Painting In Nightshade + untitled (Throwback Thursday)

Prompts = Nightshade, Blend, Laughter

Story New — Painting In Nightshade

Photo by Andrea Niosi on Unsplash

There’s always that one step in any process that if you miss, the results are…

Where I can, I try to end that sentence with “hilarious”.

Like that day I wasn’t paying as much attention as I should have to preparing breakfast. I hadn’t slept well and was in a rush, but for some reason insisted to myself I needed to use my new blender. As I struggled to make coffee without scalding myself, I dumped in a bunch of stuff and hit blend.

And ended up painting some of the ceiling in what I’ll call “nightshade”.

Which was hilarious.

Story Old — untitled

Photo by Jeff Frank on Unsplash

Miss Eggplant and the Tomato Tornado burst onto the scene of Gotham City villainy when they started stealing all the nightshades in the city.

They weren’t super villains. In fact, they were more comic fodder than anything else. No one could figure out why they cared so much about these types of plants.

*****

In their lair, laughter erupted. Miss Eggplant and the Tomato Tornado plotted their plan. First, blend their haul in a giant vat. Next, extract the toxins. Then, give it to an unsuspecting public. Lastly, take over the world.

A few details still needed to be worked out.

Links to other sites where I publish:

Blogger = https://onehundredwordsbyparz.blogspot.com
Medium = https://medium.com/100-word-or-less-stories
YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/user/parzivalsattva

And a link to where my Lovely Lady Love (who also operates the camera) posts her art: https://www.youtube.com/user/recyclinggoddess

The Rental

 

Photo by Robert Bye on Unsplash

Prompts = Sand, Penthouse, Armadillo

Their reactions couldn’t have been more different when they opened the doors to the penthouse rental: he live-streamed each exciting discovery and feature in each room, while she wondered if the designer had suffered a traumatic head injury.

The wallpaper looked like a poorly executed collage and somehow highlighted the giant Dogs Playing Croquet With Armadillos painting in the entryway. The primary lighting source in each room was disco ball. The master bedroom was more like a house of mirrors. The sheer scope of hideousness was indescribable.

But the white sand beach overlooking the city was a nice touch.

Links to other sites where I publish:

Blogger = https://onehundredwordsbyparz.blogspot.com
Medium = https://medium.com/100-word-or-less-stories
YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/user/parzivalsattva

And a link to where my Lovely Lady Love (who also operates the camera) posts her art: https://www.youtube.com/user/recyclinggoddess

Unwant + A Proposed Reply (2 Fer Tuesday)

Prompts = Message, Unwanted, Dairy

Story 1 — Unwant

Photo by Chris Chow on Unsplash

I sent a message of love, delivered by a trusted servant, which said in part, ’Marry me and you will want for nothing.’

Two days passed before she replied. ‘When you say “I will want for nothing”, are you saying you will provide me everything I want? Or that I will lose my desire for everything I want; that I will, to coin a phrase, “unwant”, just as one does moldy bread and spoiled dairy? Would I then simply see everything as “unwanted”? And where would the “unwanting” stop? Tell me, I implore you.’

Maybe I should’ve just sent flowers.

*****

Story 2 — A Proposed Reply

 Photo by Quentin Keller on Unsplash

‘Hello, dear sister. There’s another message for you from that pompous dairy farmer who’s been asking to marry you for the past three months.’

‘Again? He’s as vain as the peacock that so unwillingly gave up a feather to be his quill. And if there’s anything so unwanted in my life its another proposal from him.’

‘How will you respond this time? Another round of silence?’

‘No, I think not. This time I shall use confusion as a way to dissuade further pursuit. I shall weave a reply so obtuse, he’ll look for easier, lower hanging fruit.’

‘Want help?’

‘Absolutely.’

Links to other sites where I publish:

Blogger = https://onehundredwordsbyparz.blogspot.com
Medium = https://medium.com/100-word-or-less-stories
YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/user/parzivalsattva

And a link to where my Lovely Lady Love (who also operates the camera) posts her art: https://www.youtube.com/user/recyclinggoddess

New Year's Resolution Prep

 Photo by jojo (sharemyfoodd) ◡̈ on Unsplash

Prompts = Negotiate, Same, Jog

Some days I jog. Other days I do yoga. And still other days (most of them) I do nothing at all. But each day I negotiate with myself: hot treat, or cold; chocolaty rich, lemony fresh, or perhaps (on rare occasions) a savoury something. Or a combination of the above!

With New Year’s approaching, and my resolution to lose weight (same as last year; I lasted a few days), I’d better get my last few goodies in now before I deny myself the joy of delectable, delicious food and start eating rice cakes and other types of tasteless dried cardboard.

