Flash Fiction: Emeralds

 

by Raymond Alexander Kukkee

Rough emeralds

 *Emeralds, the flash fiction series-- was inspired by  Red's M3 Fiction Challenge.

*Emeralds*  is a small collection of flash fiction stories that individually use pre-specified words and are each limited to specific maximum word counts. 
The individual flash sections are  titled with the required word and word count,  and are  linked together by a common thread.
 

 PEPPER  75

"Pepper that Johnnie Reb with buckshot next time he comes around"   the woman suggested, smoothing her apron and rattling a muffin-tin into the gas oven.  " He's gone too far this time, don't you think ?"
"Why no, momma, we can't be shooting that old man just 'cause he's hanging around, wishin' to speak to 'ya".  The pimply teenager said.  "I don't think he means harm, momma". 
"He does too, he's your daddy"  she said.

SQUEAK   75

Joe  heard the door squeak behind him and it made him jump ." That door always squeaks in the wind" he thought to himself and turned to close it. The big bearded man whacked him between the eyes with a stick before he could blink .  He saw stars and fell  backwards into a chair.
"Don't be tellin' me I can't see the woman" he heard.  " I'm  'yer  rebel-assed daddy, boy! "

Ripple  75

"I hope I didn't ripple that noggin permanent with this stick"  the man said, dumping cold water on Joe's face.   "Blood, not enough to get worryin' about" he added. 
Joe sat up and studied the man. He was 6' 5 and close to 350 lbs by his reckoning. 
"Your momma, she don't want me around"  he said. "I get into her moonshine."
"Get your hands up, Rufus Johns!" Momma said. The shotgun clicked. Rufus surrendered.

Drug   75

"Still on that  laudanum drug, Rufus?" Momma asked the big man with a smile on her face.
"I got you dead rights,  Rufus, I could ventilate that thick skull of yours with this here 12 gauge, and the judge would laugh about it."  she said, motioning him to sit.
"Ain't no judge going to sanction murder"  Rufus stated boldly.
 "My daddy, he'll sanctify whatever I say, the old goat" she winked.
"You're toast,  Rufus Johns!"

Wake 125

Rufus Johns stared into the barrel of the 12-guage shotgun with his one good eye. "I'm not afraid of dying, Sally, you get on pullin' the trigger if 'ya like", he said to the smiling woman.  He plugged his stubby fingers into both barrels.
"See?" 
The woman pulled the shotgun back. " I don't want to be wasting my time going to your wake" she said.  "Besides, I'd have to buy you a new black suit" she added,  standing the shotgun in the corner by the door.  "Y'aint gonna beat on the boy again, are 'ya?"
"Not me, woman,  I came to get your boy, there's work at the mine."
" He ain't my boy."  She winked at Rufus.

Corner   125

The gangly boy picked up the shotgun from the corner  and sat with it across his knee. "Damn, Momma," he said, "you always said tell  the truth , am I your boy or not? I could just pepper  Rufus Johns  here, my head hurts, so  you tell me the truth now."
"Ain't that easy boy," she hesitated.... "see, I'm an old friend of Louella's."
"Boy,  you just get 'yer duff-bag packed, you're goin' with me regardless", Rufus Johns  bellowed loudly. "There's work to be done at the mine and you're comin' with me". 
"No I'm not, Rufus Johns, I'm gonna be a farmer, not a rock-pickin' miner, dirty-faced gold-diggin' fool"
"We'll see, boy, what your momma says about that"  Rufus Johns coughed.

Book   125

"What's 'yer everyday callin' name, boy?"  Rufus Johns asked the  kid sitting on the truck seat beside him, his duffle on his knee. 
"I got no idea, Rufus Johns, I don't even know who my momma was, or if you're my old man,  I don' t know anything 'cept what I read in the good book.  I go by Joe,  that's what momma- Aunt Sally called  me --Joe, I got no idea if it's right or not."  The boy hesitated.
"My official name is really  Georgie Joe  Johns?"   
"That's what Louella  says, boy"  Rufus Johns said, " it's writ in her good book and I ain't about to argue with her, she's got a .44  and she knows how to use it."

