Winter Lights - A Short Story

A follow up to the short story “Watching Fireflies” that is just as readable as a standalone short to spice up your festive spirits. :)

“No, Elfie!”

“But Dad! It’s Christmas Eve! It’s a season of joy!”

“There’s no joy for you until you’ve done all your homework! You’ve been procrastinating all week,” Elfred gave his son the ultimatum.

While Elfie went into his room to finish his homework, Elfred and his wife, Elna, packed their things and strolled hand-in-hand to the city square. Rooftops, treetops and everything else with tops were covered in snow. A gentle breeze blew past the couple. In a cloudless blue sky, the morning light glistened off ice crystals to form millions of tiny suns.

Elfred and Elna set off early to make sure all the props were in order and the tree lights functioned. The square was going to be the night’s centre of attraction. Town folks will queue to take photos with the trio. Those that still believed would tell Santa their wishes. It was going to be another promising Christmas Eve. Elfred felt it in his bones. He had been the town’s Santa for a decade. For the past two years, he was joined by his wife, the one and only Santarina, and their son played the role of Santa’s greatest helper, the elf.

The night will culminate into a climax of fireworks, cheers and dances as the clock struck midnight. Everyone would party until the wee hours of the morning. Those thoughts excited Elfred and his family. There was no reason they would not make it a successful family hat trick tonight.

When they approached the town square, they were impressed by the perfect Christmas tree that stood against the test of time. Six centuries old, it never needed any trimming. It had been through many hardships with generations of townsfolk. It was the town’s pillar of strength during the Wizards’ War - the tree was the source of energy for the wizards to draw from at the final moment to fight back the darkness. It became a symbol of nature when people desecrated the earth to make way for the industrial revolution. When the forest was bare except for this tree, the town was hit by extreme weather - storms and prolonged dry spells - for decades. The tree eventually transferred its energy to the earth and regenerated the forest. Unfortunately, all was forgotten when modernisation turned magic into nothing more than tricks and entertainment. Only a special few like Elfie secretly studied real magic.

“I’m going to turn on the lights just to make sure they are fine,” Elfred said and went into a shack built next to the tree to house the incoming electric supply. It will also serve as the backdrop for Santa to greet his guests later in the night.

The lights did not turn on when Elfred flipped the switch. He desperately tried to fix it. Racing against time, he ran to the source of the power and discovered that it was shorted out. The roof sprung a leak and melted snow dripped into the power socket. Part of the cable was burnt. There was nothing that Elfred could do. He tried calling the electrician but none had their phones on. This year the village will have to celebrate Christmas without a beautifully lighted tree.

******

The sun set and dusk settled. Without the attraction of the Christmas tree lights that people had come to expect, the town square was cast in shadows. Elfred was dressed in his Santa costume and doing the jingles. Elna stood by her husband in her Santarina costume while, Elfie, dressed as Santa’s little elf, stood on the other side of his father. They tried to keep their smiles and cheers on but no one bothered.

“Ho! Ho! Ho!”

The villagers walked past as if he did not exist. Some managed to acknowledge the family’s presence and forced a smile. But everyone looked at them with accusing eyes of their failure to light up the tree and spoiled Christmas. As dusk made way to night, Elfred and family sat hunched on the bench with a heavy burden of guilt weighing them down.

“We should call it a night, my dear Elna and Elfie. I’ve spoilt Christmas for everyone.”

“Give me a few minutes, dad. I will be right back,” Elfie replied and ran off.

True to his words, he was back in less than ten minutes. He was lugging a few boxes behind him. As he got closer, Elfred’s eyes widened.

“Fireflies! Why of course!” Both parents exclaimed and stood up to help their son.

Gently, the three of them slid the top covers off the boxes. Fireflies drifted lazily out of their warm and cosy home, bathing the family in a warm glow. The insects settled on the tree and produced random points of lights. Their hope was short-lived when, from a distance, no one else noticed the dim glow of the fireflies.

“I’m sorry, Mom and Dad, I don’t have enough fireflies to make a difference and I’ve not learnt any light spells to brighten the tree,” Elfie said, tears flooding his eyes.

“Its all right, dear. We know you’ve tried your best,” Elna said. “Anyway, it’s not the end of the world.”

The family hugged. And then, as though given a supercharge, the fireflies magically brightened up. In an instant, the shadows disappeared and the Christmas tree dazzled in grandeur. The tree saved the day! It radiated its energy through the fireflies and enhanced their chemical reactions so that they glowed many times brighter.

The townsfolk gasped in astonishment as they gathered around the square. The fireflies’ slow but random movements turned the tree alive, something that no electric lights could do. The fireflies that were floating around looked like dancing stars that came down from the heavens. A truly unique experience. Words of mouth, passed from one to another, reached the farthest folk within minutes. They flooded in to witness nature’s magical powers.

“Ho! Ho! Ho! Come and make your wish!” Elfred’s voice boomed amidst the chatter of thousands of voices.

A queue began to form as the townsfolk waited for their turn to meet Santa and his sidekicks. Before all that was well ended well, another hurdle presented itself. It began to rain. The iced cold rain threatened to force everyone away. Cheerful faces became anxious ones.

Elfie had another idea.

But, but, but...

Being an apprentice, Elfie was not sure if he could pull it off, but he would need to try. Nothing could be worse than not trying. He stared up into the heavens and concentrated. Elfie felt a surge of power flowing through his body. The tree was once again lending its energy. With the amplification, Elfie’s magic reached out to every raindrop. Like fireworks, each drop burst into snowflakes that drifted down on the folks. The snow enhanced the mood of the people. Laughter and happy chatter returned as the queue to meet Santa continued to grow.

Elfie thought he heard the tree whispered “Merry Christmas” but he could not be sure.

End.

Dirty Water - A Short Story

A few recent incidents where our water source - a river - was polluted caused water treatment plants to be shutdown for days without warning. These prompted me to write a short story to illustrate unscrupulous people only interested in profits without any care to the effects they cause to the environment and to the people.

