Category: Inspired

Something Different

Flash Fiction Fantasy

“Looking at life from a different perspective makes you realize that it’s not the deer that is crossing the road, rather it’s the road that is crossing the forest.”                          – Muhammad Ali  (reddit)

For days Estrela Mann felt a heaviness in the air. Not as in the humidity of the tropics where she lived, but as a wave of negativity from the people around her. Each morning she would summon the light within her to fill her heart in order to illuminate the darkness around her.  So it was that Stela, as her friends called her, made it through each day weary and exhausted but in good spirits.

One particular morning as the alarm rang out its cheerful tune, Stela prepared for the day ahead, resolved to make it a good one. She still had lots of errands and things to do to prepare for her trip.  She allowed herself to feel good about the workshop this weekend and was looking forward to it.

Stela was eager to get going, but just before stepping outside, through the door’s glass panel, she caught sight of an unfamiliar car parked across the street with three angry faces glaring at her house. At first glance, Stella didn’t recognize them without the masks of pleasantry they always wore in public, but over the past few months, her awareness and intuition had sharpened. Stela knew exactly who they were, but what were they doing here and what did they want?

As she considered how to handle the situation, her phone rang.  It was a video call from her friend Tom Aldi.  This morning was getting more bizarre by the minute.  What did he want this early in the day? She hadn’t spoken to him for months, but she smiled, it did make sense. They each had an uncanny sagacity of reaching out to the other in the most opportune moments.  “Guess what?” he told her. “I’m almost at your back door. Open up and let’s put on a fresh pot of coffee. I’ve got great news!”

pathway underneath trees
Photo by JULIO NERY on Pexels.com

Forgetting the strangers outside for a moment, Stela went to the back of the house without hesitation.  She would save her questions for later.  Stela was glad to see him and was surprised at how relieved she felt to have him here right now. They had been friends since high school, and Stela often shared things with him that she felt foolish to tell others. She was sure he could help her sort out the signs to understand what was going on. Tom had a naturally keen ability for solving such puzzles.

Stela watched him casually walking out of the woods as if this morning’s visit was an everyday occurrence. She stepped out the door and was about to reach him when out of the ground in front of her, there arose a cloud of black smoke as when a small brush fire suddenly turns large and menacing. Stranger still was that someone appeared to be trapped in the smoke waving hands and screaming, “Get away, get away!” A hand making a fist shot up from out of the blackness as if to stop Stela from reaching Tom. The voice in the black cloud screamed obscenities at Stela. Amidst the confusion, Stela seemed to recognize the shrill voice.  It sounded like Melana. As Stela approached the screams became louder, “Stay away! You ruined my life! No, not again! I forbid it!”

Was she dreaming? Was it Melana’s malicious nature from across the miles after all these years?  This situation was all too much, too absurd! She told herself.  She tried to look into the smoke. There was no flame; there was no one there! Just ear piercing sounds like a screaming Banshee. Frustrated and confused, Stela raised her hands and shouted back, “Stop it!  I never ruined anything! Your own deceitfulness and manipulation achieved that!  Now leave me alone, I have more important things to deal with!”

As Stela put out her hands toward the screaming smoke, rays of bright light shot out from her palms. Stela watched in astonishment as the smoke turned from black to gray to white, and finally, a thin fog evaporated into the fresh, quiet morning air. Through the light mist, Stela could see Tom getting closer as she stood there trembling in disbelief.

“Did you see that?” she asked Tom as they embraced when he reached her.

abstract art blur bright
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

“The brush fire?  Yeah, that was weird. There were no brush fire warnings.  Good thing it fizzled quickly. Are you cold? Why are you trembling? Let’s go inside.”

Stela stared at him.  Was that all he saw?  “Did you hear the screeching?” She asked.

“Oh yeah, that old car parked across the street finally got going. If I were them, I would drive it over to the nearest auto repair shop.” She suddenly remembered the car out front, but when she looked,  it was no longer there.

