Hi and welcome to the Attic, I'm Frankenberry of said Blog Title and I write of just my everyday here, sometimes funny, sometimes heartfelt, sometimes angry, sometimes funny again because, well, who don't like funny, thoughts on getting older and sometimes stuff that's just kinda shit. I pen and sing the occasional parody tune and other songs, sometimes I even get a little bit poetic or short story-etic or something like that. If you're joining me here I thank you, but just mind your head and feet and keep an eye out for my little Bella and Cricket The Blind as well as the memories of Raspberry (Razzy), Mimi the Quirky, of Blink The Lil' Kit, Grayson the Mighty, Shoes the Big Orange, Shana-Girl, Benny Good Man Benny Brown, Merlin & Bob. Wouldn't want you step on them or anything … 'cause then I might just have to throw you down the stairs … damned humans.
Was talking a little while ago with good friend and co-worker, Steve, about this current spooky season, a one still more “on the way” then when we spoke and he mentioned that he wanted to build something for it, a dramatic piece of some sort, a video short, with a haunting story as well as some music, effects, images and, of course, said story that he could voice and make a cool production of.
Besides doing what we do for our jobs, radio production, he is also a working voice actor and wanted to be creative with something as he had put together such productions in the past, plus, he also wanted to add another something to his body of voice work +.
Now when it came to a possible story I noted that he had liked some things of mine that I had sent his way in the past, plus some others I had and that a number were short, quick and might just fit into what he was looking to do.
So, I re-sent the few previously seen things and also some he hadn’t and he eventually told me that he liked a flash fiction piece I had done a year or so ago courtesy of a prompt from a writing community’s website that I frequent and collaborate at quite often, dVerse Poets, everything from poetry to fictions of one sort or another, a place that I will forever be grateful that I found and even more grateful that I was welcomed with open arms when I did join in even though, in some regards, I felt like I was sort of starting from scratch, especially with poetry.
Anyway, the flash fiction piece he liked was one I called “Headstone” and was a short story of a graveyard’s groundskeeper coming across Death kneeling at a “lost” headstone that the dVerse Poets flash fiction prompt asked to include a line from Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Sleeper”
I pray to God that she may lie Forever with unopened eye.
“Björn here, trying to inspire you to write prose. It is always hard to find a good line to embed in a piece of prose, but after looking around this line caught my attention:
To write a contribution you will have to incorporate the given line into a piece of prose of no longer than 144 words (including the given line but excluding the title). You may punctuate and divide the line as you want, but you cannot insert any words into the line“
So to it then, and keeping in place and spirit with a couple of recent things of mine.
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Kenny, The Yellow Fog
“Kenny, why you scratchin’ up window panes like Bear on a tree?”
“Hey Barry” he said to Fox “just checking I haven’t been followed”
“By who?”
“By Witch, making sure she doesn’t find me messing with these new weekenders, trying to frighten them off”
“Oh, that’s Ok, but old days new ways my friend. See, you’re just The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes … nothing personal Kenny, but the smell of sulfur and farts isn’t all that scary, just stinky … but turning that old cottage into a B&B for some hipsters from the village for “Nether Wood Tours”?
Genius!
They come willingly now, no need for abduction which always brought unneeded attention from the Constable, and they even sign “gone missing” waivers now, about not leaving at night”
“Really?”
“Just add glowing eyeballs or something to your smelly fogginess”
So, there was, this weekend, a writing prompt from Sammi Cox who offers these on a regular basis. The latest was to use the word “revel” in a piece of prose or a poem with a goal of, this time around, exactly 69 words.
.
The Race At The End Of Three County Fair
She was the finest horse across three counties, four if you included Wayneer
No one ever included Wayneer
.
Her name?
Tomorrow
as she was fast as
.
She was entered in Three County Fair’s grand finale
A new Flash Fiction prompt, this one from Dora at dVerse Poets, a one of 144 word max prose (not including the title) and a one, in this case, to include the line “Out of the ninth-month midnight” from Walt Whitman’s poem “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking”.
