That cleansing free shower

That moment when the first autumn raindrop splashes onto your head. It is remarkable isn’t it? After weeks of scorching heat and often humidity, the rain comes to salvage your water bill. Free showers. Who wouldn’t want that? That’s why you often see people smile when they feel that first cool breeze bringing home the rain.

And when the showers begin, everyone automatically looks up. As if expecting a swarm of vicious drops lining up in those dark clouds, weighing and calculating the distance, altitude and speed with which to attack.

But all that happens is that the sky finally opens up and drowns out the heat that for so many days has been stifling the land underneath. People run in all directions trying to avoid getting wet, but in the end just become all the more soaked, as they are still wearing their summer sandals, their linen shirts (that become see-through wet t-shirts) and have no umbrella. It’s fun seeing all these people so unprepared. Autumn rain does that. Particularly if it comes during a time of summer heat.

It’s just not that fun when you are the one caught on the side of the road where all the puddles are concentrated and all the cars speed by. Or when you are the one caught in the autumn storm without an umbrella. Or worse yet, when you stand under a balcony until the rage subsides, and get splashed by the waterdrops washing off the plants and tents above you. Refreshing as it may be, when it happens to you, it is truly not that funny.

All in all though, we all need a few showers in a period of draught. It helps rejuvenate, revitalize and refresh our minds and souls. It cleans out all the negative feelings and allows you to view the world with a new perspective. It is a regeneration of sorts. A necessary and much welcomed new beginning for a new season that is just starting.

Also part of Daily Prompt: Autumn Leaves

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In the silence of a word

 

 

 

 

 
It is said that the power of words lies not in what is said but what is left untold.
In what lies in the depths of your soul,
What torments you,
What in the night tosses and turns you.

In the thoughts that come to mind when you sit alone
In silence.

In the images that skim your thoughts
That make you laugh at a single memory
At the remembrance of a phrase,
A gesture,
A face.

In the force of love that torrents in your heart
In the acts that make you fall even deeper
In the love that that very one shows
At the most unexpected of times
In the sweetest ways.

In the serenity that overwhelms your being.
In the calmness that ripples over your psyche.
In the tranquility that grips your presence.
In the silence of all the things you need not utter.

 

Also part of Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence

Going up? No, down…

The elevator doors opened and I slid in. I always felt a bit weird when there was someone else already inside. But his face seemed familiar. He was tall and Mediterranean. Charming, you could say. He smiled politely and I returned the gesture. It was plain courtesy. Then it happened.

The power went out and we were stuck. In the elevator. Together.

Well, that was something new. I had never been stuck in an elevator before and I didn’t know what to do. How to react. I had only seen this scene played out in movies, but never in real life. So, what now?

I looked at him. Maybe he knew better. His colour had turned pale and the smile had disappeared. What happened? He looked almost scared, as if he had instantly turned into a lost puppy. He also seemed a bit flushed. What was going on with this guy? I wanted to ask if he was OK, but I wasn’t sure if I was! Maybe he was claustrophobic? What do you do in such cases?

A million thoughts passed through my mind. How long would we be in here? What if I had to go to the bathroom? (They never show you that in the movies!) And who was this intriguing man changing colours like a chameleon? I was sure I had seen him before but we never actually spoke, other than the usual greetings.

He seemed as if he wanted to do or say something. Who was he? Was I in danger? Is that where I remembered him from? FBI’s most wanted? But, wait I don’t know who is on the FBI list. So it wasn’t that…

It was getting hot in there. And I wasn’t planning on taking off any clothes, even if that seems to be the norm in movies.

It seemed that we had been in there for hours. Silent. Immersed in our noisy thoughts.

Fifteen minutes had in reality passed and the power came back on and we continued our descent to the outer world.

“Hey, I’m Alex”.

He spoke!!! I looked at him with eyes glaring in amazement. Couldn’t he have voiced a word before, at least to reassure me, that I wasn’t stuck in an elevator with a serial killer?

“Hi”, I managed to utter.

“I live in the flat upstairs. Maybe we can meet more often since we’re practically neighbours”. The smile was back. Large and warm and sparkling like the ones on Colgate commercials!

That was the start of a beautiful friendship…and maybe even more! 😉

Also part of the Daily Prompt: Elevator – Fiction writers: You’re stuck in an elevator with an intriguing stranger. Write this scene.

Three people walk into a bar . . .

The first was walking with a cane and walked straight into it as he couldn’t see.

The second couldn’t hear the “ouch” and was distracted looking at the cane flying through the air, crashing into it.

And the third. Well, the third couldn’t speak, so he couldn’t warn them of the bar ahead. But as they were walking into it…it would be a shame not to be the third time charm!

