Vote for the Rhyming Story!
So I got a challenge to write a short story in which one of the characters is forced to Rhyme. This particular story was inspried by Dr. Suess - and a spin off story of "Green Eggs and Ham" a friend wrote back in 2010. Enjoy :) and if you read it please do consider voting!
PS: because of the Rhyme and accent, this took a little longer to write, about 40 minutes :)
“Hey Frankie—what do you know about the new Yankee? I mean which is better, me with my sweaters, or her with that wonderful purr?” Samuel asked his ghost friend whilst walking down the street alone after a hard-thought day at class.
The ghost spun its head around once in a full circle and flew in front of Samuel, not stopping him, but getting close to his face. “I don recon this ‘ere woman be a dolly wager, a cat chaser, and you be righ’-n-up gots the cooties for ‘er.”
“You think I’m in love? I ain’t got no doves, not around me! Not that you can see! I think you’re crazy Frankie, has your mind gotten hazy?”
His ghost friend, still in front of him swirled around Samuel as he approached the street corner. This was the biggest street corner of their walk home, six lanes across on either side—a beast of a street so huge most pedestrians take two full light cycles just to get all the way across, often getting trapped in the center divide between the hordes of rushing cars.
“Look at chu, you gots cupid in your eyes. Flying about up on cloud nine. You can’t even ponder forward! You be trapped in that little bone-shell of yours thinkin’ all ‘bout this lady of the wind! Has she gotten to you my friend? Have I don’ lost my only pal again?”
The light turned green and Samuel started forward, when he first started walking to school he’d run across this street so he didn’t get stuck in the center, but today he was much too engaged with Frankie to worry about the speed in which he got home. “I don’t think it’s her I like, you should go and take a hike. I’d be hard to ask her seriously, any ideas of how I can do it mysteriously?”
“Look at you, blind as a bat! You’re so in awe with your lovey-dovy you can’t see what’s been-a-coming!” Samuel looked up and Frankie was right, the Yankee Ms. Little Emily was right smack dab in front of them, prepared to make contact with him in the center of the street for a long awkward pair of minutes before the light would turn green once more.
“Shit!” Samuel screeched, “This is it! Now quick, think of this flick—how can I ask her out without showing too much clout?”
“You be askin’ me? Go up to her and slip a fast one right into them cute little fingers. Give her a squeeze and just tell her you’re pleased!”
“Aye! I’ll try to be sly!” The moment of intersection occurred.
Ms. Little Emily gave Samuel an awkward smile, pressing her red lips against one another. As she stopped on top of the curb in the center of the intersection she dropped into a little curtsy making sure to pick up the white frills of her deep yellow dress. Her thick, curly red hair graciously fell over her shoulders as she spread out her arms and lifted herself back up. With a quick flash of her pearly white teeth she stated firmly to Samuel, “Good day to my fine Sir.”
Samuel’s jaw locked up and air got caught in his throat, no one has ever introduced themselves to him like that before. Most introductions are followed with snide remarks or rude accusations because of his imaginary friend and his inability to talk without rhyme. With stiff arms Samuel looked at his ghost friend who only whisked himself though the cute redhead a few times while pointing at her precious fingers. Samuel looked down, her fingers were so smooth and she had her nails painted a glossy yellow.
He did a rigid scoot one step closer and reached his locked-joints over to her frail fingers. His hesitant and slightly shaking fingers made contact with hers. Her entire body shock with delight and she leaped into the air, a step further than Samuel, “I strongly do not condone your inappropriate actions! I intensely suggest we part ways!” She snapped at him with glaring eyes.
Samuel, panicked thinking he messed up looked over at Frankie, who just spun his hands around to tell Samuel to go on. Samuel cleared his throat and said, “Miss, I just think you are so cute, and I’m not trying to be a brute. Your eyes shine like a fresh glass of wine. I can see your freckles have so many little speckles. And your dress just makes me lose all stress! I’m not afraid my little shade, you are just so pretty that you’ve got me being witty!”