The Eye and The Dark
It was time of festival, one last for the cycle, in preparation of another season of The Dark and death, things only living underground, ALL things, when the cycle’s end sweeps the surface clean with wind and freeze and The Eye turns away, but not of disdain they assure the children, and not of old frighting tales but of The Eye’s need to tend Eye otherwhere, other people’s maybe, in his vast dark but spark spotted sky.
“The Eye and those that have preceded have provided shelter for this season that comes Out of the Ninth-month midnight where me must to, after our grand revel day, and while away the cold and stark”
“But father, has no one ever ventured out during The Dark?”
“NEVER ask such questions son!”
The next, what only old time-keepers said was morning, the son could not be found.
Not that you asked for it (I mean, who would?) but a handy dandy all in one spot, easy reference, to some things of mine for the Halloween season, oh, and watching some albino looking spider with a seeming translucent head scurry about the walls behind the PC who, I swear, is the same spider that was doing quick spidery translucent head scurry things at my desk at the Latham office yesterday and I think may have hitched a ride on something of mine because, well, I don’t know, he is here now and considers us pals?
“What’s up fleshbag?”
//////////////////////////////////////////
From a creepy old Halloween pic meme a college friend posted …
… and a Dad looking for a costume for his kid at a Spirit Halloween store
“What? I’m a spider, it’s what I do. I scurry, plus, I have to figure my new surrounds here and people will, hopefully, be so engrossed with your stories of the season to not notice time spent on my part to prepare you”
“Prepare me?”
“Things ta do, webs ta spin, d’ya feel stuck yet? You’re just an extra large, blood filled, fly”
A little while ago I discovered a community of writers at an online spot, dVerse poets and, courtesy of them, have been inspired to write some pretty good stuff over this time through prompts offered, numerous ones, on a weekly basis. Thank you by the way.
Anyway, one of the folks met there is Melissa, who offers some fun flash fiction prompts, with pictures for inspiration. Well …
“There you are Jenn, I’ve been looking all over for you!! You’re NOT going to believe this!!”
“A puppy followed you home and you’re going to adopt her and name her Buttons and everything’s finally gonna be Ok?”
“What? No! And where the hell did that come from? It’s also oddly specific”
“Nothing. Wait, let me guess, hold on, racking my brain, you uh … you umm … just a total out of the blue here, but you found a portal, an interdimensional portal maybe, or a time travel portal or a more run of the mill portal that’ll take you to distant galaxies?”
“Whoa, how did you know I was going to say … hey, wait a minute, you’re being sarcastic and mocking me aren’t you?”
“Yah think?”
“But this one is real Jenn, I swear.”
“You mean like that last one, in that alley, in a dumpster. You know I still smell of piss and decaying food and I think of something that crawled in there to just give up on life and die right?”
“That was just bad intel”
“Jesus, Ralph, bad intel?!! Who the fuck from? Some sort of deepthroat special operative from a top secret government organization? Or just one of the other tinfoil hats you talk to on your ham radio or on the dark web in your basement with Ant? And where is Ant by the way, he’s usually right behind panting and sweating along with your latest excitement?”
“He’s at the Laundromat”
“Really, well good, about time, speaking of that whole panting and sweating thing of his …”
“He’s not doing clothes, though you’re right, we need to have a heart to nose with him on that”
“Then why is he at … Oh, wait, let me guess, he’s with a portal isn’t he?!”
“Shut up and just come with me alright? Plus, it needs to be guarded. You’re gonna be blown away!”
“But probably not portalled away right? You know, you two are lucky I’m pathetic and have no life”
“You’re lucky you have two friends … now just come along”
“(sigh) alright … and that was cold by the way”
//////////////////////////////////////////
When Ralph and Jenn got to the laundromat, Ant was indeed there and was indeed guarding the “portal” and with a handful of quarters.
“Seriously Ant? Ralph?” Jenn said “A dryer? This is your latest portal? A dryer at Hammond’s? And what’s with the quarters? You’re not telling me this thing has to be running for it to “work” are you?”