Links to other sites where I publish:

Blogger = https://onehundredwordsbyparz.blogspot.com
Medium = https://medium.com/100-word-or-less-stories
YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/user/parzivalsattva

And a link to where my Lovely Lady Love (who also operates the camera) posts her art: https://www.youtube.com/user/recyclinggoddess

Should Be Easy To Find

 

Photo by Wyron A on Unsplash

Prompts = Ease, Canister, Seer

‘What do you see, Mistress Rosa?’

The crone glared mystically from across the small table.

‘There is a space that calls to me, somewhere within a house with a gardenia garden.’

‘That’s my house, I think. The wife likes gardenias. Not as much as roses, mind, or tulips, or…’

‘The spirits speak. You must listen. A dusty box holds what you seek.’

‘But I looked in them all.’

‘A trunk, perhaps?’

‘Don’t think so…’

‘A safe?’

‘Ummm…’

‘A canister?’

‘Maybe?’

‘Yes. The spirit calls from a canister. The echo at first confused me. Good luck in your search. Next customer.’

Links to other sites where I publish:

Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/one_hundred_words_by_parz
Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/Parzival-Sattva-427507144484255
Blogger = https://onehundredwordsbyparz.blogspot.com
Medium = https://medium.com/100-word-or-less-stories
YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/user/parzivalsattva

And a link to where my Lovely Lady Love (who also operates the camera) posts her art: https://www.youtube.com/user/recyclinggoddess

Join in on the fun of making a story from the same prompts I do! https://www.facebook.com/groups/565109053911712

Studying And Studied

 Photo by John Gough on Unsplash

Prompts = Leak, Study, Apart

Every year, she travelled for days to reach a Paraguayan lake, to live apart from family, friends, and colleagues, to study the South American lungfish. The final leg was by mountain bike; it provided transportation back to the closest town to pick up mail and supplies.

The odd thing about these trips was that, no matter which bike she rented, the rear tire always had an intermittent leak. But she gave it no mind; it was a minor inconvenience compared to the science she was generating.

What she hadn’t yet discovered was that South American lungfish are prolific practical jokers.

Links to other sites where I publish:

Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/one_hundred_words_by_parz
Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/Parzival-Sattva-427507144484255
Blogger = https://onehundredwordsbyparz.blogspot.com
Medium = https://medium.com/100-word-or-less-stories
YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/user/parzivalsattva

And a link to where my Lovely Lady Love (who also operates the camera) posts her art: https://www.youtube.com/user/recyclinggoddess

Join in on the fun of making a story from the same prompts I do! https://www.facebook.com/groups/565109053911712

Part 4 Of The Clyde, The Forgotten Reindeer Trilogy

 For the previous parts of Clyde, The Forgotten Reindeer, please click here

Prompts = Timezone, Support, Island

‘Clyde?’

‘Mrs. Claus?’

‘My husband and the reindeer aren’t getting any younger. We set up rest areas ages ago but he’s so far refused to use them.’

‘What rest areas?’

‘They’re in odd timezones, like Newfoundland; eleven of them worldwide. You and I will carry liniment and aspirin in the spare sleigh.’

‘Support team, huh? Well, I’m your reindeer! Rudolph is Hollywood flash but I work for a living.’

*****

‘Ho ho ho, Chatham Islands down below. Fifteen minute rest stop.’

As nine reindeer start the descent, a voice booms from the darkness:

‘Joy to you all, ’cause Clyde is here!’

Links to other sites where I publish:

Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/one_hundred_words_by_parz
Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/Parzival-Sattva-427507144484255
Blogger = https://onehundredwordsbyparz.blogspot.com
Medium = https://medium.com/100-word-or-less-stories
YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/user/parzivalsattva

And a link to where my Lovely Lady Love (who also operates the camera) posts her art: https://www.youtube.com/user/recyclinggoddess

Join in on the fun of making a story from the same prompts I do! https://www.facebook.com/groups/565109053911712

A Retail Man Cave + untitled (Throwback Thursday)

Prompts = Place, Porcelain, While

Story New — A Retail Man Cave

Photo by Fábio Alves on Unsplash

I’d had no desire to accompany my wife on her shopping trip for dishes. Who cares what they look like? All I care about is the cost; if I ate on dime store plates growing up, they’re fine for my family.

But The Porcelain Palace is amazing. While I watched sports, ate pizza, and drank beer with the other husbands, my wife shopped. I think she showed me the stuff before she bought? Honestly, I don’t remember; I drank a lot that day.

And I have no idea how much it cost. But I think it was well worth it.

Story Old — untitled

 

Photo by Leópold Kristjánsson on Unsplash

They sat around the fire, reminiscing. Years had passed since that fateful day when they’d found her, lying still on the cold ground. They still couldn’t forgive themselves for having been away while her life had ebbed away.

Happy had been their world with her in it. Singing as they set off daily and whistling while working; now everything was done in the silence of mourning.

