My Short Short for the Day

The cool water soothed her burning muscles.  She couldn’t believe she had run so fast or so far.  Her legs were screaming at her when she finished but now they were soaking in the sparkling, cool water and only whimpering a bit.  She tilted her chin up to the sun and floated on her back, relaxing, releasing the tension, letting go.  She closed her eyes and let her mind drift away while her body bobbed on the surface. 

Suddenly, there was a tingle up her spine followed by a jolt.  The next thing she knew she was being dragged down into the water, deeper and deeper at a speed so fast that everything was blurred.  She held her breath but her lungs were burning now.  Her heart was thundering in her chest as panic flashed through her.  Her mind reeled trying to figure out what was happening. 

Then, it stopped.  She wasn’t moving downwards anymore, she was frozen in place for the shortest of seconds.  Her heart still thundered but she didn’t move.  She focused her eyes but all she saw was clear water ahead.  She struggled to force herself to look down and when she did, there was nothing but the sandy bottom.  Her eyes darted around her but there was nothing unusual.  Her lungs were on fire so she kicked her legs and shot up to the surface. 

She gulped in the fresh air and immediately swam to shore.  Too scared to look around, she focused on the shoreline and blocked everything else from her mind and her sight.  Once on the safety of the beach, she stood and looked out to the water.  She stood still, straining her eyes, then, for an instance, she saw something.  Could it be?  Was it more than just a legend?  But the water here was too shallow for such a creature.  Nothing else could have pulled her under like that, though.  She stared for a long time, trying to catch a glimpse of it but nothing appeared.  Was she imagining it?  Was it real?

Finally, she turned and walked up the beach.  Grammy would know what to do.

My Short Short for the Day

There once was a fish who was fast

Others called him but he would swim past

His fins were so fine

And his scales were divine

Until one day he came in dead last

My Short Short for the Day

“I knew it!”  Callie cheered.

“Hey Honey, I’m home.”  Stan said kicking off his shoes as he closed the front door.  He walked through the kitchen and into the living room trying to unknot his tie.  

“How was your day Dear?”  He asked still struggling with the knot.  After a moment of silence he looked up.

“Callie?”  Stan stared at the empty chair frowning for several moments then shrugged and walked down the hall. 

The ripples in the fish tank slowly subsided, settling into a serene, smooth surface again. 

“Huh.  Must be at Zumba still.”  Stan said successfully removing his tie with a grin and tossing it onto the bed. 

“Maybe I should make dinner?”  Stan wrinkled his nose.  “Nah.  I’m not that hungry.”

Stan turned on the shower, cranking up the hot water, then stepped in.

The water in the fish tank began to sway as ripples spread out from the center.  A flash of light pierced the room, then Callie was back in her chair.  She jumped up from her chair and raced to the bedroom, pounding on the bathroom door.  “Honey, you’ll never believe what just happened!”

“Oh, good.  You’re home.”  Stan yelled back.  “What’s for dinner?”

“Never mind that.  I’ve got to tell you what happened.”  Callie shook with excitement.  “You see, I found some sort of time travel portal or transporter or something.  I don’t know exactly but it was amazing.”

“That’s good Dear.”  Stan yelled back humming to himself.  “So what did you say was for dinner?”

“Nothing.  I’m talking about traveling to another dimension or time.  It’s…it’s incredible.”  Callie started to pace, her mind racing with the possibilities.

“Sounds interesting.”  Stan mumbled as he shut off the water and wrapped a towel around himself.  He peeked out the door.  “So…about dinner…?”

Callie stopped, stared at him, and then stomped out of the room.

“Should we order take out?”  Stan called after her.  “I’m starving.”

My Short Short for the Day

Who are those people?

I don’t know. 

You don’t know?

Nope.

You’ve never looked them up?

I tried but couldn’t find them.

Not even on the internet?

Yeah, I checked everywhere but nothing.

That’s weird.

Yeah.  And kind of creepy.

So how long does it stay like that…where you can see them?

Well, usually it lasts for the whole day.

Today?