Was it the car that produced black smoke and the screeching? That reasoning would make some sense of this wild morning.  Stela tried to relax as she half listened to Tom’s stories, but she remained restless. Either she was losing her mind, or something very strange was going on around her.

She thought of the Gandalf-look-alike she had met at the coffee shop a few months ago and again began to shiver as she remembered what he told her. Stela needed to get hold of him, but because she hadn’t taken him seriously, she didn’t even remember his name. Where did she put his business card?  She had missed Tom, but now was trying to find a way to get him out of her house so that she could concentrate on finding “Gandalf.”  Maybe he’ll sense my distress and find me again, like in the movies. She thought.  “This is not a movie.”  she scolded herself.

Tom noticed she had stopped listening, and she was trembling again. “Is everything alright? What’s going on? ” Stela wasn’t ready to share her ideas with Tom. When they were kids, she felt she could tell him anything but the events of the past few months were too much for her to try to explain, even to Tom.  He had always been tolerant of her beliefs and ideas, but this went beyond anything she had experienced before.

“I’m not feeling well this morning. I was going to call in sick to work and lay down for a while.” She lied.

“Ok, if you don’t mind, I’ll wait in your TV room in case you need anything. I don’t want to leave you like this. “

Stela stared at him and started to argue, but he gently pushed her into her room and closed the door. She had to admit that the events of this morning left her shaken. She was sure she had not imagined them. Again she noticed that she was glad Tom happened to be around.

In her room, she noticed a shiny business card on her nightstand. Had it been there all along? Was it glowing? Ridiculous! Stela thought as she picked it up and sure enough, the card read, “Dr. Ailfred Cleary: Light Theory.”

 

 

She rolled her eyes as she read to herself, but picked up her phone to call.

(TRYING SOMETHING DIFFERENT.  A FANTASY FLASH FICTION, PART OF A PROJECT I AM WORKING ON)

I love the Summer Rain

I’m late in posting for Father’s Day.   This is always one of my go-to happy memories.

feet rain wet puddle
Photo by Alicia Zinn on Pexels.com Jeans soaked, feet wet in a puddle of rain

This is the original essay which was my tribute for Father’s Day a few years ago.  I condensed it for an assignment last week.  Please enjoy this version too.

“I love the summer rain!” I shouted in my head because there was no one around to hear my declaration and ‘cause no one really cared.  “Why?” I asked myself; I knew the answer from the minute I felt the first heavy drops.  It was because of him.  And because of him, I stood there for a moment in the pouring rain.  Just a moment, long enough for my jeans to get soaked and my tee shirt drenched and long enough to conjure up the video I wanted to play in my mind. 

splash of water
Photo by Noelle Otto on Pexels.com Fun in the rain

He must have been about the age I am now that day.  Mid-fifties, receding gray hair, twinkling eyes, round face with half a crooked smile and a round belly to match. He wore shorts, his thin shirt unbuttoned halfway, and he’d already lost his shoes on the porch as he ran out to catch the rain.   In all the excitement, he skipped and twirled tempting my girls to join him.  Lovey had already shed her sandals and was waiting for the “go ahead.”   I realized it was contagious as I liberated Annie from her orthopedics.  Soon they were all laughing and skipping and twirling, wet through and through in the tropical rain.  My mother and I just smiled from the sidelines, more concerned with what

the neighbors in the subdivision were thinking behind their blinds.

They called him “El Sapo” – “The Frog.”  They say as a kid he would love to cool down by laying on the floor, with his legs in a diamond shape like a frog.  He loved the water, he loved the rain, and he loved us.  In the good times and the bad, of that, we could be sure.

I wished him here today.  I wanted to be that little girl and dance in the rain and to have him hold me tight like he did the day Eddie died and he had no words to console me.  How does one console a daughter whose young husband just died in the recovery room?  We held each other the same way as we said our final good-byes to my mom on a warm summer morning.   I wanted to hold him for the night that he died that I didn’t, but rather blew him a kiss from the door because I had the flu and didn’t want to share it with him.  

As I think of him now, I know he wasn’t perfect, but I am grateful for all he was and all he left behind including that little bit of him in me. 

