A quick short story in honour of Halloween (tonight) in Australia...
Halloween Queen
Her name was Sarah. She was the new kid in class with the girl next door looks. Tom could not believe his luck when she agreed to hang with him and his mates from chess club for Halloween. Tom's mum was working late that night as she did most nights, a single parent trying to keep a roof over her head and two teenaged boys fed. Tom was parent free, home with his two mates and brother almost through the boss battle of Mario Brothers when the doorbell rang. A little too eager for his mates, Tom ran for the door.
"That'll be Sarah," he announced as he disappeared.
"Whatever," replied Gery and Tom's younger brother Brad together.
"Jinx!" Brad shot with a grin, a moment before Gery tried to say the same.
The boys pelted each other with potato chips. When Gery cried "Stop damn it!" The other two whacked him on the arm.
"Jinx remember," smirked Brad smugly.
Tom ignored all this, the front door in his sights.
"Hi," Sarah said with a coy smile as Tom welcomed her in.
"Wow..." Tom sighed. "Um... I mean come in," he added hurriedly.
Sarah wore the Little Red Ridinghood costume from Crazy Dave's, the cheap shop in the town's Main Street. Tom tried to tell Sarah that she looked amazing, but for some reason what he was thinking didn't want to come out.
"You've dyed your hair?" Tom said in disbelief.
"Nice of you to notice, Tom," purred Sarah. "Back home they called me Queen of Halloween. Anything and everything for the character... Ya know?"
"Nice!" Replied Tom with a touch too much enthusiasm.
"So what are the plans for tonight?" Sarah asked as she headed deeper into the house. "Scariest night of the year..." She added, leaving Tom by the open door.
"We've almost reached the bonus levels..." Tom explained, hurrying after Sarah.
"Hi boys," Sarah smiled.
"Hey," said Brad.
Joe and Gery both waved enthusiastically.
"What's their problems?" Laughed Sarah musically.
Tom shrugged. "Beats me."
"I've jinxed Gery," explained Brad, shrugging as if it should have been obvious. "And I guess Joe can't talk to girls..."
"Guys this is seriously lame," said Sarah. "I'll give you all ten minutes to costume up... We're checking out the abandoned mansion.
"Sweet!!" Brad squealed. Joe and Gery both gave an eager thumbs up.
"Noooooooooo way!!!" Blurted Tom. "Remember Brad, we promised mum we'd never open the door tonight and we'd not leave the house..."
Brad pointed to Sarah. "So who let in Goldilocks?"
"Um... Goldilocks?" Questioned Sarah. "Firstly my hair is black, not blonde... Secondly the red hood... Thirdly the basket has got to give it all away..."
"Goldilocks? Blonde hair? Man... I can't believe I did not get that before now!" Murmured Brad, slapping himself on the forehead with a harsh "smack!!!"
"Dibs on the Luigi costume!" Gery stated, bolting for Tom and Brad's shared room. As he passed by all the boys he got a thump on the arm.
'This is lame...' Tom thought to himself, thirty minutes later as Little Red Ridinghood, Luigi, Mario and Gery and Tom dressed as ghosts stood outside the gates of the big, old house on the hill.
The gates "squeaked" loudly as the rusty hinges protested against their use.
"Come on!" Whispered Sarah, eagerly skipping up the gravel drive way. She was at the great front doors before any of the boys moved.
"Last one there has to kiss her," stated Brad, looking at the other boys before bolting up the drive.
Joe gave Tom an elbow to the ribs before rushing off too.
"See you there... Lover boy..." Laughed Gery.
Tom watched them all disappear into the old house. "This is stupid... We should be home..." He muttered. "Guys!! Wait up!!" Tom yelled as half a minute later he strolled up the drive at his own pace.
The door swung open soundlessly, a complete contrast to the gates. The parlour was gloomy, even darker than the night. As Tom stepped in he meakly cried "Brad? Guys? Sarah?"
There was no reply. Three noisy steps in and Sarah's voice was suddenly in Tom's right ear.
"You never asked what the basket was for..." The young girl asked.
The lights flicked on and Tom gaped at his friends hanging by their necks from the rafters.
"Queen of Halloween the newspapers called me back home... Fifteen dead and counting..." The voice in Tom's ear whispered.
"Huh?" Cried Tom in disbelief. As he turned around the knife tore through the sheet he wore and bit into his neck.
"Tom you sweet boy... The basket is for your head..."
Happy Halloween everyone!!!
