The Adventures of Big Bang Mother and Fredrick the Farting Frankfurter (written by Chat GPT)

Once upon s time, in the far reaches of the universe, there lived a powerful entity known as Big Bang Mother. She was responsible for the creation of galaxies, stars and planets. She lived alone for eons, until one day, she heard a strange noise coming from one of the planets she had created.

Curious, she zoomed in to take a closer look and found a tiny creature called Fredrick the farting frankfurter. Fredrick was a funny-looking sausage with a big smile on his face, and he had a unique talent: he could fart with incredible force, propelling himself through the air.

Big Bang Mother was amused by Fredrick and decided to take him on as her companion. Together, they set out on a series of adventures through the cosmos, exploring new worlds and meeting strange creatures along the way.

One day, they came across a planet where a group of evil aliens had enslaved the local population. Fredrick’s powerful farts proved to be the perfect weapon against the aliens, and they were able to defeat them and free the enslaved beings.

Another time, they stumbled upon a black hole and had to use all of their wit and skill to navigate around it. Fredrick’s farts can in handy once again, providing the thrust they needed to escape the black hole’s gravitational pull.

Despite their many adventures, Fredrick always remained true to his roots as a simple frankfurter. He enjoyed nothing more than being grilled over a campfire, and he always made sure to share his tasty snacks with Big Bang Mother.

In the end, Big Bang Mother and Fredrick became the best of friends, traveling the universe together and having countless adventures. And even though they were and unlikely duo, they proved that even the most unlikely friendships can lead to incredible things.

Big Bang Mother and Fredrick the farting frankfurter had been exploring the vast universe for what seemed like and eternity when they stumbled upon a planet unlike any they had ever seen before. The planet was covered in dense forests, towering mountains, and shimmering seas,  and it seemed to teem with life.

However, as they landed their spacecraft and began to explore, they soon realized that all was not well on this planet. A group of evil aliens had enslaved the local population, forcing them to mine precious minerals deep beneath the surface of the planet.

Big Bang Mother and Fredrick knew they had to do something to help. They quickly disguised themselves as native creatures and made their way to the heart of the alien operation. As they snuck through the dark tunnels, they could hear the anguished cries of the enslaved beings, who had been working without rest for days on end. It was then that Fredrick came up with a plan.

He whispered to Big Bang Mother that he could use his powerful farts to propel them through the tunnels and take the aliens by surprise. At first, Big Bang Mother was skeptical, but she knew that they had to try something, so she agreed.

With a deep breath, Fredrick let out a thunderous fart, propelling them both forward at incredible speeds. The aliens were caught off guard, and before they could react, Big Bang Mother and Fredrick had disabled their weapons and freed the enslaved beings.

As they emerged from the tunnels, they were greeted by a chorus of cheers and gratitude from the newly freed beings. Big Bang Mother  and Fredrick had saved the day, and they knew that their adventure on this strange planet would never be forgotten.

From that day on Big Bang Mother and Fredrick continued their travels through the universe, encountering new worlds and new challenges. And while they faced many more obstacles along the way, they knew that they had the power of friendship and a few powerful farts to help them overcome any obstacle that came their way.

Big Bang Mother and Fredrick the farting frankfurter were on their latest adventure, traveling through the vast expanse of space. As they explored the cosmos, they stumbled upon a black hole, one of the most powerful and dangerous forces in the universe.

Big Bang Mother knew that they had to be careful. If they got too close, the black hole’s immense gravitational pull would suck them in, never to be seen again.

Using all of their wit and skill, they tried to navigate around the black hole, but no matter which direction they took, they seemed to be getting closer and closer to the event horizon.

It was then that Fredrick had an idea. He knew that his powerful farts could be used as a form of propulsion, providing the trust they needed to escape the black hole’s gravitational pull.

At first, Big Bang Mother was skeptical, but Fredrick was insistent. With a deep breath, he let out a massive fart, and suddenly, they were propelled forward at incredible speeds.

Using Fredrick’s farts as their engine, they were able to navigate around the black hole and avoid its pull. As they emerged from the other side they both breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Fredrick,” said Big Bang Mother, “I don’t know how we would have made it without your help.”

Fredrick just smiled and shrugged “I’m just a simple frankfurter with a special talent,” he said.

Together, they continued their journey through the universe, encountering many more challenges and obstacles along the way. But no matter what they faced, they always knew that they had the power of friendship and a few well-timed farts to help them to overcome any obstacle.

Big Bang Mother and Fredrick the farting Frankfurter had been traveling the universe for what felt like an eternity. Despite all of their incredible adventures, Fredrick always remained true to his roots as a simple frankfurter.

Whenever they stopped to rest, he would find a nearby campfire and eagerly offer himself up to be grilled to perfection. The savory scent of his cooking would waft through the air, and Big Bang Mother couldn’t help but salivate at the aroma.

Despite the fact that they were traveling through the vast expanse of space, Fredrick always made sure to keep some simple ingredients on hand to cook with. He would use his trusty spatula to flip himself over the flames, cooking up a delicious meal for himself and Big Bang Mother to share. As they sat around the campfire enjoying their meal, Fredrick would regale Big Bang Mother with stories of his past, recounting memories of his time before they met.

For Fredrick, there was nothing quite like the simple pleasures of life, and he cherished every moment that he could spend enjoying good food and good company. Despite all of the incredible challenges they faced on their journey, Fredrick never lost sight of what was truly important. He always made sure to take time to savor the little moments in life, enjoying the warmth of the campfire and the sizzle of the grill.

As they continued on their journey, Big Bang Mother couldn’t help but feel grateful for the simple pleasures that Fredrick brought to their travels. No matter how crazy things got, she knew that she could always count on him to provide a delicious meal and a warm smile.

Big Bang Mother and Fredrick the farting frankfurter had landed on a planet unlike any they had ever seen before. The inhabitants were all chicken people, walking around on two lega and clucking loudly as they went about their business.

Fredrick saw a opportunity to open up a hot dog stand using his own delicious frankfurters as the main attraction. Big Bang Mother was skeptical at first, but Fredrick’s enthusiasm was infectious. Soon, they had a fully functional stand set up in the center of town.

The chicken people were skeptical at first, but once they tasted Fredrick’s hotdogs, they couldn’t get enough. Business was booming, and soon, they had a line of hungry customers stretching around the block.

But despite their success, Big Bang Mother couldn’t help but feel a sense of frustration. She had never been the one in charge on their other adventures. She never led the way or made the big decisions. But she had always thought she was part of the team. But now with the hotdog stand, she was really starting to feel like she was taking a back seat to Fredrick.

As the days went on, Big Bang Mother’s frustration grew. She began to blame Fredrick for her lack of agency. She started to think he was acting as part of the patriarchy. She felt like he was holding her back from her true potential.

Fredrick was taken aback by Big Bang Mother’s sudden shift in attitude. He had always seen her as a strong, capable leader, and he couldn’t understand why she was blaming him for something he had no control over.

Despite their disagreements, they continued to run the hotdog stand together. Fredrick did most of the cooking, and Big Bang Mother did most of the finances. Over time, they were able to work out their differences and come to a better understanding of each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

In the end, the hot dog stand was a great success, and they were able to make a tidy profit before moving on to their next adventure. Despite their rocky start, Big Bang Mother and remained the best of friends. They supported each other through thick and thin, no matter what challenges lay ahead.

Big Bang Mother and Fredrick the farting frankfurter were on a mission to explore a distant planet when they stumbled upon an unusual creature. The creature was a pelican made entirely of pickles. He had a sharp beak and a sour smell that filled the air.

The creature introduced himself as Pete. Big Bang Mother and Fredrick were wary at first. They found that he was actually quite charming. He had a quick wit and a sharp sense of humor. However, things took a strange turn when Pete began espousing his views on gender roles and the patriarchy. He claimed that men were superior to women in all ways and that women should stay in their traditional roles. At first, Big Bang Mother and Fredrick dismissed Pete’s views as outdated and ridiculous. But over time, Fredrick began to be swayed by Pete’s arguments. And Fredrick found himself nodding along with the pickle pelican’s every word.

Big Bang Mother was shocked by Fredrick’s sudden change in attitude. She tried to reason with him, but he just wouldn’t listen. He had become convinced that Pete was right and that he needed to be part of the patriarchy.

