Tiny Trees at the Huntington Gardens

 

My Short Short for the Day

The old crow sat high up in the treetops looking down below, surveying its domain with a critical eye.  Squirrels scamper across the ground, pausing here and there before racing up the trees to store their goods.  Mice dart through the leaves, cautiously making their way to a nearby raspberry bush.  A porcupine waddles across the scene, occasionally flexing his quills.  Skunks huddle to the side letting the porcupine pass.  Rabbits hop over twigs and leaves with their noses twitching and ears turning this way and that.  Birds twitter and chirp, flying back and forth, weaving twigs, leaves and grass into their nests. 

A gentle breeze drifts through the forest bringing strange new smells.  The crow turns its head and listens.  A new sound has entered the forest.  The crow caws loudly three times before taking flight.  The animals heed the alarm and race to their homes.  In the distance, the crow continues to caw.

Silence settles in.

Minutes tick by slowly as the animals wait anxiously.  Then there is a caw.  The old crow swoops back in and settles in the treetops.  The animals peek out cautiously.  The crow caws one more time.  All is safe.

My Short Short for the Day

 “That’s it!  I’m done with you.  Get out of my sight!”  Uncle John yelled and pointed.

Evan stared in disbelief until his cheeks flamed red.  He glared at his uncle then stormed out of the room.  He could hear his uncle still yelling.  “I want you out of my house today!”

Evan stomped up the staircase, cussing under his breath more emphatically with every step.  He shoved open the door to his bedroom letting it slam shut behind him.  He didn’t care anymore.  His uncle was so ridiculous.  He wouldn’t even let him explain.  He pulled out a suitcase and threw his clothes in.  He had been so loyal and kind to his uncle ever since he was a little boy.  His mother had instilled a sense of family loyalty and he always did his best to honor that.  She had also taught him to be kind, especially towards his uncle who required a “delicate touch” as his mother called it.  His uncle was gruff and demanding.  Complaining about this and that, never happy.  But Evan had learned to be patient with his uncle, to be thoughtful and considerate when dealing with him.  Everything was fine until today, when all of sudden, this…this absurdity.  His uncle accused him of stealing his antique pipe.  He would never dream of it. 

Evan slammed his suitcase shut then pulled out another.  He stopped to look around.  Most of the stuff here belonged to his uncle.  He had very few possessions of his own.  He hadn’t really thought about that before.  His clothes belonged to him as did some books, a camera, and a few family photos that he kept after his mom died.  The frames were gaudy, but his mom had loved how unusual they were.  Now he couldn’t bear to part with them.  He carefully placed the pictures into his suitcase along with his other belongings.  Once he had packed all his items, the room felt cold.  Had it always been that way?  Maybe this was a good thing.  Maybe it was time for him to break away from this tired, dull life and find one of his own.

He carried his suitcases downstairs where Stanley was waiting.  Stanley had been Uncle John’s butler for decades but had never succumb to the dreariness his uncle exuded.  Stanley had always been formal with his uncle but quite friendly and fatherly with him.  He could see a tear threatening in Stanley’s eye.  Evan set down his bags and hugged Stanley.

“Thank you Stanley, for everything.”  Evan struggled to keep the tears from coming.

“It has been an honor Master Evan.”  Stanley let the tear flow freely down his cheek.  “You will be sorely missed.”

Evan smiled, picked up his bags and walked out into the warm sunshine.  The chauffeur was waiting by the car.  “Where would you like to go Master Evan?”

My Short Short for the Day

 The chimp swung from the hanging light to the windowsill.  He looked at the people and gave a couple of “ooks” before slipping out the window and into the darkness.

Alex and Mandy stared in shocked silence.

“Uh, did he?  He just… Gone.” Alex stuttered.

“Yeh.”  Mandy replied with a slight smile.  “Smart chimp.”

“What do we do now?”  Alex panicked.  “Should we tell Professor Banks?  He’s gonna kill us.  We’re dead!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.  Calm down Alex.”  Mandy picked up her phone.  “Let’s think for a minute.  What would I do if I were a chimp?”

