TURA
Walking on eggshells; Scorpion
———
To test an aspiring ninja, the floor of a corridor is covered with eggshell halves glued in place, a live scorpion under each one. The candidate must traverse the corridor naked.
Some really can walk on the eggshells without breaking them. Some leap from wall to wall, never touching the floor. Some cling to the roof beams. And of course, some fail.
I trained for months running on hot gravel to harden my soles, then marched straight down the corridor, trampling eggshells and scorpions alike.
They grudgingly passed me, but next year, they replaced the scorpions by razor-sharp, poisoned caltrops.
LIZZIE
It was on the news. They had finally killed him. A candle was lit in a memorial of sorts by the people, just in case. The Scorpion wasn’t happy. When he blew out the candle, no one reacted. It was the wind, they thought. But when he kicked the memorial setup, everyone scattered. Respect, he thought, respect. He was THE Scorpion after all. The kicking seemed to work. So, he kicked a trashcan nearby but the damn thing hit him on the face. A few kids started laughing. The nerve. Being a ghost is such a difficult thing these days.
RICHARD
– Sting in the tail –
A sudden, high pitched scream came from the kitchen.
‘Oh dear, maybe I should have warned her’, I thought, getting up to investigate.
“Just what is that?” she hissed, pointing at the box on the kitchen table.
“It’s a box”, I responded.
“And, what’s that inside the box?”
I sighed, “It’s a scorpion”.
This was obviously not explanation enough, so I forged ahead…
“I thought I’d have a go at keeping unusual pets, and you have to admit he’s a bit unusual!”
She remained unimpressed. “But, why a scorpion, of all things?”
I smiled wickedly. “It reminded me of you!”
TOM
I’m waking on eggshells, don’t that feel fine.
Welcome to 2345 Walking on Eggshells Championship. The news in this year’s completion is the addition of Microsoft Scorpions. After the commissioner allowed electric alligators, it only seems sporting to include semi-venomous insects. Also of note is the craftsmanship of the eggs themselves have been turned over the Blue People’s Republic of China who breed the last surviving chicken. Despite high pitched warning at the Texas Chicken Ranch their clucker was kill crossing the road. Eyewitness state I appear he was trying to get to the other-side. Let’s turn it over to Durant Durant on the field of broken dreams.
LISA
A Robin’s Egg
The crows circling overhead were so loud she didn’t hear the crunch as she walked but she felt the broken shell underfoot, a different sensation after the soft pad of moss.
A brief glimpse was all it took to recognise a robin’s egg. Its contents had probably been a foxes breakfast. She scooped up the delicate pieces and dropped them onto a horse chestnut leaf in her basket.
Later, after drying them on a windowsill she ground them to a fine powder: the robin brought news from the other side and this shell would be well used in many potions.
SERENDIPIDY
I thought I’d give woodworking a try as a new hobby, so I bought myself a lathe and some tools.
To my surprise, learning how to turn wood wasn’t at all difficult, and I very quickly became something of an expert at the craft.
Take a look at my latest creation: Now, that’s craftsmanship. A beautifully balanced, and absolutely gorgeously proportioned maple baseball bat.
It almost seems a shame to stud it with nails and shroud it in razor wire, although that’s a necessary evil.
Only then will it be fit for purpose.
Can I try it out on you?
NORVAL JOE
For hours, every time a patient was called back, Mrs. Withybottom stood, walked to the admission counter to glare at the nurse, turn and come back to her chair.
Linoliamanda patted her mother’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Mother. There has to be some news soon.”
A doctor in green scrubs approached. “Mrs. Withybottom. I’m Dr. Netheregions, the attending physician. Your husband is in an induced coma as we try to reduce the pressure on his brain from bleeding. He has been moved to the ICU. You can see him now, but I’m sorry to say, children under 16 are not allowed.”
ROSE
Jason crawled to the kitchen to keep his back from scraping the ceiling. He knew he was too tall, and that it was unlikely he would find a place comfortable for him – too expensive. He picked up an egg, careful of the way it distorted when rotated as he cracked it over a thin frying pan.
The Y-axis compression reached 300%, but thankfully it stopped there. How and why the error had occurred was lost to time now. Jason only wished the safeguards keeping humans from shrinking applied to the environments. Or maybe that they weren’t there at all.
PLANET Z
Usually I trim my nails down every few days, but now and then I let them grow for a week or two.
Seeing the white ends is strange to me.
How my fingertips feel when I scratch my nose or type on a keyboard.
Scraping a bit of food from a tooth.
I try to be careful when I trim them.
Half my life, I’ve had to bandage a fingertip because of an infection on one side or the other.
Squeezing it out, washing it out, wrapping it up.
And the not-so-gentile reminder every time I type and feel it.