One-Minute Writing of the Day:
Writer: Marc
The man approached the lottery desk on shuffling feet, his eyes tracing the outlines of the food-stained tiles before him. His hair, more grey than black, pointed in every direction at once and his pale face was shadowed by stubble.
He handed over a single ticket with words so quiet the young clerk wasn't certain that he had spoken at all. The clerk glanced down at the piece of paper, frowned, and looked up at the man with concern.
"Excuse me sir," he said slowly, "what happened to this ticket?"
The man did not look up; in fact he gave no sign that he was aware a question had even been posed to him. The clerk tried again.
"Sir? There appears to be dried blood on this ticket - are you okay?"
Still no reply.
The clerk shrugged and placed the ticket in his machine. Seconds later a tinny melody announced to the world that a winner had been found at last. But before the clerk could offer his congratulations he saw two police officers arrive at the man's side.
"You'll need to come with us Mr. Harvey," the blond one said. "We need to ask you a few questions about the whereabouts of your wife."
Congratulations, Marc, on such a deliciously creepy post! Feel free to put another One-Minute Writer WINNER! button on your blog(s).
By the way--I'm allowing myself some leeway when I name the Friday Fiction winners. These responses tend to be longer, and I may at times (like today) name one of these longer responses as the One-Minute Writing of the Day. (Usually the winning response needs to be short enough to have conceivably been written in one minute.)
17 comments:
I thought I was overworked and underpaid for the work I do. The current economy changed that today. I have 50% less work, and 30% less pay. Its become the American way. I thought I was the loser when the company reduced me, but looking back a day, I wonder. Perhaps I am the winner in this play?
Clara and I were sitting at the breakfast table...her reading the paper, and me, well I was thinking about the interview I had scheduled for 10 that morning. I caught a glance of Clara as i finished my coffee and a sudden sense of panic flooded through me like a call you would get from the sheriff at 3 am on prom night. Clara was ashen white almost unable to hold the newspaper in her trembling hands. Not wanting the bad news, I reluctantly asked ..."what's wrong?"
Clara looked at me with moist eyes and said...."We are multi millionaires!" The powerball that I bought last week was the only winning combination last night. To the tune of 236 million dollars.
I can't help but look back at that morning just 5 years ago and wish I could rewind the clock. Clara, after 25 years of marriage left me, my daughter became addicted to Oxycontin and passed away last year. All the investments that I had left were eviscerated by the market crash. Today, I am left with nothing but the fleeting memory of the adrenaline rush that morning, 5 years ago at the breakfast table.
The lottery was the beginning of the end of life as I knew it.
Dan
The men had argued for many years. So many that the fight's orgin had been long forgotten, lost and replaced only by bitterness. It was on this particular day, when the sun threatened to roast them both, the men found themselves arguing once again over an untilled patch of land.
'You cannot dig on my land.'
'Your land?'
'Yes, that fence and this tree are my end property lines.'
'Tree? I see no tree.'
'There will be a tree, once I plant it here, on my land.'
'We'll see.'
And they fought for four more hours, each man digging the same hole, throwing dirt on the other man's side. When the hole was deep enough, each reached for his own seed; one peach and one orange.
They buried their seeds at the same time, raced to water them and for weeks, months and years they waited to see whose seed would win.
Finally, a spring arrived where the tree could bloom. And its beautiful flowers would pollinate and bear the fruit of the victor. As the flowers fell, blanketing the land, a soft thud echoed in the dirt and both men raced outside to see whose fruit had been chosen. To their amazement, the tree bore both peaches and oranges.
Scattered among every branch, the fruit was intermingled and in some cases had even merged and cross-pollinated into a new, more delicious fruit. As word spread of the miraculous tree, people came from all aroud to sample the new fruit named simply "Friendship."
But the men were not pleased. A tie is no victory. Friendship is no prize. And in the middle of one harsh Winter, though no one knows who commited the act, the tree was chopped down and burned to destroy fruit it bore. Scrawled in the snow, in ember and ash were two words:
'I win.'
And the Winner is.....
She was a bundle of nerves. Standing there before thousands of people wating for her future to come crashing down around her, or to be launched into a most exciting year as the nations beauty queen. All went haywire when the announcement was made that she had won the national competition.
The discovery was made after she was crowned and walked the runway. The judges discovered the names on envelopes were switched and had been typed incorrectly.She wasn't the winner after all. She had to give over the crown.
Silent around a hall, about five hundred audience were waiting..they were students and and their parents on a graduation ceremony..they were waiting for an announcement from a headmaster..and a minute latter..