As the days wend by, Fredrick became more and more entrenched in his beliefs, and Big Bang Mother began to feel like she was loosing her best friend. She didn’t know what to do to bring him back to his senses.

But then, one day, a group of alien beings attacked their ship, and Big Bang mother and Fredrick were forced to fight together to fend them off. As they battled side by side, Big Bang Mother realized that Fredrick’s beliefs were misguided, and that he was still the same loyal friend she had always known.

With renewed determination, she talked to Fredrick and convinced him that he had been wrong. Together, they faced off against the alien invaders and emerged victorious. In the end, Big Bang Mother and Fredrick had both learned a valuable lesson about the danger of blindly following someone else’s beliefs. They vowed to always stay trye to themselves and to each other, no matter what challenges they might face.

Once upon a time, in a universe far, far away, there lived two friends: Big Bang Mother and Fredrick the farting frankfurter. They had been inseparable since the beginning of time, and their adventures were the stuff of legend.

One day, as they were strolling through the cosmos, Pete the pelican made of pickles flew over to them. He looked worried and out of breath. “Fredrick! Big Bang Mother!” he panted. “You won’t believe what I just found out. The patriarchy controls a horde of zombie pillowcases!”

Fredrick’s ears perked up at the mention of the patriarchy. He had always been suspicious of the system of power that seemed to be dominated by men. He listened intently as Pete continued.

“They’re using the pillowcases to spread their message of oppression and domination throughout the universe. We need to stop them!” Fredrick became more and more entrenched in his beliefs. He was convinced that the patriarchy was the root of all evil in the cosmos. Big Bang Mother, on the other hand, was skeptical. She had always believed in the power of unity and cooperation, and she didn’t think that dividing the universe into factions would do anyone any good.

As Fredrick became more and more obsessed with his mission, Big Bang Mother began to feel like she was losing her best friend. She didn’t know what to do to bring him back to his senses. That is when she started hearing the voices of the other gods telling her to act as a god should act.

They reminded her that she had a responsibility to guide her creations and to help them find their way in the universe. Big Bang Mother knew what she had to do. She took Fredrick aside and talked to him about the dangers of division and the importance of cooperation. She reminded him that every being in the universe had value, regardless of their gender race of species.

At first, Fredrick was resistant. But as Big Bang Mother continued to talk, he began to see the error of his ways. He realized that he had been blinded by his anger and that he needed to work with others to create a better universe.

Together, Big Bang Mother, Fredrick, and Pete set out to defeat the zombie pillowcases and the patriarchy. They worked tirelessly, and with the help of other beings in the universe, they were able dismantle the oppressive system and create a more equitable society.

In the end, Big Bang Mother and Fredrick were closer than ever. They had overcome their differences and worked together to create a better future for all beings in the universe.

Running on Empty—Originally posted December 2015

***This is the first short story I ever wrote. I wrote it for an introduction to fiction writing class probably in 2013. I fixed a number of typos and cleared up a few confusing parts, but I left most of the awkward writing just so I know how far I have come as a writer. If you want to see the original post, you can check it out here: https://therichardbraxton.wordpress.com/2015/12/23/running-on-empty/ ***

The sun was warm against the morning chill. The long shadows were shrinking. This was a day that was uniquely suited for drinking beer outside. Ned was standing, beer in hand, on the landing. The door was swung open to the second-floor apartment. But Derrick had his crescent wrench and screwdriver in hand. He was alternately jabbing and cranking on the rusting lump of engine bolted to the back of his VW bus. Somehow, this process adjusted the timing. Derrick had traded for a stinger exhaust. And Ned was trying to envision how it would be installed with a minimum of bailing wire and duct tape.

Ned watched as Derrick took a step back and stared at the tools in his hands. Derrick shrugged his shoulders then dropped the tools.  He flung open the side doors of the bus slid his dented red toolbox across the floorboards. Crouched next to the car, he rummaged through his tools. There must have been something in his peripheral vision because he reached under the front seat and pulled out a bag of tacos. He unwrapped one, spread open the soggy shell, lifted it to his nose, and gave it a good long sniff. He took a bite.  He chewed slowly then swallowed hard.

“Yuck, this is stale.” He looked up at Ned and took another bite. “Toss me one of those beers. I need something to wash this down.”

“No problem,” Ned said. “I’ve got a special one just for you.” Ned walked into the small apartment. Just beyond the door was a dingy coffee table covered with empty cans. He selected a choice and unblemished empty labeled Miller Light. Ned held the can in his left hand and unzipped his pants with his right. Wouldn’t you know it, Ned had stage fright. He kicked the door shut behind him and closed his eyes. Ned focused on the faucet’s constant drip until his bladder let loose. A light breeze opened the door with a creak. Ned startled from the sound. His hands shot out to his sides. The urine sloshed in the can. Luckily, he wasn’t one to piss himself from fright. His urine stream had shut off almost instantly and only three or four drops got on the carpet. The can was little more than half full, but that would have to do. He did not think that he could get started again anytime soon. Ned zipped up and walked out the door.

“What took you so long? Did you brew it yourself?”

“You could say that.” Ned tossed the can over the rail.

Derrick took two quick steps away from the car. He tilted his head back keeping his eyes on the can. At the last second, he reached up and caught the can. The liquid splashed, and a few droplets rained down on his face. He must have whiffed that unmistakable smell or felt the heat through the can.

“You pissed in it.” He threw the can back at Ned. It hit the railing spraying the ammoniac liquid all over Ned and the surrounding area.

“You knew I was drinking the last one.”

Derrick shook his head. “Lock the door. We’re getting some more.”

Damn it. Is he channeling Jessie Jackson? Of all the things that he may want to emulate about the man, his cockamamie rhymes and faux-southern cadence should not be one of them. But it is a great way to talk crap. Ned said, “I’ve got a feeling. Your shit ain’t worth stealing.”

Derrick raised his voice. “I don’t know if you have noticed, but this neighborhood seems to be the focus of many unsavory characters.”

“Yeah, they must be the alcoholic types because they never come over and drink with us.” Just last night, Ned had answered the knock at the door. The young couple that lived next to them was standing there with their stupid faces. Turn down your music they said. We have jobs they said.  We have groceries. Your friends parked in our spot. You left garbage on the stoop. We are calling the police if we see you pissing off the balcony one more time. Someone caked shit on our door handle… Well, that last one will be tonight. “You’re right. I have never had neighbors as bad as these.”

Ned locked the door and met Derrick at the car. “I know of a place. It’s a little out of the way, but they don’t check I.D.”

In the years since the interstate came through, the old highway had come to be used for little more than travel between the local cities. There wasn’t much down this section of the road except the rusted hulks of ancient fueling stations, dilapidated restaurants, and faded old motor lodges. The only people who kept this road alive were loggers and out-of-towners who were lost. Even the county seemed to forget that this part of the road existed. Aside from the brush and trees that encroached all the way to the edge of the road or the fields of kudzu that consumed everything in its path, this stretch of road was deserted. The only vestiges of the golden age of highway travel that still remain are at the intersections of major thoroughfares.

But a good ways out of town, where this dead road intersects another, a decaying truck stop clung to life among the rubble. The sign for the Dingle Brother’s Truck Stop boasts of clean diesel, good food, and hot showers. But grass grew up through crumbling asphalt, and there were no takers at the fuel pumps. All the building’s original wood had been eaten away by time and termites. And the nails had long since rusted away. The building was held together with the mortar of bugs and dust lost between the layers of old paint.

Derrick pulled into the parking lot and parked in front of the door. To the left was an overflowing trashcan. And past the trashcan, a homeless man sat in the fetal position sucking the last drop from a bottle of Crystal Palace.

The day wasn’t hot, but Derrick was sweating and his face was pale. The homeless man gagged. Derrick fumbled with the door handle and exited in a hurry. The homeless man vomited a slow drool. Derrick’s stomach gurgled like a draining tub. The homeless man made no effort to move. Derrick clenched his cheeks and walked stiff legged to the door. The vomit rolled down the homeless man’s neck and over his shirt.  Derrick looked back over his shoulder and said, “Grab a sixer of Steel Reserve. I’ll be in the shitter.”