Dirty Water

It was a dark and stormy night. Rain pelted on the windows, trying to force its way in. However, Gridy the Boss was oblivious to the noise. He was smoking an expensive cigar with his legs propped up on his grand table, made out of a chunk of a once magnificent tree he ordered chopped down. His personal office, although spacious, was filled with smoke. He liked the feeling because it gave him the illusion of being in the Swiss Alps and not this hot and humid dump.

No matter. At the rate he was going, within a year he will be able to afford a luxurious house and live a promiscuous life, wherever he chose.

But at the expense of a lot of people.

******

He operated a shabby factory hidden in a secluded part of a small town. His factory was legally registered as a food processing plant but that was just a front. Hidden inside, he employed illegal immigrants to manually strip and process precious metals out of electronic waste. The chemicals were easily discharged into the river that conveniently ran along with the backyard of the factory.

Recently, he landed on a job to dispose of electronic components from an international conglomerate of tech companies. He employed even more illegal immigrants and bribed many officials. He expanded his factory and, naturally increased discharges to the river. The once clear river was now reduced to a source of murky liquid. Withered foliage ran in parallel with the river, death and misery spreading by the day.

“Hey boss, I’ve got an idea for ya,” his sleazy factory manager said.

“Spell it out. I ain’t got all day,” Gridy was irritated. He did not like to be interrupted when he was counting his fortunes.

“You know those rubbish we paid to that company to dispose of every week? The tens of thousands of dollars that dumpster guy rips us of -“

“Rips ME off, Rat. This is MY company and mine alone,” he reminded his manager whom he always called Rat for the whiskers and protruding nose that reminded him of the rodent.

“Yes, your company,” Rat corrected himself. “I’ve got an idea that could save us... you, save YOU hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

“Get to the point!” he was getting impatient. Despite their similar alignment towards unscrupulous practices, he was well aware nothing good would come out of a rat.

“Yes sir. Behind this factory are acres and acres of nothing but an endless jungle. I would suggest we dump the waste there, bury them and when the shrubs grow back, no one will be the wiser.”

“Well, I don’t know...,” it took Gridy thirty seconds to decide that Rat was on to something big. “Make it work and you will be handsomely rewarded.”

Rat made it work and became Gridy’s second in command. Together, they compounded their riches... and the suffering for those that lived within the radius of the effects.

******

While Gridy was dreaming of bigger plans in his office and Rat planning to open up another dumping ground, the storm grew in intensity. Lightning turned the dark, night sky as bright as day before surrendering back to the blackness. Defying physics, the lightning ignored the nearby trees and stroke down into the river. The energy transferred caused even the dark, murky water to glow.

Mixed with clean, crystal clear rain, the polluted river water started to rise and rise and rise like a huge column of wall. The polluted liquid struggled to expel the onslaught of clean rainwater. The dark and the clear separated and morphed into two giant monsters the size of mountains.

Both appeared like blobs of jellies but in contrast to the smooth curves of the crystal clear monster, the dark one had sharp spikes protruding out of its body. The lightning flashes were relentless, just like strobe lights used to stop motion, illuminating the two giants as they engaged in battle. In a flash, the dark blob connected an uppercut to the clear blob’s face, sending it stumbling backwards.

In another flash of lightning, the clear monster retaliated with a head butt. In the next few subsequent flashes, both were tumbling into the forest. Whichever tree the dark blob touched or enveloped into its mass, the tree withered. On the other hand, the clear blob’s touch brought life back to the trees. Although it tried to save as many trees as possible, the fight was too intense for it to focus.

There was no clear winner until both monsters clashed and rebounded onto the ground. The clear blob recovered first and took the opportunity to heal the surrounding trees and plants. With its attention on the greens, it did not notice the dark blob slithered behind, its arm morphed into a stake. The evil monster stabbed the clear blob, its dark poison quickly spread through its body.

The poisoning was swift. The clear blob lost its powers and collapsed into a pool of dark liquid. The victorious dark blob absorbed its nemesis and grew twice in size. It let out a growl into the night so loud that even the storm could not suppress. The force was so great that it pushed the storm away, revealing that dawn had arrived. The rain and thunder stopped, there was silence.

The dark monster turned towards the factory, aware it was the source of its powers. It towered over the fourteen storey building twice over. It bowed down and stared through the factory’s thirteenth-floor windows at the back of Gridy and Rat. Oblivious, the two men continued talking about their fortunes and how to earn more.

The sight of them somehow irritated the monster. It let out another growl, shattering the windows and threw both men across the room. They stared at the face of death for the first and the last time. The monster gobbled up the factory complex, feeding off the nuclear supply that powered the building.

It felt the energy and then, even more energy as the nuclear reaction warmed its body. It felt satisfaction for the first time in its short life, and then, pain, as its corrupted body started to react with the uranium. It growled in agony. Its body ballooned for a second before imploding into a speck of light. Attracted by the light, a curious blue-green butterfly flew towards it, only to be disappointed as it fizzled out.

People who had dealings with Gridy were puzzled by the sudden disappearance of him and his factory. They searched high and low for him to reclaim their losses but he was nowhere to be found. His vanishing brought the downfall of his equally corrupted accomplices. 

The good and the clean triumphed once more. There was relief for those who wished Gridy and Co. never existed. After a few days, the river started to deliver clear water again from the mountains and life returned.

-End -

Nothing to Drizzle About - A Flash Fiction

It was a rainy evening. While driving back, I drove past a puddle of water which gave me an idea to write a quick short. Injecting some parental advice, the following flash fiction came to fruit. Enjoy!

******

“Make sure you keep your raincoat and umbrella on at all times, especially at the bus stop! When it rains, cars passing by might drive over puddles and splash water on you!” mom told Audrey. “And you won’t want your new dress to get all wet and dirty, do you?”

“And don’t forget to put on your yellow boots, too!” dad shouted from the kitchen.

Nag, nag, nag. That was what Audrey heard.

“Yes, mom, yes dad,” she said.

Before mom could continue, Audrey took off with her umbrella opened but she left the raincoat hanging on the coats hanger. It was just a light drizzle. Nothing was going to stop her from attending her best friend’s birthday party!

A couple of blocks away, she was waiting at the bus stop for the next bus when the sky opened up. Cats and dogs rained down furiously from the heavens. Puddles of water began to form on the road but...

