Crescent Farms

Mist lingered through the night air, light rain pattered onto the farmer’s wooden roof and the crescent moon cast dim light down on the wheat field below.

Robert lived and worked on his farm miles from town. He was relaxing in his comfortable, blue chair after a hard day of work. Robert looked up from the book he was reading when he heard a “thumping” sound coming from his field. “Thump thump” the sound was steady and unlike any sound Robert was used to. “Thump thump” continued the sound making it hard to ignore.

Robert stood up from his seat, closed his book, set it on his wood end table and walked toward the door. He opened his door and peered outside. “Thump thump” continued the noise. The sound was louder now and clearer with the door open.

Robert followed the thumping sound and was led into his wheat field. It was Autumn and his wheat was tall and almost ready for harvest. The sound was always the same “thump thump” then silence for several seconds, before it happened again “thump thump”

Robert walked to the middle of his wheat field where he found a glowing orange light. “thump thump” went the noise, and the light pulsed with the beat of the thumping. Robert walked carefully up to the light and found a large pumpkin in the middle of his field. He stared at the pumpkin and waited. “thump thump” went the sound and the pumpkin pulsed with light in sync with the sound.

Robert decided to leave, glowing pumpkins and strange noises couldn’t lead to anything good. Before Robert could leave he heard the loudest thumping yet. A ghostly figure with a shovel slammed his shovel into the dirt “thump thump” echoed the ghostly shovel “Wheat?! We need PUMPKINS!” Yelled the ghost. His voice was shrill and turned Robert’s blood cold.

The giant pumpkin burned with a bright orange light as a fiery Jack-O-Lantern face appeared on it. The ghost flew straight at Robert and brought his shovel down on the poor farmer. “thump thump”

One week later the whole town was surprised by the mysterious disappearance of the farmer and newly grown pumpkin patch on his property.

Happy October!

Writers block

            Edward Stitch scratched his head as he tried to think. He sat impatiently at his typewriter, a cigarette burning between his first and middle fingers on his left hand. Smoke swirled through the air, rising ever upward until it disappeared completely. Ed’s editor was expecting another book sometime that year but Ed was having a tough time coming up with ideas. Ed had short cut black hair and brown eyes, he wore a buttoned up white shirt that was only half buttoned and had a crushed collar.  Since he was at home he wasn’t wearing pants, just boxers.

            Edward stretched out, wondering how much longer he could delay is writing and how much longer this infernal writers block would last. Ed let out a loud sigh and reached for his drink. He drank down his mix of whiskey, soda and half melted ice. Determined to write something he began typing away. He hoped as he wrote, something would come to him. He hoped to get a brilliant idea. He just needed one idea, then he could build on it more and more until he had a book.

            “The toughest part of writing is getting that first sentence” Ed grumbled. He typed on his typewriter for a few minutes. Trying out different ideas and plots. “Sam was a builder by trade…” Edward began to write. “No, that wont do” he muttered, then pulled the paper out of the machine and crumbled it up. “Think, think!” he said, bumping his fist against his forehead. The cigarette he held with that hand sprinkled ash all over his desk. Edward sprang up and wiped the ashes off before anything was burnt. Then he continued to bump his forehead with his fist, but with his other hand, as to not make a mess or burn his house down with stray ashes.

            Ed felt like he had hit a wall and couldn’t get around it. The next step was to plow through it, keep trying things until something works. “Such difficult work requires another drink!” Edward announced and got up from his desk and walked to the kitchen. His bare feet slapped against the tile in his kitchen. The chill in the air that night settled on the tile, making every step through the kitchen make Edward wish he wore socks more often. Or had slippers just to walk through the kitchen with.

            After a few minutes Ed returned to his desk and sat down with a fresh drink. He cracked his knuckles and began to type again. Whether he finished by the deadline or not, it didn’t matter. Writing was his passion, it was his work and his hobby. He loved it and hated it all at the same time. Trying to write when he had no ideas or worrying about editing was like torture but being able to write pages and pages after being struck with a good idea was his ultimate joy. As long as he had his typewriter and a working mind, he would continue to write.