Ned removed the keys from the ignition. Derrick had left the engine running. “What an ass.”

A kid was over by the diesel pumps squishing a puddle of greasy sludge between his toes. He waited for the kid to meet his gaze. Ned gave him a dirty look. That kid better keep his distance. Reservations aside, Ned entered the store.

The inside of the store looked like an old mechanic’s shop.  The place was dimly lit with high ceilings. “They really do serve food,” Ned said a little too loud. “This place smells like boiled hog livers.” The merchandise was scattered over filthy, old, wire racks. The floors were bare concrete with a thin layer of dust. Ned followed the footprints back to the beer cooler.

Ned contemplated the beer selection: Corona, if it needs lime and salt, how good can it be?  Lowenbrau: brewed in Munich. That’s in Germany, right? Budweiser, ye old standby. And Steel Reserve, the butthole of beers. Ned was lost in thought when Derrick arrived.

“I found your mom’s phone number on the bathroom wall. Did you know that she has false teeth?”

Ned’s response was quick and decisive. He had warned Derrick before. The mama jokes had to stop. A quick nut shot should do the trick. He swung his arm swiftly towards Derrick’s crotch.

Derrick sidestepped the first blow. Then, he lifted his knee to block the next. “OK. OK.” He gave Ned a push. “Just grab the beer.”

Ned grabbed two six-packs of Steel Reserve. They walked up to the old bald man behind the register. Ned clanked the beer on the counter.

Derrick said, “Carful, or they will be all fizzy.”

The old man stared at them. “Let’s see them, boys.” he had a Tiparillo in the corner of his mouth and pit stains on his shirt. Mercifully, the air vent above Ned was still working, and he only got a hint of the old man’s true stink. Ned pulled two wadded bills from his front pocket.

“There you are sir, a couple of Lincolns.”

The old man’s face was stone, but his body shook. “You come up here with your hoo-hahs hanging out, and you are expecting favors from me?”

Ned said, “Doesn’t this cover it?” The old man must be greedier than he thought. But he didn’t have any more cash.

“Derrick said, “You can keep the change.”

The old man grabbed the beer and slammed it on the counter behind him. “You not just stupid, you deaf too?” The old man flailed his arms. “Get out of here.” Derrick and Ned scatted.

They ran out the front door. Ned’s heart was racing, but with the door between him and the old man, he slowed to a walk. Derrick took two more strides before he began to walk as well.

Derrick said, “I was about to slap the crap out of him until I saw you running.”

Derrick must have run first. Ned was not such a coward to run from a decrepit old man.

They heard a voice. “You’re both a couple of pussies.”

Ned flinched. It was the kid.

Derrick said, “I’ll slap you too. Call me a pussy.”

The kid was now leaning against the against the driver’s side door of the Microbus. “If you let me drink with you, I will help you get those beers.”

This was a hard spot for Ned to be in. But beer is beer. “Slap him after he gets us the beer.”

The kid said, “I will go in first. Wait for me to start kicking shit around. When they chase me out, you grab the beer. And I will meet back up with you. Have the van running.”

Derrick said, “It’s not a van…”

“…It’s a VW.” Ned said mocking. “I am grabbing something I haven’t had. Heineken, I think.” Derrick followed the kid in. He did not wait for the signal. But Ned was already following Derricks lead.

The kid was barely inside the door when the old man was running out from behind the counter. “Get out of here. You little shit,” the old man said.

Derrick grabbed two warm cases of one beer or another from an end-cap display. Ned swung open the glass doors to the beer cooler. The joy of discovery was welling up inside of him. His excitement was brimming like little shocks of electricity as he reached for the top shelf. The green bottles, that means quality. Ned turned to see Derrick and the kid both running out the back door. Something was wrong. He craned his neck further and saw two men guarding the front door. One was stupid and the other was ugly, or was it the other way around?

Just the same, Ned sprinted for the backdoor. Derrick must have slammed into the door as he ran out. One of his cardboard cases had opened and the cans were scattered all over the floor. Ned stayed to the left to avoid most of the mess. He kicked the door open with his left and a quick spin move got him through the door without breaking even one bottle of Heineken. Derrick’s right hand was holding a shredded scrap of red and white cardboard. The old man yelled something, and Stupid and Ugly came running out the back door.

The kid was already well on his way to the edge of the woods. Derrick was struggling to keep up with the kid. The weight of the beer in his left hand was pulling him off course, and the case slammed against his thigh. He would periodically turn to the right to correct his stride. This resulted in a stumbling zigzag that was by no means fast. Derrick looked back. Either he had just given up drinking or Stupid and Ugly were catching up because he smashed his remaining case of beer on the ground. The cans went flying out of the box spinning and spraying. But Ned was not going to follow suit. Ned turned his head to see for himself how close stupid and ugly were. But he tripped over his own feet.

Ned hit the ground hard. The asphalt scraped his face and arms. His pain was soothed at his hands and wrists by a coolness that worked its way inward toward his chest. The blood and Heineken mixed, and he was baptized in the bitter nectar of disappointment. Ned heard the bellow of echoing laughter. Stupid gave him a good hard kick to the ribs, and Ugly spit on his head. Stupid and Ugly forcefully removed the wet boxes and shattered dreams from Ned’s grip. Stupid took booth of the shattered boxes of Heineken, and Ugly gathered up the cans of Budweiser in the broken case. As Stupid and Ugly walked away, Ned scrambled to his feet. Derrick and the kid stood at the edge of the woods staring at him in impotence. But Stupid and Ugly were too interested in retrieving the beer and they let Ned go. And Ned limped his way over to his friend.

Derrick said, “When they caught you, I just about shit my pants.”

“Are you sure you didn’t? You did eat that three-day-old taco.” They stayed along the edge of the woods making fun of each other until Stupid and Ugly were a safe distance away.

Derrick said, “How are you getting home kid?”

But the kid was already gone. Either he disappeared into the mists from whence he came, or he had just become bored at the juvenile conversation in which they were engaged and slipped off into the woods to poke a dead skunk with a stick. We may never be certain.

Derrick and Ned walked the long way back to the Minibus. They stayed as far from the store as they could. When they got up the nerve to approach the front of the store where the VW was parked, they noticed the homeless man was gone but the puddle of vomit remained. Derrick’s eyes were red. His face was pale, and Ned could see the beginnings of a tremor. “I think we should just call it a day.” Ned’s head throbbed.

“You’re not hung over, are you?”

“No.”

“Then we’re staying drunk today.”

“How? We don’t have any alcohol. Or are we gonna ring out my shirt and drink that. I know let’s scoop up the homeless man’s vomit. I bet it has a fairly high alcohol content.”

“Oh, ye of little faith.”

Look. The old man has our last ten bucks. Tell me. How are we going to buy any booze without money?”

Derrick looked angry, but he was quiet for once. Derrick just faced forward and keyed the ignition. The engine started but it sputtered and gave out. Derrick tried again this time he pumped the gas pedal, and the engine came to life.

Ned wrung a handful of his shirt over his mouth. He managed just one drop. “Mmm…” he thought, “That Heineken tastes better than I imagined.”

Sunday April 3: Who wants to play #OnceUponATime?

“Once Upon a Time” is a cooperative storytelling card game. The object of the game is to work together taking turns telling a fantasy story. The game is part cooperative and part competitive. Each of the players has their own story elements and ending card. When one player uses all of their element cards and reads off their ending card, that player wins. Because of the drive for the players to win, the game devolves into saying a word or two and throwing your cards on the table. This is not how the game is supposed to be played.

In my house, we have changed the rules. Instead of trying to tell one story where each of us try to steal the story from each other, we take turns telling the story we have come up with from the cards in our own hands. This makes it a fun game to play with your kids that helps teach them storytelling structure. At the same time, it is a good tool for practicing storytelling skills in a nonthreatening way.

If you choose to participate with me, feel free to write your story as short or as long as you like and comment a link of your story to this post so that everyone can see the differing stories that come from the same story telling elements.