Hah! Mom and dad should see this. All the cars are avoiding the puddles! Ha! Ha! H-

Splash!

- End -

Invasion - A Short Story

Also published in Reedsy Prompts.

*****

Rapid footsteps interrupted the sound of a peaceful jungle with calls of the wild. A boy, drenched in sweat, was running for his life, away from the new king of the jungle and his minions. By his side was a lion cub, the heir to the old throne.

A rival pride had attacked the lion kingdom and imprisoned the old guards. Years of betrayal and losses had moulded the lion at the head of this new pride into a cold and heartless beast. There was nothing left in his life but to conquer and destroy all things living. In the midst of the chaos, the boy managed to wriggle his way through the bushes and escape with the lion cub. They hardly ran a few kilometres before hyenas and snakes blocked their path. Soon, they were surrounded. The only direction they could go was down a steep cliff. Beneath the cliff was rocky terrain created by the sea with waves so strong that each splash sounded like a thunderclap. It was instant death in the hands of the evil creatures or take a leap of faith. The boy hugged the lion cub, and they both jumped.

~~~~~

The sound of laughter was welcoming. The boy was at the beach, splashing water at his sister on one side and his father on the other. The fun was all about splashing water at each other.

“Ha, ha, ha! You ain’t getting away, Tib!”

“I’m not trying to!” Tiberius replied.

An elephant blared from the rear. It filled its trunk with water and sprayed at the trio. In the distant, the sound of a roar pierced through the day. The king of the jungle announced his arrival. A lion emerged from the bushes with his cub. When they reached the water, he encouraged the cub with his muzzle to join his friends.

"Go on, Lionel, your friends are calling you. It will be fun."

But the timid little cub clung on to his father. The lion picked Lionel up with his teeth and dipped him in the water. Within moments, Lionel and his human friends were splashing water at each other. Through generations of friendship, Tiberius’ royal family had become close allies with the animal kingdom, both protecting each other’s domain.

Suddenly, a giant wave appeared right in front of Tib. The sky turned dark as the wave blocked out the sun and came crashing down on to Tib, his family and friends.

SPLASH!

Wave after wave of water crashed down on them. Tiberius was pushed underwater. He choked and gasped for air. No matter how hard he tried to swim to the surface, the pressure was so strong that it pushed him back under. He was drowning. In one last attempt, he gathered all his strength and thrust upward with his hands and legs. The surface, only an arm's length away, still seemed too far. His lungs were on fire and about to burst-

~~~~~

Tib woke with a start. He was not on a familiar beach with his family and friends. He was being washed ashore in a strange place. He scrambled to look for Lionel. He found the cub further up the beach, its body appeared devoid of life. The boy knelt beside it, not willing to touch it because he was afraid to confirm his suspicions that Lionel drowned. He wept but opened his teary eyes when he heard Lionel coughing out water. Overwhelmed with joy, the boy hugged his little friend.

"We have to get out of here and look for help," Tiberius said to Lionel. They scoured the place but soon discovered that they were lost on an island. Accepting their fate, they worked together to survive. To Lionel's disgust, his friend's diet became mostly of fruits and fish. Eventually, out of hunger, Lionel became the first lion to live off fruits and fish as his staple.

Curiosity got the better of the island's natural inhabitants. When they were convinced the boy and lion were harmless, they approached them. They sent their messenger, a blue parakeet, to test the water.

"Ahoy there! State your names and purpose for invading our island!" it squawked.

"We... we mean you no harm. We... we're lost," Lionel stuttered and eventually told it their story.

After the parakeet returned into the jungle and relayed the story word for word, the island's origins left the protection of the foliage and revealed themselves. The earth shook as a tribe of men and women, elephants, giraffes, horses and flocks of birds made their way forward.

"We came here centuries ago when our ark crashed into this island. Half perished, but our ancestors of this island pulled the rest of us out of the wreckage and saved our lives," a giraffe said. "This was initially a paradise island for giraffes but ever since the incident, this is a peaceful island for all."

"We sympathise with you. You are welcome to stay as long as you are willing to live among us in peace," a squirrel said, climbing on to the head of the lead giraffe.

Tiberius felt a little awkward because all eyes were on him. Shouldn't they be more concern about a lion instead?

"Especially humans," a tall, angular tribe member said. "It took years to correct a terrible mistake one of us made. In the name of progress, he tricked all of us and nearly destroyed the environment."

"Do not be alarmed. From where we came from, we lived in harmony with the rest of our jungle folks. That was until-"

