Short Stories

Wrong Bus

15/06/2023

I didn't notice it until three stops later, that I had in fact stepped inside the wrong bus. Now, I can't get off.

I panicked, of course. Once the bus took that right turn towards a different destination, I thought I should get out fast in the next stop. But it soon came over me that I shouldn't rush just yet. After all, I wouldn't know where I was. And then what? Wander around, lost, street after street, not knowing if I'd be able to find my way back? At least while inside the bus, although not to my intention, I wouldn't be lost. I would still be inside a bus. And the bus knew where to go. 

 

Since I was in a termless predicament, at least for now, I figured I might as well take a look at who was inside that bus with me. I could spot the usual attentive people, who knew they were well where they should be, taking that bus to their orderly lives. Had I taken the right bus home, I'd be one of those well adjusted people. Enjoying the ride were also the usual elderly ladies, always with an unquenchable appetite for a chit-chat. Over the period of a few stops, they'd tell you all about the news of the neighborhood, all the talk that's going around town, all the gossip that came with tea and cookies. There's always at least two of them in every bus. Were it only one and the ride would become empty, a bore from a lack of daily reports. They tell them better than the news people, for they always know a little more, taken from their likes and opinions, extended versions thanks to the points added by everyone who had partaken in this mouth to mouth train of news. They are very important, these elderly women and the stories they share.

At the back of the bus were a group of absent-looking people. The forgotten ones. Some were looking through the windows, some napping the ride away, and some were enfolded in their own music, with headphones that deafened them from the world beyond the bus. They weren't always like that and won't probably be unless they so desire. It's just that sometimes it feels nice to be able to forget about the world and let the world forget about us. There's something of healing in that calm feeling that comes when the burden of memory is taken off our shoulders. Yet, stay like that for too long and you may really forget how to be. When you do… If you do, you'll become a shadow, lurking around places searching for the fragments of who you once were, hoping to rebuild yourself from scatters. But that's not the right way. Only light can sheathe away a shadow, not a broken cover of the past you stripped away. I found myself wondering if they too had stepped inside the wrong bus.

 

After a few more stops I still didn't know where this bus was heading. It could lead to a million different places, both beautiful or terrifying, perhaps even terrifyingly beautiful or worse, beautifully terrifying. Either way, it must have a final stop. I suppose I could ask the driver where he was taking me, but he seemed busy, keeping an eye on the road, an ear on the news of the day, and a hand over the button that let people know that he knew when and where to stop. I didn't want to take more space in his mind, occupying his mouth with words for directions. It must be hard enough to drive a bus. Looking outside I still didn't know the road. None of that made sense to me. Should I simply press the button to get out? Stop the ride before the sky turns dark? It's harder to walk at night when you see yourself in an unfamiliar place. It's scary to do it alone, much more in the dark. Because everything looks different at night. 

I've lost count of the times I've cursed myself for entering the wrong bus. No use: the bus won't change its course. Now I'm faced with an unknown number of stops to pick from. The longer I take, the further I get from where I started. I can't keep waiting for the road to loop around and return to the starting point. That would get me nowhere and the ride would've merely been a waste of time. The day goes long and another stop approaches. There's a step I must take.

The Aquarium

Prompt: “Write a short story set in an aquarium”

09/05/2023

Life is so simple. Just wake up, go for a stroll, say hi to those around you, eat as much as you want. It's that simple.

One could argue about the routine. The same routine every day. But that's just something that adds to life being easy. Effortless. Happy. 

'Isn't it boring?', one could ask. 'Doesn't it get boring after a while?. To move and go nowhere?' No. It's simple. It's easy. It's safe. 

I don't have to worry about absolutely nothing. I don't have to worry about paychecks, bills, groceries, and all those things I've heard so many complaints about. I know I'll have a forever home, rent free, and fresh food every day. At that time of the day. Every day.

Why would I ever want to leave? I'm taken care of here. What more could I ask for? I have all I need. Nothing more. It's simple. It's safe. It's enough. 

I saw a crack the other day. I'm ignoring it. Well, not really ignoring it. I want someone to notice it and fix it. But… what if they don't? What if the crack turns into a breach? What if it breaks? What's outside these glass walls? I don't know. I don't know if I want to see it. Here it's safe. It's easy. It's simple. Out there there isn't this routine. I know there isn't. There won't be a time for food, a house rent free, the safety of the caretakers. For a difference, I am afraid. 

Maybe… 

             It will be ok. 

Diary of the Guardian Fary

Prompt: “Write a story set in a kindergarten”

25/03/2023

Today is a special day. It’s special, because today the princess fairy returns home.

I am a guardian of the portals that join the fairy realm to the human realm. After a long time searching, I finally found her. The princess of the water fairy kingdom was living on earth as a mere student. And she didn’t even know of her magic powers! But after days and days of trying and testing… She finally made it! She gained her wings and now she’ll finally be able to come home.