“No, thankfully” Ant replied “but you do have to put quarters in for some reason for anything to actually portal”
“What, some other worldly being needs us to pay a toll to transport us to wherever?”
Ralph stepped in “Hey, will you take this seriously Jenn, please? It’s real this …”
“Take it seriously?! Dude it’s a fucking dryer in a laundromat!”
“Show her Ant?”
“Show me what!?” said Jenn loudly and losing her patience.
“Grab me a magazine off the table over there Ralph”
“Which one?”
“Really, did you just ask me that?”
“Ok, right, sorry, months old copies of Sports Unillustrated or Harper’s Bizarre or Nun’s Health or Neapolitan … don’t really matter which one I guess”
“Nun’s Health?”
“What, they don’t work out or worry about health and nutrition? I don’t know man, and hell, I didn’t even realize there were such things as knock-off magazines”
“Ok, well make it that one then, they’re always going on about reaching the heavens anyway”
Jenn was standing, impatiently, arms folded “Just waiting here fellas …”
Ant put a couple of quarters in and layed the copy of Nun’s Health inside the dryer … and waited
Jenn “Well?”
“Give it a sec” said Ant
Then there was the slightest sound, but strangely distinct, like they could hear a tuned pin drop in the middle of a crowded street or even, in this case, a noisy machined laundromat and there was an even slighter light, just a pinpoint, that flashed in front of and stunned and momentarily blinded all of them … then the Nuns were gone and all their knock-off mag healthy intentions.
“Awww shit!! What the hell was that?!” said Jenn jumping back suddenly and rubbing her eyes
Ant and Ralph both said at the same time, after getting their focus back “Look”
That’s when Jenn noticed the magazine was gone.
“Ok!! Where is it?! Which one of you numbnuts just grabbed it and tossed it in a corner or something while that sound and light fucked with me!!?”
“Neither of us Jenn … grab another magazine Ralph”
A couple of quarters, an almost imperceptible but very evident sound and light again and the Harper’s Bizarreand Neapolitan magazines were gone
“Hey!? I wanted to read that Neapolitan one!! The article about which one are you dating, vanilla, chocolate or strawberry sounded interesting”
“Shut up Ralph … there, ya see Jenn we weren’t kidding”
The three of them, after getting another roll of quarters and throwing in anything that was handy that all also disappeared, just stood there in silence, dumbfounded, staring at each other afraid to say what was next but was definitely what they were all thinking.
Then Jenn finally said “So which one of us gets in?”
Ant “Noooo, writer guy, that is definitely NOT what we were thinking!”
Ralph “Yeah writer guy, what he said!”
“Bullshit!” said Jenn
After another bit of silence Ant broke in “No, you’re right, you and writer dude, that’s EXACTLY what we were thinking”
Ralph “Yeah, what Ant said again, EXACTLY what we were thinking”
More silence
“Shit!” exclaimed Jenn, “Alright, it’s gonna have to be me”
“Why?!” Ant and Ralph chimed in together
“Because Ralph, you need to be out here in case I disappear, so you can, I don’t know, figure stuff out with that oversized egghead of yours, maybe contact all your weirdo pals to help possibly find me and Ant, well, sorry, but you need to do so some jogging and maybe eat a salad or two, hit a gym, something, you’re just not gonna fit”
“Damn, that’s cold Jenn … true, but still cold”
“It is what it is … and here I was the non-believer” Jenn said shaking her head and climbing into some sort of dryer portal at Hammonds Laundry & Juice Bar with no idea where the fuck this thing might be taking her
“Wait!” said Ralph “should we get you a sandwich or something, a power drink, or maybe a juice or a smoothie? Or even a towel? I mean we’re right here at a Juice bar AND laundromat and that towel thing sounds familiar, I mean you never …”
“Shut up Ralph!!” Jenn said as she slowly sat her way into the dryer, “you got the quarters Ant?”
He, nodded nervously “You sure about this Jenn?”