The rules:

1.         The story starts with, “Once upon a time.”

2.         Use as many of the seven story element cards as you can.

3.         End your story with the phrase on the ending card.

4.         Have fun.

Crazy Sasha and the Talking Horse–#OnceUponATime

Once upon a time, there was a crazy old woman who worked in the castle kitchen. Crazy Sasha is what all the other servants liked to call her when they spun their tales of gossip about her. They would say that Crazy Sasha liked to go on walks late at night around the back of the old church where the priest keeps his horse. They would say that Crazy Sasha liked to talk to that old horse, but not the playful way that people liked to talk to animals. They would say that Crazy Sasha would go to that horse and listen. They would say she believed the horse knew powerful secrets that could change the balance of power in the kingdom should they get out.

In reality, Crazy Sasha was a smart old woman and a competent chef, but it was the gossip that kept her from ever becoming more than a simple dishwasher who was sometimes sent into the pantry to retrieve cooking supplies. And she did go and talk to that horse but only during daylight hours on her days off, and she only talked to it because the horse was the only one around who didn’t make faces at her and call her names.

The Queen’s chambermaids really loved to make up the worst of the gossip about Crazy Sasha. And one day the Queen walked in on Olga and Vera making up her bed. They had been in the middle of one of their most salacious stories about Crazy Sasha and the horse. The Queen had walked in right when Olga had mentioned something about Crazy Sasha reaching for something between the horse’s legs.

Vera was facing the door when the Queen walked in, and her face went white. She waved at Olga and told her to shut her mouth. Olga quickly looked over her shoulder to see the Queen standing in the doorway with a mischievous smile on her face. Olga’s face had gone red, and she was looking at her shoes. The Queen said, “No, no. You two keep talking. I want to hear this.” The Queen listened and Vera and Olga told her all their worst stories about Crazy Sasha and the horse.

That night after dinner service instead of telling her to scrub the kitchen, the head butler, Pavel, told her to get dressed in her best dressing gown. He told her she was being asked to attend desert with the Queen. He told Crazy Sasha she was going to be thanked for her part in the wonderful night’s meal. Sasha knew that she was being set up for something, but she also knew she did not have the right to refuse an audience with the queen. She got dressed knowing that nothing good was going to happen. But she had no idea how bad it would actually be.

When she was dressed, she was escorted to not to the dining room, but to the throne room. The whole court was attending, and the double doors were open to the larger hall. Even the servants were attending although in the back and not in direct sight of the court. Crazy Sasha was escorted straight down the carpet leading through the center of the room to the foot of the throne where the Queen was waiting wearing crown and scepter.

As Sasha approached the throne, the Queen stood up raised her scepter over her head and shouted, “Here comes the Lady of the evening, Crazy Sasha the horse fucker!”

Sasha froze in shock and was shoved forward by her escort, and she stumbled to her knees. The whole court started laughing and the court jester came out of the wings dressed as a horse with a long pink dong hanging between his legs. Then, the Queen said, “Crazy Sasha, take off your clothes and show us all what you like to do with the horse.”

Sasha was still on her knees and stunned. Her escort lifted her back to her feet. And the Queen ordered her again to take off her clothes. Sasha had never even thought to question the commands of the queen, and she didn’t know what to do. Everyone was staring and laughing at her. And the jester danced a circle around her in his horse suit with his pink dong swinging in wide arcs. Sasha caught herself with her hands on the top button of her blouse. Out of embarrassment and simple subordination she had nearly obeyed the commands of the Queen. She could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks, and she did something she never thought she would. She disobeyed the Queen. She turned and ran out of the throne room fully expecting to be run through by the guards for her disloyalty. But the guards were too busy laughing and pointing at her to remember to kill her.

Sasha just ran not knowing where to go, knowing she could not stay in the castle if she wanted to live. She ran out into the night under the full moon. Without thinking she had found herself at the stable behind the church sobbing into her hands in front of the horse, her only friend. At least she had imagined that he was her friend because up until that point, the horse had never spoken. But the light of that full moon had some magic in it that loosened the horse’s tongue.

Sasha started when the horse began to talk. She was sure the guards had found her, but when she looked up from her hands, she only saw the horse. The horse said, “Sasha, my love, I have been waiting so long for you to come to me under the moon. Please don’t think me forward, but I feel like I know you after the countless days you spoke to me of your hopes and dreams.” The horse saw the horrified look on her face. Sasha was almost sure the horse was in on the joke and only trying to humiliate her further. The horse said, “Don’t worry, Sasha. I know you could never love a horse. But I am a man. I have only been put under a spell. Have you ever thought it funny that the priest got a new horse the same night the king disappeared so many years ago?”

Sasha shook her head. She said, “I vaguely remember us having a king long ago, but I don’t remember what happened to him.”

The horse said, “No matter. I am sure that is just another part of the Queen’s spell. You see, she hired and evil witch to put a charm on the royal scepter. Whoever was hit over the head with it would become a horse until the curse has been transferred to another.” Sasha nodded this time there was something in the horse’s voice that was soothing and regal, and bit by bit it was removing the clouds from her memory. There was something to what the horse was saying. She could almost remember the night they had to cook for the old crone. Something horrible like rats and toads. And she was fed in the kitchen so nobody important had to watch.

The horse said, “Sasha, my dear.” This time Sasha believed the sincerity of his love for her. “I need you to sneak into the castle and steal the scepter from the Queen. I will use what power I can muster under the light of this full moon to draw in a fog and everyone in the castle will be asleep. The Queen will be lying in her bed fully clothed holding the scepter in her hand. Grab it from her hand and bring it to me, and we will try to find someone suitably evil to transfer the curse to.”

Sasha believed what the horse had told her and believed that she might grow to love the man inside the horse the way he loved her. She said, “Yes, king horse. I will do this for you.” The horse pulled back his lips trying to smile and let out a happy neigh. He took a step back in his stall and began to prance and kick and groan and grunt horsey sounds. And the fog began to roll in from the field glowing with the full moon’s light and the castle looked strange in the unearthly glow.

When Sasha arrived back at the castle the doors were all open and the guards were asleep at their posts. The whole castle was strangely silent, and the sounds of her footsteps didn’t even echo off the stone walls. She made her way up the stairwell, down the hallway, and into the Queens chamber. The Queen was on her bed, just like the horse said, fully dressed and holding on to her scepter. She reached out for the scepter but the sound of her heart beating in her ears stopped her. Sasha had always thought the Queen beautiful when she had ever seen her in passing, but lying there in the strange light, she looked like she was dead or decaying into some kind of ghoul. Sasha clenched her jaw trying and failing to silence the sound of her heart. Then, she grabbed the scepter, but the Queens hand was grasped tight around the handle, and Sasha could not pull it away.

The Queen awoke in a rage and grabbed Sasha by the hair. The Queen said, “I knew someone would come for my scepter, but I didn’t know it would be you, horse fucker!”

Sasha screamed and struggled to get the scepter away from the Queen. The Queen pulled Sasha onto the bed with her and ripped out a handful of her hair. Struggling for the scepter the queen yanked it high over her head, and Sasha was able to grasp it with both her hands. Then, they both tumbled from the bed to the floor. Sasha was on top of the Queen as they fell. And putting her hands out to break her fall, the scepter came down hard against the Queen’s forehead. The blood gushed from the gash in the Queens head, and she began to spasm and shake. The Queen began to groan and grunt like a horse with a broken leg. And Sasha ran out of the castle with the scepter in hand. When she returned to the stable, the horse was gone, and there stood King Pavel in the horse’s stall. Sasha and King Pavel gave in to the heat of passion and spent the night behind the church in the hay.

The next morning when they returned to the castle, all of the guards and servants were ranting about the wild horse with the long red mane that they found in the king’s bed chambers, and nobody seemed to be able to remember anything of what happened the night before. But more than that, the people were excited to see the return of King Pavel and Lady Sasha, and the arrangements were made for their marriage that night. King Pavel and Lady Sasha lived happily together for many years. And despite their old age, they bore many healthy children together. And on the day of their death the royal scepter was handed down to their first-born son who swore to keep it safe. And there was the horse in the Priest’s stable out behind the church. It was the wild horse with the long red mane that never seemed to die.

100 Word Love Story

She had imagined he would come out from around that counter and sweep her away with that half a grin on his face, but reality was more awkward than that. She’d come in everyday to buy her cigarettes and ask him silly questions just to see that grin. Even with that red work shirt, he was handsome. So many men his age were, but it was that wrinkle against his cheek. And his piercing eyes. She touched his hand when she took her change. She said, “Tell me, are you free Friday night?” He smiled his silly smile and winked.

