Friday, November 2, 2018

Chess Eyes



In response to Friday Fictioneer prompt, Nov 2 2018
https://rochellewisoff.com/2018/10/31/2-november-2018/



"The little one wants to challenge me?" asked the Grand Master astonishingly.

The boy nodded his head.

"Ok. I will have lunch in 2 min before carrying on with rest of the schedule," Grand Master told the Chess tournament manager looking at the little boy whose height was smaller than the height of the chess pieces on the table.

The sharp eyes of the boy could see what the overconfident eyes of the Grand Master missed. At his level, he had a leverage which many did not realize.

"King Check," said the boy after 2 moves. "You may go for your lunch."

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Vantage Point




(In response to the Friday Fictioneer Oct 19 2018)



"Oh wow. I was not sure you will do it," Jane said looking at the photograph.

"Anything for you sweetheart," responded John brushing her soft hair.

"You fought your fear of heights for me?" Jane pulled John closer to hug.

"It was dreadful. I was sweaty. I swear I thought I would die but I will rather be a martyr in your eyes than a failure."

"Oh sweety, I should have never made you take the photo of the city from a vantage point. How silly of me?"

John hugged Jane tightly smiling at the vendor close by.

"Scenic postcards",  screamed the vendor walking away.

Sunday, July 15, 2018

Caged



In response to the Friday Fictioneer July 13 2018
(https://rochellewisoff.com/2018/07/11/13-july-2018/)






"Dad, it's the scariest cruise that Mario and I have been saving the money for."

"Who needs to go on a cruise when the best thriller is in our front yard?"

Her dad hosted the most frightening enjoyable party in the neighborhood.

"Don't mix too much sugar into the rose water. Blood is not sweet", her dad said gingerly. She put on her vampire hood and went outside to keep the jar on the table. There she saw the recent addition her dad was bragging earlier.

"M..ar..io", she said taking a step towards the cage.



Monday, July 9, 2018

Lost and Found




In response to the Friday Fictioneer  on July 6 2018 
(https://rochellewisoff.com/2018/07/04/6-july-2018/)




"M'am, did you see my leg", the tall guy asked smilingly as he hopped closer to me.

Seeing my perplexed look, he held out his hand revealing a new football covered with brown leather having "The Giants" printed on it.

"I was teaching my nephew to kick the football through the goal posts. I kicked it too lightly, sending my legs to fly off.

I looked around to see if I can help in any way.

"There it is, Uncle!", a little brat came running from behind. "Let's have an ice cream from Coldstone while grabbing your leg too."

Friday, June 22, 2018

The Ride


In response to Friday Fictioneer Jun 22 2018
(https://rochellewisoff.com/2018/06/20/22-june-2018/)






"I can drop in off in my bike", Buddy replied as Uncle Carlos handed him over the large cake nicely wrapped in a box.

"You will mess my decoration", Uncle Carlos argued handing him over a ticket for the boat.

"Do your customers never smell anything fishy in your cakes?" retorted Buddy.

Uncle Carlos always preferred the steady and slow boat to deliver his delicious cakes. The slow ride kept the cake together, he said.


Buddy hated the rides. The stream was stinky and contaminated. The boat was not clean. He wondered what was in the other rusty boxes.

Friday, June 8, 2018

The Statue



In response to Friday Fictioneer June 8 2018
(https://rochellewisoff.com/2018/06/06/1-june-2018/)






"Who goes to a museum for a date?", he complained.

"Everyone in New York does", she replied.

"I like action, can't stare at inane sculptures", he groaned.

"If you understand the history behind it, you would find it as exciting as your Lakers game."

They entered the beautiful hall with the high ceiling. People were scattered looking at different artifacts.  Parents were trying to keep their young ones' hands off the sculptures.

"Look at the beautiful centerpiece", she exclaimed.

He stared at the statue confounded. "I swear I saw the hand move."

"What?", she retorted looking back at the armless statue.

Sunday, June 3, 2018

Unraveled Yarn



(Response to June WEP entry at http://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/)





“I will treat you like a flower”, he whispered in her ears as he closed her eyes and walked along few steps. 

“Now open your eyes.” 

