Enigmatic Fantasies #10 - Grocery Run [#64]

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            "Rye or pumpernickel? Or maybe I just want some potato bread," he mumbled to himself, "you know what I'll just buy whatever's on sale." He gazed through his relatively small spectacles as he determined what bread had the best sale price.

            "Are you finding everything okay, um sir?" A nearby employee asked.

            "Yes everything is fine," he responded but he didn't even bother to look at the retail worker. However, he continued to feel the gaze of the employee, locked on his body. "You're making me uncomfortable," he stated plainly.

            "Sorry sir," the employee apologized. "I'm just wondering how you got in the door. We don't exactly have many accommodations for people for your si-I mean stature."

            "I have my ways," he looked down at the employee, "I'm sorry am I blocking the aisle?"

            "No sir, y-you're fine," the retail worker assured him.

            "I'll move along anyway," he stated, "I've already picked out my bread." After he deposited several loaves of bread into his basket he hefted up his large body and walked out of the aisle. Despite his girth and long lizard-like tail he didn't bump into a single shelf or knock over any merchandise. Instead, his serpentine body slithered through the aisle with grace and majesty. The life of a dragon was difficult in a human's world, but he managed.

            As the dragon deftly bobbed in weaved between aisles, he left almost no evidence of his traversal. Not a single product was displaced, yet many a gaze still lingered on him as though he left a trail of destruction. He brushed off the many stares and proceeded on his way to the deli.

            "What can I get you," the distracted deli attendant asked as the dragon approach.

            "I would 5 pounds of your Swiss Cheese," he answered.

            "Five pounds? Are you sure? Oh!" The employee at the deli finally looked up to see the dragon's form, "right, five pounds." The employee picked up a block of a cheese from behind the counter and weighed it. The dairy product came up to roughly five and a quarter pounds. The employee shrugged, bagged the whole block as best he could and slapped a printed out price tag on it.

            "This is quite a bit more than five pounds," the dragon felt the solid block of cheese in his claws. "Are you sure you can give me this much extra?"

            "It's fine," the deli attendant waved him off. The dragon didn't argue with the free food and deposited the cheese in his basket.

            Finally, the dragon made his way toward checkout. He arrived at one of the registers and place his basket, which nearly overflowed with food, on the belt.

            "Did you find everything you need sir?" The cashier stuttered.

            "Yes, everything was quite excellent," the dragon chuckled as he arched his long neck over the cashier.

            "Your total is, whoa, $897.56," the cashier stated.

            "Ah yes I have a credit card," the dragon extended his tail out toward the cashier. Held within the tail's coil was a shiny, new credit card. "Please excuse me but I can't quite reach the machine." The cashier carefully accepted the card and swiped it. He returned the card to the dragon's tail alongside the receipt.

            "If you don't mind me asking," the cashier asked, "how did you fit so much in that basket?"

            "Oh, that?" The dragon chuckled, "old family secret."

            "I see," the cashier mumbled as he waved the dragon on his way. The dragon reciprocated the gesture as he quickly slipped out of the building with his groceries.

            "Did you see how he left?" The employee from earlier ran up to the cashier.

            "He just kind of slipped out," the cashier tried to explain.

            "What?" The employee scratched his head.

            "I didn't really know what I saw," the cashier admitted. "He zipped out the door so fast I couldn't process it." The two employees shared further confusion as the dragon's form disappeared from view.

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And there's the last story for the year. It's been a fun ride, let's make next year great to!
My plan is to expand out into significantly longer stories, hopefully starting in January, but it might be pushed back to February.
See you next Year! (Which just so happens to be next Tuesday!)
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.

Eclectic Narratives #4 - Cold [#63]

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            Two feet of snow, the temperature was below zero and pitch black night. Any movement was difficult, there were no illusions of motor travel in the near future. A simple visit up the street went from a five-minute walk to a fifteen-minute hike. All facilities were closed and all the roads were empty. Every soul was wrapped up warmly indoors.