"We do not wish to interfere with the outside world," the giraffe interrupted.

~~~~~

And so years passed. Tiberius and Lionel lived among the tribes and animals. The passage of time slowly dulled the pain and sorrowful memories of their families. Lionel grew to become a handsome lion that ate vegetables and fruits with the occasional supplement of fish.

Unfortunately, their past caught up with them. It was a mild afternoon. The inhabitants of the island were sunbathing on the beach when the evil lions and their minions landed. They had used their human and animal slaves to build them a ship to find new lands to conquer.

The tame and complacent islanders were no match for the invaders. Before dusk, the minions had captured most of the animals. Tiberius and Lionel managed to evade capture. The boy, drenched in sweat, was running for his life, away from his old, ruthless emissary and his underlings. Next to Tib was the grown Lionel, the heir to the old throne. Their nightmare was beginning all over again.

End

The Creature - A Short Story

Also published in the Reedsy Prompts contest.

Late in the chilly night, the lone spiralling mountain road laid dormant. One side protected by the mountain, the opposite side was bare to a steep and sharp drop down the forest below. Anyone worth his or her salt knew better than to go up or down such a treacherous mountain in the dark except for the unusual daredevil such as the single truck speeding down the winding road. No doubt the driver had someplace else he wanted to be. No doubt he was cursing why the government did not just bore a tunnel through the terrain instead of making him go up and down mountains just to transport some chickens. Yes, he could be drinking with his mates and talk about the wonderful things that they could do in life. Instead, he was ferrying farm animals across the country.

As he was about to negotiate a turn, he thought his headlights caught a lump of ice lying in the middle of the road.

Ice in the beginning of autumn? The weather is screwed. It had something to do with global warming. Wait. What? Globe is warming and I’m thinking of ice? It had got to be something else!

By the time he got back to the present, he tried to step on the brakes but was too late. The truck went over the shiny mass with a thud and the driver lost control. The truck skidded and plunged into the dark ravine below. The driver cursed himself for his reckless driving. He cursed the lump of mass in the middle of the road. He cursed his sorry, unsuccessful life. Before he could curse anymore, his truck crashed into a huge tree and he was knocked out. The blackness was a welcome relief.

When the driver regained consciousness, he realised that the front of the truck was completely ripped off. He had a clear view of a running stream down below illuminated by the pale moonlight. It was going to be a fatal fall had it not been his seatbelt holding him to his seat. His whole body was dangling unhindered. 

Once the cobwebs had cleared from his mind, his body started to ache all over. He realised he was still attached to the rear of the truck which was suspended on thick branches. He could hear the clucking of his truckload of chickens. The driver tried to heave and move to no avail. Finally feeling hopeless, he turned to the divine and started to pray for a quick rescue when suddenly something seemed to be frightening the chickens.

Before long, he felt a presence directly behind him that sent chills down his spine. It slithered past him from his left shoulder and turned to face him. It was cold like steel. There were no eyes, nose, mouth or limbs. The dim twilight reflected off its glistening, silver surface. It looked like a floating pool of liquid metal. The creature felt cold to the touch and was, in fact, the ‘lump of ice’ that the driver was trying to avoid earlier. A mysterious creation of nature yet to be discovered, it was returning to the forest below when the truck chanced upon it.

The driver thought his eyes were playing tricks on him as a part of the featureless creature morphed into a familiar human face - a shiny silver version of the driver. Its soulless eyes stared back at the driver.

The creature extended a tentacled arm and reached out for the seat belt release button. The clueless driver watched as the seat belt clicked and he plunged into the river without warning. He closed his eyes and screamed and screamed, wondering what took so long for the final impact that did not happen. He was still dangling from the truck with the creature wrapped around his torso. Slowly, the creature carried the driver upwards passing the chickens and on to the road above. 

The driver heaved a sigh of relief and wanted to thank the creature but it had disappeared back into the truck to save the rest of the chickens. When all the cages were up, the creature cut open the locks and released them into the wild. It was at this moment that a car passed by and accidentally squashed one of the free-ranging chickens that strayed onto the road.

A silver tentacle burst out of the creature’s body and grabbed hold of the car. Effortlessly, it tore the car into two, separating the front and back. Before the front of the car crashed into the mountainside, the creature wrapped its liquid metal tentacle on the driver and lifted him out of the car. Holding the car driver by the front of his shirt, the creature stared at him. The creature suddenly burst into fiery flames, its intensity starting to scorch the car driver.

“No, no, no! Don’t do it!” the truck driver, who froze during the whole episode waved his arms, trying to stop the creature.

“Why did you kill it?” the creature spoke for the first time in a deep, terrifying voice. 

“It... it was an accident. I... I... I didn’t see it until it was too late,” replied the terror-stricken car driver.

The creature growled but eventually dropped the driver onto the asphalt. It turned away from the two humans and slid towards the dead chicken. With every step, the creature slowly morphed into a silver sentient figure. By the time it reached the carcass, it was able to bend down and pick up the chicken much like how a human would do.

Both drivers stared in puzzlement as the creature cradled the chicken. Liquid metal from the creature wrapped around the dead chicken until a silvery cocoon was formed. It held the cocoon around its arm and ushered the rest of the chickens to follow it to the roadside, away from the hazards of any oncoming vehicles. 

The chickens followed the creature like how chicks trail their mother hen. They moved along the galvanised road railings until they found a way down to the forest below. Just before they disappeared from view, the two drivers saw the cocoon crack open like a hatching egg and out popped the head of the dead chicken, very much alive.

-End-

A Last Minute Surprise - A Short Story to Celebrate Mother’s Day

Just like this short story, in the last minute, a father and son ponder what hardship they might face if they fail to come up with a Mother's Day present in the wee hours of the morning.

*****

A Last Minute Surprise

“We’re doomed, son,” the father said. “It’s one in the morning and we’ve nothing for mom!”

“What’s mom’s favourite?” asked the five-year-old son, trying to rub the sleep away from his eyes.

“She has a lot of favourites but they are all unreachable at this time of the day.”

“Why did you wait till this time of the day, Dad?”

An innocent question that brought silence into the night. The father was speechless.

“Well, I suppose we can give her some money,” the father continued several minutes later.

“Does Mom love money?”

“I suppose money is everyone’s object of affection.”

“I don’t. In my cartoons, all the bad guys always go for money but they always end up getting caught or killed.”

“Killed?! They kill people in cartoons?”

“Yes. Sometimes with guns, sometimes with swords, you know, basically anything can kill,” the precocious child replied.

The father covered his face with his hands and sighed. When he recovered, his son had disappeared.

