Tag / short stories

by Janet

A Game of…

Cat and Mouse.

I was six when I moved to Santa Fe, and I hated it. My Aunt Lupe had taken me in – for reasons unknown to me – and my mother and two older brothers remained in Mexico. I missed them terribly. 

It was hard for me to make friends, due to my shyness, but between Aunt Lupe and my three cousins (and our neighbors on both sides who were a family of seven and a family of five), I was never really alone.  

Still, it took me years to become fully acclimated. It wasn’t until my last year of college that I realized I’d fallen in love with my new home. And now it was time to leave.

It was a thrill to accept a job in California, right after graduation, but my heart was hurting. So much so that I was sure I couldn’t do it. Aunt Lupe spent weeks on the Internet, and on the phone with a realtor, helping me look for a place to live, and she found me this adorable apartment in NoHo. 

Her reasons were twofold. She has the heart of a servant – so ‘helping’ comes naturally to her – but she is also strong and wise. She knew that as much as I hated to leave her – I was afraid of being on my own. 

She had watched me blossom – from that shy little girl who arrived fourteen years ago, to the woman I became – and she would not allow me to shrink back from this opportunity because of fear. 

After driving me to California, to help me settle into my new place, Aunt Lupe flew back to Santa Fe, leaving her Kia with me. It was a surprise gift – my graduation present – but it was so like her, that it didn’t surprise me at all.

Once she left, I had two weeks to myself before my job would start. I cleaned, unpacked, and then I bought a bed. I had no furniture whatsoever – other than an old stool I’d found in the garage – and sleeping was one thing that I loved. As long as my bed was comfortable, and I could get a good night’s sleep, everything else would fall into place. 

It was my first night with my brand new bed, and I dove in – head first. I was still uneasy about being alone, but the bed felt so luxurious that I settled in quite nicely. I turned out the lights, and picked up my phone to text Aunt Lupe… and then the trouble started. 

The sound of little footsteps, running to-and-fro above my head, kept me awake nearly all night long – so the next morning I was on edge. I assumed that the noises I had heard were from a small animal who had taken refuge on the roof, but as I sipped my Starbucks and mentally planned my day, I heard the squeak. And it wasn’t coming from the roof, it was coming from inside.

That’s when I saw it. A big, fat, ugly rodent… poking its head out of a small hole in the wall… looking at me like I was dinner. I jumped, and then perched myself onto the stool. 

“No, no, no!” I cried. “This is NOT happening.”

My phone was hanging from my skirt pocket, so I called Aunt Lupe and screamed for help.

“Oh Mija,” she laughed, “just call your landlord. And get a cat.” 

It took all the courage I could muster to get down from that stool, but I finally did it. I grabbed my shoes from the closet, took my keys off of the hook by the door, and I sprinted to the Kia. Once I was safely inside the car, I Google searched the nearest animal shelter, and off I went.

And so here we are. Jasper and I, back at home. She is the most adorable cat I have ever seen, and we are ready for war.

TO BE CONTINUED

I’m finally back! So, ok. This might not be my finest hour, but I need to finish what I started here! I was a bit stumped as to how the story of the woman and the mouse would go, hence… Jasper has arrived on scene!

The elements I mentioned before, that I’ll be working on through this story, are as follows:

  1. The Beginning (Exposition): Establishes characters and setting.
  2. The Inciting Incident: an event that puts the main character(s) into a challenging situation – where the movement of the story begins.
  3. Rising Action: Where most of the conflict takes place, which is a major part of the story.
  4. The Dilemma: This is where things get harder. It can be a twist in the story, an additional challenge, or the time when an important decision must be made.
  5. The Climax: The big moment… where most of the tension is contained.
  6. The End (Resolution): Where things get resolved and all goes back to normal, or to the next level… a new normal.

Since Q talked in the first part (The World According to Q) I had to catch us up on Rosa (also my letter “R” in the alphabet game). I believe I’ve accomplished #2, the inciting incident, which is Rosa’s discovery of the mouse. And now Rosa and Jasper are ready for battle with Q – our cute little mouse.

I think it’s going to be fun (even though I’ve been procrastinating for nearly two weeks) because it’s hard to know who the hero will turn out to be. Is it Rosa? Q the mouse? Or maybe Jasper? We will find out soon enough!

Anyway, like I said, it’s a little sloppy but the idea is out there and this is all about “learning to write.”

I hope you’ve enjoyed it so far, and that you’re finding a little entertainment or maybe some learning here (just as I am), and I’ll see you again soon!

Thanks for reading!

-Janet

by Janet

The World According to Q

The Story Begins

My name is Quentin, but my friends from the nest call me Q. I was named after my father’s great, great, GREAT grandfather. He came to this country from France, and now he’s hailed as a hero in our family. 

As the story goes, he and his lady friend left Paris to escape a dangerous gang called Les Rats. If he hadn’t had the brains and the courage to get on that ship, the both of them would have been eaten alive. It would have been bye-bye Monet family… and none of us would be here today.

I was born on Houston Street, in NoHo, but my family wandered a lot while I was growing up so there was no real place we called home. When my parents were killed – by an exterminator – my sister and I settled down in this cool little crib on 4th Avenue. 

Tenants came, and tenants went, and it always seemed to work out for us. My sister (Star) and I lived quietly by day, and the tenants never failed to leave us delicious crumbs for the night. Sadly, after Joe and Lisa Gregory moved out – nearly a year ago – the place stayed empty. 

The talk in the alley was that some new guy bought the building and then he jacked the rent up too high. Nobody was willing to pay it. The place was nice and all, but not THAT nice. Star and I had no choice… we had to start packing up. All of our rations were gone.