            Inside was warm, the fireplace was more than hot enough. Yet, the allure of a travel still beckoned me. A visit with friends for the night, so close by that travel by car was pointless. Yet, the snow made such a short trip a mighty endeavor. Worsened by the thought of the need of the return trip home. It would be manageable with some company. Yet, I could never ask my friend to make the same trip themselves for my sake.

            The inside was warm no matter where I went. Time with friends was delightful as always. The outside was still a trial, more so than any day before. No matter how much time passed, the snow remained in place. Even as the roads were cleared and passable, snow still dominated everywhere else. So much piled up and moved out of the way, the roofs of buildings could be reached by anyone from the sidewalk.

            To say it was cold fails to do it justice. It wasn't merely cold, and perhaps I've felt colder. Despite that, it's still the true definition of cold in my mind. It isn't just a numbers game, but how much the cold has a chance to affect the world around it.

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This is sort of a companion piece to a previous story. It was another chance to create a story by drawing from my own memories, which is always fun.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy. Oh and before I forget, Merry Christmas!

Enigmatic Fantasies #9 - Dreamscape [#62]

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            Marian was by all accounts an average girl with a vanilla lifestyle. She lived alone in a small apartment, held a modest job and graduated with adequate grades. Her life in this world was as plain and standard as they came, but in other worlds, circumstances changed.

            Whenever Marian drifted off into the world of dreams, a strange phenomenon would overtake her. When she next awoke she would not be in her bed, she would be in some strange far off land. Sometimes it was an endless forest, with tiny trees that seemed to stretch into the sky. Other times she appeared in a desolate wasteland that resembled the moon. However, when she looked into the sky the planet above was certainly not Earth. Instead of appearing like a blue marble, it was a colorful array of reds, oranges, and yellows. As though the planet was bathed in eternal autumn.

            A scant few times Marian found herself in a vast mansion, straight out of the imagination of a surrealist painter. Doors lined the walls and ceiling and stairs emerged from every angle. Jubilant voices could be heard from every direction, but Marian never saw another person within the mansion. Yet, she always felt like she was being closely watched. Like a faint presence constantly loomed over her shoulder.

            At first Marian was afraid of these places, "I want to go home," she would shout. These places felt too real to be dreams, but her mind and body felt so disconnected they didn't feel like reality either. The dissonant sensations disturbed her to the very core.

            Originally, she remained in these places for such short amounts of time she'd pass them off as dreams when she finally woke up. Even if deep down she knew they were not. Eventually, her stay became longer and longer. From mere hours to days and sometimes weeks. She could no longer deny the reality of the situation, no matter how impossible it felt.

            As her stays lengthened she found herself forced to explore these bizarre locations. If only to maintain her own sanity. Thankfully, she found it unnecessary to eat or drink in these other worlds. Although sleep was still needed. She dove deeper and deeper into the "dream worlds" as she called them. Yet, Marian only found herself with more questions.

            The moon-like wasteland held nothing of interest, it was simply empty and desolate. The planet above was beautiful but provided no more information. However, the sky above held a vast network of stars and other celestial objects. Many of which were visible to her naked eye. Small planets, flat planes of rock and strange structures dominated the view. The planets were equally vibrant as the one nearby. Coming in all colors from purple to silver and even green. The planes were surreal hunks of rock, with flat tops. Some carried small cities, while others had forest or small mountains. Each was distinct and seemed to follow some kind of theme.

            The strange structures were something else entirely. They followed no theme or reason. They could be giant hunks of crystal that floated in space or space stations of pure iron. They could even be impossible sights like a giant sphere of water that just floated in space.

            The forest held less surreal sights but was no less strange itself. It was truly endless, as no matter how far or how long Marian walked she never found an exit. The landscape of the forest never changed, it was the same grassy terrain with the occasional small rock. Each tree was no more than four feet apart.

            Despite how open the area was Marian felt the forest was claustrophobic. The static nature of the area rubbed her in the wrong way in the same way one has an itch they cannot find. "I hate this place," Marian would often find herself mumble. Her visits to the forest would always leave her uncomfortable and unnerved. Whenever she finally awoke at home it brought her a greater relief than any other time.

