Need For Speed…

February 8, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha22 Comments

Linda knew Scott was visiting again. It took her a while to understand Jack’s excited reactions whenever he ran to the closed garage door and made those noises while thumping his tail.

Scott loved to race and she hated it with a passion. Every time the racing circuit was on, she developed ulcer from anxiety.

She begged him to stop, but he said that the speed got his adrenaline pumping. He simply couldn’t stay away from the tracks.

She remembered that day with vivid clarity. Her bad feeling made her ask him not to go, but he waved off her fears with his boisterous, full of life laughter.

The nightmare unfolded before her eyes as she stood by the bylines watching cars careen out of control, the screeching tires, the scrunch of metal and the pile-up.

Scott died. His speeding days forever silenced, but everyday he is back, tinkering with his old clunker that he first started racing with.

She thought that his fatal attraction would have faded after everything that happened, but his passion seemed incurable.

Inlinkz

In response to the FFAW photo prompt above. Thank you Pixabay for the photo and Priceless Joy for this enchanting platform

Fiction · Short Stories

The Medicine Woman…

February 1, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha15 Comments

Phaedra hummed as she ground the Sunflower seeds and dried petals into powdery form. The brew will soon be ready. A dash of mint, a whisk of rosemary, a toss of thyme, a pinch of cinnamon and a shake of turmeric, it bubbled gently.

The Sunflowers always bloomed with such brightness for as long as she could remember. Her rounded bump also kicked more vigorously whenever she hummed and mixed the herbs.

She smiled as she recalled her days as a child. She would perch on the high kitchen stool, while Nana prepared the different elixirs.

Nana hummed cheerful, dreamy tunes often interjecting with a little explanation here and there, to her numerous questions.

Nana handed out the little bottles to the villagers and advised them ‘to take 2 table spoons of the tonic with a smile, a pinch of gratitude and a shake of a leg.’

They always came back feeling more invigorated and asking for more.

Phaedra has become the medicine woman.

Nana passed on to another realm, but the drying and blending of her Sunflowers still goes on.

Inlinkz

In response to the FFAW photo prompt above. Thank you Sonya for the photo and Priceless Joy for this enchanting platform 🙂

Creative Writing · Fiction · Short Stories · Social Issues

Blood On Her Hands…

January 31, 2016January 31, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha44 Comments

She sat rocking herself in the corner.

She knew that soon they would come to take her away, but she could hardly find the nerves to run and hide. She was too tired and just wanted to sleep for ages.

For years and years, she had withstood it.

At first she told herself that she had to stay for the children.

Then she grew afraid to go anywhere.

Then she became a nervous wreck, got sick and disgusted with her life.

Then she lost her job and had no money.

Then she lost all her friends.

Then she became totally dependent on him.

Then the berating, the beatings, the cycle of maltreatment got more vicious.

He made the mistake of pointing the gun at her head but failing to shoot.

That was his weapon of choice. To scare her out of her wits with the gun amused him a lot.

Now, he could do it no more. She shot him with the gun that had taunted her for ages right in the back of his head.

It was point blank Bulls Eye. The beginners luck.

Creative Writing · Family · Fiction · Friday Fiction in Five Sentences

The Pearls…Friday Fiction In Five Sentences.

January 29, 2016January 29, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha48 Comments

Lovingly he fingered the delicate pearls clasped around her neck.

At first, they belonged to his grandmother, who passed them to his mother and she passed them to his wife.

She looked beautiful as she lay so still, just as though she slept.

With trembling fingers and a heavy heart, he unhooked the beautiful strand of
pearls that has been worn by the women in his family for ages.

He knew that she loved them very much and would want their little girl to inherit it when she comes of age.

Image credit: Pinterest.

Creative Writing · Fiction · Hope · Short Stories

Out Of The Cold Damp…

January 25, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha17 Comments

Sandra’s eyes glazed over in tears of joy, as she perused the documents in her hands with careful intent.

At last! At long last she has a home that she could rightfully call hers. Her heart swelled in gratitude.

A home in a decent neighbourhood and not the squalid neighbourhood that she grew up in.

Sometimes, they had no electricity, because there was no money to pay and it was always cold, damp and freezing during the Winter.

She had promised herself that she would not end up there.

She knew that life held more for her than that and she was determined to succeed.

Studying hard to break out of that mould has been worth all the trouble.

Working and saving all that she could is yielding positive dividends.

Now she could move her aged mother out of the pits to live with her in a beautiful neighbourhood, where there would be light and warmth.

In response to the FFAW photo prompt above. Thank you Louise for the photo and Priceless Joy for your enabling platform.

Inlinkz

Creative Writing · Fiction · Short Stories

Mind Games…

January 24, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha16 Comments

He felt such deep shame within him.

Shame that his friends would mock him if they ever got to know that he was doing such demeaning job.

Washing toilets! Cleaning up for women.

As a man raised to believe that women are just an inch less than a chattel, it was an insult to have to wash the ladies wash room and to serve them.

His thoughts were that the ladies were equally making mockery of him. He felt that their sniggers and giggles were all aimed at unmanning him.

Even the female supervisor always complained on how poorly he did his job or how slow he was.

How he disliked those her kohl darkened eyes. He always tortured her the most in his mind.

In his mind, he beat them up several times over in a day and enjoyed the mind games that he played, taunting them until they begged for mercy.