You Won’t Take Mad From Me

He said, You are sitting right next me at the table. You understand that I can hear that phone call, right? He just told you I love you, and you told him you love him, too.

She said, It’s not what you think. His mother just died. And he has been a friend for three years.

He said, I bet.

She said, He is just a coworker.

He said, I bet.

She said, He is, and his mother just died.

He said, I bet she did. And I bet this is the third time this month that she’s died.

She said, You don’t understand. He is just a friend.

He said, I can tell. He must be a really close friend.

She said, I don’t want to lose what we have.

He said, I can tell. You play that out right in front of me. Then, you tell me that you don’t want to lose what we have. What exactly do you think we have?

She said, He is just a friend.

He said, I heard him say, I love you. Then you told him…

She said, You don’t understand. He…

He said, You told him you love him, too. I am your husband. I don’t care if you are not fucking him. And I don’t believe it either.

She said, I don’t want to lose what we have.

He said, A man does not tell another man’s wife that he loves her unless that woman is his mother. And a man’s wife does not tell another man that she loves him.

She said, He is only a friend.

He said, I don’t want to hear it.

She said, Baby!

She moved over to him and put her arms around him, and he turned away. She put her boobs on the side of his head.

She said, I don’t want to lose you.

He said, stop. I am not in the mood to be touched.

She said, Oh yeah! Well what are you in the mood for?

He said, I’m not in the mood to talk about this.

She said, When will you be in the mood to talk about this, huh?

He said, I am trying to be polite. I have not raised my voice. You keeping at me about this is making me angry.

She said, He is just a friend. I don’t want you mad at me about this.

He said, I am mad. I have earned mad. I will stay mad. And you will not convince me that I should not be mad about you having an intimate relationship with another man.

She said, You don’t understand.

He said, I don’t care if I understand. I don’t care if you are sleeping with him. It doesn’t matter. Ok, it does matter. I don’t want to hear about it. Now, leave me alone, and let me be mad.

She walked off hurt that he was mad. And she would bring it up again. She knew she would. She would just wait until he seemed a little too happy. Then, she would say, We need to talk about this. I don’t want you mad. And she didn’t want him mad, did she?

Visions from the Coffee Cup (part 4)

Linda had dressed the young man’s wounds and covered him with clean sheets and found her largest bathrobe folded it and laid it on the bedside table.  He mumbled her name and something about the toy boat she had seen in her vision but nothing particularly intelligible. After a few hours he regained enough consciousness to hold short conversations. She asked him his name, and he wasn’t able to tell her right away. She said, “Your name is Raul or Allen or maybe something close to one of those. You had been handing out business cards in the street. Can you remember any of that?”

He said, “Maybe. I’m not sure. Allen. Not Raul. But I did. But Allen.” She could tell he was straining to remember anything.

She said, “Do you remember the business cards? Could you tell me about those?” She was starting to be embarrassed by how much this resembled giving someone a reading.

He said, “Yes. No. I think Linda has my toy boat.”

She said, “I’m Linda. You’ve been calling my name. Do you know how you know my name?”

He said he didn’t know, and his head hurt too much to talk for now. She agreed to wait and told him where the robe was. She told him, when he was up to it, she would help him put on the robe. When she thought it was safe enough to leave him on his own, she went out and bought some men’s underwear, tee shirts and a couple pairs of sweats. He wouldn’t look as nice as he did is his expensive suit, but he would be covered up.

While she was out, she felt like she was being watched. It was more than likely here imagination, but it seemed like she kept seeing the same two men’s faces in the crowd going down one street and then another. This was The City and with so many people around all the time she was bound to see people who resembled one another, but this felt different than that. It wasn’t the typical I think that guy looks like someone I know. But more like I swear I just saw the same guy two blocks over. She had just called Allen through the coffee, and her head still felt a little funny from that experience. Maybe this was Déjà vu brought on by that experience. She was so young that last time she had brought someone through she couldn’t remember how she had felt afterwards.

When she got back to her apartment Allen was asleep, so she left the clothes on the bedside table and went into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee. She thought the visions she saw in the coffee might explain things better. She knew it didn’t work that way, but she wasn’t sure what she knew anymore. And the coffee didn’t give any special enlightenment, it only showed her the things it always did. But it did sooth her, and it eased the strange feeling in her head.

She must have been truly and deeply engaged in what she was watching because she didn’t hear Allen get up. He was dressed and standing in the bedroom doorway. He watched her leaning over the cup of coffee for a while before he spoke. He said, “What do you see in there?” She looked up somewhat surprised. He said, “It’s not just your reflection, is it?” She came up with a few quick excuses, and Allen listened quietly. He said, “Can I see?”

She seldom had anyone over besides clients, and they typically sat on the couch. Even when they did decide they wanted their reading done at the table, none had ever asked to see in her coffee. She knew seeing into the coffee was only her gift, but she held a little hope that under these circumstances, he might see some answers she couldn’t see. She pushed the coffee cup over to the chair beside her. Allen sat and looked into the cup of coffee with a far off stare like he was concentrating.

For once, Linda was focused on someone with coffee without feeling the pull to look into the coffee itself. His left eye was purple and nearly shut and the bridge of his nose was swollen like it could be broken, but she could see through all that to how handsome he was. That wasn’t just here memories of him from the vision. Besides much of the vividness of her vision that morning had already faded like waking from a nightmare. You know you had it. Your heart is still racing. But you can no longer remember all the details. In a minute you will only remember how you felt. In another few you will even have forgotten you had a nightmare in the first place. Only she had a handsome nightmare, and he was sitting at her kitchen table with a cup of coffee.

Allen frowned and looked a little while longer. Then, he pushed the cup back over to her. He said, “I don’t see anything, but my own stupid face.” He sat beside her and put his head on his hand wincing a little against the pain in his face. He said, “Do you mind if I drink a little of that coffee? It might help to clear my head.”

She said, “Oh, I’m sorry. Yes. I should have offered. Let me see if I have some cream and sugar.” She got up from the table and started toward the fridge. He told her not to worry about that he could drink it black. She said, “It has been cooking for hours. Why don’t you let me make you a new pot?”

He said, “Don’t go through the trouble. Right now, I don’t think I could taste much of anything.” They sat there and talked for a while. Her coffee sat next to her getting cold, and he drank his one small sip at a time. She was pretty sure he could taste it, and he didn’t really like it. But he drank it, and he never once spoke about their future together which she felt was a nice change.

Visions from the Coffee Cup (part 3)

She had never seen Francisco again at least until she came barreling around that corner. She was walking fast and looking down at her phone to see what time it was. She cut as close as she could to the cement column at the corner of the bank building. There was another half block and she was racing to make it before the morning deadline. And there was Francisco coming around the same corner. At least it was him for a second. Or she thought it was him.

No, no it was him. It was Francisco. She had run into him hard and was knocked onto the sidewalk and her attaché case had fallen and come open. Her papers had gotten wet with what looked, smelled, and felt like hot coffee. Her head was swimming, and her arms were dripping with scalding coffee.

It had been Francisco for. He had looked so much older and worse for wear. It had seemed that the last three years had not been good to him. He had been walking and drinking from a Styrofoam to-go-cup of coffee. In the split second of impact, the coffee cup had come open smashed against Francisco’s face. The coffee splashed up and off his face into the air, and Linda was transfixed by the scattering of the black liquid glittering in the sunlight. The falling globes of coffee all at once revealed the man that she had seen in the coffee before she had left her apartment.

All in that split second, she had seen the young man and his two thousand dollar suit and the boat and the beating and the blood and the woman and the note. All at the same time, and all in vivid detail. She smelled the clean linen smell of the high-end tailor shop. Felt each time he was hit with. Felt the whisper of a woman’s lips on his cheek and her hand in his pocket dropping a note. Felt the draw of the toy boat and the mystery of the business cards. Felt the pain of spending his last dime on that suit. Heard the warning from the man at the deli not to go. Felt the caress of a woman’s hands removing his clothes. Felt the frightened excitement of the door flying opened. Saw three men with cutoff broom handles. Heard them asking him for something, but he gave them his name. Was it Raul? Was it Allen? And she felt his passion, and his youth, and his erection, and its fade, and his death. Most of all, she felt his death. And all in that split second.

