Yesterday hubby threatened to stop me going if I didn't read this week, so I did.
I read a short story I had written, it needed a title, so I called it Globophobia.
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| Image courtesy of freeimagelive.com. My story for this weeks Light & Shade Challenge |
I'm sat at my desk, still snivelling and hiccoughing, trying to decide what to do, what to say. I'm 40 today, not a toddler on the first day at nursery.
Though for the moment it doesn't matter as I cannot leave my office, or even my desk for now.
Eventually I make a decision, I phone the one person who knows about my problem, not that she understands, she thinks I'm mad but at least she knows and I don't have to explain myself.
With a trembling hand I lift the telephone receiver & dial her number, she picks up eventually, her voice blurred with sleep.
'Sis, sis, it's me, I'm sorry to disturb you, but I need you help, I'm so scared.'
When she stops laughing she replies 'OK, OK, calm down I'm on my way, I'll think of something, stay put.'
Thinking bitterly that I have no choice but to stay put, I hang up.
True to her word, she arrives about half an hour later, to me it seems like hours.
Within minutes of her arrival she is talking to the staff & their puzzled looks turn to looks of sympathy, no one is laughing, so she obviously hasn't told them the truth.
She enters my room & puts her arm around me 'I told them an elderly relative died suddenly and that you shouldn't have come to work today'
'Thank you'
'Come on, stand up, close your eyes, I'll tell you when we are past them'
We go to a coffee shop just round the corner from work.
'They will clear your office up for you, they will all be gone when you go back tomorrow'
'Thank you' I say again.
She passes me a business card.
'What's this?' I ask
The name of a good therapist!
'I don't need a therapist! There is nothing wrong with me!' I snarl
'Oh right, so every time someone decorates your office with balloons for your birthday or Christmas. I'm gonna have to come over and invent a dead relative, just so you don't have to admit you have a balloon phobia' she replied.
'Well it's your bloody fault, you hid balloons in my bed and they scared me half to death'.
My sister screamed her reply 'We were 6 for Gods sake, get over it!'
8 comments:
Absolutely love it! A very good story, beginning, middle and good punch line at the end! One thing though, and this might've been picked up by your writers' group people - I know this sort of thing was certainly picked up in the group I used to belong to - and that is we no longer dial a number, we punch in the numbers or thumb them in, or hit the key pay, or whatever, but we no longer dial. But other than that, a super short story. This could be a nice little filler story for one of the women's magazines, but as I don't know which take the various kinds of story, the twist in the tail/tale story, or romantic, or whatever, that is something your writers' group could possibly help you with. I do think most of the women's mags that take short stories also offer writers' guidelines.
Margaret P
Hi Margaret, I have to say that as most of the writers circle are a lot older than me, no-one picked up on it. Thank you
I love this story! x
Brilliant xx
PS Yes, you have to keep abreast of modern speech, such as no more dial for phones. Backpack for rucksack or, in my mother's day, haversack, and so forth. I believe that The People's Friend take gentle stories, but as I've not read this mag I can't be certain, only what I heard mention in my former writers' group. But there are so many weekly women's magazines. They're not for me, but I believe that some of them pay well for short stories. Yes, if all the members are older they might be equally guilty of not keeping up with modern idiomatic speech. I'm in my 70s but even I know speech has changed. We don't call pop bands "groups" any more, for example. If you write about young(er) people, i.e. of working age, as you have in this story, then it would always help to get a younger person to read it before you submitted it for publication just to make sure you have the write phraseology, tone of voice, etc. And words like "cool" and "wicked" and "fit" (not meaning a chap goes to the gym, but is sexy) can be so out of date quickly, too.
Margaret P
I loved it. I write a lkttle too but don't get a chance ti atten the local groups because of work. Well done for being brave enough to share it both in oerson and on here!
I read your blog occasionally and I live how "honest" you are given how these days we have to cover up our feelings all the time. :)
I thought this was good because it captured my interest and I cared about her problem - even before I knew what it was! If this were part of a longer story, as in relating a memory, dialing the phone could be correct. Anyway, I know what I like and I liked it.
Hester, that was great, well done, I loved it.
Mary
xx
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