On days he got carried away with his warped imagination, he decided to contaminate the water in their dispenser with his urine.

It was his turn to snigger as he watched them take cups of water to drink and natter as they normally do and each time, he went back to his shared quarters feeling satisfied.

Unfortunately, his small-mindedness failed to remember that the tiny pin-prick cameras picked up every little detail that went on in the office.

When he was discovered, he really got to feel the pinches, jabs and painful barbs of his so-called weaker opponents and the iron-faced Eunuch taught him a lesson by that he would not be forgetting in a hurry.

In my usual way, I found some articles that caught my attention. Have a look.

How to destroy a person’s self worth by Knotholes and Textures.

Balls grow a Vagina by Edwina Episodes.

Embrace Rejection from Kay Morris.

When did pitter patter change? From Yelobrd777

To Love from Diane of Lady who lunch reviews.

The past can’t be changed from Success Inspirer

Fiction · Friday Fiction in Five Sentences · Hope · Short Stories

The Bill…Friday Fiction In Five Sentences.

January 22, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha29 Comments

She counts the coins over and over again.

It would barely be enough to purchase meaningful grocery.

‘Dear Lord, where will the next meal for the babies come from?’ She wonders in despair.

Hearing a shuffle of feet and a rap on the door.

She rises wearily to check who it is, but there is no one at the door, just a little note wedged into the space under the door, with a 50 dollar bill nicely folded inside.

Creative Writing · Fiction · Short Stories

Finish The Story #1… In The Saloon…

January 20, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha10 Comments

Alphabet story and I started the story chain below.

We now invite you to add to the story line 🙂

***************

Frank walks into the empty saloon.

It’s too early for the usual crowd.

Behind the bar, Brad is wiping down the counter and rearranging the bottles of the new order just received.

Tonight is the weekly lady’s night. He wants everything ready before they arrive and he gets swamped with orders.

Brad looks up at the sound of the opening door and sees the dude in the cowboy hat. He is an unfamiliar face.

‘Hello mate.’ Frank introduces himself, plunks down on a high bar stool and pulls out a picture from his pocket.

‘I am looking to meet this lady, Isobel. ‘Would you be knowing her whereabouts?’ He asked.

Brad is not sure what to make of the stranger and his question.

*****Now you can have fun and continue it. The picture could serve up some inspiration, and at the end of the trail of what we gather, we will publish the full length accrediting bits and pieces to the bloggers who contributed*******

Creative Writing · Fiction · Short Stories

Rolls of Dice…

January 18, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha28 Comments

Mike held his breath and closed his eyes. Anxiety curled in his stomach like viper.

He knew that the roll of the dice determined his doom.

For minutes, he reviled himself for the gambling, which overtook his senses.

Going to town with the lads had turned out not to be a very good idea.

A mug of beer became several and a roll of dice turned into several rolls too many.

‘I should have stuck with the coin machines.’ He thought.

‘What will I tell Bernadette?‘

‘How do I explain that I have lost the inheritance.’ ‘That we are heading for the poor house?‘

Like a man waiting for the knell of the tomb bell, the jingle of dices sounded ominous and then it stopped.

Gasps, shifting of bar stools and music in the background sounded louder.

Bracing himself he opened his eyes.

Incredible! By some lucky God of Roulette he won.

‘You lucky son of a gun,’ Todd pounded his back.

‘Well, drinks are on you.’

He collected his winnings, left several dollar bills for drinks and decided to go home.

In response to the FFAW photo prompt above. Thank you Etol for the photo and Priceless Joy for your enabling platform.

Inlinkz

A link to my neighbours/Community · Creative Writing · Family · Fiction · Short Stories

Fortune Unfounded…

January 17, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha32 Comments

The call for prayers blared through the loud speakers, the pull of the voice sounds compelling, but prayers are the furthest thing on Aashish’s mind.

He feels sad. He has no money to apply for residence visa for his wife and two daughters to join him and the much that he earns is barely enough to tide him over, after he had sent some home.

It’s Sunita’s birthday today, he thought that by now they would have been with him.

His children are growing up without him and yet the fortune that he sought, leaving them behind eluded him.

He pulls out the crumpled, almost faded picture of his family. It was taken years back in one of the quick snap booths, on one of their rare visits to town. It has been five long years, since he last set eyes on them. He has failed them and his shoulders slump further.

Sometimes his spirits are buoyed with stories of people winning lotteries and he struggled to buy a ticket, but it was always someone else who won.

He felt he was better off back home on his farm in Nepal and doing odd jobs to augment their meagre income.

At least he will get to be with his family again and he will be happier again and Anu will understand, he hopes.

Being away from his wife has been the hardest part. The fees for entertaining himself with one of the willing ladies was just too much luxury for him.

With a sigh of pent up emotions, he fished out his rubber-bound telephone from his pocket and dialed his brother’s number.

Hello Aadit, tell Anu that I am coming home, he said.

From my neighbours yards, I harvested these thoughts and would like to share them with you.

Feeding The Tiger, Fighting The Lions, from Deborah Crocker.

Getting That Book Constructed For Submission, from Connie Jasperson

How to easily find time for stress free blogging , from Janice Wald

I enjoyed reading Life Lessons from voyager of freedom.

Curative list of 2016 writing competitions from Yelhispressing

A little teaser for you from A Momma’s view.

A tale of two dips, from what’s for dinner moms.