Short Stories

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#8

Two nights ago I had a dream that led me to believe that indeed, that when it comes down to dreams, The Sky Is The Limit.

(:

I was standing at the edge of a lake. I don’t remember the exact details of my surroundings but I do remember that the water reassembled a tormented sea.

|:

I picked up a stone, or perhaps it was a tennis ball… Anyway, I threw the object as hard as I could to try and reach the other side of the lake.

I aimed high.

But the ball only ascended a few hundred feet before it rebounded violently and crashed into the water.

/:

I guess The Sky really is The limit.

I’d never consciously challenged that thought before.

And until I do, I’ll be grounded.

):

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Chapter 4

                                  4

At first, we thought that they were crazy. We laughed at them, discussed how miserable they must be.
As the days passed by, I began to notice similarities. We seemed more and more alike, I was beginning to notice things that we had in common.

“How could this be?” I asked myself. I was too scared to ask if she felt the same way, I mean, what if she thought I was trying to insult her?

How could I possibly think that we were anything like them?

I spent a sleepless night in thought about my concerns. She always went to sleep before me, I’d often drink, and read about the intricacies of life for a few hours, until around 5am.

5am is when I do my serious thinking.. As I slip between sleep and the tail end of the nth glass of rum, I think.

Then I concluded,

My ability to empathise, was starting to take over my life.

I should learn to be more selective over who I care for.

                                                                 

                                                                    49

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Epilogue

“So, why are you selling?” asked the voice on the other end of the phone. “They are just too big” replied Paul. “They take up too much space, they are heavy, and I’m fed up of explaining what they are and why I have them”.

He paused.

The signal from his mobile phone caused the familiar ‘dadada, dadada, dadada duh’ interference noise to hiss from his television speakers. Startled, Paul added ” I need a quick sale, I have an important meeting in a few days and I need a fresh start”.. he exhaled.. “clear my mind y’know?”

“Hmm…” pondered the voice on the other end of the phone. “Sold”.

Over the next few days Paul began to notice many differences. His life became much easier. His everyday routine became more and more efficient; Wake up, breakfast, work, lunch, work, pub/solitary drink, home, dinner, sleep.. After a while Paul found that he did not even have to think about what he ws doing. Nobody looked at him strangely anymore. Nobody asked him ‘annoying’ questions. His days were  relaxed –>(monotonous)<–, and his evenings calm –>(uneventful)<–.

The day of Paul’s ‘Important meeting’ came.

“Right then” said a man with a blue striped shirt and a pink tie. “Just one more question and then I think we can wrap up the interview” Paul stared thoughtfully at the man’s tie then replied “Excellent, fire away”.

“Ok” responded the man, adjusting his tie. “Here at (blank), we like to associate ourselves with creative people”. “We aren’t scared to think outside of the box”. “Tell me Paul, what are your dreams and aspirations?”

Paul paused for a long time..

“Erm.. I..” He paused again. “I don’t have any”.

“Ha”, the man smiled a smile which soon turned into a frown after it was confronted by a blank expression.

“Oh, that’s interesting” said the man in the striped blue shirt and pink tie, “Why not?”

Paul paused again. He remembered the voice on the other end of the phone. He remembered the sound of the interference, now mocking, taunting.. laughing?

The voice echoed inside his head.

“So, why are you selling?”

From ‘The Man Who Sold His Dreams’

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Photosynthesis

Everyday, a young girl sat under a little lemon tree to draw. One day the little lemon tree said to the girl “Hey, why do you come and sit with me every day?”

The girl looked up at the tree and said “Well, you must know what photosynthesis is, right…?”…

“Yes” said the little lemon tree “I use the light from the sun to change H20 and CO2 into O2″…

“Technically”, replied the girl, still concentrating on her drawing, “You absorb the goodness of the raindrops, and the toxic carbon dioxide and change it into oxygen, allowing the people around you to breathe…”

“OK…” prompted the little lemon tree… The girl stopped drawing and said “Don’t you see, my little lemon tree” she paused, “You truly are my source of in-spiration”…