Short Story Double Bill - Hero Insurance & Death's Off Day [#22 & #23]

Time for another double bill, two stories about 100~200 words in length.

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Hero Insurance

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            "I'm sorry Mr. umm...Trogdar the Vanquisher," the suited man said as he looked over his glasses, "but we have to increase your rate."

            "You can't be serious," the armored man slammed the desk, "I've paid on time every month and I haven't made a claim in ages."

            "Regardless last week's dragon attack sets a bad precedent," the suited man explained. "If you're in one dragon attack, you're at risk for another."

            "What nonsense," Trogdar complained, "I can't believe you'd do this to me, despite all I've done."

            "I didn't make the decision Mr. Vanquisher," the suited man assured him, "I'm just passing the news along to you. Why don't we talk about where you can go from here?" Trogdar grumbled, but accepted the man's offer.

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 Death's Off Day

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            "Aaron A. Aronson," the cloaked figure proclaimed. "I've come to reap your mortal soul, or something whatever," the cloak figure slumped.

            "What?" Aaron Aronson stumbled.

            "Listen man, I'm not really feeling it today," the reaper explained. "So, if you're going to be difficult about this I might not even bother."

            "What!" Aaron A. shouted in bewilderment.

            "Hey man, no need to shout," the cloaked reaper sat down on the couch and pulled out a cigarette.

            "So, I'm not dying?" A. A. Aronson asked.

            "Like, do you want to die or something?" The reaper answered his question with another question.

            "No!" Aaron affirmed.

            "Then I guess you're not dying," the cloaked figure took a puff of his cigarette. "You know I didn't even want this job," the reaper began, "but my uncle got it for me so I had to do it or my mom would chew my ear off."

            "Dear god what the hell is happening?" Aronson pleaded for answers while the reaper continued to vent his complaints.

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I've got nothing to say about today's stories, but I am working on that rework I mentioned last time. Look forward to a more structured set of story releases in the foreseeable future.
Until then, Read, Comment and Enjoy.

A Fair Trade - A Short Story [#18]

Inspiration: http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=squandered+resources

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Version 1 

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            It was a simple deal, a simple trade. I gave the hunter a jar of sand, "It's enchanted," I lied to him. He gave me a stack of animal skins, all his work for the past month was in my hands. The hunter seemed satisfied with his purchase, I was even more so.

            It was a pricey deal, an expensive trade. I gave the merchants a stack of animal skins, "They are of the highest quality," I told him. He gave me several lumps of gold, but a fraction of his wealth. The merchant brushed aside his purchase with little thought, I was relieved he did so.

            It was a dangerous deal, an unfair trade. I gave the bandit several lumps of gold, "It is all I have," I pleaded. He let me keep my life, it was all I was left with. The bandits seemed delighted in his acquisition, I was relieved when he was gone.

            In the end I traded my own life for a jar of sand, or was my life worth nothing more than sand. In the end all I had left was sand, all my life's work was in my hands.

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Version 2

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            It was a simple trade, my land, a patch of barren sand for a stack of animal skins. The land meant nothing to me, regardless of the value that hunter saw in it.

            It was a complicated trade, the animal skins, my bold investment for a lump sum of gold. The skins had their value, but the gold more so. The skins were now worth whatever that merchant decided they had, but I didn't care, I had my prize.

            It was an inevitable trade, the gold, all I had for my continued life. The gold had its value, the tax baron saw it as much. Regardless of my gold's worth, it was not mine anymore.

            It was the final trade, my life, my last possession for a patch of barren sand. If my life has any value, only the sand could appreciate it. Regardless of my actions, the only thing I've accomplished is the trade of life for sand.

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Well this was a fun story to write, I've always been a fan of Magic: The Gathering's flavor text but I didn't write anything based on it until now. From the beginning I wanted to create two versions as I interpreted the line "In the end, he traded life for sand," in two ways: first that it was a summation of his actions and second that he died in a desert. That's how I saw it anyway. Actually, I might be going on a streak of MTG inspired stories, I have at least one more in the pipeline right now.
Until then Read, Comment and Enjoy.

A Very Late Short Story Double Bill - An Apology & Night Over The City [#8 & #9]

I am a moron and completely forgot about today's post. I have some longer stories in the pipeline, but for now here's a double bill of 100 word stories.

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An Apology

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            "I'm going to level with you, this is my fault," I admitted. "In about five minutes the house of cards will come crashing down on top of us, and it is by no fault of your own."

            They raised their hand to speak, but I stopped them.

            "Don't waste your breath," I told them, "just go."

            They sighed and hung their head low. Then they fidgeted in place before they finally turned for the door.

            "There's something I've always wanted to say to you," I imparted, "I'm sorry."

            They stopped in the doorway and turned back to face me, "I know."

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 Night Over The City

Inspiration: https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/308176?tags=teikoku_shounen

(Warning: If you're not familiar with danbooru. Be careful if you decide to go browsing through it. Most of the art there is quite risque to put it lightly.)

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            'These are the nights I live for,' I thought as I observed the bustling city night. The warm lights on the dark backdrop and the subdued sounds of the city's night life. It's times like this I'm reminded why I put up with all those idiots at work, the frustration of urban transport and those endless bills.

            I leaned back into my chair and smiled, 'I've made it, I'm happy. It's not the money, or the apartment or the job, but the sheer fact I've put everything else behind me. A job well done and now it's time for a life well lived.'

            I glanced at the cityscape again, 'I don't think I'll ever get tired of this view.'

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The second story was inspired by an artwork from "Teikoku Shounen." Apparently the original webpage that the artwork went up on is now defunct (hence the danbooru link), but they have another webpage linked here:
http://tksn.sakura.ne.jp/index.html
As for the stories, they were mainly experiments with shorter word counts. It was fun at least.