And Francisco was gone. He had slammed into her knocking her to the ground, and he was gone but for the coffee on her and her papers and the broken cup and lid being kicked across the ground by the people walking past. Some passersby had hooted their approval at seeing her fall. Others had gasped, but none seemed to know exactly how it happened. Although not many had stuck around to voice their opinions. Most had continued walking past. But one man had offered her a hand up. She had expected it to be the young man with the expensive suit, but it was not. It was just some man she may or may not have seen before. He helped her up, handed her the attaché case and then he was on his way checking his pockets to make sure she had not stolen his wallet.

She had not seen what had happened to Francisco or whatever name he was using these days. It was possible that he had just slipped past in the confusion, but it sure didn’t feel that way. There was so much anger at seeing Francisco and confusion and other emotions in that split second that she was sure that he had simply vanished. She had never sent anyone away through the coffee or knew if it even worked that way. In fact, she didn’t know how any of it worked only that it did. She could suppress it sometimes when she had time to concentrate, but this had all happened so fast.

She walked into the copy editor’s office and said, “Mr. Hutchinson, is there a computer I can use?”

He swiveled around in his chair. Then leaned back in surprise. He said, “Jesus, Mrs. Carla. I’d ask how your morning was, but I think I can tell.” He got up from his chair. “Here, sit down. You can use mine.”

It was a good thing that she was able to access her work remotely because here papers were brown, soggy, and wrinkling by the time she got them to the newspaper building. Honestly, she wasn’t sure why she went through the extra effort of actually going down to the building when she could have just emailed the documents in the first place. She felt like she might have to explain something to the Mr. Hutchinson or something like that. But he never did ask. He’d always loved her work and seldom made any changes.

She just thought there was something better about the weight of actual paper. Something you could touch. And it gave her a reason to leave her apartment and interact with real people that weren’t her clients. And she liked seeing Mr. Hutchinson. He was a chubby old man and he kept pictures of his wife and his kids and their kids. And he always had something interesting he had just read while he was getting it ready to go to print. But this morning he was only interested in what had happened to her. And all she could tell him is it all happened so fast.

No, she wouldn’t give up her walks to the paper. She liked The City. There was just something honest about not knowing someone and not being forced to pretend to know them. That is what she liked about living and walking there. The City simply existed. It didn’t care if you didn’t know it. The people simply existed. Most people didn’t care if you didn’t know anything about them. And the majority seemed to prefer that you didn’t know them. When she got back to her apartment, she was tempted to pour herself a cup of coffee from the pot she left on the eye to keep hot. But she decided instead to get herself in the shower and change into clothes that were not stained and smelling of stale coffee.

She nearly screamed when she saw the naked and bleeding man lying in her bed. It was Raul or Allen or whatever she thought his name might be. It was the young man from her vision, but he wasn’t dead. He was beaten and bloody and seemed to be in and out of consciousness. She was sure she had seen him die, but here he was. Alive or just barely. She wet a clean towel from her bathroom and began to clean the blood off him. The thought of the police did cross her mind but didn’t call them. She knew that she had brought him here, and now she owed him something. The police would just take him away, and he would end up broken like Judy. Linda was determined to help him.

*** Part 4

Linda had dressed the young man’s wounds and covered him with clean sheets and found her largest bathrobe folded it and laid it on the bedside table.  He mumbled her name and something about the toy boat she had seen in her vision but nothing particularly intelligible. After a few hours he regained enough consciousness to hold short conversations. She asked him his name, and he wasn’t able to tell her right away. She said, “Your name is Raul or Allen or maybe something close to one of those. You had been handing out business cards in the street. Can you remember any of that?”

He said, “Maybe. I’m not sure. Allen. Not Raul. But I did. But Allen.” She could tell he was straining to remember anything.

She said, “Do you remember the business cards? Could you tell me about those?” She was starting to be embarrassed by how much this resembled giving someone a reading.

He said, “Yes. No. I think Linda has my toy boat.”

She said, “I’m Linda. You’ve been calling my name. Do you know how you know my name?”

He said he didn’t know, and his head hurt too much to talk for now. She agreed to wait and told him where the robe was. She told him, when he was up to it, she would help him put on the robe. When she thought it was safe enough to leave him on his own, she went out and bought some men’s underwear, tee shirts and a couple pairs of sweats. He wouldn’t look as nice as he did is his expensive suit, but he would be covered up.

While she was out, she felt like she was being watched. It was more than likely here imagination, but it seemed like she kept seeing the same two men’s faces in the crowd going down one street and then another. This was The City and with so many people around all the time she was bound to see people who resembled one another, but this felt different than that. It wasn’t the typical I think that guy looks like someone I know. But more like I swear I just saw the same guy two blocks over. She had just called Allen through the coffee, and her head still felt a little funny from that experience. Maybe this was Déjà vu brought on by that experience. She was so young that last time she had brought someone through she couldn’t remember how she had felt afterwards.

When she got back to her apartment Allen was asleep, so she left the clothes on the bedside table and went into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee. She thought the visions she saw in the coffee might explain things better. She knew it didn’t work that way, but she wasn’t sure what she knew anymore. And the coffee didn’t give any special enlightenment, it only showed her the things it always did. But it did sooth her, and it eased the strange feeling in her head.

She must have been truly and deeply engaged in what she was watching because she didn’t hear Allen get up. He was dressed and standing in the bedroom doorway. He watched her leaning over the cup of coffee for a while before he spoke. He said, “What do you see in there?” She looked up somewhat surprised. He said, “It’s not just your reflection, is it?” She came up with a few quick excuses, and Allen listened quietly. He said, “Can I see?”

She seldom had anyone over besides clients, and they typically sat on the couch. Even when they did decide they wanted their reading done at the table, none had ever asked to see in her coffee. She knew seeing into the coffee was only her gift, but she held a little hope that under these circumstances, he might see some answers she couldn’t see. She pushed the coffee cup over to the chair beside her. Allen sat and looked into the cup of coffee with a faroff stare like he was concentrating.

For once, Linda was focused on someone with coffee without feeling the pull to look into the coffee itself. His left eye was purple and nearly shut and the bridge of his nose was swollen like it could be broken, but she could see through all that to how handsome he was. That wasn’t just here memories of him from the vision. Besides much of the vividness of her vision that morning had already faded like waking from a nightmare. You know you had it. Your heart is still racing. But you can no longer remember all the details. In a minute you will only remember how you felt. In another few you will even have forgotten you had a nightmare in the first place. Only she had a handsome nightmare, and he was sitting at her kitchen table with a cup of coffee.

Allen frowned and looked a little while longer. Then, he pushed the cup back over to her. He said, “I don’t see anything, but my own stupid face.” He sat beside her and put his head on his hand wincing a little against the pain in his face. He said, “Do you mind if I drink a little of that coffee? It might help to clear my head.”

She said, “Oh, I’m sorry. Yes. I should have offered. Let me see if I have some cream and sugar.” She got up from the table and started toward the fridge. He told her not to worry about that he could drink it black. She said, “It has been cooking for hours. Why don’t you let me make you a new pot?”

He said, “Don’t go through the trouble. Right now, I don’t think I could taste much of anything.” They sat there and talked for a while. Her coffee sat next to her getting cold, and he drank his one small sip at a time. She was pretty sure he could taste it, and he didn’t really like it. But he drank it, and he never once spoke about their future together which she felt was a nice change.

Visions from the Coffee Cup (part 2)

Linda had gotten up late that morning and had known that she didn’t have much time to watch in the cup this morning, but she took the chance and was paying for it. She took the stairs because she knew it was faster than the elevator. Even in her best professional heels she was holding the handrails and taking two steps at a time. She passed the man from the floor below her on his way up. He said, “Hey, watch it lady. Why you always in a rush?”

She smiled and said, “Good morning.” And she kept right on at the same pace. The man was always coming up around this time of day. He didn’t look like the in-shape type, but he always took the stairs. She figured he must be sitting all night driving a cab or something, so he takes the stairs to feel like he’s getting some kind of exercise. The truth was they never spoke other than the polite ‘good mornings’ they would exchange when she wasn’t rushing. In fact, that was most of life in The City for her. It was be polite and keep to yourself. The City could be safe if you kept to the good parts of town, but grifters and confidence men were everywhere. Anybody too friendly was either new to The City and hadn’t been ripped off just yet, or they were out to rip you off.