Fire   125

"Hold 'yer fire, Louella!" Rufus Johns yelled at the woman pointing the  Colt .44 .   "Ya don't want to be killin' anyone, it's me an' the  boy!"
 Joe stood  behind  the truck, watching.  The dusty hat was pulled over the woman's eyes and she stood sideways like a crack shot.
"She'll shoot again, Rufus Johns,  told you we shouldn't come here, she don't want me here at the mine, " the boy said. "Is she a lunatic?"
"That's a matter of opinion" Rufus Johns said, watching the woman.
"Is that you, Georgie-Joe Johns,  is that you, boy, behind the truck, you  with Rufus there?" the woman yelled. 
"I'm writ  in 'yer good book!"  the boy shouted back.
"Don't shoot, we're comin' in! "

Ring   100

She showed the boy her ring.  "See?  I  was married to  Rufus Johns twenty years ."    "He said it was glass, but it's emerald from this mine here- this ain't  a gold mine like everybody figures." 
The boy squinted at the  moss inside the stone. "Moss" she said. 
  "In the looney-house,  I was"  she said. "Locked up like that moss."
"You got took in, Georgie-Joe, 'my friend Sally took 'ya in,  while I got well."
She spun the shiny  Colt  .44  on her finger.  "I shoot better'n Annie Oakley." 

Fish   100

"Louella, she'll  teach you how to fish and tell lies , and I'll teach 'ya how to mine emeralds and  pretend 'yer workin' a gold mine"  Rufus Johns said.  "Meantime we better get moving', Louella ain't gonna be peaceful when we come back, no supper"  Rufus said, squinting into the setting sun. "We better get home.". 
"Well look , this tire is flatter'n a cowflap!" Rufus kicked the truck.  "Git the jack, and hand me that wrench". The boy fired instead.
The prairie hen flapped and dropped at his feet.
"Do tell" Rufus said, smiling. "You shoot good!"

Mark    100

"See the mark  on the tree, boy?" Rufus  asked Joe. He pointed to a tree high on a hill. "It's the size of a man's head,  it's a knot, and if you hit it, boy, the emerald mine is yours".  He yanked the Winchester out of the gun boot. "Not easy like a shotgun, shoots left a bit" he said.   He tossed Joe the rifle.
Joe aimed and fired.
They walked up the hill. Rufus wheezed and dug the bullet out of the center of the knot.  He coughed blood.
"I'm dyin' boy.  I got consumption. The mine's yours".

Flash  100

"Rufus Johns coughed blood and died, "  Joe said, "we gotta bury him."
"Gave you the mine?" Louella  pointed the .44 at him.
"Damn him,  you ain't goin' nowhere."
"Momma?"
"I ain't 'yer momma, idiot boy!" she raised the .44 to fire.
"I'm writ in 'yer good book, you said!"  Joe shouted.  He saw a flash of steel.
A shot rang out.
"See?  I told you we couldn't trust Louella, boy."  Rufus Johns said.
"Had to test her, boy. You'll get home to your real momma. Come back when you're full sized".
Joe buried Rufus Johns the next day too.

Type       100

Joe smoothed the dirt over the graves and piled rocks.  He broke a wide board in half and carved "Loonie Louella" shot dead 1891"   on one half  and  "My Father Rufus Johns  1891 " on the other half. He cut two sticks and nailed the cross-boards up.
"Goodbye, Rufus Johns"  Joe said, looking over the graves. "I ain't the type to be cryin' my head off over lunatics" .  
"I ain't a miner either" he said, jamming the truck into gear. He patted the bible on the seat beside him.  "But  I'm writ in the good book"  he said, smiling.

Trace         50

Joe saw green stones sparkling.
 "Green glass" his voice echoed.
 "I ain't a miner ".   He set a long  fuse in a bundle of dynamite.
 The fuse  spurted flame as it got shorter.
The flying rock closed the mine without a trace.  
"I'm back, Momma!  Joe smiled.



                              ###

At Incoming Bytes, we love to experiment with writing. This post is an experiment in continuity and the potential relationships possible between flash stories. Can flash fiction be related?  When and where does a collection of flash fiction stories become a single short story?
We encourage our readers to consider that decision.
 We we also hope you enjoyed  it!

Is that Incoming I hear?



photo:  courtesy of  www.chemistryland.com

Let's Start 2012 Right: Read THIS...

2012:   The Age of Light is Upon Us

WELCOME to 2012 !!!  Happy New Year!