Yeah, just for today.

So weird.

Yeah, but it kind of makes sense.  Halloween is all about spooky stuff, right?

True, I guess.  So do they do anything?

No, it never changes.  They always look like that.

It’s kind of sad, you know.  They look so happy and normal.  Then poof, that’s it. They’re gone.

Yup.  Nothing lasts forever.

So deep.  Where’d that come from?

Huh, I don’t know.  It’s true though.  Here one minute, gone the next.  Adios.  That’s all she wrote.

Uh huh.  So true.

My Short Short for the Day

Ned had been waiting for this moment for years.  The planning, the preparing, the packing.  Researching the lightest, most durable equipment.  Testing it out on practice hikes.  Working out any issues so that this moment would be perfect.  Hiking mile after mile in all kinds of weather to toughen himself physically and mentally.  Packing everything precisely, knowing exactly how much each item weighed and how much of each item he would need on his journey.  He was strong, stronger than he’d ever been.  He was tough, ready to take on anything this mountain could throw at him.  He stood staring up at the beautiful snow covered mountain, imagining his triumphant cheer as he reached the top.  His grin spread across his face as his day dream played out.  Nothing could stop him now.  He took a deep breath of the chilly air and lifted his foot to begin his grandest adventure.  But then his stomach made a rumble.  Not one from hunger but rather…uh, oh…he raced off to the restroom...

A short time later, Ned stood proudly at the base of the mountain, a little paler than before but ready to meet the challenge.  He took a not quite so deep breath of the chilly air and raised his foot.  He paused for a moment and smiled in relief but as his foot touched down, the rumble came again…

Another short time later, Ned staggered to the snowy edge of the mountain.  He grasped his walking sticks and stared up at the climb ahead.  He took a deep breath and tried to smile but the rumble hit before he could even raise his foot…

Some time later, Ned dragged himself out of the bathroom, leaning heavily on his walking sticks he made it to the edge of the snow.  He tilted his head, squinting up at the snow covered mountain he struggled to find his grin but just as he was starting to feel the excitement return, so did the rumble.  “Oh, c’mon!”  He threw down his sticks, stomped to the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.  

My Short Short for the Day

The wind howled.  The trees whipped.  The thunder rumbled.  The rain pelted.  The lightning streaked.  The sky frowned as the campers huddled in their flimsy tents, hoping the storm would pass quickly.  In response to their silent pleas, the clouds dumped hail down on them.  The campers groaned, sliding deeper into their sleeping bags.  Time passed and eventually so did the storm.  The thunder rumbled off until the only sound left was the gentle dripping of rain water as it slid off the nearby tree branches and onto the top of the tents.  The moon was hidden behind the clouds leaving the campsite blanketed in darkness.  The campers sighed in relief and slept more soundly until dawn. 

As the birds began their day, chirping and flitting about, the campers awoke.  They stumbled out of their soggy tents looking bedraggled.  The squirrels chattered in the trees, laughing at the scene below.  The worms quickly squiggled into their holes to avoid heavy boots.  The mice skittered away to hide until after the campers were gone so they could search for crumbs left behind.  There were always lots of yummy crumbs to collect.  And a little family of ants huddled under the giant mushroom eagerly awaiting their feast.

The campers wiped down their tents before packing them away.  Going through the ritual mindlessly munching on breakfast bars.  Hefting the packs onto their backs, the campers slogged off down the muddy trail.  A loud whistle from the lookout crow alerted the rest that the coast was clear.  In no time the campsite had been picked clean of anything even remotely edible.

My Short Short for the Day

Sam flapped his little flipper-like wings gliding through the water and letting the ripples tickle his tummy.  This is the best day ever he thought to himself.  The sun is shining, warming up my tail feathers.  The water is clear so I can see any fishies swimming around.  The pond is empty.  All mine!  Ah!  So relaxing.  Sam wiggled his tail feathers to shake off the water then paddled his feet to build up speed.  Just as he was about to dive down under Sploosh!  A wave crashed into his side rolling him over.  He righted himself and ruffled up his feathers before settling down again.  He swam to the nearest rock and waddled up. 