 

A response to today’s Daily Prompt: Fill In the Blank

Making a half a whole

So, you remember that Chinese curse (“may you live in interesting times”)? You have to admit these are interesting times even though at some point everything seems so boring, so static, and so monotonous. But in what other time has there ever been so much happening: natural disasters at the same time as man-made disasters – earthquakes, tsunamis, explosions, murders, bombings, and of course political and economic crises. In every aspect of our lives the crisis reaches out. It’s not only financial / economic, it is also social and by extent psychological. It’s a crisis of mentality in the end, which touches deep into our very being. And makes us wonder what it is all worth. If there is a future worth fighting for. And most importantly if there is still hope.

In essence it makes you look at the world as a glass and wonder if it is half-full or half-empty.

So which one is it?

It all depends on your perspective. But the key in surviving is not to give up. Even if it is half-empty, we must not forget that it was once full and only needs that much to be so again. At least there is still something there and it is not completely empty. So that is something, right?

But the best thing would be to retain optimism and see the situation as a glass half-full. One that would inspire you to keep fighting for something better. That would remove pessimism, sadness and depression. And that would keep you hoping for a positive change that will soon come. Having a cause to hope for, is after all a quality of a strong mind. And although the Chinese cursed with interesting times, they never said those would all be good… After all, if it wasn’t dark, you wouldn’t be able to see that wonder of the universe – the moon and stars.

Hope is essential in order to be able to utilize the glass to our purpose. It’s up to us whether we will fill it up, or empty it down.

 

Also part of  the Daily Prompt: The Glass: Is the glass half-full, or half-empty?

 

A brilliant run

The sun was shining this morning. The birds were singing. The trees were in bloom. It was a perfect day for a run.

Sophie put on her running shoes and was out the door as soon as she had drawn the curtains and saw the beauty of nature streaming in through her windows.

She would follow a different route today. Through the park and along the beach. It would be simply brilliant.

The park was bustling with life today. People of all ages decided to take advantage of the warm spring day and took their children, friends, pets to the outdoors for some real fun. Different to the digital one usually enjoyed on screens.

Running through the park felt cool. Not just because she could observe the habits and quirks of people there, but because the shelter of the trees actually blocked out some of the suns burning rays.

Sooner than she even realized, Sophie reached the beach. Running on the sand with the waves timidly approaching your feet was a whole different feeling. And there she saw another group of people. Who were even bathing in the cool waters of the sea, while some dogs were sprinting across, kicking up sand and playing Frisbee. It was a marvel. The joy of feeling alive.

There was so much wonder in the world, so much to notice through a daily habit; things we are too busy or too self-absorbed to even see. Sophie ended her run, content at all she saw and experienced. She felt the physical exercise had also cleansed her soul. Whoever said a run was simply boring and tiring?

 

Part of the Daily Prompt: Mad Libs

 

An unexpected awakening

Karin woke up feeling her head was about to explode. Had she fainted? She looked around but what she saw had happened was very different from what she remembered. And why did she have blood all over her hands?

The last thing she recalls is having a drink at home with Regina. Come to think of it, it was her shadow that she saw running hastily away after David’s shooting. But was David really shot? He had no bullet signs; instead Karin had a wound on her arm from where a bullet scraped her. David on the other hand seemed stabbed. And the dagger lay right there next to Karin.

So what on earth had happened?

Karin had to remember. She had to force herself out of this trance and recall what happened. What really happened and not what she mistily thought did.

So, she was having a drink with Regina, to congratulate Karin on her lead role in the performance, and Regina was telling her that she did deserve it – a hint of sarcasm with a lot of jealousy?

Then Regina asked for a refill, and Karin left the room for a minute. When she came back, she did taste something a bit different in her drink. And then it all became fuzzy. As if she was living a dream, or rather a nightmare! So Regina had given her a drug; one that allegedly was the door to paradise – or hell – from the likes of it.

So, what had happened? Was Regina so jealous that she caused Karin to kill the person she loved the most? And not even remember it? And then, what? Regina even tried to shoot her off?

And what was David doing there anyway? Was he trying to warn her?

The piece of paper Karin had found in David’s pocket still lay there on the floor. She picked it up, with the clouds now removed from her eyes and read it clearly:

“Trust no one. Not even yourself”.

Also part of this week’s Trifecta Writing Challenge to include the third definition of the word door:

DOOR
3: a means of access or participation : opportunity <opens new doors> <door to success>

 

A Lethal Clue

David stood there soaking wet from head to toe. She grabbed him from his shirt and pulled him in, poking her head outside just to check no one had seen them. You could never be sure.

What happened? Whose was that blood? What had he gotten himself into? Karin needed answers, her mind was about to explode from the panic and the unanswered questions that circled her head, threatening to devour every thought she had.