Just as we were getting to the forest where was rooted the Great Tree - the closest portal to the fairy kingdom -, an attack from fairy hunters ensued! They were four in total, with gadgets that could almost match our powers. Almost. As a guardian, my powers were nature based and in the spring of the moment, I raised vines to stop them. However, they were clever enough to use them as hiding places as well. The princess wanted to help by concealing our escape and lifted a mist all around us. Bad call. The vines fed off that environment and turned the forest into a jungle. At least we were even. They didn’t get an advantage over us. The princess wanted to power through, sneak past them to the portal, but I advised against it. My priority as a guardian, warrior of the fairy queen, was to assure the princess’ safety.

 

We began making our way around, hoping that the hunters would lose our tracks. Unfortunately, the path I chose was filled with traps left by them. I got caged fairly quickly, protecting my princess. It was a complex process to unlock it, a kind of spiral with whispers and riddles to advance… One single wrong answer and the prey was caught. But the water fairy princess was smart. The whispers of those hunters couldn’t demote her and their puzzles were no match for her cleverness. She got me out of the cage and we flew to the next challenge: a complex platform with numbers that we had to step on in a precise pattern… otherwise the floor would fall or turn to lava, or other trickery trap that the hunters had set. With my arcane knowledge and her great wit, we managed to pass it without a problem. Lastly, a broken bridge that had us jumping from platform to platform.

 

I should’ve disclosed this earlier, but I don’t have wings like other fairies do. Some say it’s tied to royalty, some say it’s about being a pure fairy or not. I don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on it, I’ve got other means to fly, like my own fairy dust. As for the princess, she’s still having flight lessons… from me… a wingless fairy.

 

It was a challenging cross, as some of those platforms were very unstable, but we were there for each other. Up ahead, was the hardest part of the journey: the Desert of Lost Sands. We crossed the great desert, dodging from threats and monsters. See, I am a warrior. It’s my job to keep the princess safe. She’s still figuring out the scope of her powers, they’re far more powerful than what she can control yet. And the desert… You can see how it could be hard to manage water powers in one of the driest places on earth.

Sand worms, rock constructs, jumping beasts and scorpion kin. Those were all the things we were trying to avoid. What we weren’t expecting, though, was a direct attack from the fire fairy princess herself! Her powers were heightened by the heat of that forsaken land! But how? Why? Why… Of course, with the water fairy princess gone, most of the power of the fairy kingdom would certainly fall on her family. And fire has always had a burning hunger for power.

 

A heavily unbalanced elemental battle ensued, with me shielding the water fairy princess the best I could. The fire was too strong, too hot, too much… I could feel my skin burning with every strike and every block. We were cornered by walls of fire, I tried to connect to the scorpion kin, once an enemy, now a possible ally, since the beasts were animals. And a desert worm was too strong of a monstrosity for my weakened power. It was to no avail. At least my shields were strong enough to keep us unharmed. Unharmed, but dry. I could feel my skin cracking, and if I fell then… so would my shields.

 

That was when my princess reached for my arm. Slowly, a refreshing sensation spread through my arm, my body… My skin was healing. That was another property of water: healing. That element… Of course it would be a target! It was purely too strong, too powerful, or just, precisely what the next fairy queen should be! Absolutely capable of leading, defending and healing her people! With my shields and her water barrier, we managed to walk out through the fire and even up to the fire fairy. We took the fight out of the desert. That’s when we heard them approach. The fairy hunters were back.

Even being four to three, we wouldn’t be able to fight them off and defeat them if we were also battling each other. The fire fairy had to pick a side. Us, her direct enemies, or them, untrustworthy allies. She pondered, but she’d have to act fast, they were approaching. Then, my princess extended her hand to her, a peace offering. I was dumbfounded! But I understood, it was a matter of survival. The fire fairy seemed hesitant as she looked over to the hunters that were already preparing to launch an attack of capture. Finally, the fire fairy said–

 

The bell rang in the hand of the teacher. Our recess was over and they were calling us to nap. I wasn’t tired. And I could see my friends weren’t either.

“Aw, what a cliffhanger!”, my friend who had a water fairy inside of her commented. The others soon joined in and we shared our best moments of that adventure all the way until we were told to close our eyes and dream. I’ll dream with the answer of the fire fairy. I’ll dream about the possibilities of that encounter. I hoped everyone had enjoyed that as much as I had.

I didn’t know then that our adventure would carry on without fairy hunters. That solved the fire fairy’s tough decision quite easily.

The Orb

Prompt: “Write a flash-fiction piece that begins with the sizzling of an egg on a frying pan”

01/09/2022

The sizzling of that frying egg accompanied by the delicious smell of bacon filling my nostrils as I cooked, was the only sound in the whole house. Yet, I wasn’t alone. My roommate, Carol, awaited patiently, never taking her eyes off the strange orb in the corner.