Her singing and dancing and open take on life — gone forever. Only her porcelain skin and ever smiling ruby lips were preserved inside the crystal coffin — precious within precious — her final resting place.

Links to other sites where I publish:

Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/one_hundred_words_by_parz
Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/Parzival-Sattva-427507144484255
Blogger = https://onehundredwordsbyparz.blogspot.com
Medium = https://medium.com/100-word-or-less-stories
YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/user/parzivalsattva

And a link to where my Lovely Lady Love (who also operates the camera) posts her art: https://www.youtube.com/user/recyclinggoddess

Join in on the fun of making a story from the same prompts I do! https://www.facebook.com/groups/565109053911712

Thanks For Squeezing Me In

Prompts = Juxtapose, Breakthrough, Backlog 

‘Hello? Dr. Carbuncle? Sorry to call but you said I should if I needed to.

‘Yes, I understand you can only give me a few minutes, that you have a backlog of cases in your waiting room. I was just hoping I could tell you about my dream. Maybe it’ll lead to a breakthrough.

‘Right, right, I need to juxtapose the dream with my day-to-day reality. Ok, so… this could take some time. I guess the first thing I was wearing an orange tutu while fishing for buffalo wings…

‘No, that wasn’t the strangest bit.

‘Hello? Doctor? Hello?’

Links to other sites where I publish:

Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/one_hundred_words_by_parz
Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/Parzival-Sattva-427507144484255
Blogger = https://onehundredwordsbyparz.blogspot.com
Medium = https://medium.com/100-word-or-less-stories
YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/user/parzivalsattva

And a link to where my Lovely Lady Love (who also operates the camera) posts her art: https://www.youtube.com/user/recyclinggoddess

Join in on the fun of making a story from the same prompts I do! https://www.facebook.com/groups/565109053911712

A Writing Process + Planning Her Birthday (2 Fer Tuesday)

Prompts = Fountain, Displace, Hear

Story 1 — A Writing Process

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

He sits back, reading and rereading the three words sitting on the page; the remaining white space waits patiently for a story to coalesce. He sees the words form connections and can hear snippets of different stories containing a variety of plot lines and a multitude of points of view. They fountain forth, displacing what came before and washed away by what follows, until the fingers catch hold of words, sentences, paragraphs, and they appear as if by magic on the screen. He reads, edits, smooths, polishes but some burrs remain, inadvertently or not.

And then he does it again.

*****

Story 2 — Planning Her Birthday

 

Photo by Medina Catering on Unsplash

‘I said I wanted a molten chocolate fountain!’ Chelsey stomped her foot but the deep carpet of the hotel’s ballroom kept it from being heard.

‘Sweetheart, listen to reason: it isn’t practical.’

‘I don’t care, Daddy! I want it! I’ll only ever turn seven once!’ Her desire to angrily stomp was displaced by free flowing tears and loud snivelling whimpers.

‘Chelsey, please understand! What you want is a chocolate volcano! Everything and everyone will be covered!’

‘Fine’, she glowered. ‘I guess I don’t get pony rides either.’

He seriously contemplated it. At least it’d be less mess than the fountain.

Links to other sites where I publish:

Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/one_hundred_words_by_parz
Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/Parzival-Sattva-427507144484255
Blogger = https://onehundredwordsbyparz.blogspot.com
Medium = https://medium.com/100-word-or-less-stories
YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/user/parzivalsattva

And a link to where my Lovely Lady Love (who also operates the camera) posts her art: https://www.youtube.com/user/recyclinggoddess

Join in on the fun of making a story from the same prompts I do! https://www.facebook.com/groups/565109053911712

The Prodigy Speaks

 

Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash

Prompts = Fingerprint, Childhood, Lightbulb

‘Seven-year-old Jeremy Watkins is taking the art world by storm. His latest work, Thumbprint on Blue Reading Glasses, is expected to set records when it goes on auction this Friday. I have the privilege to interview him today.

‘Hello, Jeremy. To what do you attribute your success?’

‘Hello Tabitha. During the finger-painting phase of my childhood, I realized smudges were really out-of-focus fingerprints. Total lightbulb moment.’

‘What was the inspiration of your new piece?’

‘Originally I was drawn to index fingers and red glasses, but I expanded my focus, then voila.’

‘Inspirational! Thank you, Jeremy.’

Links to other sites where I publish:

Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/one_hundred_words_by_parz
Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/Parzival-Sattva-427507144484255
Blogger = https://onehundredwordsbyparz.blogspot.com
Medium = https://medium.com/100-word-or-less-stories
YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/user/parzivalsattva

And a link to where my Lovely Lady Love (who also operates the camera) posts her art: https://www.youtube.com/user/recyclinggoddess

Join in on the fun of making a story from the same prompts I do! https://www.facebook.com/groups/565109053911712