At Incoming Bytes,  I must admit that I am always inspired by great writing.  Excellent writers, aware of it or not, are my mentors--and my heroes.   No matter what genre,  I enjoy good writing, and that includes intriguing, wonderfully-written professional blogs I have discovered.  

Some are genuine diamonds  I have happily stumbled upon, but interestingly, many of the BEST  are written by good friends in my writing circles.
There are many blogs out there --and clearly, I cannot list them all, but in this new year, we will continue to enjoy the best.
  For 2012, let's start out right with some wonderful reading recommendations.

• Let's learn to enjoy natural life more by reading  a wonderful gardening blog  Glory's Garden  by our very  own  gardening zeitgeist Glory Lennon. 

Whether  writing  about vegetables, flowers, discussing sugar-maple trees, or displaying exotics from Florida,   Glory's  exciting love for all things growing will keep you interested and coming back for more.    At times Glory  travels about, photographing exotic flowers and plants for us, and shares her wonderful photos of wildlife,  birds -and dragons.   Well, okay, those were alligators, but Glory is a princess too,  so what? 

•     If you are intrigued by farm life, green acres covered with lush green grass,   bouncing lambs, big woolly sheep, majestic chickens and other aspects of farming wisdom, read Julie Helm's  Woolly Acres for a closer look at  where eggs come from,  how they turn into chicks when hatched, what very high-quality  natural wool looks like, --and even how to propagate meal-worms as a source of protein for chicken feed! 

• Learn about all kinds of  human intricacies. follies, and  relationships, and why they fail,  by checking in with the incredible wisdom  and common sense of Ann Marie Dwyer   at 'Mommas Money Matters' -that's  M3 for short.   

Ann Marie,  a.k.a." Red ", --a  savvy, prolific writer, --is a saucy, brilliant  blogger that asks,  analyzes, and gives you information you need;  then she asks leading and often  pointed questions of you --and tells you so much MORE about yourself.  Red wants to talk to YOU, so follow M3 carefully and participate ! 
 Red  even turns the spotlight on you whether you are an author, accomplished photographer, or budding musician. She asks the right questions, --and gets the right answers for her readers. Bottom line?
" M3 and Red....Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated into M3 and love it! " comes to mind.
 

• At Incoming Bytes  everyone knows that  "We like  Camping Better" , and there's no better place to read about camping,  camping stories,  or about exploring  the beautiful Adirondacks  --than by checking in with  Jim Bessey's Just Camping Out  while you enjoy that first cup of coffee in the early morning  on the back porch or beside a crackling campfire.  --Whether it be  winter, summer, spring or fall.  --Whether you camp in classic vintage RV --or a two-man tent under the stars, --Jim encourages  enjoyment of camping because Mother Nature offers a peaceful state of mind!        Get out into the great outdoors with Jim Bessey's JCO --and you'll soon discover why we like camping better!

• If you love the excitement and  big roar of NASCAR instead, you'll enjoy following Alexandra Heep's 'A Heep of NASCAR'  for the real inside scuttlebutt on drivers, races, the pits, and the love of  racing itself. 

Alexandra knows this exciting sport inside and out.  She has the post position  and a real insider's   track; she knows many drivers, offers backgrounders, keeps the pedal to the metal  and  asks the right questions --for you.  Follow Alex's  blog  "A Heep of NASCAR " ---and  start your engines !   In fact, after the races, you might want to check out Alex's "A Heep of Everything" too !

•  In the quiet, early morning Eastern sky, watch a true star shining brilliantly  in the skies over the desert of Oman as you enjoy Amanda Dcosta's  Mandy's Pages  to find out what's hot, and what's not.   

 A wonderful writer with the love of poetry and all literature,   Amanda Dcosta's  blog takes an insightful look into literature of all kinds poetry, blog posts,  writers,  and even reviews new books --like my own recently-published   eBook, "Morgidoo's Christmas Carol", a  new Christmas classic published in Smashwords  and Kindle.

• "The dignity of ANY human being is measured in self-esteem and  perception of self-worth. Every human being is worthy of love --and to be treated with respect and dignity."    

Want to learn to be a more effective human being? Visit  M.J. Joachim's Effectively Human ' where faith, the love of God, human dignity and self-worth are not only treasured, but discussed and  promoted  brilliantly by M.J.  herself as well as guest authors and regular contributors.
 Truths about humanity, faith, and today's  difficult and controversial social mores  invariably come out,-- and this insightful resource  site is offered to help the reader better understand hot-button issues,  real human values, families, --and how to be a human being more effectively.