“Dad, I’ve got an idea. Why not you give me some money and I can put them together into a heart like this,” the son returned, holding a large A3-sized board with what appeared to be an origami heart in the middle. “I just need like ten pieces and-“

“That’s brilliant!” the father cut his son off and ran into his room to retrieve ten pieces of hundred dollar bills.



When the mother woke up, she was pleasantly surprised to find her husband had brought breakfast to the bed. A hearty meal of toast, sunny-side-up eggs, sausages and a muffin sat on a tray at the end of the bed.

“Well, that’s very sweet honey. A kiss is in order.”

“Do you think that’s all? Come on, son!” the father beckoned the kid.

The son entered with a large card with “Happy Mother’s Day” scribbled on it. At the centre of it all was the heart made of hundred dollar bills. He handed it to his mother who was beaming with pleasure.

“Well, darling, that’s very... creative of you. The heart looks like it’s made with real money. Hahaha!”

“They are! Dad gave ten of them to me. I cut them into pieces before I glued them up to form a heart.”

-End-

More of the Same - A Short Story

For some, too long a break may not be a good thing. Here's a short story inspired by such thoughts. This is about a series of self-centred characters that revolve around an equally selfish young man who thinks he is the centre of the universe. This problem is more common than we know, living inside every one of us.

*****

More of the Same

“Victor, could you bring the butter from the fridge?” mom asked, not so much a question but more of a polite demand.

“Sure, mom,” he was about to protest but knew better, especially at the start of the day.

Besides, the fridge often held delightful desserts. There, calling out to him was a slice of moist chocolate cake. Before Victor could reach for it, his father appeared next to him.

“Hi, son. After breakfast, I need your help with some carpentry works. I’m building a new shelf.”

"While you’re at it, don't forget to water the plants, dear," mom called out from the dining room. "Oh! By the way, before you go out, please bring the clothes out to dry. They are in the washing machine now. The cycle will finish by the time you've eaten breakfast."

Exasperated, Victor sat down and stared at his breakfast. French toast, grilled sausages and scrambled eggs were his favourites but they did not look so appealing that morning.

How could they do this to me? Can't they just leave me at peace to enjoy my holiday? I've got it all planned! I'm going to hang out with my buddies in the day, catch up on the latest movies and stream my favourite series! I've got so much to do!

He always welcomed the weekends, especially those with festive holidays that extend his off days. This time around, he did not need to return to work until Wednesday, but he was no longer sure if he was going to enjoy himself given the circumstances. He was still going through the stressful chores in his head when his mother interrupted him.

"Good news, sweetie. We're both going shopping at the mall tomorrow. You need new clothes and underwear... and you're going to help me carry some stuff," mom smiled, much more thrilled than her son.

"Mom! I'm already twenty-two! I can buy my own things. Why can't dad help you with your shopping?" Victor complained and turned to his father for help.

Dad just shrugged and gave him a warm smile with a wink before carrying his empty plates to the kitchen.

"Oh, by the way, Victor, on Monday, I’d need you to send the car to the mechanic. On Tuesday..."


And so all four days of the extended weekend came and went just like that. On the last night, Victor let out a sigh of relief just before he went to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a better day.


Wednesday morning, at last! That was the first thing that came to Victor’s mind when the cobwebs cleared. He reached out and turned off the alarm on his smartphone. He rushed into the washroom to complete his morning routine, dressed, and ran off to work. Best he skipped breakfast lest there be more chores in store. The thought of the freedom from his house chores invigorated him. His office tower suddenly became a welcoming sight.

“Good morning, Victor,” a smile crossed his boss’ face.

“Good morning, sir.”

As Victor turned to walk to his desk, his boss said, “Hey, could you run over to the pantry and make us some coffee?”

“Sure, boss.” Victor hates coffee but he knew better than to deny his boss this early in the morning. Besides, if he was lucky the occasional cookies could be waiting for him.

Before Victor could head towards the pantry, his senior colleague asked him to detour to finance to get some financial statements whilst on the way back.

By the time Victor sat down at his place, a good half an hour had passed. Just as he was about to turn on his laptop, his boss’ wife tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey kid, go pick up my dry cleaning and pack some sandwiches for your boss and me. It’s going to be a long day.”

Victor’s head began to hurt. How could they treat me like an errand boy? I’m a graduate! Did the lady boss not hear of delivery services?

This could not be worse than my last four days, could it?


-End-

Couch Potato - A Short Story

Rainy season started a month or so ago. Although there were hardly any storms, the rain was heavy and relentless. It rained for more than three-quarters of the day, every day. Laid off the same time when the rainy season began, Jobs never left his home. It had since become his whole world.

"I can't tend to my garden. I can't go out for a walk. And I can't afford to fix the leak in the living room," he complained daily to no one in particular. "All I can do now is to empty the pail before it gets full."

He was referring to the red plastic pail he placed to collect water from the leak. He sat for hours staring unseeingly at water drip into the pail. The moment when his boss told him that he was being replaced by a fresh graduate was the only thing playing in his mind. Since then, Jobs had lost his confidence and was sure no one was going to employ a man in his fifties so he did not bother to look for work.

Drip, drip, drip. The monotonous, unwanted sound gradually became a pleasant and comforting rhythm.

During the time Jobs spent waiting on the pail, he had inadvertently turned his living hall into his bedroom. In the nights he slept on his couch. The weight he had gained made sure he sunk deep into the old couch. He had his lunch and dinner - he skipped breakfast - delivered to his doorstep and then gobbled the meals sitting on the couch. Thankfully, after a couple of weeks of unemployment, he turned to his working table (which he had conveniently ignored) and noticed his laptop lying there.

"Useless old thing can't even hold a charge," he cursed when he went over to turn it on.

He dragged his coffee table to the front of the couch and placed his laptop there before plugging in. He felt luck was finally on his side. The power cable was just the right length running on the floor from across the room. There was not a centimetre more nor a centimetre less. When it eventually booted up, he launched his favourite streaming app and binge-watched soap operas.

Even though there was neither day nor night anymore, Jobs found excitement again in his life as he watched one episode after another. It was amazing how the soap operas never seemed to end and yet able to maintain the thrill, the conspiracy, the politics and one affair after another.

Eventually, the leak and the pail became an afterthought. On the day he finally forgotten to empty the pail, water overflowed and shorted his laptop charger which was lying on the floor. There was a loud explosion. His laptop was still showing the soap opera. The detective was about to reveal who the murderer was before the built-in battery ran out of juice.

"What in the world?!" He exclaimed.

