#sixsentencestories – Page 5 – Poetry, Short Prose and Walking

Six Sentence Story: Speculations Upon Nothing

Simon leased a room above the cafe a block from the Charles Bridge. He told them he was a tourist and they told him how to get to Prague’s Old Town. Since they didn’t understand why he was alone nor why he tipped so well in the cafe, some speculated that something was going to happen.

However, while Simon was there nothing happened. Even after he left nothing much happened and nothing at all happened that could be linked back to him.

This story is a tale of what happens when nothing happens – or, look at it this way – from nothing you get nothing unless you have the ability to speak the words (which most of us unwittingly do) to curse or bless the unexpected into existence.

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

This is my second story for the week. Those who speculate that I have nothing better to do may be right.

Genesis 1:3 KJV – And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Early evening in Prague from the Charles Bridge

Six Sentence Story: Gifts

After hearing that Thomas’s lease was terminated the minister gave Thomas $1,000 in cash with no strings attached.

Thomas refused it.

Then the minister gave Thomas a check for $100,000 with no strings attached.

Again Thomas refused it.

Finally the minister came back with a cashier’s check for $10,000,000 which he personally placed into Thomas’s hand all with no strings attached.

Once again Thomas refused to give the devil any grounds to say that the devil made him rich knowing that there was no gift from the devil, the father of lies, without a string attached.

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

Genesis 14:21-23 KJV – 21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

Six Sentence Story: Advice

The plumber watched his apprentice work on a shower faucet. It was old and probably could use more repair than he was authorized to perform.

The apprentice tried to loosen a tight connection. He asked the plumber, What if I break it?

The idea haunted the plumber as well, but he wasn’t particularly worried, because what good would worrying do? The only advice that came to his mind and which he offered while those who owned the condo watched the repair was, Don’t break it.

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

Matthew 6:25 KJV – Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Six Sentence Story: Flakes

As Brian paced back and forth through the park he was unaware that an old man, sitting on a bench in the shade, was listening to him as he complained about some guy he called a “flake” and then whined about some other guy he said needed to get his “head screwed on straight”.

Ya gotta forgive um, the old man finally shouted as Brian wandered past him once more.

WHAT?

They’re idiots.

Ah . . . good point.

And so are you.

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

Matthew 18:21-22 KJV – 21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

Six Sentence Story: Card

“How did you get here?”

Oh, I don’t know.

“Everybody knows, so what’s your tale?”

Well, I pulled a few strings and played my cards right and some – no, many – many people got hurt.

“I see.”

I was the guy – no, one of the guys – who more or less literally gained the whole world not that it was very much looking back.

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

Mark 8:36 KJV – For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Six Sentence Story: Done

“Are you done?” Steve asked after listening to a lengthy complaint.

“No, I’m NOT!” Mark said as the cloud further darkened between them.

Not all that Mark said was true, but all of it was plausible, provided you thought the way Mark did. His thoughts must have echoed through his heart for quite some time for it to flow out so fluently.

Eventually Mark took a second breather and Steve once again asked him if he were done. When Mark nodded, accepting defeat that even he couldn’t run his mouth forever, Steve dismissed him without offering any defense eventually forgetting what Mark said, not that Mark had the peace of mind to do the same.

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

James 3:10 KJV – Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

Six Sentence Story: My Sunset, Your Sunrise

At the end of the day in Tampa, Greg went to Clearwater Beach (latitude 27.9772, longitude -82.8279) to watch the sun set. Earlier that day he saw the sun rise on Miami Beach.

As the sun began its entry below the waters of the Gulf of America, Greg quickly phoned his brother on a boat in the Indian Ocean near the Cocos Islands (latitude -27.9772, longitude 97.1721) to ask him, “Where do you see the sun in the sky where you are right now?”

“Right now it’s rising in the east,” his brother said.

“How is it possible that I’m seeing the sun half-way below the horizon in the west while you’re watching it rise half-way above the horizon in the east?”

“That’s what you get when you talk to someone on the opposite side of a globe.”

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

There’s not much to this story except that I have some friends who have been trying to convince me that the earth is flat. This is sort of a rebuttal to their argument.

I was also looking for an opportunity to use the new name, Gulf of America. It took a minute to make the AI tool in the Brave browser admit that the correct name is the Gulf of America considering my current location in Florida although it tried to convince me otherwise.

Two birds watching the sun rise over the Flood Waters of Noah

Six Sentence Story: Dragons

“When it comes to dragons I’m with Saint George,” Paul said.

“You’d wound or even kill them?”

“With a sword,” Paul affirmed.

“They’ll go extinct!” Paul’s opposition cried.

“Precisely,” Paul said resting on a bunch of obvious assumptions which, since they’re obvious, don’t need to be stated.

At this point I must confess that I don’t know where this story’s going so I’ll just end it by saying, I’m with Paul, or, if you prefer, being more with Paul’s opposition, just pretend I said, Look, squirrel!

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

Revelation 12:7-9 KJV –
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Six Sentence Story: Perfect Vision

During the regular part of the Sunday service when Brian satirized critics of his ministry, he read, out-loud, a social media post which commanded that the eyes of everyone in his congregation start functioning with “20/20, cataract-less, floater-less, astigmatism-less, whatever-ails-you-less perfect vision”.

“Fat chance that’s going to happen,” Brian mocked just before his six-year old granddaughter sitting in the front row, nearly blind from birth, jumped up and down screaming, “Grandpops, Grandpops, I can SEE!!“

As others in the congregation admitted sudden vision improvement as well, Brian wondered if his own eyes had been healed (hoping not). Looking down at his Bible, a ministry-produced, three-ribboned, leather-bound, authorized version adulterated with his commentaries, he was surprised to clearly make out even the fine print of the footnotes without glasses.

For the next hour Brian read verse after verse. When he finally looked up, all that came out of his mouth was: “So that’s what it says.”

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

Six Sentence Story: Jeffrey

Jeffrey’s reactions were like those of a corpse in an open coffin. No matter how you insulted him, no matter how harshly the wind of cursing blew across his face, he didn’t respond.

And they did insult him accusing him of this and that while lying about that and this. They gave him as much hell as their trapped imaginations could come up with. However, the service Jeffrey and his team agreed to perform demanded that they focus exclusively on the assignment.

They only had a brief period of time to free those brainwashed hostages before the missiles arrived.

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

Romans 12:1 KJV – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.