“Hey!  What do you think you’re doing?”  He yelled.

“Sorry about that.”  The stranger replied.  ” Did I get you wet?” 

“Yeah!  Lucky for you I like water.”  Sam stared at the unusual creature as it slowly emerged.

“I didn’t realize anyone else was in here.”  The stranger smiled pulling itself onto the rock next to Sam.  “It’s such a beautiful day, I thought I’d practice my cannonballs.”

“What?  What’s a cannonball?”  Sam frowned at the creature.  “And what are you?”

“I’m a turtle.  My name’s Greg.”  The stranger grinned.

“I’m Sam.”  Sam couldn’t help but smile back.  “So, what’s a cannonball anyway?”

“Oh, it’s a lot of fun.  I just learned how to do it last week from a pelican friend.”  Greg inched to the edge of the rock.  “See, you jump up, tuck your arms and legs into your shell and Sploosh!”

Sam tilted his head to the side.  “Uh, Greg, I don’t have a shell.”

“Oh, yes, right.”  Greg shook his head.  “You just curl up into a ball then, tuck all your body parts in.  That should work.”

“Well, let’s see.”  Sam jumped and Splat! landed a belly flop on the top of the water. 

“Oooo, that’s gotta hurt.”  Greg cringed.  “Here, watch me.”  Greg jumped up and out from the rock, pulled his arms, legs and head into his shell and Sploosh! landed in the water sending a giant wave up and over Sam.

“Wow!  That was awesome!”  Sam cheered.  “Ok, I want to try again.”  Sam waddled out and inched to the edge of the rock.  Then crouched down and jumped up as high as he could, tucking himself into the tightest ball and Sploosh!  He sent a wave crashing over Greg, the rocks and even over the edge of the pond.

“Woohoo!  Way to go Sam!”  Greg yelled.

Sam bobbed on the surface grinning.  “Let’s do that again!”  Sam swam to the rocks and waddled up behind Greg.  This was the best day ever he thought to himself.

My Short Short for the Day

The fan creaked as it rotated slowly back and forth, blowing a gentle breeze across the deck.

“It shouldn’t take more than a couple hours dry.”  The man said.

“Thank you.”  The woman replied.  “Good bye.”

The truck sputtered off down the driveway and the woman retreated inside letting the door shut with a click.

“Ok, Hank, now’s our chance.”  Ben said inching across the wood.

“No way!”  Hank replied snugging up against the wall.  “That stuffs still wet.  I don’t want to get it on me.”

“Oh, come on.  It’s almost dry.”  Ben grinned.  “Just live a little.”

“I will, by staying right here.”  Hank scowled.

“Party pooper!”  Ben said throwing himself off the edge of the step.  He hung in the fan’s breeze for several seconds until the fan rotated away.  Then with a thump he landed on the pebbles below.  “Woohoo!  That was awesome!”

“You’re crazy!”  Hank yelled moving ever so slightly away from the wall.

Several moments passed before Hank could see Ben’s head peeking up over the edge.  He sighed.  “Now can we go?”

“No way!  I’m doing it again.”

“What?!  Why?!”  Hank started to move.  Maybe if he could reach Ben in time, he could stop him from jumping again.

No such luck.  Ben threw himself in the air again just as the fan came around.  This time he floated in the breeze several seconds longer than before.  “WheeHee!”

Hank hurried to the edge and tried to stop but hit a slick spot that hadn’t finished drying.  Before he knew what to do he was going over the edge and floating on air.  His scream of fear turned to surprise as he hung in the air for several seconds, flying. 

“This IS awesome!”  He yelled to Ben.

Ben looked up in awe as his buddy flew.  Then his look of awe turned to a cringe as the fan creaked away taking the breeze with it and Hank slammed into the side of the step.  The tiniest bit of his tail had stuck in the wet paint, gluing him to the edge.

Ben couldn’t help but laugh.

“When I get loose, you’re bird food!”  He yelled at Ben.