Final hours

            I sit in my living room, lost in thought. The room is dimly lit, only a small stand lamp is on, I sit comfortably in the center of the couch, in front of me is a coffee table and on the other side of the table sits Death. He waits patiently, also sitting comfortably, but in a high back chair, matching the pattern on the couch. Death had walked in only a little while ago and sat down, a solemn look on his face. I was surprised to see that he looked like a man, not a skeleton. He wore a bowler hat, thin wire sunglasses, an old style three-piece suit, nice shoes and black leather winter gloves. He also had on a long flowing overcoat. His coat moved and swayed as if it were alive and every so often I could hear whispers from the dead coming from inside his coat. Surprisingly still, I was not afraid of him, I welcomed him into my home as if we were old friends. He didn’t say a word, he just sat, staring at me, hands on the arm rests and feet flat on the ground. His thin pale face not showing any emotion and he didn’t seem to be in a hurry, so he sat, waiting on me.

Some may say its best not to keep death waiting and to that I ask, “why?” It’s not like he can make me any more dead and I am confident that my place in the afterlife has already been secured long ago. So Death waits patiently. I might be inclined to stand up and follow him out of my home, but instead my mind wanders. It drifts back into my past. I’ve heard your life flashes before your eyes when you die, well maybe, but only if you’re in a hurry or didn’t have an interesting life. My life gently drifts in and out of my mind, like an aroma, a delicate breeze in the air that I can’t quite get a hold of.

Rain pours outside, I listen to it and relax as I am slowly being pulled back into the past. Rain falls rapidly from the night sky, I remember looking outside from the airport. My flight is delayed due to bad weather. I think about Charlotte waiting for me in Seattle, we were going to meet and I was going to propose. As the rain beat down on the building I felt my future with her being washed away. She didn’t know I loved her, not like that. We might have been dating, but I don’t think she ever truly knew how I felt. I didn’t get there till the next day. So much was dependent on me being there on time. Tears trickle down my cheek as I open my eyes, snapping back into reality. Death still lingers, still waits. He seems like a nice enough guy, I don’t know what all the bad reputation is about.

            It’s a funny thing memory, how I can remember one fleeting moment, some small detail like my friends shirt being a vibrant blue this one time at a pool party, but I can’t for the life of me remember yearly events, birthdays, anniversaries, ect. I remembers July the tenth, pool party at the house of my friend Roger. It was exactly three days before he got married. Though if you asked me when his anniversary was, I wouldn’t be able to tell you, unless I thought of the pool party days before. I remember thinking, this is the last time I will be able to see him as a free man. Last time we get to hang out and act stupid like we used to. He asked me what I thought about his future wife, I lied and said I liked her, it was the first time I ever lied to Roger.

            My thoughts drift across my entire life, I could recall every happy memories or tragic tale in my life, but I don’t feel like it. I’m not one to dwell on the past. I think over all, I had a good life. I have few regrets and I never once had to beat anyone up. I think that’s an accomplishment considering the hardheaded people I had to deal with throughout my life.

            Time has no meaning for me now, I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting here recalling my past, but I think its time to go. Time to see what the afterlife has to offer and find out if it’s as big of a deal as everyone says it is. So far, I’m not impressed. So I stand up and as if knowing what I was about to do, Death stands up at the exact same time. He smiles, happy I’m finally done reminiscing. I walk across my living room to the exit of my house, Death follows, his black coat flickering like flames and swaying as he moves. I open the door to my house, I stare out as the outside has been replaced with an endless vortex. Its hypnotizing and calming. I look back on my life one last time, smile at Death and step through the door. Death exits behind me, the door shuts and the room goes dark.

Arix and the new adventure

            It had been months since Arix had escaped the horrible giant spider like monster from the caves and made it home safely with his prize, the now named “Arix Gem”. This was the first Gem seen of its kind, the material, light red color and strange calming glow were unique. Arix was tempted to keep the Gem, but decided to sell it to fund more adventures. He was able to find a rare jewel collector and made a small fortune from selling it.  If he kept finding rare treasures he could make a living off adventuring and even retire when he was too old to continue on. Even though he had only experienced one big find, it was such a great success that it would fuel his enthusiasm for a while.

            Arix stashed most of his money at home in a safe location and brought the rest with him to buy supplies or information. He packed up his bags, got his maps and tools and once again set out from his village to find another adventure. Despite the sizable profit made from selling the gem, Arix’s parents didn’t want him to go back out. His mother worried about his safety and his father thought this was just a scheme to get out of doing ‘real work’.

