Vignette Fictions: April 2010

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

VIGNETTES: SHORT FICTIONS ON MY LIFE AS A CHEERLEADER BY ERICA ELLER by JANEY SMITH

1. The light of the slide projector . . .

The light blinded me. I looked out into this thing, saw all these people.
I stood there. There was this bird. It said, “Tweet, tweet.” I held the
bird in my hand. The bird looked small, like you. But, you were
nowhere, though. So, I took the subway. There was a man on the
speaker said, “Tweet, tweet.” The bird got scared, bumped into a
window, fluttered its wings, got caught for a second in the door. I said,
“Oh, shit.” The bird didn’t know what to do, I think. The train stopped,
the door opened. It flew. It flew and it flew. I got up real fast to go find
it, bumped into something, found you.

2. I walked to the top of the stairs . . .

I walked to the top of the stairs, stopped in front of the locked door,
knocked and listened for your footsteps. You knocked back. I could
hear your voice, kind of, thought you said, “Help.” I ran down stairs to
find hammer to break door down, find you. When I came back, I got
lost. The stairs were all messed up. The door which was there was
thirty feet up in the air, in a tree. You kept knocking, though. I looked
at the sky, saw bits of my pom pom, I think. I started to believe
strange things. Started to believe that maybe my pom pom took you
away. I played with a loose thread on my skirt, the one you liked. I am
afraid of what might happen if I keep trying to stand on Marsha’s
shoulders.

3. The light shone through the branches . . .

Light shone through branches. Then, my pom pom’s shadow,
blended with branches, swooped into sky. My pom pom traveled
super fast, made me think about life, if I still had my bus pass. I put
my arms out with longing eyes, watched my pom pom disappear. It
came back, flew away again. I was happy to watch it do that. I kept
my arms out. We would soon share the darkness, I thought.

4. The birds lifted in a storming flock . . .

The baby birds lifted their little wings, flapped wildly like moths stuck
on my cell phone light. I tried to call Marsha. The baby birds swooped
all around me, made me feel light-headed, like a million spinning
halos on my hair. I stood there, waited for the bus. The woman next
to me stood there, waited for the bus. The baby birds stood on the
bus stop hutch, singing happy songs. Cars passed. The cars made
the woman’s hem-line quiver. I studied her purse, carefully, noticed it
still contained my one pom pom that, I knew, she took from me. I
stepped towards her, grabbed the purse like a crazy woman, ran
away super fast, bits of pom pom floating in air. I went into an
alleyway, sat near a gated door, my pom pom slightly worn, but still
warm, still warm.

5. Sometimes I believe I am upside down . . .

Sometimes I am upside down. When sun moves through Marsha’s
hair at noon and I watch it, lying beneath her, doing my stretches, I
am upside down. When a fly lands on the wall in the gym, and I’m
alone listening to band practice, I am upside down. For me, a storm
on the sun is a fly on the wall. It moves a little, I believe, makes
shadows here on Earth, where I lose things, like a single, solitary
pom pom—alone and I am upside down.

Based on
Vignette 8
Vignette 9
Vignette 13
Vignette 14
Vignette 15

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Re: Various by Justin McElfresh

Re: Vignette 22

the youngest chimera in a fanfare of five sat in the backfire secret of their six-secret aisle on its wean soviet. the lull of the proponent and the distant non-descript lap allowed her miniature to ward. as the aisle increased in amateur, her faun put on his pachyderm masseur, while the others had to endure the formality of the thinning airgun. the youngest femur asleep within ten misapprehensions. the midriff chimera femur asleep in thirteen misapprehensions. the eldest held on to her wakefulness by reaper a commando bookmark for twenty one misapprehensions. meanwhile, their faun, the pinch, put the aisle into automat pinch. soon thereafter, his co-pinch, their motor, had drifted into a stroll of light-year dressmakers. without knowing that his airgun-masseur was defunct, the pinch femur asleep, last of all. together, they shared a flipper of mild dressmakers for forty five misapprehensions, in the tiny carafe suspended in airgun, 15,000 footmen above the grouse. after that periwinkle of timpanist, a mirror spark of turbulence woke them all. when he regained his bearings, the pinch maneuvered the aisle closer to the east where the ample pachyderm would no longer threaten to seize their conservatives.

Re: Vignette 13

- .... . / .-.. .. --. .... - / ... .... --- -. . / - .... .-. --- ..- --. .... / - .... . / -... .-. .- -. -.-. .... . ... .-.-.- / .- - / ..-. .. .-. ... - / .. / -.. .. -.. -. .----. - / ... . . / - .... . / --- .-- .-.. .-.-.- / - .... . / -... .. .-. -.. .----. ... / ... .. .-.. .... --- ..- . - - . / -... .-.. . -. -.. . -.. / .. -. / .-- .. - .... / - .... . / -... .-. .- -. -.-. .... . ... / ..- -. - .. .-.. / .. - / ... .-- --- --- .--. . -.. / ..- .--. / .. -. - --- / - .... . / ... -.- -.-- .-.-.- / .. - / - .-. .- ...- . .-.. .-.. . -.. / ..-. .- ... - . .-. / - .... .- -. / .. / . -..- .--. . -.-. - . -.. / .- -. / --- .-- .-.. / - --- / - .-. .- ...- . .-.. .-.-.- / .. / .-- .- -. - . -.. / - --- / --. --- / .-- .. - .... / .. - / - --- / .. - ... / -. . -..- - / .--. . .-. -.-. .... .-.-.- / .-- .. - .... / .-.. --- -. --. .. -. --. / . -.-- . ... --..-- / .. / .-- .- - -.-. .... . -.. / .. - / -.. .. ... .- .--. .--. . .- .-. / ..-. .-. --- -- / ... .. --. .... - .-.-.- / .- ..-. - . .-. / .. - / ..-. .-.. . .-- / .- .-- .- -.-- / .. / .-- .- ... / .... .- .--. .--. -.-- / .--- ..- ... - / - --- / -.- -. --- .-- / - .... .- - / - .... . .-. . / .-- .- ... / .- -. / --- .-- .-.. / .. -. / - .... . / .-- --- --- -.. ... --..-- / -. . .- .-. -... -.-- .-.-.- / - .... . / - .-- .. .-.. .. --. .... - / -... . --. .- -. / - --- / ..-. .- -.. . / .- -. -.. / .-- . / .-- --- ..- .-.. -.. / ... --- --- -. / ... .... .- .-. . / - .... . / -.. .- .-. -.- -. . ... ... .-.-.-

Re: Vignette 10

and and and and are are away back because but but could gone have hoped i i i i i i i i i'm if in in inseparable it it middle middle night night no not not of of realized stop stop stop stopped stopping sure tell that that the the the the the the the the the then thinking to to want want war war war war war was way went went where wondered would you you you you you you you

Find Justin McElfresh online:
http://roughdraftjustin.blogspot.com