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PLEASE READ short story (only 2000 words)

November 30, 2020

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There in her living room, Francesca sat on the couch looking at the news for the first time in a couple of weeks or so. She tried to avoid looking at the news since most of the time, it was just depressingly boring. Though sometimes, if she was lucky, she would hear some fantastic lie from the one and only president "...more people are going to die if we allow this to continue to happen…there's gonna be suicides. People wanna go back to work."

Great, more news about people dying. She thought. She turned off the TV and went into her room. She usually went into her room for quality alone time so she could just sit in the silence and think but lately the silence was loud, fighting with her thoughts and it seemed to be driving her crazy. It's safe to say her thoughts were negative.

Some people were getting sick.

Some were dying.

And some were losing loved ones.

It was practically impossible to think of anything positive so she didn't think of anything at all. Instead she took a nap. To be fair, her usual "thinking sessions" ended with her taking a nap anyway so it wasn't unexpected. She later woke to her mother calling for her to come down and help with groceries.

"Yaknow if you slept less during the day, you would probably be able to sleep better at night."

"Yea but I get more done at night anyway."

"If you say so."

Over the next couple of weeks Francesca continued her routine. Wake up. Eat. Nap. Spend the night being productive instead of sleeping. And repeat. This, of course messed up her sleep schedule but she didn't have anywhere to be the next morning anyway. Nor did she care. It's not like her sleep schedule was on track to begin with. This routine became her "ordinary". Her "norm". Just another thing to add to Frannie's unusual life. Nothing was ever simple. Nothing could ever be explained in a couple of words. That's why oftentimes, she caught herself saying "it's a long story…" and never quite being able to tell the story completely and accurately. Especially because there was always some part of the story that she didn't fully understand herself. That was especially true with her most recent, less than normal experience.

"Hey Frannie, I've got to go pick up my medicine from the drugstore. Try not to burn the house down?"

"Yea, I'll try my best mom," She replied with her signature angelic grin.

From the living room window, she watched as her mother slowly pulled out of the driveway. According to her she had "watched everything there is to possibly watch on TV" and according to her, she's "not able to think as well during the day", so you can probably guess what she did. Yeah, she took a nap but she didn't wake up to her mother calling her to do some chore or help her with something. She didn't wake from anyone calling her or any noise startling her.

She tossed and turned, throwing the blanket off of her. It was too hot but somehow at the same time it was too cold. She opened her eyes slightly. Her view was hazy, as one's view is directly after waking up from a restless sleep. But what she saw was not the result of waking up from a restless sleep. There was someone sitting on the side of her bed. An intruder? She rubbed her eyes in an effort to clear her eyesight. It looked like a child. Had her mother accidently left the door unlocked when she left? She sat still, plotting her next move. The child had their back to her. She hesitantly attempted to sit up without moving the bed or making any noise, as to not startle the child but she was unsuccessful. With a quick motion, the child turned their head towards her.

She couldn't believe her eyes. They must be deceiving her! There sitting on the edge of her bed was not a child. It was small - no more than four feet with silky hair. A mixture of black and gray. Their brown skin radiating a glow that Francesca had never seen before in her life. Their eyes, a reflection of a beautiful sunset. All of which coud have just made them an extraordinarily odd child with a nice pair of contacts but then she looked at her ears. They curved upwards ending in a semi-point with a silver hoop.

"It's about time you woke up," She squealed in a cheerful voice which took Frannie by surprise. "You humans sleep for so long."

"...yeah, I guess we do." they stared at each other for a bit. The young "child", open eyed and curious. Francesca, open eyed and in utter complete shock. She had to be dreaming. She rubbed her eyes with great vigor but when she opened them the child was still there with her beautiful sunset colored eyes.

"What are you?" She asked.

"Well, isn't it obvious? I'm a fairy...you humans are kinda dumb."

"I'm not dumb." She snapped defensively, "Why are you here- How are you here?"

"Through a portal, silly."

"Okay, why? Why are you here?"

"Oh yeah," She began in a more serious tone, "My mother. She needs you."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, well um, not you specifically. She needs a human."

"Okay, Then go outside and find her a human. I am sorry to inform you that I am not the man for the job. I'm going back to sleep." She grunted, turning away to lie back down.

"Hey! Wait. No. You can't just turn your back to me. I need your help."

"No, you said yourself that you need a human. Go find a different human!"