            The next target was the sunken crypt. During an earthquake that happened months ago the crypt sank into the ground, pulling the treasures and secrets of the royal “Hidonon” family with it. The earthquake that sank the crypt had also sent shockwaves out and shook the tunnels that Arix was in while trying to escape with his precious glowing gem months earlier.

The roof of the crypt was still partially exposed, as it hadn’t fully been pulled underground. Other hopeful treasure hunters and grave robbers had broken a hole in the exposed roof so they could get into the crypt. The problem was even if you dropped in through the ceiling and entered the crypt, most of its contents were pulled even deeper into the earth, into depths others dare not go. Only someone with a defective brain would enter a crypt, then climb down miles into the belly of the earth to find long lost secrets and treasure that might not even exists. Though it seemed incredibly stupid and dangerous, Arix planned on making the trip down into the crypt tunnels, both for adventure and because he was sure the Hidonon had treasures sealed away with their last of their bloodline. As the family died out, they took everything with them and a hundred years later, Arix was going to find out what they had.

            As Arix neared the sunken crypt he began to have doubts, facing danger for treasure was all well and good, but what he was doing was grave robbing. Grave robber didn’t have quite the same ring to it as Adventurer. He shook off the guilt though, the crypt had collapsed into the earth, it was fair game, besides the dead have no need for money or trinkets. With his excitable smile returning to his face, Arix walked on.

            He finally found the crypt near an old graveyard. He knew the crypt’s location when he saw a bit of roof poking up from the ground and dirt moved around like someone had been digging there. Arix ran up to the spot, the digging hadn’t been recent, so he was free to enter without worrying about other treasure hunters. It seemed the real grave robbers had already been through here and when they realized everything was pulled into the earth, they left. Arix was a true adventurer at heart, the fact that anything of value was now resting in unexplored caverns made him want to go even more.

Update!

Due to illness i missed Wednesday's post. I will try to make sure i post this coming week, but if i don't you know why.

I will try to get things back up and running as soon as i can. Hopefully i will be able to share many more exciting stories with you all soon enough.

In the meantime, think about what kind of story you enjoy. have a favorite time period or type of fiction, let me know and i will try to make a story about it. 

Fallen Star

Wind whipped through the night sky, the sound of the ocean could be heard from across the town. William looked out his window and sighed, there would be a storm again. His father promised they would go fishing tomorrow, but if the weather didn’t get any better they would have to cancel their plans. As he looked out the window he saw a sparkling light shine through the clouds and fall into the water. It was the most brilliant light he had ever seen, even at a distance. Something urged him to go out and investigate. The storm was approaching and the waters would turn treacherous. If he wanted to find the source of the light, he would need to hurry.

William put on his boots and hurried out of his house to the docks, which were close. William was 17 and lived with his father, he had no siblings and his mother died from disease. He had gone fishing many times with his father, so he knew how to sail a boat and navigate on the ocean. Once at the docks he untied a little boat and paddled his way out into the open water. He was in a landing boat or a lifeboat, so he was careful not to go too far out. He decided to be careful, but if he was truly cautious he wouldn’t even be out in the water, at night, with a storm approaching in the first place.

He paddled out to where he saw the light drop and hoped it didn’t sink to the bottom of the ocean. With luck, he saw a faint glow and brought his boat closer to it. Whatever made the light was close to the surface of the water. William reached his hand into the water and tried to scoop up the object. He felt something and pulled it out of the water. It was a ball of light. Warm in his hand, solid enough to hold onto, yet at times it felt as if he wasn’t holding anything at all. As if it were light in solid form, but it couldn’t decide if it wanted to stay solid. Once out of the water, the ball of light started growing brighter.

Holding onto the ball of light the best he could, he made his way to shore. The whole time wondering what he had found and what he should do with it. Once on the beach he held the light up to get a better look at it, grasping it with his thumb and first finger, it was the size of a large coin and almost didn’t seem to weigh anything at all.

