Musing, Song

Baby Come Back: Thursday Inspiration

Written for Thursday Inspiration #310 โ€“
โ€œOh Sherrieโ€. Hereโ€™s my response.

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Short Story

Abandoned

Written for Muse on Monday where David asks us
to write a story about facing a situation, a dilemma
where there isnโ€™t necessarily a right answer.
Hereโ€™s were the prompt took me.

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Short Story

Quiet Desperation

Written for OLWG #418.
The prompts appear below.
This is my story.

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Short Story

Just An Average Junkie

Alright, alright, alright!
It’s time once again for a Six Sentence Story,
this time incorporating the word ‘remote’.
Here’s mine, with a few other prompts just for fun.

The reflection of my timeworn face in the bathroom mirror is harrowing, one I still canโ€™t accept is me .โ€ฆ someone who was always strikingly attractive, impeccably dressed with my designer labels neatly tucked away and out of sight; these days I see only one person on a regular basis and he doesnโ€™t give a shit what I look like as long as I have the money to pay him.ย 

Thereโ€™s that old twitch in my left eye, an unwelcome reminder that a killer headache and nausea are about to overtake me if I donโ€™t eat some Skittles, a much more socially acceptable term than that hushed-up, dirty little name that makes all the so-called โ€˜well-adjustedโ€™ people cringe as though in the presence of a leper; fucking hypocrites who gleefully suck up their  gummies and hemp oil and legalized medical marijuana while sipping on their โ€œsuperb organic Pouilly-Fiussรฉโ€

 My hands are shaking in equal amounts of excitement and desperation as I check out what my guy has delivered today โ€“ reds, blues and yellows โ€“ a difficult choice, to be sure, but the numerous voices in my head have made a unanimous decision: mellow yellow to match my jaundiced skintone and disposition; yes, Iโ€™ve read the headlines and the fine print warnings โ€“ Iโ€™m not an idiot, you know, and that makes me laugh out loud! 

Letโ€™s see whatโ€™s in the magician’s box to fix this sallow complexion โ€ฆ. spackle-like primer to fill in the yawning crevices around my mouth, foundation with a bit of a dewy finish (or so the advertisements promise), creamy rosy blush for my cheeks, glossy brush-on plumper for luscious lips, pencil to fill in my threadbare brows, glittery highlighter to lessen the deep-set appearance of my eyes and layer upon layer of mascara on my straggly lashes.

Looking at my reflection once again, I see that Iโ€™m now back .โ€ฆ returned from the dead, if you will โ€ฆ. and I look sensational, provocative and sensual with just the right touch of promiscuousness, yet there are two burned-out, remote eyes blankly staring back at me. 

I slip into my work clothes, ready for another night hitting the pavement, when I feel that familiar sensation and Iโ€™m faced with the recurring stalemate โ€“ whether I should just take all the pretty candy, lie down and pray I never wake up or put myself back on the meat market to earn enough money for another bag of Skittles; โ€œFuck it, Iโ€™m already dressedโ€ I think as I pop a red and slam the door behind me.

NARยฉ2024

This is โ€œThe Pusherโ€ by Steppenwolf

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephantโ€™s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NARยฉ2017-present.