"Yeah, well my portal led me here so I need your help and you're gonna help me because I don't have time to find someone more willing to help and more pleasurable to talk to. My mom is in dire need of your assistance and if you don't help her it will stay on your conscience for as long as you live." Steam seemed to have poured out of her ears as the words spit out of her mouth.

"Fine. What am I supposed to do?"

"Thank you for your cooperation. I thought I might have to kidnap you." She chuckled. "I'm kidding. First we'll have to find somewhere safe and go through the portal back to my homeland so that we can get you to my mother."

"Isn't it pretty safe here."

"If it was safe here, I wouldn't have said that we have to find somewhere safe. C'mon, Keep up."

They walked around and ended up in the garage. In her small hands she held something the size of a compact. In a soft whisper she said a couple of words Francesca couldn't make out but nothing seemed to have happened. They were still there in the freezing cold garage. Same place they stood just seconds ago.

"Well?"

"Well, c'mon. Don't just stand there. We've work to do." She said stepping forward and instantaneously disappearing. Taking a deep breath and leap of faith, Frannie too, took a step forward. What she saw next made that trespassing fairy look boring and more than ordinary.

Everything fascinated Frannie and reasonably so. In the far distant she could see a beautiful waterfall but it wasn't like the ones she had seen before, the water looked smooth and metallic. There was a slight breeze and she felt warmth but there was no sun in sight. The air smelled sweet, like hot cinnamon and vanilla. There wasn't anys sound of traffic like there was where she lived instead there was a mellow wave of music coming from the right of her, behind a forest of tall trees. She felt compelled to follow the melody, as if she were in a trance but was immediately dropped back into the prison cell of reality by the spitting of the fairies harsh words.

"Hey human. Will you stop gawking? Let's get a move on."

"Hey! I have a name you know."

"Oh, do you now؟"

"I do." She stated. Eyebrows raised and chest puffed.

"Care to share it with me؟ "

"Francesca. The name's Francesca."

"Maurelle... now that we have that out of the way, would you like to carry on or should we trade life stories too?" Francesca stared at her blankly. "As you please. Come this way." She said leading the way into the trees opposite of the enchanting music. They walked in silence for a bit before arriving at a small cottage like place surrounded by luxurious greenery.

"Okay, this is it."

"Alright then, I guess we should get going then."

"Yes. Yes you should get going."

"No, you're coming with me!" Francesca exclaimed.

"Look, I'm not going in with you but you got this okay?"

Francesca was hesitant. She had no valid reason to trust this creature but once again she took a chance and took a step forward. One step after the next. Deep breaths and before she knew it, she was standing at the door. Once more she took a leap of faith and a step into the cottage looking home.

It was small, absolutely but it was cozy. There was an open space she assumed to be the living room. It was just as beautiful as the outside. She continued walking. Down a hallway passing an eating area. There were no doors but she found a small room that she could only guess to be a bedroom. Her hands shook while beads of sweat trickled down her face but she continued.

Outside Maurelle anxiously awaited results. She didn't know how long the process would take but hoped that it would be over soon so she busied herself by picking fruit off the nearby tree. Two buckets were full when she heard a voice from behind her.

"If we're done here, I'd like to go home now if that's okay with you."

"My mother, how is she? Is she well?"

"Yours is fine, Mine however will be worried sick and wondering where the hell I've been if I don't get back soon!"

"Thank you," Maurelle sighed.

They half-walked, half-ran back through the forest of trees right back towards the enchanting music.

"This music, it is beautiful. Where is it coming from?"

"Deep into the woods. It is to keep humans away from our society just in case they somehow find an entrance portal without being escorted by one of our own. It's quite genius actually."

"It is and it really works. What happens to the humans that follow it."

"They are caught and then judged by our government accordingly."

"Oh! Makes sense."

"Yeah, I'd love to tell you more but we should really be getting you back to your home." and they did exactly that .

Moments later, they stood in the cold garage just in time to hear her mother pulling into the driveway.

"Will I ever get to come back?" Francesca asked in curiosity.

"No," She chuckled, "I am truly sorry but we are also truly thankful, my mother and I. You've helped us a great deal."

"Glad to help and thank you as well. At least now I won't die of boredom."

