- Richard
- Lisa
- Lizzie
- Norval Joe
- Serendipidy
- Tom
- Planet Z
LIZZIE
Madly, she coughed.
Madly, they ran. Madly.
Everyone nodded, visibly concerned.
The rabbit, trumpeting something and giving everyone the side-eye.
Alice, arms crossed, a mushroom on her head, looking bored.
That’s it, said a sullen voice from the back of the room.
Everyone nodded, visibly concerned.
But that means nothing, absolutely.
Madly, they waved.
Madly, they ran. Madly.
The sullen voice shouted. What is this all about, he said, are you all mad?
The portraits froze. The madness slid down the wall.
Everyone stared, visibly shocked.
Alice looked aloof.
The rabbit tried to look inconspicuous.
Madly, all so madly mad.
RICHARD
Outage
They said I was mad. Said I was living in the past, doomed to fail. Argued I should drag my business kicking and screaming into the twenty first century.
I stood firm, surrounded by filing cabinets, card indexes and analogue phones.
You may think it’s foolish, communicating with clients the old-fashioned way, by letter, asking them to drop into the office for meetings, but people humour me; they even seem to like it.
And my business thrives.
Especially today.
Everyone else running around madly, trying to cope with no email, video conferencing down, network phones crashing.
Business, as usual.
SERENDIPIDY
He was madly in love with me.
Me? I was just mad.
He showered me with gifts, affection and attention.
I would smile sweetly, say all the right words, and die a little more inside.
At the beach one night, he dropped to one knee, and presented me with a ring.
I snapped.
I squeezed his neck until I felt it crunch.
Then squeezed some more, to be sure.
I sold the ring.
It’s not that I’m afraid of commitment, or that I particularly disliked him, he was a lovely man, really.
But, as I said before, I’m just mad.
NORVAL JOE
Bright pink blotches appeared on Mandi’s normally pale cheeks. She waved her hands madly in front of Sabrina’s face and shouted, “Hello! Don’t be stupid. There are five tickets. If Billbert’s parents don’t go with us, Bobbi and Candy make five.”
Shocked by Mandi’s unexpected behavior, Sabrina stepped back, tripped on her own feet and fell back onto the couch.
“Wait. Both of you,” Billbert said. “I can’t go. My parents expect me to stay at home while they’re away, not running around the countryside.”
Sabrina got up. “Don’t be spineless, Billbert. If you don’t go, we’re going without you.”
TOM
Bitter as an empty glass 3
The barkeep decided it was time to break out the good stuff. He filled two shot glasses with a bottle from another century. “I believe it’s time to ask what happen next?” I drained the shot and continued. I stayed all night. Everyone in the line drift in. Even Stein showed his face, told the charge nurse the Theater company would cover Mary’s expenses. Everyone was madly in love with Mary and it show on their troubled faces. I had passed out in a chair. A hand touched my shoulder and a voice said Mary was going to make it.
LISA
A Tale as Old as Time
Harriet wanted love. She wanted someone to be madly and deeply in love with her. She manifested hard then went on Tinder. She browsed, saw Paulo. Swiped right. Had a date. And decided he wasn’t the one.
Paulo was at her door the next day to walk to work with her. He met her at lunch. Left messages throughout the day. Was at the pub staring at her when she went out with friends later. She blocked his number. He emailed. He followed her everywhere.
Manifesting’s great but, like writing a novel, you do need to choose your words carefully.
PLANET Z
Janice completely disappeared from Jacob‘s life. Every photo of her was gone. And she disappeared from group photos that she had been in. Everything she owned, her clothes, her bathroom stuff, and even her car were gone. Everything in the kitchen, that was hers was gone, and they were all Jacob’s favorite brands of things that were left. Every important document, even the notes on the refrigerator were all Jacob’s. It as if she had never existed. Jacob picked up his phone and was about to call her, but she was gone from there as well. She… Who was she?