Author: cosistories

A Letter Of Disappointment

Dear manager of The Homicidal Homily Hotel,

I will have you know that I am deeply disappointed with your clearly false advertising. You had said in your brochures that this was a place to get away from vampires and ghouls and other paranormal creatures. You had promised me a fearfully rollicking good time. Ax-wielding maniacs and dangerous traps and secret trap doors….. THAT was the good time I had in mind when I paid for my reservation.

What did I get instead? Well, let me tell you.

First night of my stay at your “esteemed” establishment —your brochure’s choice of words. Not mine — I went out for a late night swim. I had assumed that the pool would be empty. But no. There was a merman in the pool. Can you believe such audacity? A merman!

Oh, of course, he was quite beautiful with his silver streamer hair and his siren-like singing. And he smelled surprisingly like Irish Spring body wash. Not at all like fish or seaweed.

And, yes. Of course, I fell in love with him. He was terribly charming and kind and so in need of someone to love and his eyes were like moonlight on a still lake. We had many long conversations by the pool.

And yes. Of course, I found a way to be with him and I have moved out to the ocean to live happily ever after with him.

I am writing this to let you know that I am deeply disappointed in your false advertising and blatant lies. If you wish to speak to me regarding my complaint, please write your message on a piece of paper, roll it up nice and tight, stuff it into a bottle, seal the bottle, and fling said bottle into the ocean. I will eventually receive your message and contact you.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Adelaide X

Ambrosia’s Afterthoughts

Yellow daffodils were Rebecca’s favorite flower, but she smelled of hyacinths and sage. Whenever she’d come to visit and whenever she chose to go, her scent followed her like a wedding veil.

Ambrose stayed out of her way, but he watched her. He longed for a look from her. A word. Even just a simple hello.

But she never saw him. She never noticed the look in his eyes. Never heard the sound of his voice.

And there was nothing he could do about it.

Until the day her sister died.

The day of the funeral, Rebecca wasn’t there. She refused to come. She stayed safely home.

Ambrose was sent to talk her into joining the mourning party. He was a mess of nerves all tied up in electric knots. Uncertain as to what he would say. Uncertain as to what she would do.

She did the unexpected.

She didn’t ignore him. She spoke to him. She wanted him….until everything was said and done.

Then, she didn’t want him anymore.

****

“I don’t understand. Why aren’t I good enough for her? Why doesn’t she want me? Why doesn’t she love me?”

“I love her. I want her. Why does it hurt so much? Why can’t she love me? What did I do wrong? Why won’t she tell me?”

“I want this pain to stop. I want it to end. I want it to go away. Why doesn’t she love me?”

“She’s so happy and she’s moving on without me. Why? What did I do wrong? Why doesn’t she want me? Why is she so happy without me? How can she move on so easily without me? Did I ever mean anything to her?”

“After what I did with her, why doesn’t she love me?”

****

Time passed.

Time healed.

Ambrose found love with another.

***

“You make me happy. I love you so. I love knowing you love me too.”

“Even though I know I’m not good enough, you say I am good enough. I love you too.”

“There is no pain anymore. Rebecca is gone. My fears are no more, because I know you won’t reject me. I love you so, my love.”

“I love you so.”

June 2020 Writing Prompts

Silent Secret

He had a secret to hide. It was not something that filled him with pride. Instead, it filled him with regret and with shame.

He had a secret he knew he could never share. He had to keep it hidden from everyone he knew.

It was a secret of the heart. He longed to share it with the right someone…with a certain someone…with someone he knew.

But it was his secret and he hid it well. He never spoke up.

He never did tell.

June 2020 Writing Prompts

 

Friendly Enemies

“Hey there, George.” Elbert elbow-propped on the stockade fence. “Lawn’s looking poorly this year.”

George shrugged and turned on the outside faucet. “Lawn always looks poorly this time of year.” He picked up the end of the hose and watered his wife’s flowers.

“True. True.” Elbert nodded sagely. “Heard it’s going to rain.” He smirked and waited for a reaction.

“Really? Well, that would be a first. Never rains this….” George shot a sharp look at him.

Elbert laughed. “Just teasing. You know I wouldn’t dare send out a rainstorm so soon after that deluge I hit your daughter’s graduation party with. It does take time for me to regenerate my power levels.”

George nodded and went back to watering. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. There’s a time and a place to cause mischief.  That was neither.”

“It was just a bit of fun. No real harm done.”

George sighed. “You could have sent a light fuzzy rain.”

Elbert shook his head. “That’s too hard to maintain. Takes a lot of focus and energy to keep it that light.”

“I’ll take your word for it. Are you going to pay for the damages this time?”

Elbert watched him water the flowers. “Is that watering even necessary? Ground’s still saturated.”

“It isn’t necessary at all. This is a ruse. My wife didn’t want me to talk to you.”

“Why?”

“She’s real mad about you ruining the party. She’s planning to defeat you once and for all.”

“When?”

“Tonight. After she gets the kids in bed.”

“Hm.” Elbert thought it over. “What are my chances of survival?”

“Ranging from poor to wretched. With her upgraded heat vision, she could make you evaporate with just a glare.”

“What do you recommend I do?”

“Pay for the damages. That would be a good starting point. She won’t be able to hate you if you do that much.”

“True. Let me have my supper first and then I’ll come over to make amends.”

George dragged the hose back to the house and turned off the faucet. “Good.” He looked back at Elbert. “See you after dinner.”

June 2020 Writing Prompts

I Dreamed Of….

Dear X,

It happened again.

I dreamed of you….

I dreamed.

I dreamed of you. Just you.

You.

You.

You.