As I was running to-and-fro, making sure I’d left nothing behind, I heard a key rattle in the door. I scurried to the peephole and caught a glimpse of the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. She left the door open and came in and out, carrying boxes, cleaning supplies, and then a stool. 

Before I could scuttle off to tell Star, the young lady began to sing and spin… her skirt twirling in the air. And there I was, safely behind my peephole… with a front row seat!

As the woman spun, my mind spun – in English and in French (although I know very little) – and suddenly everything I’d ever been taught about being unseen (or unheard) escaped me. 

“Bonjour, Mademoiselle!” I squeaked.

TO BE CONTINUED

Working through the Plot

I thought it would be fun to get two different perspectives for this story… the woman and the mouse. I figured it was only fair (and maybe more interesting) to hear from Q first, since he’s lived in NoHo longer. And since I’m working my way through SIX elements, I may end up with twelve mini-parts to this story… but we’ll just see how it goes.

The elements I’ve been looking at, that I’ll be working on through this story, are as follows:

  1. The Beginning (Exposition): Establishes characters and setting.
  2. The Inciting Incident: an event that puts the main character(s) into a challenging situation – where the movement of the story begins.
  3. Rising Action: Where most of the conflict takes place, which is a major part of the story.
  4. The Dilemma: This is where things get harder. It can be a twist in the story, an additional challenge, or the time when an important decision must be made.
  5. The Climax: The big moment… where most of the tension is contained.
  6. The End (Resolution): Where things get resolved and all goes back to normal, or to the next level… a new normal.

So, I’ve made my way through the first element, the beginning. Yay! but we may repeat the beginning just a tad while we hear from the woman. She has no name yet, but we’ll soon be introduced!

I’ve never sat down to organize a story (I’m not very organized at all!), so this is NEW to me. I’m hoping to learn a great deal about writing as I stay focused on the “P” word, PLOT.

I also wanted to keep things moving through the alphabet – so that explains our character “Q.” Ha! That being said, I’ll see if I can progress through the letter “R” in Part II of the story.

Thanks so much for reading, and for being here as I learn! I hope you’ve enjoyed, and that you found some entertainment, amusement or maybe something new that you didn’t know.

See you soon,

-Janet

by Janet

Jazzy Jax

-Barbershop Tales-

Chapter 3

“Fly me to the moon… 

let me play among the stars,

And let me see what spring is like…

On a-Jupiter and Mars.”

Floyd was working on his supply list when he heard the pleasant voice outside, singing one of his favorite old Sinatra tunes.

A tall, thin man stood at the foot of the steps with a microphone in his hand. The colorfully clad gentleman wasn’t singing into it, however, it appeared that he was holding it for someone else. 

Floyd stood up and leaned over his desk toward the window to see that it wasn’t a ‘someone else’ at all. It was a parrot. He had heard rumors of this singing bird, Jazzy Jax, but he had never really believed it. And here, outside of the barbershop, perched the proof. 

He went outside and introduced himself, offering the man a few dollars that he had pulled from his petty cash box. The gentleman bowed as he took the money, and Jazzy Jax nodded his head up and down and spoke for the pair.

“Thank you, thank you… whistle, whistle.” He sang. “Nice man, nice man.”

The gentleman’s name was Jeffrey, and he and the bird were making a few final stops in Jagger Hills before heading out for their summer tour. Every June and July, when the weather was best, they would travel to the neighboring towns and perform. Kids parties, church picnics, and every now and then – when they were lucky – they’d be offered gigs at week-long community fairs. 

Floyd loved the idea of this singing bird, and his thoughts wandered… far away from the conversation… as he imagined how fun it would be to have the two perform inside of the barbershop. 

Jeffrey was still talking, unaware that Floyd’s mind was now somewhere else, but Jazzy Jax seemed to notice and he interrupted his thoughts.

“Hello, hello!” Jax shouted. “You’re so pretty!”

Floyd saw the whole thing as a sign. He’d never thought of things that way before, but with Henry’s presence around the shop he was beginning to think differently – his mind opening up to consider that maybe… just maybe… signs and miracles might exist.  

Suddenly, the wind began to stir and dark gray clouds covered the sun. The sky opened up and it poured. “And what kind of sign is this?!” Floyd muttered to himself with sarcasm as he hurried to the barbershop door. 

Jax fled to his partner’s shoulder, and Jeffrey – soggy and confused – grabbed his stand. 

“Don’t just stand there,” Floyd yelled. “Come inside.”

The rain persisted for several hours, so Floyd and Jeffrey enjoyed hot coffee and cocoa. They talked about the bizarre weather they were having, and then Floyd asked about the possibility of Jax performing at the barbershop.

Jax had napped through the worst of the storm, but he opened one eye and shook his head when his name was mentioned. Jax contributed his own two cents to the conversation with some Nat King Cole…

“That’s why darling, it’s incredible…

that someone so unforgettable,

thinks that I am unforgettable too.”

TO BE CONTINUED

This was a little off the cuff here. I created the illustration over the last couple of days and literally kept adding details as I thought about what might be happening in the scene. That being said, the chapter kind of tells the story of the image, rather than the image being created for the story. Not an easy task!

The chapter I had been working on before – that is almost finished – is staying on hold until I figure out which letter it might represent. For now, Jazzy Jax seemed like a cute “J” word and a fun addition to the barbershop story.

I’ve been having conversations with my son about what is going on in the world (wars, and rumors of wars), and I absolutely had to go total upbeat fiction on this because there is far too much sadness and fear out there already. So, a singing bird it was!

That’s about all for now. Thank you so much for reading… I hope you were entertained!

Until next time,

Peace & Love!