Friday 30 October 2015
Wednesday 14 October 2015
A Lucky Prince
This started out as an idea for yet another story about just how much I adore my beautiful wife and amazing kids... And I guess our two cats as well... I have been a bit lax lately in the romance department and both my wife and I realised together that we have not been on a proper date for at least six months (not including our Wedding Anniversary in June - Thanks Ben and Maria!!!) Wednesday used to be our date night when we would try and make the night special, go out for tea or feed bath and bed the kids early so we could have a meal together at home... This is bad people!! Bad... BAd... REALLY BAD!!! It has been too much focus on work and not nearly enough focus on home. So I thought up this story idea that was supposed to be a message of love but quickly turned into a self reflection... Sorry darling... I'll try harder with the romancing... Feels good though to get this off my chest...
A Lucky Prince
Once upon a time a young prince lay in bed beside his beautiful and amazing princess, listening to the soft, sweet sounds of her slumber. He smiled as his whole world whirled around in his head. His smile was one of thankfulness for the prince knew that his princess had her own stresses and worries that would normally disturb her slumber or prevent her from falling deeply asleep and remaining that way for all night long. The rhythmic breathing of the girl beside him eventually lulled the young prince into sleep and as the worries of his world spun about in his thoughts the prince began to dream...
Two black knights danced amongst the weeds of the prince's castle home, Sir Freddy the larger and older of the pair hunted butterflies with surprising bursts of speed. The younger of the dark furred pair, sleek and slinky Sir Maximus was seeking to capture a bird or two without success. With a stern word the prince attempted to put an end to Max's hunt, but the knight would not heed his prince's demands and so continued to crouch amoungst the weeds using them for cover, attempting unsuccessfully to hide from his prey.
The prince watched his three young angels bounce about and play upon the trampoline their imaginations as much flexing and growing as their physical muscles as they bounded about each other. These three were the prince's pride and joy and one of his greatest worries was how fast they were growing up, not just in height but in worldly experiences. The prince wanted to give them everything, support their crazy hopes and dreams and to be able to provide for them with what ever they needed, both then and now and into the future. You can only give what you can afford to give away though and not everyone is born with a spoon of silver and an abundance that is always there ready to be given away. The prince thought of how small his castle was becoming and how the past attempts at moving on to somewhere bigger and better had so far not gone to plan...
The dream changed and the two knights and three angels were gone. In their place was a beautiful beach of white sand and clear crystal coloured waves lapping gently upon the shore. Turning away from the shore and the rhythmic, peaceful sounds of the sea the young prince was delighted to spy the love of his life resting upon a hammock in the shade of two palm trees. A glass of bubbles was in her hand and a book was on her lap. The princess motioned towards her prince to come and join her, offering him a glass of his own and a space upon the hammock where he might join her. The prince wondered how was this possible? Such a perfect escape, time away from the craziness that was their world, time to reconnect with this person who was his rock, his love, his kindred spirit... As he ran from the beach towards the hammock, this scene of fun, romance, the perfect escape the prince felt the sea drawing him backwards. Grey clouds of doubt filled the sky that had only moments ago been clear, blue, a tropical paradise... All the while though the princess urged her prince forward with affirmations of 'I know you can do it!' and 'Just a few steps more!!' As the prince heard the words 'I believe in you!!' he looked over his shoulder and saw the worries of his world rearing up like a great wave and crashing upon the shore, but he had freed himself of the stresses of that worry and now could see it as just the hurdles of life... Turning back the young prince discovered that the palms, the hammock, the drinks were all gone. What remained though was his amazing princess. He fell into her open arms, squeezed her tightly and kissed her passionately, sweetly, with an embrace of pure and utter love. "Darling girl you are my whole world!" the prince announced and he knew the words he spoke were true. With this girl in his life and everything else that had come after, he was indeed a lucky prince...
A Lucky Prince
Once upon a time a young prince lay in bed beside his beautiful and amazing princess, listening to the soft, sweet sounds of her slumber. He smiled as his whole world whirled around in his head. His smile was one of thankfulness for the prince knew that his princess had her own stresses and worries that would normally disturb her slumber or prevent her from falling deeply asleep and remaining that way for all night long. The rhythmic breathing of the girl beside him eventually lulled the young prince into sleep and as the worries of his world spun about in his thoughts the prince began to dream...
