousin Sue was there with her fiance; Cameron's neighbors had joined them; and the owner of Expedition Outfitters down in the valley had insisted on coming along. 

He came over to join them. "Hey guys, you doing okay? Need a protein bar?"

"Not for me, thanks, Stu."

Stu sat on a log near them. "Your dad was one of my best customers. Hiking, kayaking, camping, fishing. Glad you guys are keeping the tradition alive."

"Once it's in your blood..."

"Ain't it the truth?"

Their cousin rose to speak. "Excuse me, everyone!" She was holding a plastic clam shell case from a grocery bakery. "Today is a very important day. Happy birthday, Hunter and Cameron! We're so happy to share this event with you." Cheers of "Happy birthday!" were followed by the traditional song, and Sue opened the clam shell container to share around cupcakes with everyone.

After lunch, the group continued their ascent, with Cameron taking the heavy pack and Hunter taking the one with standard supplies. Near the top of Mt. Hood, they stopped. Cameron lowered the heavy pack and he and Hunter opened it, taking out a heavy urn.

"This was our dad's favorite hike," Hunter began.

Cameron added, "Every year, at least once, we came up here together."

"On our birthday, if weather and health permitted."

Everyone in the group shared memories of the deceased father, grandfather, business patron, and neighbor. Then, after a moment of silence, the twin brothers opened the urn and shook their father's ashes into the wind.

Every Friday, a new flash fiction story, inspired by reader comments. Feel free to leave a prompt for future use in the comments below.I'm almost out of prompts. I hope you liked that story, based on the prompt "a birthday for twins" given during the A to Z Challenge by Liz A. (of Laws of Gravity) on my "V" post (here).

If you choose to join in for Fiction Fridays, post a link to your story below in the comments. Next week's prompt is: "hazy". If you join me next week, be sure to come back and share a link to your story!

To Air is Human

It's 100° every day this week.

I've acclimated to the tropics very well in the past year. I wear loose dresses (no tight waistline); I get up with the sun to take advantage of the morning cool; I open up the house while it's cool - all doors and windows except the bedroom where Brett still lies sleeping; if a trip to the open air market is needed, I have even been known to walk there (5 minutes) in the 90° 7:00 temps while he decides to awaken. (If he's up, we'll take the motorbike.)

The house is not air conditioned. That is wildly impractical here, and would be a huge expense. But the ceilings are high, we have fans, and with the cross-breeze, it's not too bad. Mostly.

Each bedroom has an a.c. That means our bedroom, Brett's office, and the guest room / my office all have the possibility of being cold. In fact, I need two blankets to sleep, because I married a human radiator who cranks that thing down to 18.

I typically do not use it in my office. Now that I'm teaching online, I do turn it on three times a week for a few hours each time. 

I'm HAPPY to be functional in the open, hot air!

Today, after two days of this heat and with a full week of it on tap, I am contemplating using climate control during the day, in the hopes that it will perk me up for some quality editing time. Maybe the heat is sapping my energy?

To Air, or not to Air? That is the question.

Flash Fiction - The Workaholic

"I don't want to be some kind of workaholic! Will you stop hounding me?" Lounging on the sofa in the living room, David was half-watching a Japanese game show before his mom had entered to clean.

"David, you're not working at all. There's a long way to go before you're in any danger of becoming a workaholic." Margaret collected the scattered magazines from around the living room, straightened them into a pile and slid them into their proper place in the holder on the side of the table. With no warning, she turned on the vacuum. 

David groaned, turned off the nonsense he'd been watching, and like a dog, fled the room in annoyance at the noisy machine.

Margaret didn't see her son for the next three days. She didn't question his absence. He was 26, certainly old enough to come and go as he pleased. There were dirty dishes and extra trash, so she knew he was around. 

Thursday evening, David bounded in around 6:00 and went straight to the kitchen, where Margaret was doing dishes. He grabbed a Pepsi from the fridge with a "Hey!"

Margaret glanced over her shoulder at him, more to check if he was alone or accompanied. "Hi, stranger," she said as she placed a dripping dish into the dish rack. He kissed her on the cheek and leaned against the corner of the counter near the sink where he could see her face.

"Got a job." He took a swig from the Pepsi can, watching her out of the corner of his eye.

She smiled, wiping a sudsy glass, and raised her eyebrows at him. "Oh? Is that where you've been these days?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Work and then out with the guys from work. They're pretty cool."

"Good for you," was all Margaret said in response. She'd wait to react after he'd held the job for more than a month.

~~~
After a month, David was still working and going out with his new friends from the new job.

Margaret closed the magazine she'd picked up, and looked around the tidy living room. It felt like a long time since she'd had to clean up after her son. He was never home making a mess. She sighed and tucked the magazine in its proper place.

She hadn't expected to miss her lazy, layabout son this much. 
 
It's FICTION FRIDAY! (I think it's still Friday in the Western hemisphere.)

Every Friday, a new flash fiction story, inspired by reader comments. Feel free to leave a prompt for future use in the comments below.I'm almost out of prompts. I hope you liked that story, based on the prompt "workaholic" given during the A to Z Challenge by Nilanjana Bose (of Madly-In-Verse) on my "R" post (here).

If you choose to join in for Fiction Fridays, post a link to your story below in the comments. Next week's prompt is: "a birthday for twins". If you join me next week, be sure to come back and share a link to your story!

What's Up, Buttercup?

Lots, actually. A lot is up.
A lot is happening, and getting in the way of my blogging. I had really hoped to crank out at least two posts a week after almost EVERY day in April!

An old picture. I write better now.

Since moving to Vietnam, my Mandarin classes have continued via Skype. We had already paid for oodles of classes - for both of us - but when we knew we were moving out of China, Brett (this guy) stopped his lessons. But I want to actually KNOW the language. To be conversant. So I continued, using his and my pre-paid hours.

Finally, all the classes we had paid for are nearing their end and I need to sign up for more. That money is not in our single-income budget. 

So I'm starting online English teaching to get my own income, to pay for my Mandarin classes. 😄 I know, crazy, right? Just a few hours on a couple evenings. It won't be fast money at that pace, but I don't want to over-fill my time when I should be writing or editing.

I write and edit in the morning or afternoon, plus study Mandarin, and in the evenings I'm either relaxing or, now, teaching online. It's not a crazy schedule, but I'm still getting used to it. Blogging is slipping.

...AND in a couple weeks I'm going to start weekly Vietnamese classes. In my perfect world, I would learn languages with ease, but the fact is there are SO MANY WORDS! In every language.

When your schedule changes drastically, how do you get on track? Do you jump in no problem, or take a while to adjust?