Suddenly images flashed into his mind, images of far off places and distant worlds. It was like his mind was taken over by a dream. He saw the night sky, but all around, surrounding giant floating structures. The word ‘space’ flashed into his mind. He was a simple son of a fisherman and the most advanced technology his town had access to was a fishing boat. Single shot guns were a new thing in this world, so William was having trouble grasping the concept of space, planets and spaceships. The metal structure was important for some reason, it had humans of all kinds living in it. As William stared at it through his vision, the space ship, or large structure exploded. He heard the cries of a hundreds of people all at once, then the next minute they were gone. This light flew from the blast and crashed to his world, into the water.

William snapped out of it and realized he saw all of this by looking into the light. The problem was he didn’t know what any of this meant, what the light was, or what he was supposed to do with it. Maybe nothing, maybe he wasn’t supposed to be meddling with things beyond his grasp. He wanted to keep it safe as it seemed important, but didn’t know how or even what he would keep it safe from. “what am I to do? I am only a fisherman!” William asked the ball of light, frustrated and emotional from seeing such grand sights and all the death from his vision. The light pulsed and the image of a tree appeared in his mind. “A tree?” he asked. Then thought instead of looking at the light as a star or something used as a light source, what if it was just a seed. He didn’t know what it would grow into, but he was determined to help.

William ran home and got a shovel. Then tried to think of a spot this little light seed wouldn’t be disturbed. He got an idea, then ran off into the fields. There was a grassy hill that overlooked the town, it was empty and people rarely went up there. It was perfect. He ran up the grassy hill, the night breeze blowing in his face, cooling the sweat on his forehead as he ran. He stopped to catch his breath, and then started digging. As he worked he heard the storm growing closer. Thunder cracked and lightly rippled through the clouds. He finally finished digging and planted the seed, then covered it with dirt. The rain started just as he was done. The rain came down hard and soaked the earth. William laughed with satisfaction at a job well done. Now the cold rain cooled him down from all the work he did for this little seed. He thought about how lucky it was that the light found him that it landed near someone that could help it. He wondered what would have happened if no one took it out of the water. Would it have washed up to shore or simply sank to the bottom of the ocean?

His mind ran wild with thoughts of what might happen next and could have happened if things had been different. The storm was getting worse though and William had to get home. He had a hard time sleeping that night and the next morning ran up the hill to check on the little seed. There was no change, so William went about his day. He had a hard time sleeping that night too and again checked on the seed the next morning. He knew seeds didn’t sprout up overnight, but this wasn’t a normal seed and his excitement kept getting the better of him. For a week he had a hard time sleeping as he was so excited and every morning he would check on the seed. This became part of his morning routine everyday. Though he luckily was able to sleep fine after a week or so.

Williams life went on, the average simple life of a fisherman’s son became the average life of a fisherman. He grew older, got married and had kids and every morning went up to the top of the hill to check on the seed. But the seed never sprouted and no one ever knew why William went to the hill each morning. As William got older, he told his children the story of the glowing seed from the sky, and told them that when they grew up to keep an eye on the hill if they ever got the chance. Time passed still and he told his grandkids the same story. The town grew and the story slowly spread. The story became a local legend and had some that believed the story and others that just thought it was a silly story told to children. Soon other parents told their children this story, but just told as a fairy tale, not told the way William told it, which was more like a set of instructions.

One day, William slowly made his way up the hill. He had gotten old and tired and didn’t know how many more times he would be able to visit his magical seed. He laid out on the grass and looked at the spot where he planted the seed all those years ago. He sometimes wondered if it was all a dream, but hoped more than anything that it wasn’t. He felt so tired, so tired from life and so tired from walking up that hill and began to close his eyes. Before he did, he saw a little sparkle in the grass. A glowing sprout sprang from the earth and shined as bright as a star. William at the age of eighty-five closed his eyes and smiled. The seed was growing and the town legend would live. To see the seed sprout was the only thing left he wanted to do before he died and now he could finally sleep at last. William closed his eyes and dreamed.

The sprout stayed a sprout for years more, but even such a little plant created great excitement in the town. It glowed night and day and the villagers finally had proof that Williams story was real. The town protected the little plant and put up a memorial for William on the same hill. It became William’s hill, home of the starlight plant. Which soon became the Starlight tree…but that’s another story altogether.

Birds

Recently, while driving I saw seagulls and crows in a parking lot. Both are scavengers and seem to hang out in parking lots or just anywhere they can find food. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen them together though. Most people might just say “oh” and continue on their way. Its nothing special I suppose, but here is what I saw, this is where my mind took me.