As an avid reader interested in a wide variety of aspects of life, I enjoy excellence in blogs and articles of all kinds and treasure the incredible wealth of information often included in them.  Nuggets of wisdom free for the taking.

• The possibility of finding gold  anywhere in  North and South America and other countries can be explored by reading John Angus Carter's very successful --and highly-informative Gold, Mining and Prospecting blog.  

Over 90,000 readers have already explored the nuggets of information in this amazing blog, and you can too.   
Find out where to find gold, the secrets of panning for gold, --and  you can even sign up for  the John Angus Carter School of prospecting!

The list goes on,  if life is  really to be enjoyed ! 

• If you are city-oriented by heart  and don't care for being out in the  wilds,  look at the life of a writer from high-rise cosmopolitan Toronto, Ontario.    See what Conny Manero has to say in her blog, Under the Toronto Sun.   You will be entertained and surprised! Conny, a published author, has an amazingly honest,  accurate and unique way of "cutting to the chase" about everyday life.

• How is your ongoing sense of humor?  Want to be amused, informed, and also discuss issues as serious as the  'religion of misogyny " ?    Check in with Rachel Howells  Lala's Musings!     Rachel offers a beautifully-written blog with cutting insight--and hilarious sarcasm --into family life, human nature and it's folly, fun, and idiosyncrasies.  Rachel pulls no punches discussing serious issues -- and tells it like it IS. 

• Last but certainly not LEAST,  if you are scribbler of any sort;  a dedicated writer, author, or blogger, you already know, or are quickly discovering, that writing is a serious  business.   

Creative work or otherwise, Doreen Martel's  brilliant approach to writing as a business  on her website  "Freelancing and More" is an incredibly good website and includes much must-read  information for all writers.  
  Doreen  insists  she is not a "creative" writer--but her website and handling of the  tough subject matter  at hand is not only creative --but incredibly smart , timely, and informative.   Check out "Freelancing and More" and you'll soon see how Doreen's approach can help you. 

At Incoming Bytes  I realize that all good blogs and web sites cannot  possibly be listed in this post;   there are  many, many more insightful and entertaining blogs  that should be included.
--Wonderful writing by thoughtful, brilliant writers -- entertaining, informative -- a great read for 2012. 

Add these first to your 'follow' lists, or subscribe FREE by email --you won't be sorry you did! 

It is our fondest hope that we have brought something to the fireside that YOU will enjoy!


This first day of 2012,  here at Incoming Bytes -- we will  continue to explore, question, offer alternative thought --even criticize where required --and encourage you, the reader, to think proactively if you dare.
 


That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Back to the Grindstone --and the Drawing Board

Well,  it's back to the grindstone again.
Having been away from everything including Incoming Bytes  for a few days right in the middle of one of  the biggest financial crises in North America's economic history  was actually helpful.  Let's call it a stress reducer,  fortuitous timing,  a blessing in disguise,  you name it.   Why?  The fact is , there is absolutely no logic in worrying about something one has no control over. 

Meantime, North American stock markets  took a terrible dive,  shiny gold climbed to over  $1700/ oz. for the first time in history,  and as usual, the overly-nervous  small investor panicked and sold off--giving the banks and the wealthy with  endless cash coffers yet another opportunity to use our own money to  engulf  stocks at bottom-feeder prices.  Go figure.  How lovely.  Is that  happenstance, devious manipulation,   just good economic choreography, or what?

So what is really happening? With the US credit rating dropped, the international community looking at the U.S with a wary eye, ordinary  investors are nervous--and rightfully so.  Unknown to most Americans, the Federal Reserve does not even  belong to the Federal Government, it belongs to foreign banks --who are tightening the purse strings willfully.  China "warns" the US  that the days of easy borrowing are over.  How cute.

With burgeoning personal debt, it is easy to understand the conundrum. Many North Americans, Canadians and American households  alike  are overspent, and their discretionary spending, the  amount of money they have left after huge interest payments are made--is  shrinking rapidly. Simple to understand, budgetary discretion also known as --choice-- is siphoned away by burgeoning  interest payments and bad fiscal management. 

