Story #73
After a while, she saw the lillys start growing up her leg.
Images
Story #72
Last year my best friend started ignoring me and now we arent talking at all i dont know why she is not talking to me but it really hurts
Story #71
In the dead of night, when the base was mostly asleep, she sat and drew her stories with unmitigated passion. When fatigue would overcome her senses, she would stop and close her eyes.
Story #70
Entering the office, I immediately sensed that something was off. You know the feeling when someone has changed the curtains and they ask you if you see any difference in the room? It was like that, but more intense.
’You’ve been promoted’ my boss yelled from across the room, rushing to meet me. I was confused.
’To what?’
’You’re now our Senior Bananalyst’ she said.
’I’m our banana-what?’
’Senior Bananalyst’
She handed me a one of my business cards. In place of my usual title she had scribbled ’Senior Bananalyst’ and drawn a banana.
I looked around the office, trying to make sense of her words. All the regular work stations, the corner where the programers usually sit, the section with the graphic designers, the economy department, everything had been replaced with rows and rows of desks. And bananas. There were bananas everywhere.
I pulled my phone from my pocket to double check that this wasn’t April first. It wasn’t.
’I don’t… What is going on?’
’I had this great idea yesterday, after you left the office. Bananas.’ she was speaking fast and enthusiastically ’Bananas are great for you. They’re healthy, they taste good and…’ she grabbed a banana and held it up in from of her mouth forming a big banana grin ’they’re FUN!’
’The only problem is…’ she continued ’you can’t always get all the bananas you need. This, I thought, is a problem we can solve. We have the logistical know-how to be able to deliver bananas to any place in the world within 24 hours.’
’Imagine. You’re sitting at home and suddenly you have a craving for a banana. What do you do? Until now, you would’ve been all out of luck but thanks to our Bananawesome service you could be eating your own banana in as little as 24 hours.’
’Also, bananas come pre-packaged from nature. Their peel is like a natural safety case, protecting the goods during transportation. We just need to slap a stamp and an adress on the banana and it’s good to go!’
’So from now on, we’re sending bananas to people. And you are our Senior Bananalyst. Your job is to learn everything about the banana trends. Here, have a banana’.
She handed me a banana. Seconds later it started vibrating. She started giggling.
’Go ahead’ she said ’answer it’.
Wearily I raised the banana to my ear and answered.
’Hello?’
’Are you the Senior Bananalyst?’
I looked at my boss. She nodded.
’Yes, I guess I am.’
My boss cheered with excitement and strutted off. I was left talking to a stranger through a banana. I guess it was just one of those days.
Story #68
I woke up that friday of a warm july wearing a newborn sense of heaviness.
I laid on my back in the darkness for a couple of minutes eyes open, trying to chase away the sleep.
With an effort I made my way to the kitchen and made coffee.
My brain seemed to tighten, I would not dare think, or else everything would have fallen.
Off to the bathroom, good kids brush their teeth, I could not avoid looking in the mirror.
− Well.. uhm − i thought. − .. happy birthday I guess −
A messy bush of short red dyed hair exchanged my look with uncertain brown eyes.
I went out, footsteps were heavy, I could hardly walk as my legs seemed to be stuffed with lead.
A cigarette, smoked slowly as I walked my way.
Wather was clear, sunny, not too hot. It was july.
Suddenly an idea, there was a good café near my school, just a few blocks away.
− Good morning, how can I help? −
A girl, might have been 25 , stood behind the counter with a gentle smile and dark blond long hair.
− Hi, uhm, one of those little tarts with cocoa pastry, white chocolate cream and raspberries and a cappuccino, thanks −
I sat behind the counter on a high and uncomfortable bar stool.
The place was almost empty.
A minute later I had that little tart on a small plate followed by the big cup with a fluffy-like cappuccino.
I watched things around me as if they were in slow motion, the girl, the cup, lights, textures.
Some seconds went by as I tried to convince myself to eat.
The girl wasn’t doing anything as there were no customers to be served. She glanced at me with curiosity.
Thirty seconds later she couldn’t resist anymore and came up in front of me, behind the wooden shelf.
− I’m sorry, but is there anything wrong? − she asked sublty grinning her forehead.
− No, not really. It’s just that today.. well, it kinda is my birthday y’know.. I’m 18 now.. − I grumbled while the words died in my throat.
− Well, happy birthday then! But waht’s wrong? I mean, you don’t seem happy − she replied.
− You know how people normally have cakes, parties, toasts and presents on their bdays? See, I won’t have anything, my parents are mad at me for something I don’t understand. All I will get is maybe a hundred kind posts on my facebook wall from people who don’t really care. And this here is my cake, sort of − I summed up pointing at the little tart.
I felt like crying, a tear was ready to roll down my cheek, but I forced it back.
She must have been quite surprised as she stood silently for a minute.
− I’m really sorry to hear this − she said in the end. − nobody should be feeling down the day of his birthday −
− I know −
I leaned my elbows and struggled with increasingly burning eyes.
Suddenly the girl stuck out from behind the counter and approached my face.
My heart skipped a beat, she stared for a second with gentle eyes examining my face, then she quickly bent her head and kissed me on the cheek, a couple of seconds more than one normally does.
− Happy birthday. I’m sorry, I hope this helps somehow − she whispered while smiling and going red at the same time.
Somewhere, a flower began to blossom and a leaf fell.
(None of this has obviously happened or will probably actually happen. There’s books and films for a reason. But the thing that is real is the glimpse of hope we all have inside.
The glimpse that is always there, no matter what.
Even if things are going bad, I, and us all, always imagine that the impossible can actually still happen, that a kiss on the cheek will come to save the day and possibly also save much more than a spoiled birthday)
Story #69
Two panda bears shared a picnic. They were very much in love as they munched their bamboo.
