#sixsentencestories – Poetry, Short Prose and Walking

The Happy Tooth Fairy

Once upon a time in the really good old days the tooth fairy fooled tiny tots into thinking she was the one who left the pennies, and as inflation increased, the nickels, the dimes, the quarters and then even a dollar(!) under their pillows in exchange for their fallen out teeth. This was an easy job since the children’s own parents came up with the coins, made the argument and then let her take all the credit.

However, the day came – as inevitably it would – when children stopped believing (and/or parents stopped telling) tales that a tooth fairy might really want their teeth so she began to do odd jobs on the side. There were many opportunities, but she had to pretend to be someone (or something) other than who (or what) she really was which annoyed her.

But work is work and you have to do what you have to do which now included gigs where she played the last universal common ancestor, the big bang, deep dark matter, the mysterious multiverse or God knows what nonsense next. She had no clue what any of this stuff was, but as long as the children knew, since children normally knew quite well what they were told to know, she was as happy as any tooth fairy could be, so happy, in fact, that she decided she might as well – whether she deserved it or not and most likely she didn’t – live happily ever after.

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Denise offers the prompt word “stop” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

The White Knight, the Dear Damsel and the Dastardly Dragon

Once upon a time there was a dear damsel in distress. She blamed the dastardly dragon for all her woes. A white knight in shining armor rescued her.

Over time the damsel’s fiery words torched the knight’s castle destroying this and then that as she blamed the knight for all her woes.

The dragon, with a nod from the knight, rescued the dear damsel from the dastardly knight.

The knight lived happily ever after.

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Denise offers “nod” as the prompt for this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Six Sentence Story: All X’s No O’s

Jeff asked the gent who greeted him, Is this heaven or the other place? The gent searched for Jeff in the quantum computer and up popped a document giving full details of Jeff’s judgment.

So which is it?

Jeff was prepared to argue that he had been as good as the next guy ever could have been to foil any attempt to send him to that other place. After reading the details of the judgment the gent turned to Jeff with a welcoming smile.

It says right here that you have been assigned a room in a decent-enough-for-you mansion to be shared with all your exes and their exes and their exes’ exes and those exes’ exes’ exes and so on, so you tell me where you are.

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Denise offers the word “foil” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Six Sentence Story: Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

During the homily Father Thomas said that if you want to see God make sure you have a pure heart. William, a freshman in high school, didn’t like it when Aunt Cecelia poked him from the pew behind them when it looked like he wasn’t paying attention, which he often wasn’t, as she did just then.

After Mass as Father Thomas stood at the entrance of the church ready to shake hands and chat with anyone who was not trying to rush out unnoticed William stopped to ask, Father Thomas, can we see God if we look at someone whose heart is pure? Father Thomas thought and then answered, Those pure in heart may be the main way that God lets those with impure hearts get a peek at what they’re missing.

Outside William’s parents – surprised by their son’s sudden interest in such matters – and Aunt Cecelia – who realized her nephew was getting a little too old to poke – felt it best not to say anything further.

Years later recalling Father Thomas after admitting decades of mistakes, William got the peek at what he was missing that he had been promised when he finally opened his eyes.

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Denise offers the prompt word “rush” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

I am grateful to Greg Doles for posting this song along with many other songs by The Porter’s Gate on his blog, Chasing Light.

Six Sentence Story: Jeremy’s Demon Infestation Problem

When Jeremy entered his home the demons scrambled. They looked like those fat cockroaches that ran about when he turned on the light. He stepped on some squishing them nicely, but the more he squished the more they kept coming.

He’d admit that when they first arrived they looked cute and he enjoyed playing with them, but he never thought they would overrun the place like a huge forest fire starting from a careless camp site.

What was poor Jeremy to do?

After fits of indecision because those critters still looked so cute, he finally realized that if he didn’t clean house from top to bottom inside and out they would completely take over.