" Have a highest score and highest average index on Final Exam is....
A boy stood up quickly..,and
went stright front, and standing applaus from audience...
He was a winner...
JADE'S LOSS
Jade stared at the crystal in her small hands. "This can't be happening. People of Jadocon don't die - so how can my Guardian be dead?"
When she accepted the ten-year assignment on Earth, Jade had packed up her few belongings and left her home planet without a care in the world. Jadocon's live for millions of eons, so she had no doubt she would see her friends and her Guardian again. In practically the blink of an eye, she would be home again and she had so many plans for the future.
The Interplanetary Council had given Jade a communication crystal before she left on her assignment. The crystal would only be used in cases of extreme emergencies. In the six years she had been living on Earth, the crystal had never once flared to life.
But today, today was different. Right in the middle of an outing with her new Earth friends - at a place called an "amusement park" - Jade felt the crystal in her pocket getting hot. Excusing herself and heading to the restrooms, Jade pulled the golf-ball size crystal from her pocket.
Concentrating all her engergy into the hard stone, Jade received the message that her Guardian was dead. No other information was currently available.
Jade felt a heaviness in her heart she couldn't explain. Wiping the wetness from her dark, almond-shaped eyes, she slipped the crystal back into her pocket and went back to join her friends.
This was the only communication from Jadocon Jade received while on Earth. It was after her return to Jadocon at the end of her mission that she finally learned exactly what happened to her Guardian.
Looking At The Bright Side
"I can run faster than you," boasted Jimmy for the third time.
"Can not!" Eric's face was reddening. His freckles stood out more when we was angry.
Jimmy's sidekick, Alan, chimed in. "Race 'im. Race 'im, Eric. Come on, Eric, are ya chicken? Let's see ya race 'im." That brought other kids over to see what the commotion was about. Eric knew he was trapped. Being humilated by Jimmy during recess was a constant and it was his turn again. Then he had an idea.
"I'll race you on one condition. You can only say how we finished by using the word "second". That means you can't say someone finished first or last. You can't say someone won or lost. Only the word "second" can be used .
"Sure, whatever," Jimmy flippantly answered. About thirty other kids had come over so he tried to appear nonchalant. This was going to be too easy.
"Go all the way to the fence and back," said Alan as he scraped a line in the dirt with his heel. "You have to touch the fence." Eric and Jimmy lined up next to each other.
Alan called the start. "On your mark. Get set. Go!"
Both boys took off. Jimmy was fast and took an early lead. Eric ran as fast as he could for the first twenty yards. Jimmy glanced back, saw the effort in Eric's face and noticed his lead wasn't as big as he'd like so he hit full speed. Seeing this, Eric backed off to conserve his energy for later. Slowing a little, Jimmy cushioned himself with his arms as he hit the chainlink fence, bounced away and turned to see Eric huffing and puffing. This was an opportunity to really show off and he raced to increase the gap. Jimmy smiled at his victory. Gasping for air as he crossed the finish line, he raised his arms in victory to a cheering crowd. Eric jogged in shortly afterwards and as he crossed the line he raised his arms in victory and shouted, "Yes!"
Puzzled, Jimmy asked, "What?" And after a couple of breaths, "You finished second."
"Yes," Eric admitted, "But you finished second to last."
As their classmates began snickering, Jimmy's face slowly changed as he realized what that meant. Some of the kids laughed out loud, "Second to last! Jimmy was second to last!"
Jimmy looked at them and then at Eric. Eric smiled at his victory. And then he ran faster than he'd ever run before.
The Weight of Winter
The bed was empty when she woke up. She reached for him and found only the turned down comforter. She slipped out of bed and into his Pendleton robe and went looking for him. He was sitting on the porch steps, fully dressed. A steaming cup of coffee was on the boards next to him and the calico cat was sitting, staring, at the coffee cup. They had been married seven years. Each day, every day they moved in the soft currents of their love. Today was no exception, even with the bittersweet shadow cast over the day. She padded softly across the cool porch her bare feet a scant whisper. She knelt behind him and wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. The cat stood up and rubbed against her, through the thick warmth of the robe. He reached up and laid his hand on her encircling arm, touching her, caressing her, feeling the warmth of her. She whispered in his ear. "She loved you."
The game was as competitive and grueling as only a championship game could be. With the score as close as it was, the game was the stuff of legends; mud, cold, perfect plays and roaring crowds. There were barely five minutes left in the game and the Eagles' coach could smell glory. He wanted to go big- he wanted to go for the touchdown- and he would use Jamesto do it. James had taken everything for the team for four long years. This was his last game, and no exception. As James trecked across the field to his team mates, Ryan, the Glacier's saftey, recognized his old friend's gait. They'd gone to middle school together and even in the peewee league, coaches knew that James could do anything they put him up to.