She’d had it happen to her when she had first arrived. He had seen her at the coffee bar. She had gone there a lot before she realized she couldn’t afford it. Finances were already tight without a ten-dollar cup of black coffee in a crowded storefront, and she had been going once or twice a week, sometimes more. Francisco was a handsome older man with slicked back hair thinning on the top. He had paid attention to her despite her simply sitting and watching her coffee.

She was thrilled at first. The man would sit in the table next to her and offer to pay for her cup the next time they were both in the shop together. He seemed to always be there just after she had paid for her cup. After a few times, he would just come and sit at her table and look into her eyes. He would lower his voice and talk about the future they could have. After about a week or so she thought she was falling in love. And that is when he asked for some money.

It was just a hundred dollars at first. He said his mother needed just a little help with her groceries. The next week he had asked for five hundred dollars to get his car looked at. She said, “Francisco, I wish I could, but I don’t have five hundred dollars.”

He said, “Sweetheart, its important.” He had taken to calling her sweetheart although they had never met anywhere besides the coffee bar. He said, “My boss is ready to fire me. It’s really important.” He looked into her eyes and got his lip to quiver.

She said, “I can’t do it this month, Francisco. I barely have enough to pay my rent.”

He said, “I know, sweetheart. It’s just your old Fran-Fran, over here, is in a really tight spot.” He put his hand on hers. He said, “Why don’t you never call me Fran-Fran? You know I like to hear it.” He looked at her for a while then he said, “I know a nice girl like you has got some jewelry. I swear I’ll pay you back.”

She told him that she would try to come up with the money. He said, “Please do, sweetheart. I don’t think you’d respect me anymore if I had to beg you in front of all of these people here.”

That was the only time the man from downstairs had ever stopped her to talk. He said, “I saw you the other day at the coffee bar talking to that old man. Don’t you be giving him no money.”

She said, “Who, Francisco?”

He said, “Is that what he told you? He was Chico to my sister, and Johnathan to my grandmother. I had to threaten him with a knife to get him to leave my Gammy alone.” He spit in the corner under the stair rail against the wall. He said, “I don’t imagine you’d ever get him come here, but if you do, and I see him, I’ll kick him down the fucking stairs.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “Look I don’t mean to be rude. You look like a nice girl to me. You’ll find you a nice man. Just this Francisco, or whatever. You tell him you ain’t giving him no more money. I bet he won’t never talk to you again. He’s a thief. He don’t love you.”

The man from downstairs was right. When she told Francisco she wouldn’t give him anymore money, he said, “See that lady over there.” He pointed to a gray-haired woman in a pants suit sitting across the room. “I am going to go over and talk to her. And if you say even a word, I’ll slap you around in front of everyone here. And you will feel too stupid to ever drink another cup of coffee here again.” She had never seen Francisco again.

*** Part 3

At least until she came barreling around that corner. She was walking fast and looking down at her phone to see what time it was. She cut as close as she could to the cement column at the corner of the bank building. There was another half block and she was racing to make it before the morning deadline. And there was Francisco coming around the same corner. At least it was him for a second. Or she thought it was him.

No, no it was him. It was Francisco. She had run into him hard and was knocked onto the sidewalk and her attaché case had fallen and come open. Her papers had gotten wet with what looked, smelled, and felt like hot coffee. Her head was swimming, and her arms were dripping with scalding coffee.

It had been Francisco for. He had looked so much older and worse for wear. It had seemed that the last three years had not been good to him. He had been walking and drinking from a Styrofoam to-go-cup of coffee. In the split second of impact, the coffee cup had come open smashed against Francisco’s face. The coffee splashed up and off his face into the air, and Linda was transfixed by the scattering of the black liquid glittering in the sunlight. The falling globes of coffee all at once revealed the man that she had seen in the coffee before she had left her apartment.

All in that split second, she had seen the young man and his two thousand dollar suit and the boat and the beating and the blood and the woman and the note. All at the same time, and all in vivid detail. She smelled the clean linen smell of the high-end tailor shop. Felt each time he was hit with. Felt the whisper of a woman’s lips on his cheek and her hand in his pocket dropping a note. Felt the draw of the toy boat and the mystery of the business cards. Felt the pain of spending his last dime on that suit. Heard the warning from the man at the deli not to go. Felt the caress of a woman’s hands removing his clothes. Felt the frightened excitement of the door flying opened. Saw three men with cutoff broom handles. Heard them asking him for something, but he gave them his name. Was it Raul? Was it Allen? And she felt his passion, and his youth, and his erection, and its fade, and his death. Most of all, she felt his death. And all in that split second.

And Francisco was gone. He had slammed into her knocking her to the ground, and he was gone but for the coffee on her and her papers and the broken cup and lid being kicked across the ground by the people walking past. Some passersby had hooted their approval at seeing her fall. Others had gasped, but none seemed to know exactly how it happened. Although not many had stuck around to voice their opinions. Most had continued walking past. But one man had offered her a hand up. She had expected it to be the young man with the expensive suit, but it was not. It was just some man she may or may not have seen before. He helped her up, handed her the attaché case and then he was on his way checking his pockets to make sure she had not stolen his wallet.

She had not seen what had happened to Francisco or whatever name he was using these days. It was possible that he had just slipped past in the confusion, but it sure didn’t feel that way. There was so much anger at seeing Francisco and confusion and other emotions in that split second that she was sure that he had simply vanished. She had never sent anyone away through the coffee or knew if it even worked that way. In fact, she didn’t know how any of it worked only that it did. She could suppress it sometimes when she had time to concentrate, but this had all happened so fast.

She walked into the copy editor’s office and said, “Mr. Hutchinson, is there a computer I can use?”

He swiveled around in his chair. Then leaned back in surprise. He said, “Jesus, Mrs. Carla. I’d ask how your morning was, but I think I can tell.” He got up from his chair. “Here, sit down. You can use mine.”

It was a good thing that she was able to access her work remotely because here papers were brown, soggy, and wrinkling by the time she got them to the newspaper building. Honestly, she wasn’t sure why she went through the extra effort of actually going down to the building when she could have just emailed the documents in the first place. She felt like she might have to explain something to the Mr. Hutchinson or something like that. But he never did ask. He’d always loved her work and seldom made any changes.

She just thought there was something better about the weight of actual paper. Something you could touch. And it gave her a reason to leave her apartment and interact with real people that weren’t her clients. And she liked seeing Mr. Hutchinson. He was a chubby old man and he kept pictures of his wife and his kids and their kids. And he always had something interesting he had just read while he was getting it ready to go to print. But this morning he was only interested in what had happened to her. And all she could tell him is it all happened so fast.

No, she wouldn’t give up her walks to the paper. She liked The City. There was just something honest about not knowing someone and not being forced to pretend to know them. That is what she liked about living and walking there. The City simply existed. It didn’t care if you didn’t know it. The people simply existed. Most people didn’t care if you didn’t know anything about them. And the majority seemed to prefer that you didn’t know them. When she got back to her apartment, she was tempted to pour herself a cup of coffee from the pot she left on the eye to keep hot. But she decided instead to get herself in the shower and change into clothes that were not stained and smelling of stale coffee.

She nearly screamed when she saw the naked and bleeding man lying in her bed. It was Raul or Allen or whatever she thought his name might be. It was the young man from her vision, but he wasn’t dead. He was beaten and bloody and seemed to be in and out of consciousness. She was sure she had seen him die, but here he was. Alive or just barely. She wet a clean towel from her bathroom and began to clean the blood off him. The thought of the police did cross her mind but didn’t call them. She knew that she had brought him here, and now she owed him something. The police would just take him away, and he would end up broken like Judy. Linda was determined to help him.

*** Part 4

Linda had dressed the young man’s wounds and covered him with clean sheets and found her largest bathrobe folded it and laid it on the bedside table.  He mumbled her name and something about the toy boat she had seen in her vision but nothing particularly intelligible. After a few hours he regained enough consciousness to hold short conversations. She asked him his name, and he wasn’t able to tell her right away. She said, “Your name is Raul or Allen or maybe something close to one of those. You had been handing out business cards in the street. Can you remember any of that?”