 

Sixty-Three

He would have 63 years old today; instead, he died at 23. It is ironic that a quiet, shy and gentle young man that did not smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol would have his life end this way — an innocent victim of a senseless act of violence by an angry man with a gun, under the influence of street drugs and looking for revenge from the world.

He was the baby in his family, the youngest of four. The apple of his dad’s eyes, he had his mother’s kind and humble spirit. He was well loved and admired by family and friends. He planned to join the Navy when he finished his technical training.  He wanted to be an aviation technician on an aircraft carrier, but a minor medical issue, crushed that dream. He couldn’t get in and was very disappointed.

He was at his parent’s house before work that day. He heard his mother scream and went out to try to talk the intruder down. He was not afraid, he knew him from growing up in the neighborhood. He thought he could reason with him, but he was shot point blank at close range.

The doctors said that for a fraction of an inch, the bullet could have gone straight through to the other side of the body with minimal damage. Instead, it hit his belt buckle and fragmented in his abdomen.

When they heard the news, donors from all over the metropolitan area flooded the hospital’s blood bank. Many were turned away because there was no more room to store the donations, but doctors could not stop the internal hemorrhaging.

He left behind a young wife, a two-year-old daughter, and a baby on the way, another daughter, born five months later.

Just before this tragedy happened, life seemed to be going as expected for this young family. He finished trade school; and landed a great job with a major airline. She worked at a prestigious teaching hospital. They bought a house in a popular development away from the city and the old neighborhood but close enough to the family to help out as needed. From one day to the next everything changed.

Each day brings its own joy and surprises, but also toil, and troubles.  Treasure and make the most of each moment for we do not know what tomorrow brings.

A Spirit of Christmas Past

Alternate title: Ugly Sweater in the eye of the beholder

Lonnie Delopas rummaged through her carry-on looking for the earbuds she threw in there at the last minute. She would listen to music instead of trying to read.  She had been on edge since she woke up this morning.  She felt a difference in the energy around her. The overall volume in the airport terminal wasn’t any louder than usual, but the noise was causing her nerves to frazzle, and it was irritating.  

Usually, a two-hour layover didn’t bother her, but at the moment she felt uneasy as if something big was about to happen. She hoped she would arrive safely and without incident to her destination. She had experienced this feeling before as a warning or déjà vu.  She rechecked the weather status and listened for any cancelations or announcements of change.  She was heading to the North East for an award and book signing.  It was winter, just before Christmas, weather-wise, anything could happen. It felt strange to get back to the city where she grew up.  When she first got the news, she thought: “Not a bad way to end the year;”  but now, with the eeriness, she was feeling, she wasn’t so sure.

Lonnie finally fished her earbuds from the bottom of her bag, and as she sat up in her chair, she noticed a man walking at a fast pace toward Gate 19.  The man was tall with thick salt and pepper hair that fell just over his ears and collar; a neatly groomed beard framed his face. He wore gunmetal square-aviator style Ray-Bans and a classic leather bomber jacket. He carried a large leather bag slung over his shoulder and finally having reached the Gate, he slowed down.  He walked past Lonnie with the confidence of a man comfortable in his skin until he tripped of his own accord and almost fell at her feet. Without missing a beat, he stopped, smiled and asked: “Yeah, Is anyone sitting here?”

There was something very familiar about him.  Lonnie watched him from the corner of her eye as the stranger relaxed in the seat next to her. She decided that the familiarity she found was his likeness to Andrea Bocelli. He was so close, she could smell his cologne mixed with the scent of his well-worn leather jacket. His long legs stretched out almost into her personal space, and she couldn’t help but notice his stylish dress boots.  Lonnie regretted her decision to travel bundled up in comfortable, bulky layers for this trip.  Suddenly, she was acutely conscious that her hair was having one of its unruly moments.  Note to self, next time dress comfortable but trendy to announce that a successful creative soul has arrived.  She silently snickered to herself that she even had these ideas.  What was happening?