Story #67
A girl who rides a horse everyday to school. People stare, some in disbelief, some in awe. But she loves being different.
Story #66
Itseksensä marmatti
tämä pulleaposkinen katti.
Ajat on käyneet huonommiksi
hiiret tulleet laihemmiksi,
kerma on valmistettu kuorittuun maitoon
kuka sen vaihtaisi oikeaan aitoon?
Ruokakin on yhtä aina samaa,
sais muutakin olla kuin porsasta, kanaa,
harvoinpa saa enää tuoretta siikaa
ja koira kylällä aivan on liikaa,
ja ilmat! Taas sadetta säätieto lupaa
ei tassujen kastelu lainkaan oo hupaa.
Vuoteena on täkki vain vanhaan malliin
vaikka naapurin kissakin sai uuden ja kalliin.
– Ritva-Elina Pylväs
Story #65
Jag låg på min säng och såg hur den gråkalla marsmorgonen grydde. I en timme hade jag oroligt lyssnat på misstänkta ljud nere i köket. Bara de inte skadar sig själva, tänkte jag, och i det samma hördes något som lät nästan som sång. Stora dottern, hon som snart hade gått ett helt år i skolan, sjöng: Ja må hon leva. Lilla dottern, några år yngre, hade valt att sjunga Vi gratulerar, samtidigt som stora sonen sträckte på sin fyraåriga kropp och sjöng om ekorren som satt i granen. Över all denna skönsång hördes minsta sonen, som beslutsamt ropade: Hurra, hurra, hurra.
Jag satte mig upp i sängen och katten tog tillfället i akt, hoppade upp i sängen, och rullade sig bekvämt på min kroppsvarma kudde. Hunden, av rasen Gott och Blandat, gjorde sitt bästa för att orsaka oreda i ledet som nu kom in i sovrummet. Stora dottern bar på en kaffekanna innehållande kaffe vars styrka skulle hålla mig vaken i dagar. Lilla dottern hade med sig en bricka med ett knäckebröd, rikligt dekorerat med ost, och dagens tidning.
– Vi tog knäckebröd, för du har sagt att vi får inte använda kniven ensamma, förkunnade hon, och storasystern hakade på:
– Jag gick inte till vägen för att hämta tidningen, vi får ju inte vara där ensamma. Istället klättrade jag i körsbärsträdet, du vet, ena grenen hänger ju över våran postlåda, det gick bra att hänga på den och fiska upp tidningen.
– Och här får du efterrätt, förkunnade stora sonen stolt, steg fram och visade en bricka från dockservisen. På brickan låg en chokladkaka, och på chokladkakan ett brinnande värmeljus.
– Tårtljusen ville inte stå fast på chokladkakan, förklarade stora dottern, så vi tog ett värmeljus i stället, och jag var jätteförsiktig, när jag tände det.
Nu ville lilla sonen visa hur duktigt han bar på kaffemuggen och sockerskålen. Hunden trasslade sig in på hans ben i hopp om lite socker, lilla sonen snubblade, muggen flög och bröt sitt öra, sockerbitarna rasslade glatt när de hamnade under sängen.
Katten var nöjd på min varma kudde, hunden var nöjd med alla sockerbitar den fick smaska i sig under sängen. Lilla sonen var nöjd, för han fick det trasiga örat från kaffemuggen till sin skattsamling. Alla barnen var nöjda, för att de hade lyckats med sin födelsedagsöverraskning, och fick dessutom hjälpa till att äta upp chokladkakan som smälte under värmeljuset. Även jag var nöjd, det var underbart att fylla år och än en gång få bekräftat vilka underbara ungar jag hade.
Story #63
’This is the most depressing thing’ she said as we walked through the tunnel under the railway. ’EVER’ she continued.
She was right. There had been a fence closing off a part of the tunnel a couple of years ago, a fence we’d managed to squeeze through to get to the part of the tunnelsystem with all the rabbits. That fence had been replaced by a solid concrete wall and the tunnel was now dissapointingly void of rabbits.
As we continued out the other side, we did get a glimpse of the rabbits and a sense of relief and joy swept over us. The rabbits weren’t gone, it was just more inconvenient to access them.
We passed the castle in search of shade and found ourselves at a small canal.
’Where ARE we?’ she asked ’I don’t think I’ve seen this place before’.
The question of where soon became irrelevant as we found a flight of stairs leading down into the water. We sat down and began watching the boats and kayaks and people standing on surfboards passing us in the canal.
Some people passing by looked like families, others were lovers or friends or colleagues. One boat had men laying across the stern, their big bellies bobbing with the motion of the vessel, looking like seals on a beach.
Suddenly, the tranquility of the canal was interrupted when the backwash from one of the crafts swept one of our water bottles into the canal. Panic ensued.
We tried to reach the bottle but it was too far our in the canal.
’Try to act normal’ she told me as more boats were approaching. ’We don’t want to look like we don’t know what we’re doing’. Though, of course we didn’t know what we were doing.
We desperately tried to find a long twig or stick or anything to help us reach the bottle, but to no avail.
’HOW can there not be any sticks around here’ she exclaimed and took one step out in the canal trying to reach the bottle with a small twig. She was mere inches from success.
I found a loose piece of a tree stump and handed it to her. It was sturdy but not too heavy, and certainly longer than her twig.
’If you hold my hand, you’ll be able to lean further out in the canal without falling’ I told her and grabbed her hand. To onlookers, this must have looked like an obvious setup for an accidental bath but her tree stump swinging skills and balance was better than that.
Within seconds both she and her water bottle were back on shore and we could return to watching the people on the canal.
’We achieved something here today’ she said. I nodded in agreement.