Frustration and panic crept in. His life was about to change for the worse. He was going to have to revert back to his days of watching the pail fill up. No more soap operas. He put his face in his palms and wept until his whole body shook. Half an hour later, he stood up, wiped his tears and snog, and walked out the door.

It was time to brave the rain to get the day's newspapers and look for a new job.

- End -

Review: Lost in Space (Netflix Series)

Starring: Toby Stephens, Molly Parker, Maxwell Jenkins, Taylor Russell, Mina Sundwall, Ignacio Serricchio and Parker Posey
Director: Various
Maturity Rating: 7+
Studio: Legendary Television, Synthesis Entertainment, Netflix (distributor)
Release: 2018 - 2021 (announced third and final season)
Runtime: 2 (seasons) x 10 episodes, 50+ minutes each


Estranged father. Unscrupulous impersonator. Smuggler. Those are among the personas of the characters featured in this space-faring adventure. Veered off course from their path to Alpha Centauri to start anew. All trapped in the same planet together with a mysterious but powerful and possibly dangerous robot. All lost in space. If you like what you have read so far, proceed.

A remake of the 60s TV series and a movie last decade, Lost in Space is science fiction about colonists leaving behind a devastated Earth (and dark secrets) to start new lives in Alpha Centauri, light-years away. The series centres on the Robinsons, a family of five - John, the father who is a former Navy SEAL; Maureen, a brilliant engineer mother; Judy, an adopted daughter who is a doctor with high principles; Penny, a daughter with developing teenage issues; and a son, Will, with some confidence issue.

On the way to their new home, something happened to their ship, The Resolute, and the colonists ended up stranded on a mysterious planet. It will take the whole season to unravel what happened onboard The Resolute (and all the backgrounds of the lead characters) so be patient. The series is riddled in mysteries - something to expect when everyone is lost in a part of space that nobody knows about. Besides that, the Robinson family is living proof that Murphy's law exists. Everything that can go wrong will go wrong. Along the way, Will saves and befriends an alien robot that will eventually be referred to as... “Robot” who will popularise the phrase "Danger, Will Robinson."

With sci-fi series, one can expect computer-generated graphics and Lost in Space do not disappoint. CGI aliens, robots, spaceships, and the works can be found here. In fact, some of the visuals are on par with the big-budget movies out there.

Review continues after the trailer of season 2:

The entire series regulars are given opportunities to shine and character development is well mapped out with a convincing cast. The weakest link of the family, Penny, a happy go lucky, middle child that rarely has the survival skills that her family has, has moments that make her parents proud. Even Robot that plays a pivotal role has some memorable moments.

Lost in Space is nice, clean fun with all the right ingredients minus the violence. Heck, even some Star Trek episodes are too violent in comparison. However, I am always against serials that leave the audience hanging and Lost in Space is no exception. In fact, the series is guilty of that on many occasions, sometimes from episode to episode and worse of all at the end of seasons. Well, nothing is perfect.

Balanced with the right thrills and twists when things are not what they seem, every episode has just the amount of content to keep you in your seat. I would not say at the edge of your seat but it keeps you glued to the screen for more. All that plus a strong family theme and there is good in even the worst person, Lost in Space is an all-rounder. Highly recommended.


Note: Netflix had recently announced the third and final season will air sometime in 2021.

Rise of Anthologies

Do The Twilight Zone, Amazing Stories and Alfred Hitchcock Presents ring any bells? These are some of the anthologies that I can remember watching on television. While compilations of short stories are not uncommon in literature, these collections are rather rare when it comes to television compared to the billions of series out there. I wouldn’t have thought any more of them had it not been for Netflix. I’ve spent half of my recent Netflix moments watching Black Mirror. Just a week ago, I’ve discovered another anthology of (mostly) animated shorts called Love, Death + Robots.

Both Black Mirror and Love, Death + Robots tell stories that are just as unique and artistic as the older anthologies. However, as society becomes more open in this Information Age, the contents are much more mature. The stories can be controversial and taboo in more conservative countries. Even the following trailer for Love, Death + Robots comes with a mature content warning!

For better or worse, new unrelated stories and new actors come with each episode. Sometimes they are great, sometimes mediocre and sometimes downright terrible. Every person’s mileage varies because it comes down to personal preferences but I'm sure everyone will welcome a breath of fresh air from long-running serials that will leave you suffocating with a cliffhanger at the end of a season.

I’ve completed the first series (3 episodes) and the first episode of the fifth series (also 3 episodes) of Black Mirror (you can find the list of the episodes on Wikipedia. The anthology uses mature themes to emphasise the consequences of (misusing) technology. Hence, the title Black Mirror which actually means the blank TV/monitor screen when it’s turned off.

For example, the first episode tells the tale of humanity’s focus on television. The British Prime Minister was to perform sexual intercourse on a pig on live television in exchange for the release of a kidnapped princess. She was already released before the PM was due to start broadcasting but nobody noticed because they were all glued to the television.

Meanwhile, other worthwhile anthologies that are currently on TV are The Twilight Zone reboot which is on CBS All Access and Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories is on Apple TV+ streaming service. Enjoy!

Watching Fireflies - A Fantasy Short Story

In an unprecedented worldwide pandemic, most of us are now staying at home, some already for a few weeks while others have just started. It is not a holiday with our bosses reminding us to keep working albeit from home. It is easy to put off our duties when the environment is as comfortable as home. This gave me an idea to write a fantasy short story about procrastination and here it is. Enjoy.

Alternative covers that I’ve worked on can be found in IonBuck’s Blog.


Watching Fireflies

Elfie dreaded going to the magic school but today was a good day for him indeed. The class was canceled for the rest of the week after his professor had fallen ill due to mysterious circumstances (but that is another story for another time). The kids were joyful to have so many days off but alas, not without some thick stacks of theoretical and practical magic homework. The work should not take more than an hour a day if spread out evenly for the whole week.

“Why isn’t there any magic that can finish my homework for me?” he muttered under his breath when the work was handed over to him.

On the way home, Elfie resolved that he will finish all his homework so that he could spend the rest of his free days to do what he pleased.

“I’m going to complete my work in two days and have five days of freedom!” he said aloud in his excited state. “YES!”

He hurried home, made himself some sandwiches and brought them together with a glass of water to his room. He was trying to be efficient so that he can just stuff the sandwiches into his mouth and gulp them down while he was hard at work. He locked himself in the room and tossed his work on the desk.

“Let’s get started.”

Elfie sat down and opened his first assignment, a thick leather-bound book of history to study. That will require a lot of brain muscles.

All right, I will just take a bite before I start so that I have all the energy that I need, Elfie thought and took one bite of his sandwich.