Denise offers the prompt word “fire” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Poetry Slam at the SSC&B: The Hallway

Go down three granite steps and you will find
the Gatekeeper who’ll surely let you in.
Once you’re inside your stories may begin
to tell themselves and leave you far behind.

The others will have stories they’ll unwind
and you may test how true those tall tales spin.
Though some may even leave a tear or grin
they all will open doors inside your mind.

There is a hallway, too, that’s deep and dark,
and should you choose to wander that odd way
it only asks that you respect its night.
With every word you speak there goes a spark
but many sparks lead many folk astray
and all those led astray will need true light.

Denise offers the prompt word “word” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories and Poetry Slam.

Poetry Slam at the SSC&B: Words

The words today I wish I never said
are words that haunt, but may we let them go.
Now in their place my mouth will say instead
the words my heart would want your mind to know.

There’s more to all of this than shocks the eye
with silliness, indifference or disdain.
And that is why once more I’ll only try
to speak from Truth, from falseness to refrain.

You likely wonder what those words could be
that I prefer now never more to say.
I’m glad to say they’ll stay a mystery,
since now we are back on the sacred way.

Denise has announced that August 27th is the Six Sentence Cafe & Bistro Poetry Slam and the prompt word is “word”.

Six Sentence Story: How Things Got Complicated

Joe was Beth’s backup plan when she spent the weekend with Mark not knowing that she was Mark’s backup plan, because Jane, Mark’s plan, had more backup plans than her scheduling software could consistently manage.

Eventually Joe found out about Mark and Beth found out about Jane.

Then Joe replaced Beth with Kate and Mark, unsure what to do, figured he better get rid of Beth to avoid conflict with Joe which all happened about the time Jane decided to get rid of him anyway, because – well – because everyone was all of a sudden becoming too miserable for her to live with.

And then things got worse, like an out-of-control forest fire, even for Jane whose remaining backup plans found out they were backups when she could no longer keep their names straight. And then it got so bad that six sentences were not enough to do it justice.

And that’s how things got complicated.

Denise offers the prompt word “fire” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Paul also wrote in Romans 10:9 KJV, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

Six Sentence Story: The Quiet Hours

After I stood to say goodbye to Lou and the tall, thin man walked him to the door, I sat down to finish my coffee noticing that the quiet hours were beginning when the Gatekeeper would play music outside the Six Sentence Cafe & Bistro. Thinking of that new dancer, Holli Spirit, at Lou’s club got me wondering if I could work her into the storyline somehow until I heard a snort come from the voice.

“Weren’t you the one running my mouth like it was on fire when I was talking to Lou?” I asked him.

You didn’t shut me up, did you?

“I almost did.”

I know, but what counts is you didn’t.

Denise offers the prompt word “fire” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

With thanks to the Gatekeeper for recommending this album in a comment last week.

Six Sentence Story: From Death To Life

When Aurelia returned to the Six Sentence Cafe & Bistro she joined the red-headed writer at a booth and then they wandered to wherever with the Bartender. With the men and women at separate locations the men could have a serious conversation (and perhaps even the women as well, but I can’t imagine what they might be talking about even though I could hear them doing a lot of it).

On the male side of the room Lou and I, thanks to prodding by the tall, thin man, were fast becoming good friends with Lou even inviting us to go with him to his Bottom of the Sea Strip Club and Lounge, but I told Lou that I’d rather read a paper on what amino acids and nucleobases were found on the asteroid Bennu than go to a strip club. To elaborate – although I don’t think it helped – I said, Long ago when I was young and stupid I found myself lying on the floor while a woman having only words at her disposal frantically commanded life back into my motionless body and a voice advised me not to try to regain control, but merely trust that I would according to her words even though I witlessly ingested the drugs she wishes now she never brought.

How long has that voice been watching over you? Lou asked.

Now that that incident slipped back into my memory it must have been – forever.

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Denise offers the prompt word “slip” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.