It was a cloudy day, light rain, cold and sleepy. A single beam of sunlight broke through the clouds. The sky seem more dramatic, it was beautiful and peaceful. Circling the parking lot were birds, seagulls. They floated gracefully through the air and the sight of them brought my mind to images of the ocean and the peaceful sound of the waves. The seagull landed and quickly found a piece of food, it attempted to retrieve the food but was stopped by a crow. The intimidating black bird was a contrast to the peaceful day. The sight of the crow brought my mind to images of death and graveyards. Crows seem so ominous and sometimes threatening. The two birds fought and so began a war in my mind. Light and darkness, the peaceful ocean breeze vs. the sadness of death. The weather was warm, yet the wind was cold and it had been raining. The sky was cloudy, yet sunlight shone through brightly. Opposing forces clashed trying to take back the day, one fought for the peacefulness of a spring day, the other trying to bring a storm of thunder and lighting. The birds fought as if fighting over the end of the world. More crows and seagulls circled overhead, crying out and cheering on their comrade.

The drama of the scene ended abruptly as a car drove by scaring away all the birds. My mind was forced back into reality. The weather was a little strange, but it was just the change from winter to spring. The sunlight breaking through the clouds was just from the clouds shifting and letting sunlight through and the battle of light versus darkness was nothing more than two scavenger birds fighting over bread crumbs. All of this played out in my head in seconds, I reached my turn, took a right and as I drove away the parking lot and the imaginary battle disappeared from sight. It was another normal cloudy day, but for a second the world seemed a whole lot more exciting.

Years of winter

This expression is based of my experience of the weather from the last few weeks. Enjoy!

Winter is slowly fading, making room for spring. It has been cold, windy and snowing for months, but it feels like years. Years of winter sweep through my city and bury it in snow. Everything is snow covered and frozen. I squint, as I look at a tree, no longer able to remember what it looks like without snow on it. The sky is gray and the roads are icy, I drive carefully as I shiver and curse under my breath.

            Then one day as if by magic, a warm breeze gently floats through the city. The sun is out and the world is warm. The ice and snow are gone and everything looks bare and naked. I feel strange as I step outside. I no longer need a jacket, no more winter hat. A cool spring breeze brushes against my face and I sigh in happiness. As I drive I am relaxed yet unnerved. The weather is so nice, yet everything feels out of place. The world is in transition. It feels like spring but looks like winter, just without the snow. I put it out of my mind. Spring has sprung and I want to enjoy every minute of it.

            Everyone is out of their homes, enjoying the weather. Riding bikes and playing in the street. I start to remember what spring looks like, I even vaguely remember what fall looks like as well. With the winter cold gone, my mind finally thaws and I begin to remember things I had long since forgotten. My senses are sharper, I feel happier, life seems sweeter. Whether its sunny or it rains, the weather is cool and inviting. No more snow, no more ice.

            I wake up each day with a sigh of relief, my mind gets carried away with all the things I want to do outside. The possibilities are endless. Oh the joy of spring, oh the joy of the rain and sunshine, oh…. damn…Its snowing again….

Arix and the Gem

A loud roar, shaking ground and suddenly light. Arix ran for his life through a dark underground tunnel, the light from his torch pierced through the overwhelming darkness. Arix was a young man with light brown hair, blue eyes and tanned skin. He wore a tan shirt that was ripped in several places, black pants, sturdy brown boots, a pair of goggles to keep dirt and dust out of his eyes and brown work gloves. He came from a family of carpenters and masons but instead of following in his family trade he became a treasure hunter.

           

            Arix ran for his life as a creature roared after him. This monster had been guarding or at least living with a rare gem. This gem would be worth a small fortune. Which wouldn’t matter if Arix died before he could sell it. The roars grew louder as the beast gained on the unfortunate adventurer. Arix reached into his bag with his free hand and pulled out the gem to get a better look at it. It was a large red gem the size of his fist and seemed to emit its own light, not enough to light a cavern just a soft glow that soothed Arix when he looked at it. After a few seconds of admiring the gem, he realized he had almost stopped running. The gem entranced him and he almost forgot about the monster. Quickly he stuffed the gem back into his bag and continued his run. He could hear the creature’s footsteps, it was right on his tail. Arix ran through the dark tunnels, taking turns and running down various paths, hoping to find his way out. He reached back into his bag, this time to grab his weapon. He didn’t want to fight, but would if he had to. No matter how fierce the creature, he would fight. Fight to see his family, to see the light of day again and of course to be rich when he sold the gem.