The lettuce was fresh and crunchy. He raised the sandwich to admire the ingredients squashed between the bread. As he stared at the lettuce and tomato slices, he started to think about planting his own crops tomorrow morning.

Day two. Gardening is good exercise before continuing with my homework. Yes, I’ll do just that.

Elfie realised that it was getting dark, way earlier than usual. Looking out at the skies he saw dark storm clouds loomed above. He took out a box from under his bed and attached it to a series of glass tubes fastened to the parameter walls of the room. A few gentle knocks on the box later, the fireflies inside stirred and began to fly into the tubes. As if a switch was flipped, one of the fireflies began to produce a luminescent glow in its lower abdomen, followed by another, and another.

Gradually, Elfie’s room was bathed in glimmering incandescent light. Probably for the hundredth time, he was mesmerised by the tiny moving globes of light in the tubes.

It’s hard to resist looking at these miracles of nature, he thought. It is disrespectful not to admire the fireflies for awhile. It will just be for a few minutes, then I will get right back to work.

The glowing insects floated effortlessly. The effect was hypnotic. Elfie was fascinated by the chaotic but slow movements of the insects. He reached out and unscrewed one of the tubes so that the fireflies floated unrestricted into the room.

"Magical, simply magical," Elfie whispered in awe.

With great difficulty, he tore his eyes from the scene and flipped through his collection of water spells. Bubbles. Enhance the bonds between the water molecules so that they form perfect spherical shapes. Elfie focused his thoughts and let the magic flow through him into the glass of water.

At first, tiny bubbles floated up and glint in the light. Elfie focused more and the bubbles grew in size but popped just after leaving the glass. He stood up, closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, and channeled all his strength to make a bubble the size of an orange. It floated up and swallowed up some of the fireflies that flew out of the tube. The bubble glimmered as the fireflies bounced off the sphere. It looked like a mini planetary system with glowing stars floating around.

One day, I’m going to make a bubble big enough to engulf all these fireflies, he thought before passing out from exhaustion. Without the flow of energy, the bubble burst and the fireflies floated freely again.

*****

“Elfie, it’s dinner time!” his mother called out.

Elfie sat up and blinked. He was in a daze so he fell back on his bed and admired the fireflies floating all over the room. As the fog cleared he remembered that he had just wasted a day procrastinating, again.

“But there is always tomorrow,” he rolled off his bed and left his room for dinner.

- End -

Review: The Sixth Extinction

As far as historians are concerned, there were five major events throughout the existence of Earth where almost all the inhabitants go extinct. In this Pulitzer Prize-winning book, journalist Elizabeth Kolbert explores a possible upcoming sixth extinction event. While the first five were suspected to be caused by forces of nature, humans could very well be the main contributor of the sixth, whether it is intentional or not.

The author scours the world to gather facts of previous extinctions, studied tiny ammonites to huge mastodons, from less intelligent beings to our closest sentient ancestors. She researches the many periods of history and all these points to the fact where humans were present, extinction increased in exponential numbers.

Extinctions were due to many factors. For example, in the first chapter, the sudden disappearance of the golden frogs was due to fungus infection. In the beginning, it could have been limited to a single location but eventually, golden frogs began dying across the world. While the fungus is airborne, only humans through our antics of travel and logistics could have brought the fungus far and away enough to widen and hasten the propagation of the fungus.

Another example, we often hear and read about the obvious carbon dioxide generation through emissions. What we seldom hear is that oceans absorb the excess carbon dioxide and as a result, the acidic level increased. The more carbon dioxide in the air, the more were absorbed. Underwater species that do not thrive well with higher acidity will perish.

For the most part, the texts are quite layman and easily understood, thus positioning this book as suitable for most people. Most kids that find picture books or a good mystery novel interesting will find it boring but the book will fascinate curious teenagers and older.


Editor's note:
With a big brain and an overgrown pride, we might have overestimated ourselves thinking we will cause the next extinction. Similarly, we have underestimated the smallest possible microorganisms. The current COVID-19 outbreak does suggest that we are just as fragile as the extinct and endangered species mentioned in the book. The next extinction, maybe ours, could be caused by something much more minute such as a virus but I think (probably influenced by this book's first chapter) another possibility is something like a fungus where it is even more difficult to contain and destroy.

Review: Children of the Whales

Starring: Tony Azzolino, Brian Beacock, Johnny Yong Bosch (English)
Director: Various
Maturity Rating: 16+ (Netflix: Violence, nudity)
Studio: J. C. Staff, Bandai Visual
Release: 2017
Runtime: 12 episodes, 20+ minutes each

This is a twelve-episode Japanese anime set in a unique dystopian world where islands float as ships in seas of sand instead of water. The story centres on one such island called the Mud Whale. It is not clear what happened or what caused this and if it is set in the Earth we know or a totally unique universe by itself.

The inhabitants of Mud Whale consist of two castes - one with (Star Wars) Force-like abilities called Thymia and one without. Those able to wield Thymia are called the Marked which will become evident almost immediately because of strange markings that appear on their bodies when they call upon these magical powers. Unfortunately, they have short lifespans. Why? You will have to watch the series to find out. With obvious reasons, the Mud Whale is governed by the Unmarked, the caste without Thymia.

To survive, the people of Mud Whale count on rain, farming, and harvest other islands that they encounter throughout their journey. As strange as the world itself, they have never come across any other islands with people in it. As the story unravels, they will eventually find an island with its first inhabitant. While roaming the island, protagonist Chakuro encounters a girl whom by the label of her clothes she is named Lykos. She appears to be the sole survivor of some battle. She is weak and, as a result, she passes out and is brought to the Mud Whale.

Strange things begin happening and it is revealed later that Lykos’ people label the inhabitants of Mud Whale as criminals and are all out to terminate them. The rest of the story is all about the challenges faced by the Mud Whale and how they try to resolve the conflicts. Each episode is slightly more than twenty minutes. Although short, I did not find it boring. In fact, more often than not, I had to resist from binge-watching the series... and believe it or not, this is my first ever Japanese anime series.

There is not much world-building here but new characters are introduced every now and then. The pace of the story is sometimes uneven and towards the end, it seems a bit hushed - especially the last two episodes. Suddenly, new characters in a new location appear but without much introduction and information.

When I started the series, I expected it will have a clear cut ending (twelve episodes is a good length for a beginner). Although there is a major resolution, the series ended in some sort of an open-ended way. After some sleuthing through the web, it seems the manga which the series is based on still has ways to go. So we can anticipate a second season although, and sadly, as of now, there is no news of one in the near future. For fans of this anime, we will just have to wait.