“This is beautiful”, she answered. In front of them stood a beautiful red-bricked house, which he had architected. It had a small lawn in the front lined up with roses, jasmines, and lilies on the side. It was surrounded by a small, 3 feet high brick compound wall. On the right side was an overhead canopy, which could act as a shelter for a future car. The house was encompassed in a large area of empty residential plots. The nearest construction of a home was almost half a mile away. If one climbed up a tree, they could even see the Delhi Haryana border. 

He slowly slid the front door open, revealing a huge living room. She literally danced around the floor, squealing with laughter. She glided across the room to open the door to the backyard. 

“This, my dear is your kitchen garden.” Rows of vegetable sapling were nicely arranged in a row and grouped by category. On one side of the garden were bunches of the banana plant. 

Her happiness knew no bounds. She took a deep breath of fresh air. “This is like a dream.” 

He pulled her close, “We will make our dream come true here. We will...” “

You mean including a terrace garden and a library”, she intercepted smiling. 

“Haha, This is Delhi, dear. We need to start slow and then add one by one.” 

She touched his cheek, her face pale with concern, “We can afford this right?” 

He smiled lovingly, “Yes, we can. We just need to be careful with our spendings. Oh, there is something else I want you to see.” 

He took her into a room. There on the corner, right next to the window, was her wooden writing desk and chair her dad had gifted. She used to love working in that as a teenager. 

Tears rolled down her face as she touched the wooden surface. “Its like he will always be around”. 

“Yes”, he continued, “As I promised your dad, I will treat you like a flower.”, he said affectionately. 

“Mamma, Papa, Look what I did”, a cherubic 4-year-old boy rushed into the room excitedly. He hugged her in her knees as he looked up at her. 

“Come”, he continued pulling her saree. 

The child took them to a room where he had scribbled letter “A” in the nicely painted walls. They looked amazed at the wall and at his grinning face. 

They burst into laughter as he lifted the child up. “He will become a writer.”, she said. “Of Course not”, he responded. “He will be an engineer and build the world.”, he continued circling the child in the air as the child burst into squiggles of laughter.

                                                    ***** 

He opened the car door and held out his hand. “Be careful, ma.” 

She held his hand and got out of the car, watching out for the puddles. Two bikes zoomed past them and a cab brushed passed them almost ripping the car side mirrors. The sweeper was sweeping the road sending out dust clouds. She covered her face with the “pallu” of her saree, careful not to get into a coughing fit. 

The small black gate squeaked as he opened it. The red-bricked house was overpowered with tall buildings on all the sides. It remained dwarfed having the only greenery in the 50-mile range. As with any cosmopolitan city, Delhi was consumed by urban forest choking humans of fresh air. 

The front lawn, which once glorified of velvet grass was parched dry. He took her around the house. The kitchen garden was dry and flat. On the side was a big tree, swaying gently to the dusty breeze. It brushed the banana tree leaves every now and then. 

“Remember ma, the mango seed I planted with grandma”, he said. 

She smiled weekly, “Do you think papa..” 

She was interrupted by a car which stopped in front of the house. A gentleman got down dressed in a suit, contrasting to a hot Delhi weather. He shook his hands. 

“This is ma”, he said introducing his mother. 

The gentleman folded his hands and said “Namaste” respectfully. 

“Your dad was a man of high principles. He would have never let this happen.”, said the gentleman. 

He nodded and slid the front door open. It squeaked with lack of oil. He ushered them inside the house and put his arms around her as she stepped in. 

“There is nothing to inspect. I know your dad kept paid the taxes and kept documents properly.”, the gentleman said as he opened his briefcase. “The sale will be done quickly.” 

The gentleman took out a bunch of thick papers and went through them. “I need your signatures here and here”, he continued, spreading the papers on her writing desk and handing over a pen. 

She took the pen and signed the papers. Tears rolled down her cheek as she touched the wooden surface of the writing desk. 

He put his arms around her. “Don’t worry ma, I will treat you like a flower.”

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

The Plant In a Bowl



In response to Friday Fictioneer May 25 2018
(https://rochellewisoff.com/2018/05/23/25-may-2018/)



"What?", Barry held a golden envelope.

Barry knew Meg loved European history. She had won all the online contests of "Do you know the Royals?" But this cannot be true.

"You got invited to the wedding?"

"No... This is for the Royal wedding watch party at our local hotel at 5:00 am tomorrow."

"You? who has not seen a sunrise ever?", Barry blurted out.

"I know. Please wake me up", Meg pleaded handing over a bowl with a plant "and water this for me."

