Seven Super-Short Stories
by Yari Garcia aka Moody Thursday
Copyright 2014 by Yari Garcia
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In this book:
Adventurous Shopping Cart
Car Surfing During an Earthquake
The Dog That Was Left Alone
True Romance
Trippy
Truly Fly…
Run For It
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Adventurous Shopping Cart
Another day. Another routine, unadventurous, predictable day. All of us shopping carts line up close together (too close, if you ask me) and wait for someone to pick us. One by one my brethren get pulled, yanked apart from each other, and rolled into the store. Sometimes by a gentle woman’s hands, sometimes by a careless man’s hands. Sometimes they fill me up with kids. To me, every day is the same thing, no matter what hand seems to grab me.
Cold hands, big hands, small hands, dirty hands, gloved hands… it doesn’t matter. They use me for a while, then they leave me right where they found me. And this place just doesn’t feel like home. I’m never with any one pair of hands for more than a few fleeting moments before I end up right back where I started. Every day. All day.
It gets old.
Yet, something tells me today is different. You see, a pair of young hands has rolled me around the store, but didn’t put me back in my place. This time, I have been left a little further away from the store, on a grassy patch of land, under a tree. It’s nice here. I’ve never been this far away from the store before.
As I feel the sun warm up my metal frame and the wind rush by to cool my steel bars, someone approaches me. This person is unlike any I have seen before. He’s older, hunched over, and wearing quite a bit of clothes (in a very eccentric fashion, I must add). He’s carrying a huge burden of cans and what I assume are his personal belongings. As he gets closer, I can see his scraggly beard and tattered shoes.
“Hurpherphurm”, he grunts as he heaves all his belongings inside of me, and the most curious thing happens. I feel full! No, I don’t mean packed with groceries or kids or junk for sale. I feel full of important things. These are this man’s belongings, and he has entrusted them to me!
His rough hands grab my handle and dislodge me from the grassy patch, and he rolls me away. Away from the store! I feel a sense of adventure and purpose I have never felt before. It’s a brand new feeling, and I love it. As I look back at the store that has been my home (or my prison?) for so long, I know I won’t miss it. I am bound for new adventures in the world beyond the marketplace. I am ready to see the streets of the city- the good and the bad. The hot summers and chilled winters… I am ready to be this man’s companion for more than just a few moments. Adventure… finally!
And who knows? Maybe someday this man will leave me on the side of the interstate to grow old and rusty while watching all the fast cars go by, enjoying the sights and the open sky.
YG
Car Surfing During an Earthquake
I used to be afraid of the world- always wearing my headphones, blocking out the cold, finding warmth only in music tones. And when there was an earthquake I hung tight onto my seatbelt. From the backseat I felt the earth shake. You can't imagine how scared I felt.
And then I saw him- this cute, crazy guy, car-surfing during the earthquake. I thought I'd seen him in school, but that could be a mistake. He waved his arms and laughed- all the while balancing perfectly. For a moment I thought he was daft...but then I understood completely.
I got out through the window and jumped on the hood. A tiny voice said "don't", but it was all good. I could not be scared of life. No, I could not fear anymore. I could feel the air as I balanced some more.
And soon it was over. He looked at me and smiled. I knew I'd never again take cover, I'd never again hide. Now I live to the fullest, just for happiness' sake, because of that crazy guy car surfing during an earthquake.
YG
The Dog That Was Left Alone
I'll never forget the day he left me. He said goodbye thoroughly, but that moment seems brief now, compared to my current on-going grief. His small hands smelled of apple sauce, as they always did. His chubby face smiled at me, and I licked it playfully, yet carefully, for he was only a small boy. With each lick I begged him to stay.
Time passed and I grew tired of barking. “Whose bed will I fall asleep under now?” I selfishly thought. I shook my head. I should be thinking about him, not me. I grew worried for the small boy who called me his best friend. Who would take care of him now?
