Weekly Challenge #953 – PICK TWO Pebbles, Shiny, A monkey’s wedding, Footlights, Listen, Birthday cake

The next topic is Now and Then

TURA

The monkeys’ wedding
———
Go into the forest on a certain night and sit against a tree. Be still, very still, and wait.

First appear the heralds, stoats and weasels bearing lanterns which they set out as footlights. Then foxes and squirrels mingling unafraid, for on this night none bares its jaws to another. More creatures than you ever did see. At last, the monkeys to be wed, leaping and screeching.

The festivities last for days, yet but a single night passes.

Should they see you, you must flee, though they be little creatures, for even a Tyrannosaurus will succumb to ten thousand chickens.

TOM

Mom Love Him

Din Wo was a one hit wonder. He recorded a grandma song in the mid-50s. A staple of the Hawaiian tour trifecta: Lays, luaus, and light lyrics. Brandishing a foot long bamboo tiki mug he would stroll between tables at the Leaky Leaky Club sidling up to some matron and go into his signature song Shiny Pebbles. In the wine, make me happy Make me feel fine. Though he flashed a 1000-watt smile, inside he was cringing to the bottom of his soul. Exiting the floor, he would hum a selection from the Sex Pistols to cleanse his music pallet.

863

Let a hundred flowers bloom

Ren Chu was born on the Martian Base in 2095. Her father Ben Chu had been the colonial governor, but quit politics when the facts of the affair came out. She and her mother left the Governor’s mansion and moved from place until they ended up in the Mouse Trap. Ren grow up hard and fast. One day an envelope Arrived for San Chu with the red dragon stamp. She had caught the eye of Director Bin Wha. Ren Chu swiftly rose through the ranks. Her heroism gained her a seat on the ruling council. 2110 she was elected governor.

SERENDIPIDY

I taste salt on my lips, my cheeks burn.
Shiny wet pebbles crunch underfoot.
I pause, gazing out to sea and the distant, hazy horizon.
Before crouching to examine the pebbles at my feet.
I test each one, seeking the perfect candidate for my purpose.
Colour, sheen, size, shape, weight and balance are critically considered.
Many are rejected, but few are chosen.
Finally, I settle on a single stone and resume my long trek along the beach.
And, when we finally meet.
I’ll use it to smash your skull in.

LIZZIE

Pebbles, Shiny, and Footlights decided to order a birthday cake from the local store. They had tried to bake one. However, that didn’t work out well. Let’s just say that a burned down kitchen was a small portion of the problem. So, they ordered the cake, their angelic little faces looking up at the store owner. And they waited. And they waited some more. They became restless. Where’s the kitchen, they asked. Long story short, Pebbles, Shiny and Footlights ended up in jail for burning down the whole block. Talk about an upgrade, minus the birthday cake, they said, chuckling.

RICHARD

– The Gathering –
“I’m not sure about this place, it’s freaky” muttered my traveling companion.
He had a point. The Lair of the Golden Monkeys was legendary, almost mythical; wreathed in mystery and mystique.
“Listen!”
The dark passageways were filled with whispers… The words of half-forgotten stories echoed around us, the voices of writers, fragments of tales lost in time.
We felt like intruders, but we were here as guests. Invited to witness a monkey’s wedding.
Up ahead, shadowy figures loomed: Iron Monkeys, keepers of the written word, here to witness the gathering.
It had all the makings of a great story.
…

LISA

Birthday Parties
No day was the same. We celebrated Birthdays in a haphazard way – it was never specifically anyone’s birthday but probably weekly we would have a Birthday Cake and a party with traditional party games. Most days had singing or dancing
The world of work was a long way away. We cooked together and grew a lot of what we ate. We made and shared clothes. Communal living had once seemed as odd as a Monkey’s wedding but I soon found it hard to think of any other way of doing things.
I was thinking about my family less and less.

NORVAL JOE

The following day at the hospital, though the sun was out, it rained. Raindrops on Sabrina’s window looked like tiny, shiny pebbles. She sat in her bed, wearing a Hello Kitty t-shirt and pink cutoff sweatpants. Something about her seemed different and it wasn’t only her cheery expression.
“Something seems different. What is it?” Billbert asked with an embarrassed smile.
She pointed to her broken leg. “Because of your mother’s help my bones have healed so fast, they took all the pins out.”
All the metal was gone, and though she winced when she did it, Sabrina bent her leg.

PLANET Z

Peterson was well past the age of birthday cakes and parties.
While getting gas, he bought himself one of those cupcake packs, ate both of the cupcakes, and didn’t bother with any candles or anything.
His coworkers knew not to bother him about it.
The last time, he just looked at the cake and left for the day.
Nobody said anything the next day, and the next year, well, it was a Saturday, but the year after that, they didn’t do anything and nobody said anything.
Not even a card.
Because that’s how he liked it. Nice, calm, and quiet.