Her mouth curved into a slight smile and before she knew it, Maurelle was gone. For days, Francesca felt as light as a feather or as if she had been kissed by an angel but she kept the reason as to why, all to herself. Frannie was odd, surely enough, but she wasn't dumb. She knew that if she told anyone of her "discovery" she would be labeled crazy or a freak and she liked to be called Francesca instead. Five years from now she would think back to this day and recall it as just one hell of a dream but for now she basked in the memory of the enchanting music and the peaceful waterfall. Once more, she was unapologetically grateful she had said yes to lending a hand. She felt as if she was on top of the world, like she was a completely new being. And that she was. She had seen what most others had not and if she could help a fairy in need then she could do anything… including her math homework...

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Magic Pen: Short Story 2000 words

givonwayne (49)in #writing • 5 years ago

Sean Vacca pressed his way through another morning, following the cracked sidewalks like a programmed warehouse robot. It was another grey Tuesday in November, and it was time for the weekly junior college faculty meeting.

The meeting weighed heavy on Sean's faded dreams. He had already burned through his allotted absences during the first semester. The darkness that haunted his soul seeped through every crack and line in the wood paneled faculty room.

Dr. Caun was the president of the Jacksonville State Junior college. He began the session with his usual monotone rants about tight budgets and complaining parents. The senior faculty members made some attempt to be interested, but their heads soon began to nod like a bobblehead on the dashboard of a low-rider.

Sean's head bowed low and his long dark bangs hung like a curtain to hide his web surfing eyes. The crack of a ruler struck the table and broke through the static noise. The loud pop startled him and Sean's smartphone fell to the floor.

"Mr. Vacca! Mr. Vacca! What are your thoughts on the budget crisis? Does your job not mean anything to you?" Dr. Caun demanded.

Sean composed himself, brushed the hair away from his eyes and half-heartedly replied, "Yes."

Dr. Caun shook his head and asked, "Yes, yes what?"

"Yes to all." He said with a dramatic flair while waving his arm.

"Well then. Thank you very much young Mr. Vacca." replied Dr. Caun sarcastically. He continued and said, "Thank you for volunteering to lead the local writer's club at the library."

"What? Wait, I never agreed to babysit any wannabe writers."

"You said, yes to all." mocked Dr. Caun as he mimicked the previous dramatic expression.

Dr. Caun felt that the Junior College could stand some positive community involvement and had intended on asking for a faculty member to volunteer. This opportunity for publicity was too good to let pass.

The tension in the room snapped like an old guitar string as the other faculty members tried to hold their snickers and smirks. It was just another loss in the game of life for Mr. Vacca. He could not imagine what kind of victory was waiting just around the bend.

The following Saturday was the first meeting where he introduced himself to the group of amateur writers. The monthly meeting was held in the basement of the old downtown library. The cold room had about 20 folding chairs, set up church style.

It was already 10:45 and there was only 3 people occupying the seats. The nervous Mr. Vacca acted busy and wrote his name on the whiteboard. He shuffled a stack of papers that he had brought to hand for a learning activity.

"Hey Mr, we usually start at 10:30." said Jimmy Necot. Jimmy was a leathery, tan, farmer. His starched pressed jeans and pointy boots set him apart from his peers. People called him little Jimmy but that did not seem to bother him. He sat on the second row of seats with his green, John Deere cap in the chair right next to him.

"Is this it? Where is everyone?" asked Mr Vacca as he looked at his phone, and then to the clock on the wall."

"There are usually a few more folks here, but some people probably stayed home because of the cold weather." answered Susan Graham. She is an elderly woman of some means, wearing a mink shawl and a huge black handbag. The aluminum walker that she used, stood beside the last chair in the row, and partially blocked the aisle.

Mr. Vacca walked to the door and then into the hallway and looked for anyone who might lost or running a few minutes late. He noticed some people had set up display tables for a woodworker's art exhibit. There were many items already on the tables including decorative bowls, toy trains and even some musical instruments. When he turned to go back into the room, he accidentally knocked a beautiful wooden ink pen off the table.

"That's ok honey." said a very large woman standing on the other side of the table. She was wearing blue jean overalls covering a bright pink t-shirt. "You can keep it. I didn't even make it. My pappy said that he found it when he was working on the Panama Canal. It's made from some kind of illegal rosewood. That thing has given me nothing but a headache. I can't even sell it, and, I am tired of lugging it around. You will be doing me a favor by taking it, darling."

Mr. Vacca studied it closely for a moment, then put it in his shirt pocket and said, "Well thank you ma'am. This is the first nice thing that has happened to me in a long while. He went back into the room and introduced himself.

"Hello everyone my name is Sean Vacca. I will be leading this write club for a while and I hope that we can all learn a thing or two."

