Carrot Ranch – Page 2 – Poetry, Short Prose and Walking

Songs One Can’t Forget – Flash Fiction

“I hope the kids don’t remember that song you used to sing to them about the bird and the word.”

“I didn’t sing it for long. When they got older, I pretended to be the voice of their doll, Sweetie Baby.”

“You know, we still have that doll in case they ever want it.”

“It’s good to keep stuff like that. Actually some of those old songs aren’t any goofier than the ones they sing today. No wonder we’re all messed up.”

“At least the grand kids don’t know the song.”

“Unfortunately I sang it to them as well.”

Linked to Carrot Ranch’s September 10th Flash Fiction Challenge. Charli Mills offers the prompt to use something heard on the radio now or in the past.

High Winds – Flash Fiction

The only high winds were Windy, the wolf, so Straw, the pig, built a house of straw. Brick overbuilt with bricks. Stick used what was lying around, sticks. Both annoyed Straw. “It’s not fair!” Straw complained to Windy. He wanted all three houses.

Windy went to Stick’s home and blew it down. Chomp! He ate Stick. Then he went to Brick’s home. Brick gave Straw a key. Straw lent it to Windy. Chomp!

When Windy returned Straw squealed, “Perfect!” Windy, mind-blown as ever, thought: yummy. Chomp! He (gasp!) ate Straw.

Moral: Some high winds can take your breath away.

Linked to Carrot Ranch’s September 3rd Flash Fiction Challenge where Charli Mills offers the theme of “high winds” for these 99-word stories.

Lemon Queens – Flash Fiction

They call themselves the Lemon Queens, bitter as a lemon and twice as nasty. Don’t get me wrong. I love lemons. I even eat the rind. But those two with their cursing, spitting and hostility give lemons a bad name.

I have no intention of kneeling to these queens to pacify them. That’s just what they want. That’s just what they’re not going to get.

We arrested them last night. They hurled a trash can through a store window. Their lawyer insisted they were peaceful protesters. Then someone bailed them out. Now someone will have to arrest them again.

Linked to Carrot Ranch’s August 27 Flash Fiction Challenge where Charli Mills offers the theme of “Lemon Queens” for these 99-word stories.

First Flight

The interviewer wanted to know whether Bird was scared when he jumped out of the nest for the first time.

Bird said, “Technically I didn’t ‘jump’. I flew. My wings moved. Soon the nest was far below me. I don’t know how it happened. It’s not like jumping. There’s a difference.”

The interviewer wondered, “Really? What’s the difference?”

He clarified, “You see, any monkey can jump out of a nest. You know as well as I do what will happen. I’m not going to go there. But birds, well – how do I put this? We don’t jump. We fly.”

Linked to Carrot Ranch August 13 Flash Fiction Challenge where Charli Mills offers the theme of “first flight” for these 99-word stories.

Lava Hot

When twelve Brett told his aunt that chickens were dinosaurs. She laughed. What a stupid kid.

Brett’s mind was lava hot, hot enough to melt chaos into understanding. After reading that chickens were dinosaurs he looked at the hens in the chicken house who’d peck when he reached for the eggs they were sitting on differently.

True, they were smaller. True, they had feathers. True, they didn’t really run like Tyrannosaurus Rex.

When seventy another nugget of reality melted in his ever hot lava lamp of understanding. What if his old aunt was right? What if they weren’t dinosaurs?

Linked to Carrot Ranch’s August 6th Flash Fiction Challenge. Charli Mills offers the theme of molten lava, real or metaphoric, for the 99-word stories.

Stacking Stones

Nature does a grander job. What we made was mindful. Besides that wasn’t why we piled stones on top of one another. We were testing each other’s patience.

I failed the test and let her set the last stone, her crowning glory, on top. They didn’t fall and so per agreement she left.

I would have told you about the arguments, but I’ve forgotten them. I only remember where we set those stones. It was out of the way. A decade later I came back. I looked everywhere.

Nature let us take our turn then washed it all away.

Linked to Charli Mills’ July 30th: Flash Fiction Challenge to write a 99-word story using the phrase “her crowning glory”. Although the story mentions “I”, it is not autobiographical.

Steward

Jim spent decades getting sick without realizing it. When finally diagnosed with an autoimmune disease he didn’t believe it. Sure he had a belly, but he felt fine. Reality smacked him and he rejected all prescribed medications. He would rewind his life’s bad habits starting with his diet.

That took time, but he lost weight. His biomarkers improved. The diet became habitual. Jim forgot he was even on it.

He stopped thinking about himself. He realized he was consuming less. Perhaps even he, old Jim, could steward the earth rather than want to eat more and more of it.

Linked to the Carrot Ranch July 23 Flash Fiction Challenge where Charli Mills offers the theme of “a story to show what it is to protect nature around us”.

Don’t Say a Word

Jeremy stepped inside. In his ear he heard, “Stay near the door. Don’t respond to anything they say.”

“Look. That guy’s back.”

“OK, let’s finish this. You’re going to get what’s coming to you. You hear me? No one will care how loud you scream in this place.”

The five men stepped out of the safety of the shadows moving toward Jeremy. When they were visible in the middle of the room, shots shattered the windows.

Jeremy heard a gunfight outside. His earphone went silent. He wondered what happened. Was it safe to leave?

He left the room anyway.

Linked to Carrot Ranch July 16 Flash Fiction Challenge to write a 99-word story with the theme “scream inside your heart”.

Independence Paint

The hot afternoon brought a sinister cloud extending across the western horizon that painted the sky behind it dark. From the distance of our heroes on Earth they could not estimate its speed, but they knew it would be upon them at any moment.

“That is the largest alien vessel I have ever seen! It covers the sky.”

“It’s a storm cloud. We need to reach shelter before the downpour.”

“It’s part of the rebellion to liberate the universe from the evil empire. They want our planet as a base of operations.”

“I hope not.”

Then the aliens landed.

Linked to K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge where the theme is “a state of independence” and to Charli Mill’s Carrot Ranch where the theme this week for 99-word stories is “paint”.

Without Ice

Bart looked left and right at the majestic Atlantic Ocean, the blue skies and hot sandy beaches. It was 90 degrees. He told the real estate agent, “I suppose if the global economy heats up so much that the ice caps melted then all of these high-rise condos would turn into part of the Everglades.”

“I’ve been waiting for it to happen for over two decades.”

“This place could sink into the ocean. I wonder who’d want to live here then?”

“I’m sure the alligators wouldn’t mind.”

Bart agreed with the agent: Better buy while the ground’s still dry.

Linked to Carrot Ranch. The theme this week for the 99-word stories is “without ice”.