My joints grew tired as time passed. My water bowl mocked me. The ticking of the clock meant nothing to me. How I wish I could understand those ticking, taunting hands!! My dreams mingled with my waking life, until I couldn't tell what was real and what was--
Oh. They're back! They were out shopping for groceries again. Still, I sniffed his little apple-sauce fingers and licked his face, playfully-yet-carefully, until his giggles filled my heart with joy! How I love this little boy!
YG
True Romance
Markus loved to sneak into her room at night. He could watch her sleep for hours. He felt protective, making sure she was safe until sunrise. Markus sighed-- she looked so peaceful when she slept. Her soft chest would slowly rise and fall; her eyelashes would flutter during REM…
“She’s absolutely perfect”, Markus whispered.
Sophia’s eyes bolted open.
“Uh-oh”, he said.
A blood-curling scream tore through the bedroom. Markus covered his ears as Sophia tried to untangle herself from the bed sheets in a panic.
“I’m not… I’m not going to hurt you”, he stammered as she fell off the bed.
“Heck no, you’re not”, she said, popping up from the floor with a baseball bat in her hands.
“Wait! Wait!” Markus held his hands up in defense, “I’m just being romantic!”
“Weirdo!” She raised the bat and advanced at him.
“Whoa!” Markus ducked, hearing the swoosh of the swinging bat above his head. “I-- I love you!”
“I don’t even know you”, Sophia retorted, advancing with the bat once more.
Markus backed away until he bumped against the flat screen TV on the wall.
“Please, just listen”, he pleaded, “I always come to protect you through the night.”
Sophia’s eyes turned to angry slits. “You’ve trespassed before??”
“What?? Wait. No, I--”
Sophia raised the baseball bat up over her head. Markus dove to the ground. The bat came down and connected with the TV, breaking the screen open.
“You’re gonna pay for that!” Sophia warned. Markus frantically crawled towards the door.
“You-- You’re CRAZY!” he spat.
“I'm crazy? You’re in MY room!” she replied, “You’re the one who broke in to watch me sleep!”
Markus fumbled with the doorknob. The door flew open and he ran out. He pushed Sophia’s father aside as he ran down the hallway and out the front door.
Sophia’s father stopped and peered in her room. “Who was that?”
“Some guy that has a crush on me”, she replied calmly, leaning the bat against her bed. “He’s kinda cute when he’s frightened. Oh, and he owes us a new TV.”
YG
Trippy
Trippy couldn't run much faster. She ran at full speed. Trippy had never run like this. Her muscles were sore, burning...the movement robotic. She could barely feel control over her own body. She only knew one thing- run. Run as fast as you can, run as far as you can.
She remembered a time when she had almost ran this fast. It
was the first time she had literally ran away from home. Her mother found her walking at night only an hour after her resolve to leave. This time it was broad daylight, and even though she was sweaty, exhausted, and carrying a backpack, no cars stopped to see if this young teen was okay.
She tripped on the curb and fell hard. "Trippy". Her nickname echoed in a mocking way in her mind.
"Leave me alone!" she screamed as she scrambled back up and continued her run, this time with a limp and a terrible ache in her knees. She had scraped them badly. She could feel the sting with every step. Trippy tried to hold back tears, but couldn't. The fall had loosened up all the feelings inside her. Her run slowed down to a trot as she struggled to breathe through sobs, her body only jerking strangely along, cramped and aching wildly. "Leave me alone..." she sobbed weakly.
Trippy stopped completely and doubled over. She gasped for air and noticed her knees were a raw pink color. "Why are you doing this to me?" she wept, and the thing she was running from caught up to her.
"You are doing this to you", a familiar voice sneered. Very familiar indeed, for Trippy was only running away from herself
YG
Truly Fly...
Tara needed to know what it was like to fly. She had been on airplanes before. She had even been sky-diving. But that wasn't the same. She wanted to know what it was like to truly fly.
She remembered the time she climbed up to her tree house, then jumped off with a makeshift parachute (aka, a plastic