"What do you do for your day job?" asked Paul Krisp as he neatly folded his business suit jacket over the back of a chair.

Mr. Vacca cleared his throat and said," I currently teach literature at Jacksonville State."

"I thought they shut that place down." said Jimmy

"Oh no. That school will outlast us all." replied Susan.

"It is a drain on our economy and the kids that go there are a nuisance to this entire county." complained Paul.

Mr. Vacca handed out the papers that he brought for the planned activity.

"As you can see, I have prepared examples of famous opening sentences. What I would like for you to do, is write a similar sentence that you would use, if you were going to write a novel about your life and had the chance to live it all over again. You can begin now."

A few minutes passed by when Jimmy Necot spoke up, "Excuse me, Mr. Vacca. I seemed to have lost my pen. Do you have one that I could borrow?"

Mr. Vacca reached into his shirt pocket and handed Jimmy the pen that he had picked up earlier in the hallway. When Jimmy started to write his opening sentence, something very strange happened.

The black ink that made the letters on the white paper began to spread like drops of iodine in a bucket of ammonia. It diffused to the edge of the paper, across the floor and finally to the baseboards and up the walls. The ink that trailed up the walls formed cracks that opened wider and wider.

Everyone, except Jimmy, was shocked to see the fantasy world formed right before their eyes. Jimmy wrote about his childhood dream of being a racecar driver. The walls of the library basement disappeared and the scene opened up to a huge NASCAR race.

Mr. Vacca reached up and felt headphones on his ears and looked at the microphone placed in front of him. He was an announcer on a trackside tower. The racecars roared past in a thunderous symphony and someone beside him elbowed him in the side.

Jimmy's opening sentence read like this, "The announcers could not believe their eyes, number 48, Little Jimmy Necot takes the lead on the final lap."

As the same moment that Jimmy was writing his sentence, Mr. Vacca began to speak, "I can't believe my eyes, number 48, Little Jimmy Necot takes the lead on the final lap."

The pen that Jimmy was writing with, had the ability to create the world into whatever he wanted. Jimmy won the race and was ushered into the winners circle. Paul Krisp, dressed in his business suit presented him with a trophy and a jug of milk. Susan Graham presented him with a check in the amount of $500,000 dollars.

Jimmy looked at the check, the huge crown, pretty girls and half full bottle of milk in his hand and said, "This can't be real." He folded the check and put it in his pocket. When he did, he noticed the magic pen was there. He took it out and noticed some tiny writing engraved on the golden band in the middle. It read, "Stay today, give it away. With this pen live again." He then realized what happened. He could stay in this fantasy life or go back to the life he had before.

Mr. Vacca, current NASCAR announcer pushed a microphone into Jimmy's chest raised his voice over the noisy crowd and asked, "So what happens next Jimmy?" He thought for a moment about his wife and kids and even the old farm. He realized that his life was nothing without his family and then he knew exactly what to do. He took the check back out of his pocket and wrote on the back. "Going home."

The ink began to spread again and they were all magically returned to the library basement. What seemed like hours took only the amount of time it took Jimmy to actually write his sentence.

"Did that really just happen?' asked Paul. "What kind of a meeting place is this?" he asked. His rational, business mind could not wrap itself around what just happened.

Susan Graham's eyebrows began to twitch and raise. She pulled her aluminum walker in front of her and struggled to stand up and said, "Dear Sir, would you be so kind as to let me borrow that pen for a moment?"

"Now hold on Miss Graham, we don't really know what is going on here." uttered Mr. Vacca.

Before anyone could make a move, Susan began to write with the magic pen. Her hand trembled as the ink began to flow. It spread to the walls of the room and the entire transformation happened all over again. This time when the walls disappeared, the scene was set on a busy NYC street.

Susan stood there on the sidewalk in front of an old Musical Theater. There was a sign hanging over the doors that read, 'Closed'. Her mink was draped over her shoulders and she was was holding a tan suitcase and a small purse in her right hand, and was hailing a cab with the other.

A cab pulled up and the driver was Mr. Sean Vacca. He leaned over so he could see out of the passenger window and asked, "Well are you going to get in or not?"

Susan knew exactly what she wanted. She had stood at this same spot 60 years before. She had always dreamed of being an actress and a dancer. She had made her way to NYC as a young woman, but when she arrived to the Theater, it was closed because they had run out of money.