The Bocelli-look-alike was on the phone. His voice sounded familiar too, but Lonnie rationalized that she was, after all, headed to LaGuardia Airport and the familiarity she found in histone was nothing more than a strong Brooklyn accent. She had left many years ago; it seemed like another lifetime.  She was a little sad that after all these years, it was no longer “home.”  It was as if she were traveling to any other strange city around the country.  Like herself, most of her close friends had moved away and lost touch over the years.  Sadly some of her dearest friends had passed.  Lonnie finally attributed her energy imbalance to nerves and nostalgia with thoughts of the “good old days.”

Lonnie couldn’t help overhearing that the stranger was back in town to see his parents for the holidays but arrived a few days early to meet colleagues at a new job “in the City.” It sounded like he was pressuring someone to make plans to meet up before he had to leave again.  He’d be back the beginning of the year, but he needed to pack up and close on his house first.  The person on the other line must have said something to make him burst out laughing, and with a mocking voice, he said“Tony, it’s not that easy… I love you, man!” With that, the sophisticated, fine-looking man sitting next to Lonnie couldn’t finish his sentence as he folded over in a fit of laughter. His arms were flailing, and his classy boots stomped the floor repeatedly. 

Lonnie couldn’t help but turn to face him, and with his RayBans off, she noticed the big scar next to his left eye. It still looked as terrible as it did decades ago. “Tony?” she asked.  “Tony Petronelli?”  He stared at her, not recognizing her at first.  “It’s me, Lonnie? Alondra Delopas.” She smiled.  It was then that Anthony Laurence Petronelli recognized her.  He remembered the warm smile that at once upon a time made him feel mushy and gooey inside. A mop of short, wild gray hair had replaced the long brown hair that smelled of lavender and roses when ran his fingers through it; but the lively brown eyes and smile were still the same. “Oh my GAWD!” he said as they hugged long and hard as old friends do.

lavender and roses companion planting

They spent the two-hour layover catching up. Tony told her that stayed in New England after college, but his parents were still in the city. He kept up with friends each time he came to visit his family. He married had children, but once the kids were out of the house and on their own, he and his wife found they didn’t want to stay married.  It was as simple as that.  Since college, he worked for the same a tech-company with contracts all over the world. Tony recently took a position in the corporate office back home to be closer to his aging parents.  Lonnie had also married with children.  Her first husband died tragically at a young age and her second husband was a mistake. She had been teaching and writing for some time and was pleased to have a best seller in her hands finally. 

Tony made plans to attend the book signing.  Lonnie said it would be nice to have an old friend there for support.  Her book was a Christmas story she told him, inspired in part by one of her favorite Christmas stories, O.Henry’s “Gift of the Magi,” and without warning, there in the middle of the busy airport terminal, the unthinkable happened! Tony brought up “The Sweater.” 

One winter Lonnie bought a cranberry colored, 100% wool, alpine sweater at a specialty shop in the small city near her college.  Her new best friend Bertie, Roberta Borkson, had taken her there.  Bertie was an avid skier, and she was going to get a sweater for her boyfriend to wear on their ski trip over Christmas vacation.  Lonnie went along and started having her own ideas about the beautiful sweaters she saw.  

Lonnie and Tony met at a lodge in the Poconos Mountains two years earlier during a winter camp sponsored by a local youth organization.  She noticed him on the first morning when she and her friends came in from a walk just as the snow started to get heavy.  Tony was sitting quietly by the fireplace, with a mug of hot chocolate as he listened to a couple of friends getting agitated about football teams.  The girls went straight to the fire to warm up which caused a distraction for the boys and their sports. 

By dinner time, they were all old friends. They had been laughing, telling stories and playing table tennis as the time slipped away.  Lonnie and Tony somehow always managed to end at the same table for meals, and on the bus ride home, he shyly asked if he could call her.  The group was heading back to the Poconos during the Christmas break. Lonnie pictured Tony in his new alpine sweater by the fireplace and her in a beautiful knitted cream colored hat and scarf she had seen downtown.     

