
Hand me a pen, and I’ll give you emotion. – Ash

Hand me a pen, and I’ll give you emotion. – Ash
The blazing gunfight ended a few moments ago. Cindy-Anne and Darby sit on a small hill, smoke cigarettes, while trying to catch their breath, and silently scour the bodies spread out all over the property in relief. Young Darby purses his lips, puffs a big “O,” and breaks the blaring silence.
Cindy-Anne, you’re going to be the death of me you do know that? You’re lucky I showed up when I did.
Whatever, Darby. I was doing just fine before you came and ruined my fun. I had it under control.
Under control alright. Billy Watson was about five seconds away from blowing that pretty little head of yours clean off those pretty little shoulders. Missed that part, did ya? Well, I’m sure glad he did.
Continue reading “Story Jots # 17 – Shooting from the Hip”Honey, have you met our neighbour?
What?
Our neighbour. The guy the landlord said lives across from us in the adjoining apartment. Have you met him?
Ah…no, I don’t think so. Why?
Oh, nothing. I was just thinking today about how strange it is that we’ve been in our new place for three months, and both of us have yet to lay a single eye on him. Don’t you think that’s a tad odd?
No, not really. Maybe this guy likes keeping to himself. He could work shitty hours opposite us or something. Who knows.
Yeah, I guess. But you would think we would have seen him coming or going at some point. His front door closing here or there.
Baby, you are being weird and uncharacteristically nosy. Who cares? Look, I am completely cool with not getting to know our neighbours. I hate those annoying stop-and-talks. Besides, shit’s tangly when people get too all up in your business. That’s the whole reason we moved. We hate people remember.
All I am saying is that I find it odd. I haven’t seen him in the laundry room, I’m there almost every other day. Both of us check the communal mailboxes coming in and going out, no sign of him there, either, and his mailbox is right next to ours.
Ah, there’s that weird again, babe.
Plus, it’s not only his door, I also haven’t heard anything coming from his apartment. Nothing. It’s always quiet over there.
And, there’s the nosy.

When I write, I disappear for a while. But I always come back with a story to tell. – Ash

“What the fu…“
Before Ben Coleman could finish his f-bomb, or the joint he was pulling back on, the sky had begun to fill with people. Popping up all over the place. As far as his eyes could see, human beings appeared everywhere. First, one by one, then two by two, now it seems they’re multiplying by ten at a time. Suspended off the ground about a hundred feet or more, all spaced out sort of evenly. He slowed his car to a stop to get a grip on what was happening. This couldn’t be real. He looked momentarily at the bag of weed sitting next to him in the passenger seat. Pausing a second thinking maybe he was high. Baked on his uncle’s homegrown stuff. It wouldn’t be the first time. His uncle’s gear was always sort of “use at your own risk.” Thinking this, he figured it was another reason to pull over. See if he could come down a bit from his buzz and get his head straight. The people kept coming and it wasn’t long before he realized it wasn’t weed. He was buzzed for sure, but this was as real as it gets and now he was freaking out. His buzz was just making it worse.
Continue reading “Story Jots # 15 – Grounded”
It’s not a blank page to me, it’s where the story begins. There’s an intimacy in that. Your work could have a million pages but you’ll never forget your first. – Ash

My writing has grown with help from the seasoned. Their words and stories are like seeds left to bloom in the garden of my own imagination. – Ash
There’s a saying in Newfoundland and Labrador and many fishing ports throughout the world that applies to this horizon.
“Red sky at morning, fisherman’s warning. Red sky at night, fisherman’s delight”.
As I stood there this morning in an awed gaze thinking about that, I felt another meaning come to me. The storyteller’s version.
“Red sky at morning, writers adorning. Red sky at night, writers give sight”.
A passerby thought I just wanted to share.
Until…

The next word can never be freed without the key that unlocked the first. – Ash