The fault really is our own.  Governments R US......literally.   We actually vote for, and pay people to manage our financial affairs--and where does that get us? They make bad to worse decisions, spend our tax dollars foolishly,  advise us what "we" want,  and  then we all scratch our heads in  wonder, contemplating why national piggy-banks no longer rattle with gold.   Ya' gotta appreciate the no-win -no-win  mess we've put ourselves in.


Let's use the latest debt crisis in the US  as a result of bad  political management, bad partisan politics, and bad spending --as a typical  'model' of desperation --in reality,  a typical model of despair.  
To be realistic, perhaps we should not feel bad as individuals,  other countries, Greece,
Spain, Ireland, Portugal --are also in a mess,  and now the whole of the United States of America is in the same situation.  Why would that be?  Unbelievable?   

In the case of the USA, all you have to do is look at the chart to see why.  A full 58% of discretionary spending is spent on the military.

Let's all close our eyes and disregard reality.

"Let's worship political dogma,  practice party gamesmanship,  and  just raise the debt ceiling some more, so our great-great-great  grandchildren can pay it all off.  Let's stick to our guns, spending habits, and outrageous spending at all cost.   Right. Let's raise the debt ceiling and make it even worse next time. The Holy Dollar is all that counts  as long as we get to spend it. "
 
Frankly, at times it seems like two or three working, budget-minded  single moms and a handful of mediocre but  hard-working average Grade VI students might do a better job of managing the biggest economy in the world.

The way I see it,  priorities should be people instead of political dogma,  "power" and political gamesmanship.  

How is one to convince North America  that's what is needed?
 Think NEW priorities !   Imagine using logic instead of politics to run countries. 

Perhaps we should have stayed on vacation,   chilled out,  and hid our heads in the sand instead.  Would that help? No.  Would that fix problems at home?  No.

The fact IS, it really is time to go back to the grindstone, back to the drawing-board and redesign the economic model everyone  depends upon so heavily.   The North American economic model IS failing.                                            What are we going to do about it? 

I know... go on another vacation,  buy on credit some more,  borrow more money,  wear rose-coloured glasses, and blame everyone else.....


That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

And Here I thought the Silence was my Imagination.....

It never fails to surprise me how human instinct can sense differences in the atmosphere, events,  and social happenings  without really knowing why, or what is happening.
My last two posts discussed the strange  "silence" out in the media  that has raised my own curiosity level to the extreme.  I wondered if it was 'official' silence, or just perceived.
 It turns out there is much  more to come about "silence" .  It seems I am not alone.

I'll refer the reader of Incoming Bytes  to a new article in  "Before it's News"  and encourage all of our readers to think for yourselves...and  pay a lot of attention to the article:
"12 Things That the Mainstream Media is Being Strangely Quiet about Right Now". 
http://members.beforeitsnews.com/story/730/999 The "12 things"  are listed short-listed below for your convenience, but the reader really should read the article in its total form.

1)   The crisis at the Fort Calhoun nuclear facility in Nebraska 
2)   Bombing in Yemen and Pakistan and rumors of the US invasion of Libya
3)   Fukushima in Japan: the nuclear crisis is worsening, far worse than Chernobyl
4)   Christian groups are considered to be a threat to National Security
5)   Flooding in China is the worst in 55 years
6)   The Dodd-Frank Act is closing down Forex gold/silver trading by July 15, 2011
7)    Huge cracks in the earth 3km long have appeared in the earth in Peru, and a huge crack has appeared in Michigan
8)    Arizona wildfire is now over half a million acres 
9)    North Korea has tested a "super  EMP weapon"
10    "Active shooter drills"  are being conducted American public schools without notice
11)   " Emergency preparedness" initiatives for NASA employees and their families are being conducted
12    NO-fly zones--40 of them--have been declared by the FAA in the last week.

What is really  going on here?  Clearly our instincts work overtime even  when our media does not, or is ordered not to.  Why are public officials sanctioning  the media  "SILENCE"?  Are all disasters, events, and threats now on the " information based on need to know" principle? Is  "Big Brother" deciding what we shall or shall not be informed about?

Meantime, back in the fog surrounding the  garden, the beans are growing peacefully, cabbage is doing just fine, the corn is growing in leaps and bounds,  and everything else is sprouting in the finest possible fashion, with nary a news flash.
 
I have to wonder which of these two subjects is more valuable to me as a human being?  Which do I have the most control over?  I ask again, is it better to be uninformed? Big Brother seems to think so.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.