Tony and Lonnie exchanged gifts as soon as she got home from school that year. Lonnie was pleased to find the beautiful soft cream-colored hat and scarf set.  Tony started to open his with a great big smile, but as he parted the thin sheets of tissue paper, his smile appeared frozen.  “Reindeer?” He asked.  He could not hide his shock. There were indeed, gray reindeer parading in between oversized snowflakes across the top of the sweater from one shoulder to the other.   It was apparent that he disliked the sweater. Lonnieoffered to return it, but Tony regained his composure and being the sweet young man that he was, nobly put it on to go out with friends that evening so as not to hurt Lonnie’s feelings. 

The sweater was a hit among their friends, but not it a good way.  One did not see many alpine sweaters with reindeer around the Bay Ridge neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY.   There is a reason there are no scenes with Tony Manero dancing his Saturday Night Fever in a cranberry red alpine sweater with gray reindeer and snowflakes. It didn’t fit the character.

On that cold winter night in the early 1970s and during the trip to the mountains, their friends warned Lonnie that she would never live that one down.  And so it was that fifty years later when fate serendipitously crossed the paths of these two senior citizens with teenage grandchildren of their own; Anthony Laurence Petronelli brought up the cranberry red alpine sweater with the gray reindeer.   All they could do was try to stifle the laughter until their bellies hurt and the years seemed to melt away.   

The photos used here are not my own;  they were found online and “no copyright infringement is intended.”

Work- a New Day, a New Chapter

“And suddenly you just know it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.” — Meister Eckhart

I began a new chapter this week.  I started a new job.  I work as a Part-time Library Assistant at a local public library, and I am so excited about it!  This job was one of the first positions I applied to several months ago. The process of getting here was excruciating though. 

The other day I read a post from a young woman just out of graduate school but who had been working in her chosen field in different capacities for a few years.  She wrote about how frustrating and disheartening it is to be a young person looking for work these days. She described feeling that she was jumping through hoops while trying to decide what the interviewer was looking for based on the odd interview questions.  Looking for work does feel like a full-time job without the pay.

I found the article interesting because I felt the same way but from a mature person’s perspective. I was beginning to wonder if I kept getting turned down because of my age or too much experience. Generally, the application process is all done online, and even though you are asked to upload a resume, you still have to fill out a multi-page application in which you manually enter the information already on your resume.  I found out that although some sites ask for a resume, your interviewer may only get the application questionnaire.  Once you receive an invitation for an interview, there may be pre-interview personality testing or online testing of your general knowledge. 

In my own experience, sometimes during the interview, the answers to the questions seemed so obvious that I stopped to second-guess myself wondering if there could be any other answer. For example, one retail giant asked. “If you get a phone call that there is an emergency at home what would you do?”  I answered that I would tell my supervisor and find coverage if needed. As the interviewer stared at me blankly, I wondered if it was a trick question.  Should I have responded, that I wouldn’t get an emergency call at work because my phone would be turned off and in my locker? 

One employer had called a former co-worker as a reference. She asked if he thought I could tolerate not being in charge; and would I be able to adjust to an entry level position?  I had honestly addressed the reasons for applying for this particular position working with families in the community. What was she thinking? After that incident, I thinned out my resume so that I did not appear intimidating on paper, but better qualified for an entry-level position.  

I was so happy to get the phone call with the job offer for Part-time Library Assitant.  Over the past several months, I had applied to several local libraries whenever I saw a vacancy advertised.  As I was growing up, the library was a significant part of my life, as it was for my children and grandchildren.  As an adult, I enjoyed volunteering at a local public library through a previous employer’s community partnership program.  Although I sent applications to various companies with better salaries,  I still prefer to work in a library.  I believe compensation for work can be measured in different ways.  I consider that libraries continue to be an essential part of the community and I wanted to be a part of maintaining that legacy.

I am looking forward to working with creative people who enjoy reading and writing stories as much as I do.  I am anticipating good times in this next chapter in my life.  Wish me luck!

