Tag: Writing

Sidequests for Dec. Part 1

On By MaryIn SidequestsLeave a comment

Looking through the remaining Sidequests, I pulled out some of the ones I likely won’t do at all. Those include dancing like no one is watching (I don’t dance period), making the lighting warm and ambient in my space (unless lighting a candle counts, which I do on occasion – I already use curtains that let in plenty of natural light because I love natural light, and I have no plans to switch out lightbulbs), and building a blanket fort (which sounds like loads of fun, but a little less so when my partner in crime has a broken arm). I also have a card saying to prep a few healthy meals, but my boyfriend keeps cooking. He usually does make plenty that I can eat for a few days, so I guess that counts? It’s maybe not healthy? But better than eating out all the time?

I wasn’t super intent on picking up trash around my neighborhood, but I’ve had a friend that’s been on a mission to pick up a bag of trash a week for a year, and she’s been way ahead on her goal for that and still going. I asked her if she would do a bag for me as well, and she obliged.

Some of the easier ones have also been done. I baked something from scratch quite a few times this month. Last week I made cinnamon rolls as part of a holiday thing for work, and made 3 trays of it. I also said the ABCs backwards, probably very incorrectly, and I splurged on some spendier chocolates to snack on as well.

One was unintentionally completed the other day. My boyfriend usually leaves some of his stuff on the front porch when he goes out to sit and smoke, and someone stole his brand new earbuds he got as a gift. The app showed them at a neighbor’s house, but I thought that was strange because the neighbors in question are an older lady and her wheelchair bound father, and I doubted they’d be roaming the neighborhood snatching things off porches. We asked nicely and she let us walk around her property, and then we climbed into the concrete ditch to walk up and down it a bit and check. I think that counts as somewhere nearby I’ve never been before, because I’ve never walked along any of the ditches here.

The other two easy ones included getting a new plant for my space (the third and final one) and going to a local coffee shop. Since it’s Christmas, the available plants included poinsettias or mini living Christmas trees, so I got one of the trees. Both options are poisonous for cats, but the tree might actually be able to survive outside. We’ll see. There’s also a local coffee shop on my way to work that opened up just this year, and I enjoy having an excuse to visit them.

I don’t know for sure if I will complete all of the remaining sidequests, but they’re fairly simple ones that I have the means to do. I’ll do another update closer to the end of the year with the remaining cards.

As for the reasoning on why they got derailed – my boyfriend got hit by a car when he was coming home from work on November 24th. He was on a scooter. The driver was a 19 year old boy with no driver’s license AND no car insurance. He has a separated shoulder joint and a broken arm, and had loads of bruises that have mostly healed up. He also possibly had some broken ribs because he hasn’t been able to get comfortable/is very sore all through his chest and back, and a mild concussion that they didn’t think required a neurologist. Because it involved a vehicle, his insurance initially pushed back saying the car insurance should pay, which is problematic when the only person in the accident that should have had car insurance didn’t. He’s been out of work (thankfully his job is safe, they already told him they’d take him back as soon as he was well), and very miserable, but we’re getting it figured out.

Sidequests Week 30

On By MaryIn SidequestsLeave a comment

The sidequests for this week were to pick out my best pair of socks and wear them, to write a story for 5 minutes, and to have my favorite meal.

I decided to use a foot mask at the beginning of this week, and while the skin is peeling afterwards, it’s usually a good idea to wear socks. That way you don’t leave large flakes of dead skin everywhere you walk. It’s super disgusting, but the process does leave your feet very smooth! So I pretty much went through all of my socks this entire week. In fairness, I don’t own a lot – I own some nice cushiony cotton socks for work, and I have some kitty ankle socks I had received as a gift, so I wore those to bed.

I also filled the week with quite a few of my favorite meals. I had pizza, and chicken, and made cinnamon rolls. Then to finish out, I made a soup I enjoy a lot. It makes a lot, so I’ll be able to eat it for dinner through half of next week.

The story that I wrote yesterday was the result of writing for 5 minutes. In truth, the entire story took me closer to 15 to write and post, so I exceeded the 5 minute mark, although I did do it fairly last minute (Sunday.) Sometimes these cards get put off for the weekend though.

Last Words

On By MaryIn Prompts, WritingLeave a comment

The prompt cards for this were “grandparent” and “phone call at 3 a.m.”

It was fairly easy to see that it had to be the most generic of generic ass ghost stories. So, here you go.

          Dana woke as the phone ring, her hand grasping for the device blindly in the dark. As she raised the lit screen to her face, she grimaced and cursed. Who calls at 3 a.m.? The number was listed as unknown. She answered it, angrily growling, “What?”