Samuel wasn’t going to hold back, he bravely took a second step towards her and snatched her hand out right from the side of her dress. He felt her soft fingers and warmth as a shock of ecstasy vibrated through his fingers to his entire body. Ms. Emily shot into the air for a second time, trying to leap even further away. This time Samuel’s fingers held tight, causing her arm to lock up and her body to fly horizontally away.
He squeezed her precious fingers with all his might as her soft bundle of red hair slammed into the steel light pole directly next to her. A resounding boom silenced the entire intersection as her body dropped like rag doll that was thrown into the sky. Samuel finally let go as her jaw cracked on the side of the concrete curb and her bushy red hair started to fill with same-colored fluid.
“Holy shit! She just dropped and quit!” Samuel yelled as he looked at the now face-down Ms. Emily, not even a twitch left in her fingers.
“Aye! This ‘ere be one flamin’ mess. I don’ didn’t expect her to pull a raccoon and roll over dead.” Frankie sped through Ms. Emily’s body several times before stopping, “She done be gone my lad.”
Now truly panicked Samuel looked up at his ghost, “What do I do? This happened out of the blue! I just wanted to make a friend, I didn’t want her to transcend!”
“You my boy can still save her mind, just do what you did with me, cut open her skull and scoop out her soul!”
“Yes sir, I completely concur! I have just the tool for this ghoul!” And Samuel, being an experienced brain eater set down his bag next to her sleeping body and pulled out the massive butcher knife he kept in between his history and science books just in case. With the freshly sharpened blade in his fingers he reached down and parted Ms. Emily’s puffy hair. One hefty swing down and he had her split open like a cracked egg.
Samuel wiped the blade on her presumptuous dress and slipped it back between his books to reach into the void of hair to finish the job. With an entirely innocent smile and his mind lacking the ability to concentrate on the world around him Samuel’s nubby fingers entered the crack and successfully pulled it apart with a quick snap when the bone was fully separated.
He greedily reached his fingers into the warm open cavity and scooped up several large chunks of the membrane inside. Samuel ruthlessly shoved the chunks in his mouth and started humming to Frankie, “Oh, I do love brains! I’d eat them on trains, or I’d eat them in chains. I’d eat them on planes, I’d eat all the remains!” whilst chewing he continued, “I’d eat them with soup; I’d eat them in a group. I’d eat them with the moon or I’d eat them at noon. It simply doesn’t matter, as long as I get all the platter!”
Once the cavity was empty Samuel wiped his filthy fingers on her dress and rolled her body over. Her precious blue eyes were still opened staring up at the sky. He waited patiently for a few moments watching the blood running out of her pool up along the curb and run into the intersection, no one even bothered to stop—it was like he was entirely invisible in the middle of that crowded intersection, everyone around much too busy to take time out their lives to even noticed him there sitting over the baking dead body.
The intersection went through two more light cycles and no one else crossed before white smoke started drooling out of her stiff red lips. The smoke engulfed the floor and maintained low, running off into the street—some of it getting torn apart by passing cars.
The smoke then picked up into a ball, went lucid, and merged into a female shape. “What in God’s name just happen to me? I strongly digress!” a voice hummed from the smoke pile.
Samuel smiled and said, “My dear Ms. Emily, you have nothing to fear. You’ll always be near every time of the year. Aren’t you excited! You should be delighted! You’ll always be free, it will be just you and me!”
The smoke pile let out a death-hurdling scream and sped away causing itself to disintegrate. Samuel looked over and Frankie, who just shrugged, and started across the second half of the street as if nothing, was out of place. “This ‘ere cuttie will be back when she learns there ain’t nowhere else to go!” Fankie chuckled as Samuel agreed. Ms. Emily and Samuel, friends forever. Trapped together for the rest of eternity. He liked the sound of that.
^
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