"This is the myrtle plant for our table centerpiece", she continued answering Barry's confounded look.




Friday, May 18, 2018

The Boots





In response to Friday Fictioneer - May 18 2018
(https://rochellewisoff.com/)







"I need to stop her from donating those."

Those boots belonged to her father, the best man to me. He used to walk me and talk to me daily.  I listened to all his work problems. Though I could never reply, I know I told him all his solutions.

I gave him the idea that made his book the best seller on Amazon.

I heard footsteps. Slowly I moved my paws and finally got my tail and rear legs stuck into the boots.

"Look Mommy, Puss in Boots!", her daughter screamed running towards me.

Monday, May 14, 2018

The Elephant




In response to Sunday Photo Fiction May 13 2018
(https://sundayphotofictioner.wordpress.com/)






"I wanna look like that little girl in the flower dress", baby elephant argued.

"Sweetheart, you look as cute", his mom replied softly.

"The other day, Leo and I did a race to the pond. When I finally made it near the water, I saw my reflection. It was horrible", the little eyes bulged to show the horrific discovery. "I was grey and sweaty with rough, wrinkled skin."

"Oh, sweety", his mom tried to hug him with her trunk.

"Leo has beautiful eyes and his yellow and black fur shines in the sun. Mine looks rugged after washing so much", he complained.

"Even Matt looks cute in spite of his monkeying around from tree to tree.", he continued."Is it because his mom keeps plucking his fur from his back? Then, there is Cathy, who chews all day with no exercise and she gets compliments too."

Just then, the little girl in the flower dress came running towards them, dragging her mom along. "Look, mom, a cute baby elephant."

Baby elephant blushed and moved closer to his mom.  "Happy Mother's day!", he said giving her a straw of grass.

Friday, May 11, 2018

The Photograph




In response to the Friday Fictioneer May 11 2018 
(https://rochellewisoff.com/)



"I can't believe you did not think about this?", she exclaimed annoyingly.

"Wait, I am sure I will make it work", he said assuringly.

"You are expecting a treasury board having perfect eyesight to grant funds for developing cheap eyeglasses for $2?"

"This will be a huge hit in the developing countries. We would really help people to see."

"Sure, if you can get some help from the board", she replied gingerly.

He held the photograph and smiled," This will do."

On the photograph was printed, "Would you enjoy the Empire State if you saw it like this?"

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Hot Air Balloon



In response to Sunday Fictioneer
(https://sundayphotofictioner.wordpress.com/)






"Hey! Stop", Jerry's manager was running behind him.

"Really? Is he doing this for the orange I ate?"

Jerry got a part-time job in the cafeteria while pursuing his studies in the city college. He would have preferred the job in the lab or the library but those were already taken.

Working in the cafeteria was not bad. His manager was an obnoxious, short-tempered,  guy who always wore a white t-shirt and khaki shorts. He wore suspenders to ensure his belly bulges sat inside and his shorts don't fall off. It also had some perks. Jerry would sneak in a sandwich or a fruit, while his manager was looking away.

Jerry raced down the road behind the campus. The road led to a valley with sprawling green meadows.

He could hear his manager panting and puffing and slowing down. "I will see you tomorrow", he called out as he rested against a rock.

Jerry continued to jog down. The air was festive and he could hear laughter. The sky was kaleidoscopic with colorful balloons floating. "That's the balloon festival everyone was talking about", he exclaimed as he grabbed a rope to jump in.

Monday, May 7, 2018

The Stairs



In response to the Friday Fictioneer - May 4 2018
(https://rochellewisoff.com/)




"Almost done", Aug205006  exclaimed excitedly to his sister over their video com. "This will help us run into safety if a zombie apocalypse from the Death Star happens."

"You believe in crazy things", Jan105003 replied, "I wanted to show you this from the e-library."

She came closer to the camera and was stunned at what she saw. "These stairs..."

"... will lead us to the capsule which will travel us to the new planet, Pluto", Aug205006 replied turning around to face her.

"Where did you ?"

"From the archives. Its a picture of Machu Pichu, which holds Lost city of Incas", she responded.

Thursday, April 26, 2018

The Overview



In response to Friday Fictioneer, Apr 27 2018 (https://rochellewisoff.com/)




"Is this a joke? I need scenic overview shots of the hiking trail", my manager stormed into my cubicle.

