Category / Short story

by sparky200890

The Most Magical Night of the Year

Written by Sparky

Even Mickey Mouse knows to be in bed before Santa comes.

“‘Twas the night before Christmas,

And all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring,

Not even a mouse.”

I remember my parents telling me that story every year on Christmas Eve, ‘The Night Before Christmas’. My copy of that now lies on my child’s bookcase, ready to pass the tale onto a new generation.

I always wondered though, why a mouse?  What makes that specific creature more suited to not stirring than any other? Everyone tells me it was because it rhymed with house and didn’t break the rhythm of the poem. I never liked that though, I was always a dreamer, looking for a greater meaning. Some meaning that raised mice above the station of simply household rodent and pest and gave them purpose.

Everyone always laughed at me; they never understood why I chose to believe that. No matter many times I tried to explain that I wanted to think mice were cooler than they were. I gave up a few years back, they stopped mentioning it and I stopped fighting the corner. It wasn’t so bad I guess, a childish fancy, the endless wondering of the bored mind. Continue reading →

by Colette

Sleigh Me

Written by Rob

Wonder if this sleigh saw any snow last Christmas… Image Courtesy of picstopin.com

I rang Santa and got an electronic voice.

“Thank you for calling Saint Nicholas Enterprises Inc. Please select one of the following using your telephone keypad. Dial one for Sales (this is a freephone service). Dial two if you wish to cancel or amend an existing order (this service will be billed at the national rate). Dial three for anything else or just wait for an operator (this service is charged at a premium rate of two pounds sterling per minute).”

I pressed the two and waited. Again, the electronic voice.

“Thank you for calling Saint Nicholas Enterprises Inc. Please select the service you require from the following list using your keypad. If you wish to cancel an order, press one. If you wish to amend an order, press two. For any other service, just hold.”

I pressed two and immediately an electronic rendition of “Jingle Bells” sounded in my ear. After five minutes of jolly jingle, a recorded voice interrupted: “Your call is important to us and we’re doing our very best to get to you as quickly as we can. Unfortunately, we are experiencing very heavy traffic at this time. Saint Nicholas Enterprises Inc. appreciates your patience,” then back to Jingle Bells.  Continue reading →

by Colette

Tame

Written by x3naurus

You’re telling us, alright!
Image Courtesy of http://www.amountainmomma.com

“My dear child, you are quite impulsive! Let us check these results! Ah, here we are. Teacher’s notes. Ohohohoo! ‘Speaks constantly. Can’t sit still. Makes my hair fall out.’ Not very good, my child! You know what this means?”

“Yes, sir.”

The child looks frantically around the ghost-white room for a split second, when he simply gives in to the psychiatrist’s sundering stare. “Come with me, young one.”

This young boy follows close. He finally snaps out of the sundering submission, whilst his hand is tightly grasped by the psychiatrist, and looks – again – frantically among the hallway. Somehow, the psychiatrist notices this, and stops, twisting his head toward the child.
Continue reading →

by Colette

A Wild Topic

Written by Terrestris Veritas (Terra)

Anyone for a lollipop?
Image Courtesy of Sweetdough.net

Staring up into the darkness a thought entered my head.“Do you ever think that like, ‘darkness’ is just another way of saying, ‘no light’?” I asked my sleepy mate.

I heard him prop himself up onto his elbow. “No shit Sherlock,” came the answer.

“Well,” I responded, “I’m no Sherlock alright but when people say ‘absence of light’, they mean darkness. Do you not think it strange that people don’t say ‘absence of darkness’ when they mean light?”

“If you keep talking there will be an absence of light in your head until there’s an absence of darkness on this side of the Earth! Happy?”

“Yes.” I giggled to myself.

“Good. Shut up.” Matt snuggled himself down into his over-sized duvet.

As I was bobbing my head to some imaginary music, I thought of something else. Sitting up, I voiced my concern. “Hey. Did you ever think that, like, when-”

“I don’t think I was very clear earlier,” Matt interrupted. “Fuck off with your speculations. Please.”
Continue reading →