            Marian's rare visits to the mansion left her little time to explore it fully. Not that she could conceive of such a thing even with all the time in the world. The surreal nature of the structure made it impossible to tell where she had or hadn't been. The mansion's many doors had no logic and often lead to random locations. The stairs were so twisted and windy that going down could lead you up a floor and vice versa.

            The most she found was a small bedroom and a dusty closet. She could occasionally smell food down the hall, but it seemed like the more she approached the smell the further away she got. She spent most days within that mansion asleep in the bedroom. The room possessed the bare minimum in amenities, but it was comfortable. Yet, that subtle sensation of being watched never left and made sleep a constant struggle.

            As Marian explored these fantastical locations deeper and deeper, she came to a painful realization. Her time in these places continued grew longer and longer. It was only a matter of time before weeks would become months and months into years. Her time in these locations had begun to overwhelm her waking life. She didn't despise her time in these other worlds, but she didn't want to lose her former life either. However, a dreadful thought welled up inside her. It didn't matter what she wanted. Soon her life in "reality" would be the faint occasional dream, and the other worlds would be her regular life. She came to a mental crossroad. Would she choose to accept a new life, or would she try to save her old life? Did she really have a choice? The answer felt intangible and distant, more so than her tenuous grip on reality. 

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 Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.

Strange Sci-Fi Tales #5 - Unfortunate Pit Stop [#61]

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            My ship hummed as it flew further into space, travel had been smooth so far, but that was about to change. I had at least two more light-speed jumps to make, but only enough fuel for half of one. My visit with Fredrick will have to wait, I needed to make a stop for fuel.

            Whether by luck or happenstance, there was at least one space station in the area. The problem was that they didn't respond to any of my attempts to hail them. As the station came into view I understood why. It was derelict and long abandoned. The station was so decrepit that making the stop should have been out of the question. However, with such little fuel left, I didn't have a choice in the matter. Besides if it's abandoned that means everything I find there is free.

            I carefully docked my ship in the remnants of the station's hangar. Then I tried to connect remotely to whatever systems were still active. Thankfully I could still interface with the station, I was even able to get a basic atmosphere active. The problem was the station was running dryer than my own ship power wise. Even the most basic systems struggled to function.

            At the very least there was a reserve of fuel left, just barely enough to get me somewhere safe, maybe. The real issue at hand was how the fuel was stored. It was some strange pump design that could transfer fuel straight into the ship through a nozzle. However, it was all automatic so it required power on the station's side to function. Apparently, they were so proud of this automatic pump design they made it impossible to access the fuel manually. At least not without special tools (which I didn't have), or breaking open the fuel storage tank (which I didn't want to risk).

            Between the power needed for the atmosphere and the pump, the station's reserves are inadequate. If I wanted to keep the atmosphere up at a livable level, the pump would be left with so little power it'd be painfully slow. It'd take days to extract all the fuel at that rate. On the flipside, I could drop all the power into the pump. However, then I'd be forced to shelter in my ship and burn more precious fuel to keep an atmosphere up in there.

            My choices were to sit in the station for days with the risk of suffocation, or try the fast way and break something. If I actually succeed, in the former case I'll be slightly short of enough fuel to make it somewhere safe. In the latter case, I'll have barely any more fuel than what I started with. The right choice was obvious, but still no less painful.

            I kept the atmosphere up and put the little remaining power into the pump and started to refuel. I slunk out of my ship, sat myself down in a safe corner of the station and kept an eye on the refueling process. I kept my breath measured and tried to use as a few movements as possible.

            As I made myself comfortable I continued to measure my options. I could set up a distress signal, but out here the only people who'd respond would be more likely to rob me then help me. There might be some long distance communication tools in the station I could use. However, even if I had those tools, the station doesn't have enough power to support them.

            'All this for Fredrick,' I thought to myself, 'he'd better be happy to see me or I'm going to punch him in the mouth.' I continued to mumble about Fredrick as I slowly drifted off into a daydream. I had hope in my heart that I'd return to the waking world, but I tried my best to temper my expectations. 

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Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.