(Not)800 Words continued

The twins sat happily under the umbrella on the sand as Smiley engaged the two in a very long winded Māori fable; the twins reacted by mostly giggling at the expressions he made as he retold the ancient story. Woody had promised Tracey he would spend lots of quality time with the twins but the waves were just looking too good. And there came Smiley to the rescue 

“Hey Woody! Something’s come up!” Smiler (Smiley) had waved at him running up Piranha Bay shore

“Yeah, mate, and great call and timing—check out those waves! You reckon you might watch the little surfers for me while I catch some?”

“No, we’ve got huge orders now coming in with those solar panels—have you seen George?”

“Ahh, no worries, mate—let me just catch a few and you watch these two and I’ll burn right through those orders, thanks mate!” without hesitation or a moments reflection, Woody accepted the allegorical gift horse, grabbed his board and leapt for the ocean leaving Smiley scratching his head but settling down next to the twins in the sand. 

By now, Smiler was used Woody’s ways and Smiler was no better at being distracted off task as the twins were really so entertaining. It was hard to say which of the two the twins more resembled as they both had a look of both Tracey and Woody, and a funny habit of stripping off their clothes. This thought made Smiler chuckle recalling that was how their parents met; on the nudie beach 

Today was back to school, Tracey being the principal couldn’t look after the twins and they weren’t at the stage of day care just yet (that is Tracey and Woody were not), so Smiler and his lady nurse friend had somehow taken on the role and with unmasked annoyance and rolled eyes Smiler’s lady nurse friend said she wasn’t knitting booties to voice her protest in her subtle way.

Lost in thought staring at the waves Smiler was taken by surprise as a wet surfer slap landed on his back when Woody returned, shocking the islander out of his dreamy thoughts. 

“Woody!”

“Scared ya mate! —naw just me!—what a surf—you know I saw a penguin out there, I swear, it was just coasting along and—“

“Woody— I just had a thought —“

“Oh yeah, just the one or is this like —“

“George!”

“What about George?”

“George and Katie….”

“Yeah what about them?”

“Katie and Zack…..”

“Uhh yeah ….but they’re like—“

“George and Fiona…..”

Woody scratched his face scruff thoughtfully,

“I see where you’re going with this, but they all —“

“I saw Zack leaving—“

Woody abruptly stopped him,

“now Smiley, you know how I feel about gossip, if you’re about to tell me how he was just sneaking out Katie’s window I don’t wanna know, ok—cos like, that would kill the great vibe I am on from that surf, so don’t go there, ok?”

“No I’m just saying, it was that dinner party, I think those two would have had a better chance—“

“I know you like to say how George helped me and Trace talk it through and all but we shouldn’t be poking our noses in this, besides, I heard Shake may be a thing again—but that’s not gossip because of who I heard it from!” with a whiplash motion, Woody then landed another wet slap on Smiler’s back

“Shay and Ike?”

But already Woody was halfway down the beach with Amy on his shoulders and little Andy stumbling beside him learning to test his legs

Electra 

 

ravenous

you know it was the most strangest of things, yesterday that I saw —it was something almost mythical.

right after the storm, the snow is all powder white, it crunches quietly because the sky is full of snow 

so it was this way, a bare skeletal tree at first caught my eye

then suddenly the sounds of wild ravens hawking loudly 

when I got to the house there it was! Covered in black ravens, dozens!!! A yellow house covered in ravens all flying around —then up in the trees behind in the bare branches —all filled with ravens. 

They circled me as I walked by the house and shouted at me flapping their wings 

and I wondered walking away—why is it only thst one house?

non-haiku falling autumn winter

the odd incongruence 

of a shatter of golden ochre autumn leaves 

upon a near foot of white snow 

illuminated under the lamppost 

Who will stand beside you when your world falls apart?

 

Side Street Mystery/Best Sellers Sheets & pages

It had been a busy day at the bookshop; lately they had been getting quite a lot of traffic because of something someone said on TikTok (mystery bookshop owner’s deaths) and what with Halloween around the corner ….

“I say we go with it,” Sheila had said raising an arched brow at the sudden addition of shoppers that walked through the shop’s antique double doors all with hiking backpacks 

And this was the sort of town where strange stories are glorified 

So Sheila picked one store window and Faun another and they decorated gruesomely using horror fiction books the store conveniently always carried. H. P. Loveceaft, Edgar Allen Poe, Mary Shelly, Bram Stoker ….but they might have got carried away with the extra special effects to bring the books to life

“Surprise! Fake blood!” Sheila pulled out of her giant handbag 

So the bookstore was busy and so was the street with curious onlookers hanging around.

“We really have caused a commotion,” Sheila remarked, looking natural and beautiful as a trans Elvira as she peered out the shop window, “look— they’re taking a group selfie in front of the store with two of them faking they’re dead!”

“Oh that recent news story,” Faun rolled her eyes and felt fed up about it, “they just want to sensationalize to get views and will stoop at making up stories ….”

Sheila turned from the window knowing this was a touchy subject. What with Grant …. and suspicions surrounding him

****

And it was later back st her place— the Victorian lavender grey house with the now slightly less overgrown front garden and her place behind it —when she thought she heard someone at the door. It was the middle of the night and she was in bed having a disturbing dream. A knock. 

Or was it in her dream?

And heading down the stairs she went through to the kitchen to look out the kitchen door window. But no. No one there.

Yet she heard it again. A knocking. 

But it was coming from upstairs she now realized. Faun went back up the stairs back to her bedroom and now heard it again. 

She smiled. Sat on the edge of the bed and knocked back. 

She heard through the wall,

“are you awake?”

“Well now I am!” she said back through the wall 

And for whatever reason her phone alerted a message as a text came from Grant:

<<come over>>

<<Im half asleep>> she replied 

<<bring your own pillow>>

***

he didn’t bother to put the light on but he did move over on his bed for her 

“Took you long enough,” he said but he opened his blanket to let her under and into the warmth of his bed cave 

“How long have you been back?” Faun asked but then forgot the question because whatever she’d arrived in was adeptly removed and tossed onto the floor and at the same time his mouth everywhere, demanding, kissing her 

And not a whoof out of King Leopold