#sixsentencestories – Page 18 – Poetry, Short Prose and Walking

Energy – Six Sentence Story

Guilt followed the pride of life dissipating Zach’s energy. That may have been a good thing since he was wasting his time on stuff that didn’t matter.

But what mattered? Zack was just a simple guy with a conscience informing him that he had lost his way. To get back on track he ran after one godforsaken enlightenment program until it disappointed him giving it up for some other gnostic nonsense.

I can’t tell you how Zach found his way home because I am in the same hog pen that you are refusing to eat the miraculous pearls which allegedly would provide living energy that could not be equated with matter no matter how fast the speed of light was.

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Denise offers the prompt word “energy” for this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

I was thinking of those pearls and swine in Matthew 7:6 when E=mc² came to mind. The “I” in the story is the narrator running his mouth pretending to be the author.

Branch – Six Sentence Story

The squirrel rushed to the other side of the tree along a branch far from Peter as he grouched his way down the path. There was no need for all this grumbling, but being thankful he could even walk seemed like a waste of time since he had no trouble walking.

The sunrise was peaceful. The sea was calm, but he was entertaining enough demonic influences to have a whole Halloween party by himself.

Eventually – unless the slippery slope had its way – Peter would tell those demons where to go, but he did so much enjoy a whiny fit of righteousness. Like the other inanities he entertained they came to spoil the day under the pretense they were making it better.

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

Structure – Six Sentence Story

On a table in his hotel room Simon began building a house of cards carefully laying each one next to or on another lest the structure fall showing the futility of his addiction. Meanwhile the full moon rose over the Sea of Galilee sparkling light on calm water.

After he used up all his cards he opened the door to the balcony to breathe in the cool air. He saw the moon, higher now but still beautiful, and he wondered why he wasted his time with those cards.

Coincidental with Simon’s wonder one card in the house he built gave up supporting the others. With a swoosh all of the cards lay flat on the table.

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

Film – Six Sentence Story

The merely ordinary smeared Simon’s view of reality like a greasy film making him discontent with what he saw. To brighten his spirits he tried all sorts of gimmicks. His current desperate attempt included taking a challenging course in mind over matter levitation where each student was required to either levitate or produce a creative alternative.

One student wrote an essay arguing how going on keto would lead to less matter for the mind to lift. Another painted a self-portrait entitled If God Had Wanted Me to Levitate, He Would Have Made Me More Like This Hot Air Balloon.

When it was all over each of the submitted stories, essays, songs and paintings received an Award of Outstanding Excellence and Simon tried to decide which was worse: dealing head-on with his unsatisfying view of reality or signing up for the second level of the course.

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

Ancient Roman Tile at Beit Shean, Israel

Club – Six Sentence Story

Believing the best way to deal with someone was not to beat him over the head with a club Brian manipulated George with psychology. George, on the other hand, preferred the club.

Over the years these two friends found lovely brides and got married raising children who had children until Brian died which made George wonder if he should have used the club less often. Without Brian’s subliminal influence George felt the only thing left to do was grow old.

That was when an undeserved miracle gave George a wallop knocking some sense back into him and letting him know he wasn’t quite dead yet. After that the grandchildren longed to hear his tall tales while his own children listened and even his wife respectfully responded to his loving touch which frankly shocked him but not as much as it pleased her like an answered prayer.

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

Ephesians 5:33 “Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.” (KJV)

Western Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem With Prayers Stuffed in the Cracks

Spark – Six Sentence Story

Jeremy tried to spark some vitality into his life, but reality kept blowing it out.

His dietician suggested replacing the stuff that went into his mouth with other stuff, but he didn’t like that other stuff. The family counselor suggested he forgive his wicked sister Felicity, but that wasn’t going to happen. His anxiety over unlikely disasters wouldn’t leave no matter how many shrinks he paid to worry about them.

Reality refused to repent of its evil ways. Over the years all it did was add to Jeremy’s baggage until he couldn’t get a good night’s sleep even after wicked Felicity preceded him in death.

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

Band – Six Sentence Story

Brian’s cold was a regular part of his seasonal doldrums starting about November and lasting till Spring. The liturgy minister in the church he attended, knowing Brian’s talent with a guitar, wondered if he would like to join the Sunday worship band. Brian told him about his cold even though the cold didn’t stop him from doing anything he really wanted to do.

Without warning the minister put his hand on Brian’s shoulder and prayed out loud while everyone watched that Brian be healed. Embarrassed but courteous Brian accepted the prayer expecting nothing much from it. Three days later the cold was gone and it never returned.

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

Sunrise with two birds — Sunrise with two or three birds

I am on vacation, but this story occurred to me and so I scheduled it for today without being able to participate in the link party.

Forming Words – Six Sentence Story

Although impoverished Jeff found a ride out of Blislisnis to attend his mother’s funeral held in the rural town that he left decades ago teased by vanity that never bore fruit. A former classmate carrying an oxygen tank with nasal tubing who came to offer his condolences surprised Jeff with how old he himself must now look as did other former companions who proudly told him of their grandchildren.

The pastor asked him if he would care to say a few words in memory of his mother. Standing near the casket with nothing to say he tried to form words, but the only thing people remembered him saying was I’m sorry, momma.

Friends of his mother offered Jeff a place to stay with work to do giving this prodigal son an opportunity, which he accepted, to forget Blislisnis. At the gravesite he silently prayed for the privilege of a few years of usefulness, of blessing not burden to others, before finding a spot of his own somewhere in that churchyard, out of the way perhaps, but hopefully not too far away from his family.

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

Beat – Six Sentence Story

Ever since Walter convinced the city to install electronic voting machines as the Governor recommended he beat all contenders by an overwhelming majority to become, and then stay, the Major of Blislisnis. Knowing that he never came close to winning anything before drove conspiracy theorists nuts.

However, the average citizen had other worries besides caring that Walter got richer and richer without explanation as the years went by. Although few admitted that they themselves voted for him they all assumed a large number of the electorate must have.

Talk went wild when Walter decided to run for Governor in a power-grab that would take out his former ally. One morning the local news reported that Walter had been arrested for voter fraud while computer technicians were busy reconfiguring the voting machines all of which convinced those nutty conspiracy theorists that the Governor would win re-election with more votes coming from Blislisnis than people living there (which he did).

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Denise offers the prompt word “beat” for this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Sin – Six Sentence Story

Phil finished replacing the bathroom faucet, turned on the water supply valves and got off the floor to try it out all while listening to a commercial promoting his hometown as the best Little Babylon in the country.

There’s sin aplenty in Blislisnis! We have everything from soul scorching addictions to petty titillations – all at discount prices! Our trained experts will tease your mind with vain imaginations and pump your darkened heart into a foolish frenzy.

After turning the handles, Phil watched the water leak from the drain pipe. While cleaning up the mess and fixing the leak he told me that my story made no sense and he rarely, if ever – no – he never EVER went to those sin arcades in Blislisnis.

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

Romans 1:21 “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” (KJV)