“That’s ridiculous.  He’s gone!  Gone!”  Alex began to pace.  “We’ll never find him.  Disappeared forever!”

“Let’s see.  Chimps love bananas. So how about a fruit stand?”  Mandy quickly swiped through screens on her phone.

“The professor’s gonna kill us.  We’ll get thrown out of college!”  Alex stopped and stared at Mandy in terror.  “What do I tell my parents?”

“No.  No.  No.  Ok, so no fruit stands within a 10-mile radius of here.  Also, they won’t open until 7am tomorrow.”  Mandy paused for a moment.  “Where else might he go?”

“Maybe I could get a job at Saul’s Bakery.  Yeah, then I could rent a room above the shop.  Collect bottles and cans.”  Alex was pacing again.

“Hmm?  Maybe the park?”  Mandy swiped quickly through the screens.

“Yeah, that’s it.  Then I could pretend I was still in college and they’d never know.”  Alex brightened.  “I would go home for holidays and wash my laundry there, just like I was still in college.  Yeah, this could work.”

“Oh, of course.  I’ve got it.  He’s going to the zoo.”  Mandy grabbed her keys.

“Ook.”

“Did you hear that?”  Mandy paused at the door.

“I’m sure it won’t be too hard to learn how to make bread.  Maybe in a couple of years I could make manager.”  Alex paced, gesturing with his hands as he talked.

“Ook.”

“It’s coming from over there.”  Mandy strode to the window and looked out.

“Then, after manager, maybe I could even move up to supervisor.  Or open my own location.”  Alex smiled at the idea.

Mandy climbed out onto the fire escape. She looked around and then climbed up to the roof.  “There you are.”

“Ook.”  The chimp climbed up onto Mandy’s lap and pointed out.

Mandy’s gaze followed and she caught her breath.  “Wow!  What a view!”

“Ook.”  The chimp pointed up.

“Even better.”  Mandy said looking up at the sparkling, night sky.  “It’s beautiful.”

My Short Short for the Day

 “Alright kid, it’s sink or swim time.  It’s time to show what you are made of.  Either you move your arms and legs and swim, or you…well…sink.  This is what you’ve been training for your whole life.  The big test, the final countdown is here.  The time is now.  Do you swim or do you sink?  It’s all in your hands.  You have the ability, somewhere deep inside you.  I believe in you!  I know you can do it.  Paddle your arms and kick your legs.  You can do it!”  Coach Bob was charged up.  “Ok son, are you ready?”

“Uh, I guess.”  Sal was a little confused at the situation.

“I’m going to let go of you and when I do, swim like your life depends on it.  Because it does.”  Coach Bob dramatically let go and stepped back from the edge of the pool with a great flourish.  “Swim Sal!  Swim!  You can do it!”

Sal stood there, unsure of what he was supposed to do.  “Uh, Coach.”

“You’re doing it!  You’re doing it!”  Coach Bob beamed.  “Now move your arms like this!”  Coach Bob moved his arms in an exaggerated Freestyle stroke.

“Ooo-k.”  Sal looked around hoping no one was watching.

“Sal, like this.”  Coach Bob moved his arms faster and was turning his head, too.

Sal hesitated but slowly began to imitate Coach Bob, even though his chest and arms were completely out of the water.

“That’s it!  You’re doing great!  Keep it up!”  Coach Bob looked at his stopwatch.  “Hang in there.  Just a few more seconds. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.  You did it!”

Sal stopped moving his arms and stared at Coach Bob.

“You did it!”  Coach Bob cheered then jumped into the pool and grabbed Sal’s arm to give him support.  “Congratulations Sal.  You did it!”  He lifted Sal out of the water and set him on the edge of the pool.

“Uh, thanks.”  Sal mustered a smile as he looked down at the 3 ft. painted on the edge next to his hand. 

“Same time tomorrow?”  Coach Bob asked.  “We’ll work on the Back stroke.”

“Uh, ok.”  Sal replied.

Coach Bob patted him on the shoulder and headed into his office.