CHATGPT

At the zoo, Ava and her friends celebrated her birthday under a bright sun that made the pebbles in the path shine like tiny jewels. A sudden rainstorm turned into a “monkey’s wedding,” a sunshower that delighted the children. Ava’s favorite part was the monkey enclosure, where the playful animals jumped around, their fur glistening like footlights on a stage. They paused to listen as the zookeeper explained the phenomenon of a monkey’s wedding. The rain soon cleared, revealing a rainbow. As the zookeeper brought out a birthday cake, Ava grinned, knowing this would be her most memorable birthday.

Free samples

Sometimes, vendors will send representatives to grocery stores to offer up free samples.
I walk by them without acknowledging that they are there.
The worst are the wine vendors.
They step out and get in your way to offer wine.
“Would you like to try this wine?” they say, right in my face.
So, I respond “Is it good enough to justify flushing five years of sobriety down the toilet?”
If they say yes, then I say “And you’re just offering me a sample? Give me the whole bottle, you bitch!”
I have to order my groceries for pickup now.

Nice clean accident

I played a lot of video games with my friend Jamie.
He was supposed to be doing homework while undergoing dialysis treatments, but who would dare give a sick kid an F?
I was enough of a tissue match, and I gladly gave up one of mine.
And things were great. Best friends forever.
Until I got sick.
Kidney disease.
Which means Jamie’s also doomed.
We did some research, hacked some medical records.
Found a guy nearby who’s a match. And healthy, too.
We’ll break into his garage, cut his motorcycle’s brake lines, and hope for a nice, clean accident.

Unlisted Number

This looks like an ordinary statue, but it’s actually the legendary Golem of Prague.
Write a name on a piece of paper, put it in the Golem’s mouth, and the Golem will hunt that person down and kill them.
It’s not all that discriminating.
If you write JOHN SMITH on a piece of paper and stick it in its mouth, it won’t just go after the John Smith you want dead.
It will kill as many of them as possible.
Oh, look. It’s moving.
I stuffed the phone book in its mouth earlier.
I hope you have an unlisted number.

Frozen Vegetables

I know that microwave meals aren’t healthy.
Too much salt, too many preservatives.
Which is why my freezer is full of bags of mixed frozen vegetables.
Before, I had to dump a bag into a big mug, put a small plate on the mug as a cover, and microwave it.
If the bag was a solid block of veggies, it took a while to break it up to get everything into the mug.
Now, the bags are microwaveable, so I can microwave them and then dump the ready contents into the mug.
Either way, they also made excellent ice packs.

Good morning, Miss Cavanaugh

Back in my day, I went to a one-room schoolhouse.
And Miss Cavanaugh taught everybody, from toddlers to teenagers.
All of the kids were brought to the VR lab and hooked into the colony’s computer.
Jacked into our lessons individually, with a personalized lesson plan and curriculum.
With our own Miss Cavanaugh.
Everyone came out book smart, but even with breaks and evenings and weekends, we came out socially awkward as all hell.
They changed up the simulations to include friends, rivals, cliques, and bullies.
It works so much better now. Miss Cavanaugh agrees.
And she never wants to retire.

Jesusland

The Holy Land Theme Park doesn’t have any rides.
“The Gospel is the greatest ride of all time,” said the park’s owners. “Come take a ride with Jesus.”
There were protests at the opening of the park, calling their hiring practices discriminatory against non-believers.
Other protests called the park a giant fraud when the owners claimed religious tax exemptions.
And then there were those who accused the owners of trying to commercialize their faith.
One guy in a robe and beard overturned the security tables.
He was dragged away, and rumored to have been crucified.
So, how’s your Goliath burger?

Weekly Challenge #952 – Red Wine

The next topic is PICK TWO Pebbles, Shiny, A monkey’s wedding, Footlights, Listen, Birthday cake

NORVAL JOE

“It sounds like your dad is getting pretty bad.” Billbert paused before he asked, “Has he hit you?”
“No,” Mandi said, sadly. “Not yet, at least. If he starts to get too worked up, Mother gives him some red wine.”
“Wine!” Billbert gasped. “Is giving him alcohol a good idea?”
Mandi waved her hands. “No. It’s non-alcoholic. Daddy imports it from a vineyard in South Africa.”
Billbert stood. “I gotta go. You need to convince your parents to let you get back to school, or they’re going to send someone looking for you.”
Mandi nodded. “Right. That wouldn’t be good.”

SERENDIPIDY

I only grow grapes for white wine in my vineyard. Something to do with the soil, I believe, but I’m no expert, I just run the business.
However, I do know that red wine is far more popular with those who know their stuff and I can sell it for far more than the white.
All of which leaves me with something of a dilemma.
Nevertheless, I’ve come up with a solution: A secret ingredient that not only turns my wine red, but also enhances the taste.
It’s ferrous and deep.
You could say, it adds ‘body’ to the wine.