Review: World War Z

Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos
Director: Marc Forster
Maturity Rating: PG-13 (Theatrical), 18+ (Netflix)
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Theatrical Release: 2013
Runtime: approx. 116 minutes

Set in the present day (well, the movie was released in 2013), Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and family are stuck in a very bad traffic jam and things start to go very wrong. Everyone eventually panics and we see our first zombies, straight into the action. As a former United Nations investigator, Gerry has a quick wit so it is not surprising that the Lane family manage to survive the night by taking refuge in another family’s apartment. With his connection, he manages to secure a helicopter evacuation the next day. The family in the apartment and their son, Tommy, decide to stay while the Lanes move to the rooftop for the evacuation. As the zombies invade the apartment complex, Tommy manages to escape with the Lane family onto a supercarrier.

Gerry is given a choice. Either aid a virologist to find a cure by locating patient zero or get moved out of the supercarrier. With little choice, Gerry travels to South Korea where things once again go awry. The film follows Gerry’s globe-trotting adventures, one tense moment after another. Will he eventually find a way to help make the vaccine or is it going to be the end of the world?

Brad Pitt holds his own in this movie and pulls the right punches at the right time. Whether or not if you are a fan of the main protagonist or the zombie genre, the movie is worth watching. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the other characters because the focus is on Pitt moving from one place after another so there is little room for the others to shine.

The movie does not have as much blood and violence as some zombie movies of recent times but this is where it works best. Rather than just mindless zombie culling gore, a better plot balanced with enough action steer the movie in the right direction.

The other zombie movie that I have watched and reviewed is the Korean Train to Busan reviewed here.

Review: Gone Girl

People love thrillers, especially those with so many twists and turns that by the end of the movie (or book), the good guy could well be the bad guy that is the good guy who becomes the baddest but ultimately the good guy that is bad and this goes on and on until the end is reached (and the most loved of the crop is where the ending is open for another sequel). The more twists the better. Gone Girl is one such movie but thankfully, the twists are well controlled and not as mindlessly overdone as some movies.

Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike play the estranged couple Nick and Amy Dunne. Apparently, one morning after a walk by the beach, Nick goes home and finds evidence that Amy was attacked and she is nowhere to be found. So he goes to report to the police. The narration by Amy and back flashes in the early part of the movie reveals how their marriage had degraded over the years. Slowly, but surely, all the evidence points to Nick but is he guilty? If he is, what has he done to her?

While Rosamund Pike fits well into Amy’s role, I think anyone can become Nick if Ben Affleck’s acting is the threshold. Pike can express warmth and frost quite well but Affleck is just frustrated all the way.

I have a major gripe - I don’t understand why the movie is mostly in the dark. It could do with brighter scenes. Probably it’s just me but I always dislike movies with too many dark scenes. Instead of setting the mood, it becomes too straining. At least this one is not an action movie or else it’s difficult to distinguish who is fighting with whom.

The movie has just the right pace and is supported by a rather intelligent plot. These alone make the movie watchable although the nude scenes will limit it to a more mature audience.

1Q84 Omnibus - All the way through

I reached midway after a month plus of reading this really thick collection of all three novels by Haruki Murakami. You can read my thoughts here. The story revolves around two main characters, Aomame and Tengo. The plot is set in the midst of mystical Little People and a cult. Somehow, it all happens in a world with two moons. Murakami never fails to remind his readers of this and many other details. On the plus side, it’s impossible to forget all the important parts so there is no need to backtrack (I love this because I’m always forgetful of who does what). On the other hand, the book gets swelled up to more than one thousand three hundred pages. I can’t be sure which is thicker, this omnibus or a brick.

Halfway through, the readers are exposed to a romance that spans decades and there is a possible resolution but everyone worth his/her salt would know this is going to drag on till the end.

As the story progresses, Murakami introduces what appears to be an antagonist in the form of an investigator in book two and then increased his presence to the alternating chapters between Aomame and Tengo in book three. As he brings the excitement up a notch at the end of book two, Murakami does his repetitive, mundane thing again to slow the pace.

Despite all these, 1Q84 is a unique story where Murakami’s characters weave mystical plots out of thin air (pun intended). The world is strange but at the same time, projects the kind of realism that we could relate to.

I also love how Murakami adds a subplot about a desperate and irritating NHK fee collector. He manages to inject some humour into this at the beginning of the final book in a rather smart way... and then turned the whole thing into something creepy. A nice touch.

At the end of the day, it takes quite a bit of perseverance to appreciate this book. If you are looking for something unusual with some romance, mystery, and mysticism all mixed in, this could be the book for you... provided you have the time and patience to go through a thousand and three hundred plus pages.

Caution! Not for those looking for fast-paced action and kids should stay away because of some intimate scenes.

1Q84 Omnibus - Half way there

This book by Haruki Murakami is an omnibus of all three novels. Its thickness was overwhelming but the challenge is on! I shall finish this book no matter what. It had been over a month now and I am only halfway through. That’s 645 pages.

The chapters alternate between the story’s two protagonists, Aomame and Tengo. It took almost the whole of the first book to introduce them and set up the plot. Aomame is a gym instructor that maroons as a dark justice-type of assassin who kills despicable men while Tengo is a teacher-cum-maths prodigy trying to make a break as a fiction writer. The first half peeks into their lives and weaves a plot where they get mixed up in a world with two moons, mysterious Little People and a religious cult at the heart of it.

Things only started to pick up after some chapters into the second book. Haruki Murakami’s writing is full of superfluous details and repetitions. Sometimes I get tired of it and doze off. There were a couple of times when I fell asleep and dropped the book, waking up the whole household. Fortunately, at midway, things started to get interesting. It was also at midway that I breathed a sigh of relief knowing I had managed this far and now that it is getting exciting, I have reasons to march on to complete the rest of the book.

All the mysterious built up in the early chapters are starting to unravel such as a mysterious teenage girl that seemed to run away from the cult, the elusive Little People that were mentioned every so often and how Aomame and Tengo are related and what part do they really play in this strange story. So far, the author is taking his time but the revelations are slowly building up to a crescendo… hopefully.