He sat on the chair opposite to me with his flesh bulging out a bit on the sides.


"I hike here every weekend and I sent my favorite spot", I responded surprised.


"4 legs, rough skin,  open mouth, smoke, green fur."


"The image scanner app concluded that?"


"Yes. Did you upload a picture of an insect?", he asked.


"No." I swiped through my pictures in cellphone and stopped at an amazing shot.


"You get the best sunset view here", I responded.

Monday, April 23, 2018

The Chemistry Test


In response to Sunday Photo Fictioner (https://sundayphotofictioner.wordpress.com/2018/04/22/sunday-photo-fiction-april-22nd-2018/)






"I need to do well",  I said to myself preparing my lab table.

Today was the last day of final exams. Tomorrow, I would be joining the "Pediatric Ophthalmologist for Techie Kids" as a technician. I really need to pass my chemistry lab test today to get my degree. The beakers and conical flasks rattled as I placed them on the table. The lab door squeaked open. I wiped my sweaty hands in a towel and put up my best smile. 

The examiner entered and shook my hands, "Wow, you are cold for a 90 degree weather outside."

He asked me to walk up to a table standing at the far end of the room. "Identify whats in the 3 glasses."

My brain had all the elements and compounds jumbled up.

I finally muttered, "The purple has potassium, the yellow solution is Sodium Chloride and the blue has copper." The examiner seemed pleased. So I continued, "The air pressure on the glasses put different weight due to volume of the solution and since the liquid is also evaporating, the solutions seems tilted."

He looked puzzled "Eh?"

"The tilt in the glasses, Sir"

"What tilt? You need your eyes examined".

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Disc Golf Basket




In response to Friday Fictioneer, Apr 20 2018
(https://rochellewisoff.com/)







Spot looked around, whimpering softly.

His mom hugged with her paws, "You will be fine in your home."

"Yeah! It's fun to chase everyone", his brother bawled. "Especially the birds who live in that thing with chains around."

"Its called a cage, silly", his mom corrected.

"What is a cage, mom?", Spot asked.

"Its a container for pets not like us", his brother guffawed, "but I guess you only need a cup."

Spot saw a cage coming towards him. He started shivering and his paws became sweaty.

"Him", said the cute cherubic girl with cage like earrings looking at him affectionately.



Sunday, April 15, 2018

The Piece



In response to Friday Fictioneer, Apr 12 2018 (https://rochellewisoff.com/)





"Look what I found", Jan 105003 exclaimed as she zoomed into Aug205006's space. "What?", her brother roller his eyes. "I am trying to finish my project."

"Its called a photo album and this is the house where great grand-dad and mamma lived", Jan105005 continued.

"It does not work."

"It does not click. You are supposed to flip the page."

"They were given names and not autogenerated at time of birth?", Aug205006 exclaimed. "And there are different parts of the house?"

"Po...r..ch..e", Jan105003 read out loud.

Aug205006's eyes widened. "That's the piece I am missing in my time machine."  

Friday, April 13, 2018

What's for dinner?


"Can I have something else?" I hear this every day, more than the greeting. In spite of a myriad of snacks and savories available at home, the child will always ask for something not at home. For dinner options, I hear back "I have it every day." That seems very odd to me since the first time I would have made for the child would have been 2 weeks back. "The problem with you is you over cook". Ok, so a recipe cannot repeat in 15 days. It needs to be cooked only when the taste buds has forgotten it completely. Innovation has always been a challenge and fascination to the mankind. However, cuisine innovation everyday stretches it too far. As the weekend comes closer, my mind boggles and juggles with all the meal choices for the next couple of days. Hopefully this new recipe in tasty.com which has been just been posted satisfies the hunger and expectations today. As my mom always said, we always win a person's heart via stomach.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Outside the Window



The sun was slowly setting, painting the sky a hue of orange and purple. There was a light breeze as soft clouds floated by. The weather was perfect for an evening stroll. A small boy was running in circles while his mother was trying her best to be close to him. A young man, beaming with pride and carrying two balloons which said "Its a boy" and "Its a girl" was walking towards the hospital entrance. She enjoyed looking at life outside the window. The sun had done its work today and given hope and life  to many on the Earth. Now it was time for it to rest. She looked away from the window and at the bed. It seemed to tell a similar story.