He said, “Maybe. I’m not sure. Allen. Not Raul. But I did. But Allen.” She could tell he was straining to remember anything.

She said, “Do you remember the business cards? Could you tell me about those?” She was starting to be embarrassed by how much this resembled giving someone a reading.

He said, “Yes. No. I think Linda has my toy boat.”

She said, “I’m Linda. You’ve been calling my name. Do you know how you know my name?”

He said he didn’t know, and his head hurt too much to talk for now. She agreed to wait and told him where the robe was. She told him, when he was up to it, she would help him put on the robe. When she thought it was safe enough to leave him on his own, she went out and bought some men’s underwear, tee shirts and a couple pairs of sweats. He wouldn’t look as nice as he did is his expensive suit, but he would be covered up.

While she was out, she felt like she was being watched. It was more than likely here imagination, but it seemed like she kept seeing the same two men’s faces in the crowd going down one street and then another. This was The City and with so many people around all the time she was bound to see people who resembled one another, but this felt different than that. It wasn’t the typical I think that guy looks like someone I know. But more like I swear I just saw the same guy two blocks over. She had just called Allen through the coffee, and her head still felt a little funny from that experience. Maybe this was Déjà vu brought on by that experience. She was so young that last time she had brought someone through she couldn’t remember how she had felt afterwards.

When she got back to her apartment Allen was asleep, so she left the clothes on the bedside table and went into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee. She thought the visions she saw in the coffee might explain things better. She knew it didn’t work that way, but she wasn’t sure what she knew anymore. And the coffee didn’t give any special enlightenment, it only showed her the things it always did. But it did sooth her, and it eased the strange feeling in her head.

She must have been truly and deeply engaged in what she was watching because she didn’t hear Allen get up. He was dressed and standing in the bedroom doorway. He watched her leaning over the cup of coffee for a while before he spoke. He said, “What do you see in there?” She looked up somewhat surprised. He said, “It’s not just your reflection, is it?” She came up with a few quick excuses, and Allen listened quietly. He said, “Can I see?”

She seldom had anyone over besides clients, and they typically sat on the couch. Even when they did decide they wanted their reading done at the table, none had ever asked to see in her coffee. She knew seeing into the coffee was only her gift, but she held a little hope that under these circumstances, he might see some answers she couldn’t see. She pushed the coffee cup over to the chair beside her. Allen sat and looked into the cup of coffee with a faroff stare like he was concentrating.

For once, Linda was focused on someone with coffee without feeling the pull to look into the coffee itself. His left eye was purple and nearly shut and the bridge of his nose was swollen like it could be broken, but she could see through all that to how handsome he was. That wasn’t just here memories of him from the vision. Besides much of the vividness of her vision that morning had already faded like waking from a nightmare. You know you had it. Your heart is still racing. But you can no longer remember all the details. In a minute you will only remember how you felt. In another few you will even have forgotten you had a nightmare in the first place. Only she had a handsome nightmare, and he was sitting at her kitchen table with a cup of coffee.

Allen frowned and looked a little while longer. Then, he pushed the cup back over to her. He said, “I don’t see anything, but my own stupid face.” He sat beside her and put his head on his hand wincing a little against the pain in his face. He said, “Do you mind if I drink a little of that coffee? It might help to clear my head.”

She said, “Oh, I’m sorry. Yes. I should have offered. Let me see if I have some cream and sugar.” She got up from the table and started toward the fridge. He told her not to worry about that he could drink it black. She said, “It has been cooking for hours. Why don’t you let me make you a new pot?”

He said, “Don’t go through the trouble. Right now, I don’t think I could taste much of anything.” They sat there and talked for a while. Her coffee sat next to her getting cold, and he drank his one small sip at a time. She was pretty sure he could taste it, and he didn’t really like it. But he drank it, and he never once spoke about their future together which she felt was a nice change.

Markey Monkey the Emperor of Evil (part 3)

The black mirror in the throne room of The Castle of the Burning hammer began to lighten. It sniffed tentatively at first, and then sniffed good and hard. The evil vision’s voice boomed a sing song. “Markey Mark, little monkey.”

Mark jumped and spilled coffee on the floor and table of the castle kitchen. He said loud enough to be heard in the other room. “What, dad.”  He threw the rest of the coffee down the sink.

The evil vision’s voice boomed into the kitchen. “What do I smell in there?”

Mark yelled again from the kitchen. “Nothing, dad. You can’t smell, remember?”

The evil vision boomed his voice into the kitchen. “I can, too. And I think you are hiding something. Mark, get in here.”

Mark thought his dad was getting mad.  He yelled, “No.”

The evil vision said, “Now, son.”

“No.”

“I’m about to start counting.” Mark still did not come. “One…” The evil voice counted loudly.

Mark poked his head out of the kitchen doorway. “No, dad. Don’t spank me.”

“Two…”

Mark walked through the door. Looking at his toes and walking slow.

The evil vision said, “Markey, do I smell coffee?”

Mark looked up and said, “When did you start smelling again?”

The evil vision said, “I don’t know. It just started on and off in the last… Mark, you are too young to drink coffee.”

“I didn’t drink it, dad.” The news that his father was regaining his senses made Mark both happy and sad.

“So, I did smell coffee.”

“No. There isn’t any coffee. You didn’t smell coffee.”

“Don’t lie to me, Mark. I can see it on your face.”

Mark was astonished. “You can see, too?”

“Well, no… Only sometimes. Like when you lie to me.”

“OK, dad. But I didn’t drink the coffee.”

“Mark… Little Markey, I will not have you drinking coffee. It is not good for a growing boy.”

“I won’t.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

The evil vision said, “By the way. I have been sensing spot around here the past couple days.” Mark smiled he really liked spot. The evil vision said, “I thought you sent him back to hell.”

“He came back. I think he just wandered off into the woods for a while.”

“I don’t know, Markey. When I told you it was OK to keep him as pet you told me that you were up to the responsibility.”

“I am, dad. I am very responsible. I clean his cage and everything.”

“The zombies told me that they were the ones picking up his poop.”

“That is the same thing, isn’t it?”

“Well maybe in the eyes of the law… But cleaning it up yourself is supposed to teach you discipline.”

“Dad, it’s gross. It stinks. It has blood and mucus and pieces of bone. And it’s foamy. The zombies like to do it. They told me.”

“The zombies didn’t tell you that. Nobody likes picking up monster poop. Especially not from a black slime.” The mirror started to dim to blackness and Markey turned to walk away. Then, the evil mirror snapped brighter than ever. “Wait a minute, son. Have you been talking to the zombies?” There was almost excitement in the evil vision’s voice.

“You know what I mean, dad. I tell them to do stuff, and they do it.”

“So… You were fibbing?”

“Don’t be mad, dad.”

“Are you sure? You didn’t look like you were fibbing. You know it would be a big day if you could read their minds. You would be growing into a man. You are not scared of growing up, are you? You are still too young for ‘The Talk’ but I sure would be proud of my little man.”

“I wasn’t fibbing… I just don’t like to clean up the poop.”

“I know, but that is part of your responsibilities. And you need to be more careful with him. Have the zombies make sure his pit is sealed. I mean really sealed. A slime can get through even the smallest of cracks.”

“I will, dad.”

“And really watch them. You are the supervisor really make sure they are doing a good job. I don’t you to tell them I said this, but those zombies… I don’t want to say it. They are… Kind of…”

“Dumb, dad?”

“Don’t say it so loud, son. I don’t want to hurt their feelings.”

“You don’t want to hurt the zombies’ feelings!?” Mark began to giggle.

“They do have feelings, son. We are not the only ones. Zombies are just the same as you and me. You should respect them.”

Mark looked a little ashamed. “I do respect them, dad.”

“OK, son. You just keep an eye on spot. We don’t need him going around killing people when you are not there to collect the power from their souls. We need everything we can get to power that machine. It seems like the power keeps leaking away little by little every day. I need to recheck the wiring diagram against the way the machine is actually hooked up. There has got to be something leaking to ground that shouldn’t me. I mean we really should have the thing up and running by now.”