In order to follow her dreams now, she would have to spend her family's inheritance to reopen the Theater. If she chose to leave, she could live what is left of her life with financial security, but never realize her dream to become an actress. She had always regretted the decision that she had made years earlier, and now this was her opportunity to live again.

Jimmy Necot emerged from behind the closed doors. He was the maintenance man at the theater and was the last person to leave. When he saw Susan he asked, "What are you still doing here?"

She sat her suitcase on the ground and said, "I think I am going to stay."

Paul Krisp walked up, dressed in a business suit and said, "You better not leave that suitcase alone. Somebody is likely to pick it up."

Jimmy picked up the suitcase and said, "I got it ma'am."

"Thank you Jimmy."

Paul looked at the sign on the door of the building and said, "It's about time they closed this dump."

"Oh, it's not closed." said Susan. She took the magic pen out of her purse, walked up to the sign and wrote the word 'not' in front of the word, 'closed'. She noticed a sparkle on the golden band in the middle of the pen and read it to herself, "Stay today, give it away. With this pen live again."

The horn on the cab sounded and Sean lifted the bill of his cap, and shrugged his shoulders. Susan took out a small piece of paper and wrote the words, 'Stay today." and she handed it to Sean. As soon as Sean took hold of the pen and paper, the transformation started again.

When it was complete, they looked around the room and Susan was not there. Her walker was there but she was not.

"How are you going to explain this?" asked Paul.

"I don't know." replied Sean as he handed the magic pen to Paul.

"That's right, it is your turn now." said Jimmy."

Paul looked at the pen, and walked it through his fingers like a drum major with a baton and said, "Hand me my legal pad."

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#story #new #magic #life

5 years ago in #writing by givonwayne (49)$200.69

86 votes

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misterakpan (61) 5 years ago

Hello! I am Akpan, and I work with a renowned curation guild in this community. Your post got featured in my weekly Curator Remark Anthology and I thought you might want to check out why I picked your post among the hundreds I go through on an average week.

If you appreciate my work, you may want to resteem it. Yeah, I am human, not a bot ;-)

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givonwayne (49) 5 years ago

Awesome Man! I will be sure to check it out! Thanks .

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pkay2020 (30) 5 years ago

wow!!! a magic pen. wish i had one

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dhairesheel (29) 5 years ago

Shortest HORROR story.....

There is nothing like the laughter of a baby .Unless it's 1 A.M. and you're home alone.

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givonwayne (49) 5 years ago

That is really good and really true! I love those kind of micro stories. It is a real talent to be able to write stuff like that. Thanks for sharing. I will have to check out your blog and read more of your stuff. Happy New Year to you and good luck with your writing this year.

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dhairesheel (29) 5 years ago

thanks for inspiring sir...

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five34a4b (52) 5 years ago

great post, givonwayne as usual!

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misterakpan (61) 5 years ago (edited)

That was a lovely story. I couldn't help but think what I would do with such a magic pen :-)

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givonwayne (49) 5 years ago

Thank you for your kind encouragement. I hope you have a Happy 2018 and all of your dreams come true.

$2.53

1 vote

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misterakpan (61) 5 years ago

Oh. That's generous, man. I hope you too have a great year, on Steem and in life wholly <3

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bitgeek (62) 5 years ago

Congratulations @givonwayne, this post is the most rewarded post (based on pending payouts) in the last 12 hours written by a Newbie account holder (accounts that hold between 0.01 and 0.1 Mega Vests). The total number of posts by newbie account holders during this period was 4642 and the total pending payments to posts in this category was $3349.10. To see the full list of highest paid posts across all accounts categories, click here.

If you do not wish to receive these messages in future, please reply stop to this comment.

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givonwayne (49) 5 years ago

Wow! That is so great. Thank you so much for letting me know.

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pokerman (43) 5 years ago

Congrats look at you Man

Nice work good story

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2 votes

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richdaddy (-3)(1) 5 years ago

Interesting

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resteemator (3) 5 years ago

@resteemator is a new bot casting votes for its followers. Follow @resteemator and vote this comment to increase your chance to be voted in the future!

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rball8970 (45) 5 years ago

Great post! Though the magic is, and always has been, inside of us! Thanks @givonwayne , I like your writing and will definitely be following!

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givonwayne (49) 5 years ago

Thank you very much. I appreciate you comment and look forward to reading some of your blog too. Happy 2018!

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rball8970 (45) 5 years ago

Absolutely, no problem. And 2018 should be a great year for us and our fellow steemians! I certainly hope so! Best of luck to you!