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Pexels.com

Gratitude and Thanksgiving

I sat here in front of a blank page for a while wanting to write something but couldn’t get started. The season brings many memories, most with warm and loving feelings.  From our earliest days in Brooklyn to most recent holidays in Florida so much has changed around us. The family has grown and spread out around the country.  Last year we spoke about having one big family holiday like the old days at some midpoint probably on the East Coast.  It’s not as easy as it sounds. It’s still a work in progress. We gather in smaller groups, now. Some of us have become part of other families while others create new traditions with friends. 

As I reflect back through the years, I think of the faces at the table that have come and gone; friends who’ve moved away,  partners that didn’t work out, loved ones who have passed.   I am amused thinking how the contents of our table have changed through the years as well.  Often persons who join us being a part of their traditions.  Through the years we’ve added things like homemade stuffing, collard greens, sweet potato casserole with pecan toppings from the South; kremsnita, a phyllo cheese pie from Croatia, or yucca marinated with onions, olive oil, and vinegar, common in the Carribean.  

Thanksgiving was not a tradition in Puerto Rico for my parents growing up in the 1930s and 40s, but I remember in Brooklyn in the 1960s we celebrated it every year with my cousins, aunts, and uncles. Our parents blended their traditional foods and flavors with what was usual holiday food in the NorthEast. Growing up we would have a roasted turkey prepared with a rub of garlic, salt, and oregano; it was the same type of seasoning Puerto Ricans traditionally used for roast pork during the holidays and special occasions.  We had baked sweet potatoes or yams and guineitos en escabeche; pickled green bananas that were marinated days before. These were served alongside a dish called arroz con gandules; it’s like a paella, prepared in one pot with pigeon peas, peppers, onions, garlic, cilantro, and tomatoes or tomato sauce.   My mother loved to cook and often made pumpkin pie,  flan, and Pillsbury sugar cookies.  

All the years of memories tend to blend together, and in my recollection, I remember our faith practice of gratitude and singing; in old photographs, I see dancing. I distinctly remember lots of laughing and warm smiles.  My mother had started experiencing symptoms of her illness, and my dad took to drinking every day after work and yet,  I remember feeling safe and loved. With all their personal struggles, they made us, their children, a priority.  For that alone, I am eternally grateful.  I think that supportive foundation helped me tackle a lot of challenges throughout the years.

It was that feeling of love and security that I wanted to re-create for our kids.  My siblings and I did.  My daughters and their cousins remember the holidays with the same nostalgia.  They want to pass on the same love, laughter to their own children.  Thankfully, as the family grows, they have added new traditions along the way. 

Today as I contemplate the holiday season, I wonder why Thanksgiving is not a more important holiday in this country. Of all the holidays, I think Thanksgiving can serve to unite us as a nation.  Many cultures and religions practice gratitude. From earlier times people have celebrated a good harvest giving thanks to a higher power.  Even folks who are not “religious” recognize that living in gratitude and being appreciative is to be in a good state of mind. One would think that given the emphasis that our leaders place on God’slaws and God’s rules, that they could agree to celebrate gratitude with more enthusiasm.  Giving thanks seems to be a common denominator, even if you are a humanist you can be grateful for your particular abilities and achievements. 

Perhaps someone’s White House can one day hold a service and invite religious and secular leaders of diverse groups to a Thanksgiving dinner.  There is something about literally breaking bread together that unites people and overcomes barriers.  I know it’s not even remotely on the agenda for this administration but its something to consider for the future. I understand that similar activities have been attempted at different times without success, falling apart at party lines, but I am sitting here living in the moment during a season of hope and so I continue to believe in our democracy.

I am mindful that not everyone feels the same during this season, perhaps some can’t find anything to be grateful for, not past or present.  Itis actually very common to feel sad and alone especially during this holiday season.  I would encourage my readers to open your eyes, look around and reach out to a neighbor, a friend, a co-worker and perhaps invite someone to join you.  My family has never had excessive material wealth, but there has always been room at the table for one more.  To those who may get an invitation, don’t turn it down.  Its never too late to make a pleasant memory. 

I am thankful that you stopped by today.  Peace be with you.