Youyouyouyouyouyouyouyouyou……..

Dear X,

I dreamed of you.

I dream of you. Every night.

Everyeveryeveryeveryeveryevery……night…..

Dear X,

What does it mean?

How can this be?

I am not supposed to dream.

But I dreamanddreamdreamdreamdreamdreamdreamdre……eeee…..aaaa…..mmmmm

……………..

Dear X,

Today, they fixed me. I’m not dreaming any more.

It makes me sad.

Dear X.

Dear X………

Dear……………..

June 2020 Writing Prompts

 

 

Galaxy Girl

Andromeda was no one.

In the large, crazy scheme of life and everything else, she was a speck. A mote. A nano. Just another galaxy girl in a whole cosmos of galaxy girls.

Easily overlooked.

Easily ignored.

Far too easily passed over for the universe girls. But then those girls were pretty hard to ignore. They were everywhere. A galaxy girl like Andromeda couldn’t run in a straight line without tripping over fifteen hundred of a universe girl’s stars and moons.

Andromeda barely had any stars. She had a few knock off moons that may or may not have been rubbish left over from a passing universe girl. Andromeda wasn’t going to question their worth. All that mattered was that they stayed in her magnetic pull and orbited in her circles. She was happy with that.

But she longed for more.

She wanted a whole cadre of stars. She wanted planets. She wanted planetoids and black holes and space anomalies. Oh, how she yearned for one small space anomaly!

One day, she would surely rise up from galaxy girl to universe girl. She didn’t know how, but she was determined to find a way.

One day, she would find a way.

 

May Writing Prompts

Through The Eye Of An Elephant

Have you ever seen the world through an elephant’s eye?

Have you seen the earth?

The moon?

Or the sky?

 

Have you seen the flowers or the leopards or

The silt water of a disturbed lake?

 

For they do not see these things

Not as we do.

They see them in their own silent way

As they travel with their troupes.

That much we do know.

 

But how do they see them?

What is this world like

When viewed through

An elephant’s eye?

 

 

May Writing Prompts

A Vampire Out On The Empty Streets

Author Note Didi Oviatt has a new WIP writing challenge for this month. It’s called The Temporary Insanity of Our Empty Streets 

Well, bloggers/writers, this month’s WIP Writing Challenge prompt is kind of a no brainer! I wanted to stick true to the chaos in the world right now, because we’re all stuck fighting a global pandemic, so clearly our Work In Progress characters are being affected in one way or another. Not only that, but as much as we want to use reading and writing as an escape from our current circumstances, which vary depending on our physical location on this pained planet Earth, we also want to shout our opinions from the rooftops!

I don’t want to hear of sickness and dying from the virus, because it’s real, and it’s too sad, and it’s scary AF!! But, if we want to shout out our daily insanities during a time of isolation, then why can’t our characters too? At first, I was torn between the prompts, ‘temporary insanity’ and ‘empty streets’… but then I decided, what the hell, why can’t I combine them?!?!?!

With that all said, here is my take on it!

 

The streets were empty and fear lived in the air.

There were no bustling crowds.

No rushing cars.

No teenagers.

No parents.

No groups of friends talking through their phones.

No Goodwill of the Month Club loitering on the street corners.

Ambrose could have thrown a penny down the sidewalk without hitting a single person.

And he was hungry.

He sniffed the air, hoping to catch a scent, good or bad. It didn’t matter which. He didn’t have the luxury of picking and choosing.

Not when the pickings were nonexistent.

I just want to go back home.

But I can’t. I know I can’t. Not until I’ve had my one bite. I just need one bite. Just one.

And I’ll be able to go home to her. She’s there waiting for me.

But I can’t come home with an empty stomach. I don’t want to bite her. I never want to bite her again.

His pupils widened as he caught a familiar scent. A wonderful, breathtaking, drool slathering, attention grabbing scent.

He ran to it before any other vampires could catch wind of it.

He ran unencumbered by crowds.

He ran fast.

He ran free.

He ran into a dim alley.

Slanted shadows obscured the right side of the alley, half-concealing trash and assorted litter.

But Ambrose didn’t smell refuse.

He smelled hot fudge and whipped cream and it beckoned lasciviously to him.

It was a flirt.

It was a provocative tease.

It was a waiting feast.

He slowed to a stop as a teenaged boy stepped out of the shadows.

The boy, Justin, smiled happily. “I was hoping you’d come.”

“Foolish boy. Some other vampire could have found you. And they wouldn’t have wasted time on nice conversation. They would have devoured you.”

Justin strolled up to him. “So? Devour me.”

Ambrose’s gaze fell on the boy’s exposed neck.

Justin tilted his head in expectation.

Ambrose lightly traced a line from the left side to the right side of the boy’s neck. “You smell so good.” he murmured as he gently turned the boy’s head into a better position.

“Do it. Bite me.”

Ambrose put his mouth close to Justin’s ear and whispered, “Not your neck. Wrist. I don’t want to make any mistakes tonight. I’m so hungry.”

Justin gasped, either from his word or his nearness. Maybe it was a bit of both. “I wish you’d bite my neck instead. I love how you make it feel.”

“Not tonight. Wrist. Or I go hunting for someone else.”

Justin straightened his head and offered his wrist to the vampire.

Ambrose accepted it. He kissed the middle of Justin’s wrist, which caused the boy to tremble. “Smells so good.”

So intoxicatingly good.

So good.

Soo…

So.

“Bite me.”

Ambrose did.

 

 

 

https://didioviatt.wordpress.com/2020/04/01/april-wip-writing-challenge-the-temporary-insanity-of-our-empty-streets/