And he certainly could. If it involved football, James could do it. It was as simple as black and white. The question was did he want to? Tonight wasn't the first night this question weighed heavy on James' mind. And tonight more than any night he knew his answer as much as he knew the ball was in his hands.
He would live in the infamy of Manchester High. As the champion who didn't finish a champion. But no one on Eagles' knew, no one in the stands ever suspected. The Glaicer's safty would be the only one. James caught him in the parking lot after the game, "Hey man, I wanted to thank you personally." Ryan just shook his head, dumfounded. "If you hadn't stopped me from scoring, I would've had to fake it. And I suck as faking it." James explained. There was only one word on Ryan's lips, "-Why-?" James grinned, "This championship would've sealed my fate at Notre Dame. But now my scholarship'll fall through, and I'll be able to go to -my- first choice. Not my dad's." Robert looked at him for a long time. James had never wanted to play the game he had always succeded at, he only fufilled their expectations because he had a burning desire to make people happy. And he'd finally figured out another way to do that. The boys said good bye and promised to meet again. Robert watched the real champion walk back to his parents, waiting by the car. Some how, they didn't look happy. "You win some you loose you some." he muttered.
I was in eighth grade when I raced against my arch-nemesis Lola in the 60 yard dash.
We were neck to neck to in the race...the frontrunners. Until I fell to the ground and yelled out in pain with a leg cramp.
Lola was near the finish line, but instead came back to help me up. We lost the race, but won a lifetime of friendship.
The women scratched chin, and smirked happily. She finally one him over. Over, even his wife.
"You can't fight this feeling." She said, taking his hand slowly.
It's true. He couldn't.
The next couple of days were awkward for him. Not so much for her. She acted as if everything was fine. Going to the make with his wife, taking care of their kids, just being the BEST friend.
He couldn't keep this up anymore. He couldn't lie like this to his wife.
He then confessed everything. Saying he wants a chance, that he can change!
The next couple of days, the couple was no where to be seen.
The women lost. She lost her best friend.
The man approached the lottery desk on shuffling feet, his eyes tracing the outlines of the food-stained tiles before him. His hair, more grey than black, pointed in every direction at once and his pale face was shadowed by stubble.
He handed over a single ticket with words so quiet the young clerk wasn't certain that he had spoken at all. The clerk glanced down at the piece of paper, frowned, and looked up at the man with concern.
"Excuse me sir," he said slowly, "what happened to this ticket?"
The man did not look up; in fact he gave no sign that he was aware a question had even been posed to him. The clerk tried again.
"Sir? There appears to be dried blood on this ticket - are you okay?"
Still no reply.
The clerk shrugged and placed the ticket in his machine. Seconds later a tinny melody announced to the world that a winner had been found at last. But before the clerk could offer his congratulations he saw two police officers arrive at the man's side.
"You'll need to come with us Mr. Harvey," the blond one said. "We need to ask you a few questions about the whereabouts of your wife."
The gravel crunched under my feet as I trekked up the hill. I knew I'd run out of gas, just not so soon... Only a quarter mile to the station. Some days it seems my luck's run out. Today? No, today it's just my fuel. Yesterday? Yesterday it was my love. He ran out, too. Tomorrow? Well, that's a new day now isn't it?
"I won't do it!" "You can't make me.", Susan cried.
Principal Johnson said, "Calm down Susan." "I will be with you all the way." "First we call your parents, and then we call the police." He can not hurt you any more."
Susan was sobbing as her parents walked into the office. Her parents cried with her when they were told the reason they were there.
When the police arrived, Susan had gained some composure. She told them what she had told Principal Johnson. Mr. Myers was not the teacher that she thought he was.
The police arrested Mr. Myers.
Mr. Myers lost his job and his freedom.
Susan won self respect, courage, dignity, and most of all strength.
When he took a step towards his bike, he noticed a girl was on her way towards her bike as well. Noticing the coincidence, he decided to talk to her and maybe get to know her more. He found out that she liked him and wanted to go out sometime, but the girl he's been waiting for is just around the corner. He raced off down the street to win his girl, although it's safe to say, he never did.
Never for the rest of his life will he ever "win the girl." Everybody loses in this accursed world and that's the way it's meant to be.
I lost my team.
The team we built from polywogs.
It was going to be a great year.
Now they're winning without me.
Without a coach.
Who lost?
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