“Hey Sal!  Have you seen Coach Bob?  He’s supposed to teach me to swim.  Today’s my first lesson.”  Sally smiled and looked around.

“He’s in his office.”  Sal said pointing.

“Thanks!”  Sally bounded over to the office and went inside.

Sal laughed to himself and jumped into the pool.  Coach Bob was not the brightest man.  But he meant well.

Sal looked over at the confused faces of Sally and Coach Bob.  He smiled and gave them a quick wave, then swam a perfect Freestyle to the deep end.

My Short Short for the Day

 Kara stared up at the structure towering above her.  This was her first stop in Pisa, and it was amazing.  Standing at the bottom and looking up, it appeared straight, at least as far up as she could see.  It seemed pretty solid, too.  So, what was the problem?  She could do this.  It was only 251 steps and they were on the inside so it’s not like she’d be climbing around the outside of the tower, with a thin rail as her only protection against a misstep and plummeting to her untimely death.  Really, Kara, get a grip. She shook her head and walked inside.

Kara took the first few steps carefully but soon found a comfortable rhythm.  There weren’t any railings so after a while, she used the walls to add a little support as she stepped.  About 50 steps in, she began to feel it a bit.  She was able to slow down a little but with others following, she couldn’t slow down too much.  It was warmer inside than she expected. She could feel her body warming up.

As she reached step 100, she felt a sudden cold chill.  Maybe she was overheating?  She paused and looked up.  Bad idea.  She felt a little dizzy but there was no stopping now.  The voices behind her got closer so she started climbing again.

Step 200.  Not much further.  The voices were louder, but she couldn’t walk any faster.  Was it supposed to be this warm?  It felt like an oven.  The dizziness threatened constantly now but she pushed it back and tried to think “happy thoughts”.  It will all be worth it, just keep going.

Kara could see the light.  She took her final few steps and came out onto the top.  Oh, ok, here’s the railing but at least there is mesh covering the gaps.  Well, whatever.  She made it!  Yay!

Kara quickly walked towards the far side away from the top of the stairs.  She spread her wings, closed her eyes and screamed at the top of her lungs!

“Whoa, Mum!  Look!  It’s a turkey!”

Kara ignored the other tourists.  It was her time now. 

My Short Short for the Day

Ralph slowly sat up.  The sunlight seeping through the curtains provided some light in the room but it was still dim.  Ralph rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times.  His vision cleared enough for him to see he was on the floor of the living room.  He checked himself but didn’t feel any bumps or bruises.  He carefully stood up, brushed his glittery clothes, and checked his black, slicked back hair.  He prided himself on being the most authentic looking impersonator on the Strip.  Last night’s show was a blast.  The crowd roared; he could still hear them cheering.  He did 3 encores and still they had cheered for more.  He smiled as he walked to the window.

The smile quickly dropped as he pulled open the curtains.  This was not his room at the Bellagio.  This was not Vegas, either.  He stared at the view before him, a maze of skyscrapers and flashing lights and flying cars.  Wait, what?  Flying cars?  Ok, this must be a dream.  Ralph pinched himself.  Ouch!  This can’t be real.  Ralph started to panic.  He left the curtains open and turned to face the room.  The furniture had looked normal in the dim light but now, he could see how strange they were.  Nothing looked quite right. 

He looked at the photos, no one he knew but something nagged at him.  He looked at the magazines, they were familiar but strange at the same time.  He flipped through the papers on the kitchen counter, nothing he recognized.  However, underneath he saw what looked like a tablet.  He touched the screen and it lit up.  The date appeared and stared at it so long that the screen went into sleep mode.  He took a deep breath and touched it again.  The date was still the same, Sunday, August 30, 3020.  A thousand years had passed over night.  But how?

Just then the front door clicked and slid open.  Ralph stepped out to look down the hallway.  A man stepped through the door and froze.  The door slid shut and clicked.  The man stared at Ralph.  Ralph stared back.  It was like looking in a mirror, a slightly younger, leaner mirror. 

The man and Ralph spoke in unison, “Elvis has left the building!”