— What do you think it wants? — she asked when I served her plate.

— It?

Carol shrugged — What, then?

I looked at it. A simple orb, floating, glowing hues of blue pulsating form it.

— You think it’s alive? — I asked.

— Looks like it. You don’t?

Neither of us had started eating, too intrigued by that object or being, whatever it was. It was simply there. When I woke up this morning, Carol was already with it in the kitchen. She said it was already there before as well. That she didn’t hear it, only noticing it by chance when she went to the fridge. The puddle of spilled milk still tainted the floor near it, as neither of us dared to approach. It also showed us one thing: either it didn’t need to eat, or it didn’t like milk. Perhaps it didn’t show us anything, after all…

— Do you think it sees us?

I looked at Carol. Her question, although a good guess, only served to make my skin crawl.

— I hope not — I scoffed — I haven’t gotten ready for the day yet.

Carol didn’t find it as funny as I did, but she spared me a small grin.

— Should we test it?

My roommate looked at me as if my question wasn’t predictable by the course of our reasoning.

— And how should we test it?

— I don’t know… Maybe through movement. Get up.

We both got up and observed the orb. It seemed the same. We walked around both in the same direction and opposite ones, yet the pattern of movement of those hues didn’t change.

— Maybe it’s a mood thing. — she guessed — You know, like a vibe-meter. 

— A vibe-meter?

— Yes, like those rings and jewelry that change color based on mood.

— That’s… Not how they work.

Carol shrugged and sat back down.

— Well, maybe this one works like that. If it is alive.

And once again, silence filled the room. Our eggs were cold by now, the bacon rubbery. We ate anyway, never forgetting the presence of that strange ornament.

— Have you tried touching it? 

— Heavens, no! — Carol almost dropped her silverware while taking her plate to the sink. — We don’t know what it is, or what it does! It could bite, or… Or suck us inside it, like a black hole!

— Like a black hole?...

I didn’t listen to what she was theorizing as I pondered the trajectory of my fork towards that orb…

— Sarah! What the heck?!

My fork hit the orb and clicked on the floor.

— It didn’t suck it.

The orb also didn’t change colors. Instead, it remained glowing and floating like ever.

— Maybe it’s an egg… — Carol kept theorizing.

Meanwhile, I got up. Against her concerns, I got closer to it. That glowing orb in the corner. The floor was wet with the milk and now my sock was too. I didn’t let that awful feeling stop me from reaching the orb. When my fingers touched it, the whole palm of my hand pressed against that orb the size of a human skull… I was immediately transported to another reality. A pure ocean of wonders with the most amazing creatures. An absolute underwater paradise filled with incredible dreams… And then…

The sizzling of that frying egg accompanied by the delicious smell of bacon filling my nostrils as I cooked, was the only sound in the whole house. Yet, I wasn’t alone. My roommate, Carol, awaited patiently, never taking her eyes off the strange orb in the corner.

— What do you think it wants? — she asked when I served her plate.

— It?

Carol shrugged — What, then?

I looked at it. A simple orb, floating, glowing hues of red pulsating form it.

— You think it’s alive?

Family Home 

Prompt: “Mysterious family member dies” | Genre: Fantasy

02/09/2020

I received a letter tonight. An odd time to receive one, I reckon. Inside there was a message written as an invitation, however it's content stated the sudden death of a man whose name I didn't recognize.

I opened my laptop and searched the name. No records anywhere. It's as if this man never existed! Should I ask my parents about this? Maybe the name would be familiar to one of them. Yet, something told me I shouldn't speak of this. Tomorrow I'd go to the address written on the invitation and find out what this was all about. 

 

I hardly slept as my mind wandered between the letter and the unknown. I witnessed the sunrise. It was time to uncover the truth.

The address belonged to a wide mansion, it looked old but well kept nevertheless. I walked through the gates and approached the big wooden door. Locked of course. There was an old door knocker with the shape of a deer's head. As I held it to knock, something in me knew that instead I should lift it over the animal's head. The door knocker's position was that of the deer's antlers and that unlocked a small hidden door next to the main one. A door that would lead to a secret basement. 

It was oddly familiar. I felt compelled to view a small music box. I didn't know why, that whole situation… it was like I'd been there before, but I'm sure this was the first time I was seeing all of that. Wasn’t it? As I opened the music box, a soft melody started playing and a tiny ballerina danced, suddenly my memory unlocked: that used to be my house. The man who died was my uncle and a powerful artificer. We used to be very close, he taught me all about magical creatures hidden in our world and where to find them. He knew I'd be the only one able to carry on with the task carried out by generations. My parents didn't want me to follow in his footsteps, so they tried to conceal my memories behind a spell.

Now I knew why I was there: I had been called to take his place as a monster hunter. That was my legacy. And I was ready to take it.