But David just stood there still. As if in a state of ecstasy. As if what had happened had not quite registered in his mind yet. He was clenching the dagger in his fist and was staring into…nothing. His otherwise enchanting emerald green eyes now seemed void of all emotion.

What on earth had happened?

Karin began to search his pockets for a clue. As she drew out a small folded piece of paper from his shirt pocket, David flinched, as if he had been awaken all of a sudden. Karin quickly unfolded it, with an unsteady hand and a pounding heart. It had an address and two initials: I. Z. She dropped the paper as she immediately felt the floor being swept off from underneath her feet. She recognized that address and knew that name. Ivy Zanda. It was her best friend and co-dancer. They practically grew up together. And she didn’t live too far away. Why was this in David’s pocket? And what did he do to her?

“Did you kill her?” She yelled at him, almost in tears. It couldn’t have been her. No, Karin refused to accept that Ivy was responsible for all this trouble she was in.

“Not…her” David managed to utter as if something was choking him.

“Then who? What happened?” She urged.

But David never managed to say. As soon as he opened his mouth, a swish was heard, with glass shattering from the window by the door behind him. Karin shrieked, as he fell in her arms. Lifeless.

Also part of this week’s Trifecta Writing Challenge to include the third definition of the word ecstasy:

ECSTASY (noun)

3: trance; especially : a mystic or prophetic trance

 

A dark act

Darkness, like an evil wizard, had engulfed her soul end to end, carefully tucking away the edges. She could just about picture how it would all happen and that made her shiver despite the stifling heat outside. All color was erased from her normally peachy cheeks as the image ran through her head. Right when the swan song would sound, when that majestic figure would gracefully dance its last breath away, when the notes from that classic masterpiece would delicately pluck the strings of each heart in the room, right then. That is when they would strike. They would barge in, breaking down the theatre doors and charge in like soldiers of the apocalypse, with their bazookas and Kalashnikovs at hand, pointing them at anyone who would dare to even move. It would be horrible. And that was why she had to avert it at all costs. She had to do something to save her job, her dignity, her life. She had to fight. It wasn’t going to be easy. But she would try.

The doorbell rang as the rain could be heard drizzling down the tin roof from the attic. It was monsoon season. And it was also pitch black outside. A sign of the gloom to come? She was still horrified from the dreadful “could-have-beens” that had overwhelmed her. With a trembling hand she opened the door. She wasn’t really expecting anyone. So when she saw David standing there she was even more shocked than before. Especially since in his right hand he was holding a dagger. And it was dripping blood.

Also part of this week’s Trifecta Writing Challenge to include the third definition of the word color:

color (noun)
3: complexion tint:
a : the tint characteristic of good health
b : blush

 

10+1 reasons why alarm clocks aren’t good for you

 1.      #economic crisis

Because every time you break an alarm clock while trying to shut it off means, besides having to get up, having to go and buy a new one. And that costs money. And who’s got that to spare?

 

2.      #painful

Because it hurts when someone throws it at you – accidentally or intentionally.

 

3.      #snooze

Because snoozing alarm clocks doesn’t really help. It makes you sleep less and annoys you even more. So in the end you wake up unnaturally tired. And irritated.

 

4.      #frightening

Because the sudden beeping, ringing, or whatever it is your alarm clock does, disrupts your natural (often peaceful) sleep pattern to the extent that you may even risk a heart attack from the scare!

 

5.      #hide_and_seek

Because nowadays phones are used as alarm clocks. How many times do you wake up trying to find where you hid your phone in an attempt to muffle its sound? You’re already late! Who has time for games?

 

6.      #ringing_in_ears

Because in your sleep you can’t often distinguish between the alarm ringing or someone calling, resulting in a list of unanswered calls you’ve snoozed. It’s even worse if you try to answer the alarm clock instead of the phone!

 

7.      #embarrassing

Because alarm sounds nowadays are so similar that you may wake up at dawn, thinking that someone is stealing your car and rush out in your pyjamas (if you’re wearing any) to check. Really?

 

8.      #company

Because wouldn’t you rather be woken up sweetly, with a tender kiss or a lick in the face? Get a companion, a partner, a pet. In the long term it’ll also be there when you’re not asleep!

 

9.      #disruption_social_relations

Because what if you’re trying to sleep on your day off and your roommate/neighbour’s alarm clock is right on time (as usual) and wakes you up too? Is it really worth the row with your roommate/neighbour? Again?

 

10.   #no_sense

Because alarm clocks have no sense of time. 7:00 is either am or pm depending on a dot. Seriously? Can you afford to lose your beauty sleep over that?

 

And finally:

 

11.   #lazy_is_not_an_option

Because alarm clocks remind you there is something you need to do…

 

Also part of the Daily Prompt: The Satisfaction of a List.