Two black knights danced amongst the weeds of the prince's castle home, Sir Freddy the larger and older of the pair hunted butterflies with surprising bursts of speed. The younger of the dark furred pair, sleek and slinky Sir Maximus was seeking to capture a bird or two without success. With a stern word the prince attempted to put an end to Max's hunt, but the knight would not heed his prince's demands and so continued to crouch amoungst the weeds using them for cover, attempting unsuccessfully to hide from his prey.
The prince watched his three young angels bounce about and play upon the trampoline their imaginations as much flexing and growing as their physical muscles as they bounded about each other. These three were the prince's pride and joy and one of his greatest worries was how fast they were growing up, not just in height but in worldly experiences. The prince wanted to give them everything, support their crazy hopes and dreams and to be able to provide for them with what ever they needed, both then and now and into the future. You can only give what you can afford to give away though and not everyone is born with a spoon of silver and an abundance that is always there ready to be given away. The prince thought of how small his castle was becoming and how the past attempts at moving on to somewhere bigger and better had so far not gone to plan...
The dream changed and the two knights and three angels were gone. In their place was a beautiful beach of white sand and clear crystal coloured waves lapping gently upon the shore. Turning away from the shore and the rhythmic, peaceful sounds of the sea the young prince was delighted to spy the love of his life resting upon a hammock in the shade of two palm trees. A glass of bubbles was in her hand and a book was on her lap. The princess motioned towards her prince to come and join her, offering him a glass of his own and a space upon the hammock where he might join her. The prince wondered how was this possible? Such a perfect escape, time away from the craziness that was their world, time to reconnect with this person who was his rock, his love, his kindred spirit... As he ran from the beach towards the hammock, this scene of fun, romance, the perfect escape the prince felt the sea drawing him backwards. Grey clouds of doubt filled the sky that had only moments ago been clear, blue, a tropical paradise... All the while though the princess urged her prince forward with affirmations of 'I know you can do it!' and 'Just a few steps more!!' As the prince heard the words 'I believe in you!!' he looked over his shoulder and saw the worries of his world rearing up like a great wave and crashing upon the shore, but he had freed himself of the stresses of that worry and now could see it as just the hurdles of life... Turning back the young prince discovered that the palms, the hammock, the drinks were all gone. What remained though was his amazing princess. He fell into her open arms, squeezed her tightly and kissed her passionately, sweetly, with an embrace of pure and utter love. "Darling girl you are my whole world!" the prince announced and he knew the words he spoke were true. With this girl in his life and everything else that had come after, he was indeed a lucky prince...
Monday 5 October 2015
Bounce... And crash!!!
We have had a wonderful day in Marlston, Adelaide checking out the Bounce there.
How do I explain Bounce to someone who has never been... It is a play center for children aged three to fifty-three with trampolines EVERYWHERE!!! There is a dodgeball area and a slam dunk area and an area with trampolines on the floor and walls (and almost seemingly on the roof as well)... There is only one major catch with Bounce... Only one person can bounce on a trampoline at a time... This means if you are bouncing around with your five year old daughter and three year old niece YOU will be the one who needs to make sure that you don't bounce on THEIR trampoline... Don't run from one side of the area to the next while racing your competitive nine year old son or eight year old daughter because it will be fate that a three year old and/or six year old will run across your path or just accidentally lose their balance and tumble in front of you. Other than this (which is completely unavoidable and all part of having these amazing kids in my life) Bounce is an awesomely incredible playground of aerial acrobatics, tricks, jumps, flips and cartwheels... Only if you're up for it though!! Not the cheapest day out but a wonderful hour of energy burning fun fun fun!!!!
How do I explain Bounce to someone who has never been... It is a play center for children aged three to fifty-three with trampolines EVERYWHERE!!! There is a dodgeball area and a slam dunk area and an area with trampolines on the floor and walls (and almost seemingly on the roof as well)... There is only one major catch with Bounce... Only one person can bounce on a trampoline at a time... This means if you are bouncing around with your five year old daughter and three year old niece YOU will be the one who needs to make sure that you don't bounce on THEIR trampoline... Don't run from one side of the area to the next while racing your competitive nine year old son or eight year old daughter because it will be fate that a three year old and/or six year old will run across your path or just accidentally lose their balance and tumble in front of you. Other than this (which is completely unavoidable and all part of having these amazing kids in my life) Bounce is an awesomely incredible playground of aerial acrobatics, tricks, jumps, flips and cartwheels... Only if you're up for it though!! Not the cheapest day out but a wonderful hour of energy burning fun fun fun!!!!
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