“Just do it Ant, but a few more quarters this time, quite a few, just in case”
Then there was that lightest but distinct sound again and that lightest but still bright pinpoint of light temporarily blinding them again and when their vision returned they looked in the dryer … Jenn wasn’t there, just one of her sneakers.
“Oh Shit!” cried Ant
“Oh Shit Shit!” cried Ralph
“Oh Shit Shit Shit! And she’s got just one sneaker now!!” cried Ralph some more “and she doesn’t even know what to expect, and now with just one shoe … and she really should have let us get her a sandwich, at least some chips or one of these Hammond’s smoothies”
Ant added “but look on the bright side, they surely have to have some sort of footwear wherever she went, right? and when she does get there at least she’ll have some reading material waiting for her, in case there’s some down time”
Ralph “good point, though she really should have waited so I could have grabbed her a …”
Ant cut him off “… don’t mention the sandwich again Ralph, please, just don’t mention the fucking sandwich”
“Sorry”
“Ok, now we gotta see if we can find her, start getting ready to round up the gang” Ant told him
“Gotcha” said Ralph “though, I’m a bit hungry now, think we can …”
Cold stare
“Ok, never mind. Maybe we start sending things through to contact her with like one of my ham radios, or wait, man I’m dumb, what if we just call her cell phone?’
“oh sure, like if she’s in some screwy interdimentional space she’s gonna have cell service? And you mean like this one? That she took out her pocket before climbing in?” Ant pointed to a folding table and Jenn’s phone.
“Shit, we’re gonna need some new resources Ant” Ralph said “and a lot more quarters”
The student asked the teacher why everything was so cryptic, so much the riddle, why couldn’t he be more straightforward, forthcoming?
The teacher said nothing
They sat
Time passed, their season started to change, then changed again and again and again, nature and beasts followed growing and bleating, bucking and wilting, people as well, birthing and burying, peacing and warring, sometimes thinking bold new thoughts in the midst
Stars became from dust, glowed, warmed, exploded then back to dust with some even coming to be holes in the heavens
Those heavens? They were subject to the same passing of time, beliefs and disbeliefs, comforts and heresy’s to confound
The teacher stirred
“Every day unfurls as it must” he said “I can give you answers as we sit or you can be more witness, be of them, die with them. What would you prefer?”
Hi and welcome to the Attic, I'm Frankenberry of said Blog Title and I write of just my everyday here, sometimes funny, sometimes heartfelt, sometimes angry, sometimes funny again because, well, who don't like funny, thoughts on getting older and sometimes stuff that's just kinda shit. I pen and sing the occasional parody tune and other songs, sometimes I even get a little bit poetic or short story-etic or something like that. If you're joining me here I thank you, but just mind your head and feet and keep an eye out for my little Bella and Cricket The Blind as well as the memories of Raspberry (Razzy), Mimi the Quirky, of Blink The Lil' Kit, Grayson the Mighty, Shoes the Big Orange, Shana-Girl, Benny Good Man Benny Brown, Merlin & Bob. Wouldn't want you step on them or anything ... 'cause then I might just have to throw you down the stairs ... damned humans.
Sundarbans,The sunderbans, Sundarban Tour, Sundarban Travel Guide, Mangrove Forest, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Royal Bengal Tiger, Tiger Sighting, Wildlife Photography, Bird Watching, Sundarban Safari, Houseboat Tour, Ecotourism, Adventure Travel, West Bengal Tourism, Bangladesh Tourism, People of Sundarbans, Local Culture, Bonbibi, Mowal, Honey Collector, Sundarban Legends, Mangrove Ecosystem, Conservation, Climate Change, Biodiversity, Sundari Tree, Sundarban Itinerary, Travel to Sundarbans, Kolkata to Sundarbans, Sundarban Boat Trip, Wildlife in Sundarbans, Saltwater Crocodile, Spotted Deer, Indian Python, King Cobra, Sundarban National Park, Sundarban Tiger Reserve, Bay of Bengal, River Cruise, Nature Photography, Forest Life.
A personal exploration of autism from a brother’s perspective, including family relationships, philosophy, neuroscience, mental health history and ethics
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