          The line was silent, then cut out. Groaning, she slapped the phone back down onto the bed next to her. She lay awake, anger coursing through her, unable to sleep. She was still awake when her alarm clock went off.

          The news was surprising and not surprising at the same time. Her grandmother had been in hospice for a long time, her health fading fast. She was unable to talk coherently or take care of herself, and hadn’t been able to for the longest time. The nurses had warned her mother that she was no longer eating. She had died sometime in the middle of the night.

          Dana cried some in the bathroom at work, but mostly managed to hold it together. Her entire family had known this moment was coming. Every phone call from the nursing home was always met with some level of dread for the news it might carry. But even knowing what was going to happen hadn’t quite cleared the sudden shock of sadness that Dana felt when she finally got the message from her mom. It didn’t help that she’d had so little sleep.

          The shrill sound of her ringtone woke her again. Dana sat up, frowning at the screen. Unknown caller. 3 a.m. again. She groaned and grabbed the phone, ignoring the call. Tomorrow I’m going to turn the ringer off, she told herself.

          Even with the ringer off, the screen lighting up and the vibration of her phone still brought her to consciousness briefly. Not enough to annoy her as badly as it had the previous nights, at least. As she drifted back to sleep, she saw that it was 3 a.m. again.

          The wake was simple – her grandmother had outlived many of her friends, so it was mostly a small family reunion. As sad as the circumstances were, Dana did enjoy the chance to meet with her cousins, whom she hadn’t seen in a few years. Her favorite cousin, Rachel, was a little subdued and looked pale. “What’s the matter?” Dana asked her when she had a chance to speak to her alone.

          “I got a strange phone call. The night grandma died.” Rachel sighed. “Some woman’s voice just said “I love you” and hung up. I didn’t even think about it, but I was just talking to your mom and she said grandma died at the same time as the phone call. I remembered because it was such a weird time of night to call.”

          Dana felt a shiver run up her spine. “What time?”

          “3 a.m.”

          Dana felt the blood drain from her face and her mouth gaped open as she struggled for a moment over whether to tell Rachel about the phone calls she had received or not. After a moment, she decided to keep it to herself.

          That night, Dana didn’t sleep. She sat up, anxiously glancing at her phone as the time ticked closer to 3. When the phone rang, she grabbed it, immediately answering. “Grandma?” she asked.

          The line was silent for a moment. The slightly tinny, staticky voice of a woman came through. Faintly, it said, “I love you.”

          “I love you too,” Dana said immediately, but the line was already dead.

          The phone calls stopped after that.

Prophetic

On By MaryIn Prompts, WritingLeave a comment

The cards for this week are “reckless enthusiasm” and “homeless person.”

The homeless person that does show up isn’t the actual prompt one, because in my mind the main character is totally homeless after this (and is recklessly enthusiastic about his chances, though I guess I could have emphasized that more somehow). I had the idea almost immediately upon drawing the cards, but actually writing it was a bit boring. I like for things to get really dark and disturbing and this doesn’t quite scratch that, I guess.

Nonetheless…

          Gary woke from the dream with a feeling of absolute certainty. He was going to win the lottery one week from today. The dream was a prophecy, the word of God. He knew it for fact. He also knew that he had much to do in that week’s time. A sort of pre-imposed penance to prove his worthiness.

          He started by announcing to his family and friend’s that he was planning to move soon. He offered them first pick of his belongings. “Can I have your Playstation?” Carl from work joked.

          Gary nodded solemnly. “Anything, first come, first serve.” Carl had given him a strange look and declared bullshit. Gary brought the Playstation and all of its controllers and wires the next day. Carl accepted it, but shook his head in disbelief.

          His ex-wife studied him with concern as he dropped off photo albums and old memorabilia that he thought she would like. “You’re not going to off yourself, are you?” she asked when he enthusiastically offered anything she wanted. He shook his head and reassured her that wasn’t the case.

          Gary spent the weekend clearing out the rest of his belongings, every closet, every drawer, all the drawers themselves. He took everything he could to charity and second-hand shops, and the rest to the dump. He turned the keys to his apartment in. He made sizable cash transfers to his church from his bank accounts, leaving only the minimum amount.

          The day had come. He sat outside the gas station, staring placidly at the homeless man loitering outside. On his way in, he handed the man the title to his car and the keys. “It’s yours,” he told the weeping man, who thanked him profusely. And then he went in and bought his ticket.

          Gary sat in the park overnight. It was a warm night, and he felt calm and content knowing that the next day he would be wealthy beyond his wildest dreams.

          He found a paper to look up the lottery numbers the next morning, a wide smile on his face as he held his ticket up to compare.

          Not a single God damned match.