            The creature approached and Arix turned to face it, the light of the torch dimly lit the surrounding area. The monster stepped into view and Arix’s blood ran cold. The creature had a large thin body held up by spider like legs. The front of the body could move upright like a humans torso. The whole body and legs were covered in short brown fur, like a dog. Attached to the top of the body was a head, no eyes, no visible ears only a mouth, large and full of razor sharp teeth. The creature had rows of teeth that could probably even bite through stone. If Arix had seen the beast before he saw the gem, he might have just left it alone and went home. Then he thought, maybe if he gave the gem back. He wanted to be rich, but not enough to risk his life fighting a monster like this. Arix reached into his bag as the tunnel monster approached. He pulled the gem from his bag and held it up, instantly the creature stopped. It moved its head and slowly reached out for the gem with its creepy clawed spider legs. The gem seemed to lull the creature into a trance, like it had done to Arix earlier.

            Arix held the gem out, but kept it out of reach as he slowly backed away. The creature slowly followed Arix, subdued and focusing on the gem. It didn’t have eyes, yet the gem’s magic still worked. Slowly Arix continued to walk through the tunnel, he was nervous and was sweating. Suddenly the tunnel started to shake, it felt like an earthquake and pieces of stone ceiling began to fall. The tremors and falling stone shook the beast and he seemed to snap out of the trance. It realized it was being led and the thief still had its gem. The creature let out another roar and Arix took off into a sprint. He put the gem away and pulled out his weapon, a modified single shot pistol. This gun could shoot bullets, but also could shoot fire. Arix had made special combustion shots that would light things on fire. As he ran he loaded his gun. Rocks continued to fall, the creature was getting struck with stones and Arix had almost been struck several times. Arix finally ran into a dead end, it was a cave in, blocking him from the outside world. He turned as the creature closed in. Arix fired a shot into the darkness, the bullet zipped through the air and it a wall causing a burst of light and a splash of fire. He missed and tried to load another shot. Then a sharp spike flew from the darkness, Arix tried to dodge it, but was struck in the leg. It was a barb and as the creature stepped into view, Arix could see that the legs of the tunnel monster were covered in sharp barbs than it would throw. The beasts front leg jerked forward and another barb shot out, flying at high speeds. Arix dropped the ground and the barb embedded itself into the stone, right where his head was moments ago.

            Arix clutched his bleeding leg. The barb was sticking right through his leg. Arix used all his strength and pulled the barb out, a flash of pain swept over his body and cried out. His wound burned and throbbed and he hoped the barbs weren’t poisonous. The beast ran up at Arix and prepared to bring his clawed leg down to crush the boy. Arix finished loading his gun and right as the monster stood over him, Arix fired. The shot hit the beast right in its torso. Flames splashed across its body and caught fire to its fur. The monster backed up and roared in pain. It scuttled back into the darkness, hitting its body against the walls to put out the remaining fire.

            Now that Arix was safe, he would be able to crawl out of the cave. He wrapped his leg in cloth from his bag, then slowly began to move rocks away. It took hours, but Arix was able to get through the cave in. He limped through the caverns until he eventually found light. Light shone into one of the tunnels, Arix followed the light and found the exit to the cave. He smiled and began to laugh to himself. He didn’t think he’d ever see daylight again. From the cave he began his journey home, stopping to rest often. Once he got home he planned to rest and let his body heal. Arix had risked his life to steal treasure from a monster, the tunnel could have been his grave and no one would have known what happened to him. A sane man would take this as a lesson and maybe settle down to become a carpenter or mason, but Arix, he just wondered where he would find his next adventure.

New and exciting time!

   Hello everyone,
Its a new and exciting year for me. I've written a book as well as many short stories and I'm going to use this site to post my short stories for everyone to enjoy. I haven't published anything yet, but when I do I will post updates on this blog with the details. So for now, sit back, relax and enjoy some short stories by me Stephen J. Mulvaney.

Also, I would like to add that I enjoy feedback and if you like my short stories, you will love my book that I am writing.