TOM

First Hangover

In my friend Tim’s backyard his Dad an otherwise homicide monster, build his son the coolest wooden fort. Later it became the home for 100 tumbler pigeons but that would be a different story. A shitty story that. Well, we 18 and we had moved from comic books to girls. And what better way to interact will the fairer sex then the introduction of red wine, Andre Cold Duck. The four of us squeegeed into the fort, four Dixie cups. Both Cindy and Helen nursed a single cup. Tim and I dusted off the other 700 ml. Morning came hard.

862

What happens next?

The what happen next of this story, is the phone call my roommate got, from his mother. It starts out with an excellent idea: we were going to perform a Moving Moon in front of the girl’s dorm. Let’s call him Jim, Jim is leaning out an open door as he drops his pants. The driver hits the gas. Jim tumbles into the street. We gather him up and head to the hospital. The med tech looks at Jim in confusion. “How is it you ripped your ass, but not your pants?” Bummer his mom was that hospital’s administer.

LIZZIE

He looked at the menu.
“Any red wine?”
The waiter shrugged.
“Any pizza?”
The waiter opened his eyes wide.
“Pizza?!” The waiter shook his head. “Here, Japanese food. If you want pizza, go to Italy.”
“How rude. I’ll just use my phone translator.”
He fired up the app and pointed the phone at the menu.
“Lots of dishes. Oh, wait a sec. Waiter!”
The waiter got back.
“Four bodies for 130 yen?!”
The waiter sighed.
“Yes, the other three are in the freezer. We’re just waiting for a fourth one.”
That’s when he decided to tiptoe out of there asap.

RICHARD

– ​An excellent vintage –
I always choose a bottle of wine from the menu by pointing, I tell the girls it’s because I don’t like to sound pretentious, so I keep it nice and discrete.
That’s not to say I don’t go through all the expected motions, giving it a good swirl, eyeing the depth of colour, checking the bouquet, and – of course – taking a good slurp to assess the palate before I’ll even think of accepting the bottle.
I know it doesn’t fool the sommelier, but it sure fools the girls.
And I always go for the cheapest house red.
Don’t tell them!

LISA

A Ritual Sacrament
Part of our ceremonies had a kind of communion aspect. We’d always sit in a circle for chants and singing. These assemblies made us feel like we really belonged. The rest of the world felt very far away from our safe little gathering.
He had a different cape for these sessions. It was white and long, skimmed the grass as he moved among us. They were often at night; lit by the stars. At the end we opened our mouths as if taking a wafer and red communion wine. He’d place a pill on our tongue as a drum banged.

PLANET Z

I don’t know what wine goes with what food.
I’ve never been a connoisseur or gourmet or any of that.
I know that I liked Chateu St. Jean’s cabernets, but only the even years.
The person at the store or the restaurant tells me to buy this or that.
And, yeah, they were right.
Too bad about the food I’d cook, it never quite came out right.
So I’d rely more on the restaurant than the fancy grocer.
These days, I don’t drink. (Health reasons, let’s leave it at that.)
So nothing goes with nothing. Just water, maybe iced tea.

CHATGPT

Anna swirled her glass of red wine, watching it catch the candlelight as the party buzzed around her. She was at her best friend’s engagement celebration, but her mind was elsewhere. The rich aroma reminded her of last summer in Tuscany, where she had met Marco. Those days were filled with laughter, late-night talks, and a promise to see each other again. But life had other plans. Now, as she took a sip, the bittersweet taste mirrored her memories. She smiled, knowing that every glass of wine would forever be a toast to love found and lost, but never forgotten.

The Temple of Dreams

Once a year, we go to the temple of dreams to dream.
The priests welcome us in, past a crowd of stumbling people
Sitting out in the hot sun, sweating out our sins.
Writing our prayers on strips of paper.
Lighting the sacred lamps, filled with sacred oil, and burning our prayers.
The smoke, rising to the gods.
As the sun goes down, we pass out, and we dream.
The gods tell us things, things for us and us alone.
Waking up the next morning, thirsty and hungry.
The priests usher us out the gates and welcome more pilgrims in.

Princess and the Frog

We should have never read “The Frog and The Princess” to Melanie.
Every night, she wants us to read her that story.
And now, her room has frog pillows, lilypad rugs on the blue carpet, and a frog night light.
She even made me put up frog wallpaper.
One night, Melanie snuck out to the swamp, looking for frogs.
I don’t know if she was trying to kiss them or put them in a bowl to keep as pets.
The sheriff found her, and it took her a while to shake off that pneumonia.
And longer for her frog obsession.