Wednesday's Words on a Friday

On Wednesdays, Delores, from Under The Porch Light, has a meme which she calls

“Words for Wednesday”.

She puts up a selection of six words which we then use in a short story, or a poem.

I’m hopeless at poetry so I always do a story.

It’s a fun challenge…why not join in?

This week we don't have any words, instead Delores has given us these three phrases:

1. giggles and fairy wings
2. menacing monosyllables
3. fringe living....living on the edge

Quite a challenge, wouldn't you agree?

Why not visit Delores's site and see what others have done with these in her comments section. There are some mighty talented people there!

Without further ado, here is my rather long contribution. Perhaps you should get a cuppa before you start. And a couple of fairy cakes.

(How many of you remember Runaway Kim? Working in the diner?)

 I need a little help deciding where chapter two should finish and chapter three begin, please. I've made a break line at the possible change point.

Runaway Kim   Chapter Two and Three

With business going so well lately, Stuart had offered Kim a permanent job at the diner and Kim had decided to take it. 

In spite of Detective Riley. 

She was tired of moving on, more importantly, Kim thought that Bitty was the town she had been looking for. 

Maybe she could finally find the answers she’d been seeking. She had asked Stuart if he could recommend a place for rent.

He'd sent her to see Mrs Cosgrove, who handled most of the tiny town's rental properties, while her husband George handled sales. 

Cecelia Cosgrove had asked a few questions. What was Kim looking for? A house? A flat? Did she need a yard? Finally deciding together that a decent sized flat would be best, Cecelia had given Kim the addresses of several places.

She'd spent most of the day looking at flats, there were only four available, but Kim had spent quite a bit of time in each one, getting a feel of the place, checking room sizes, the view and so on. 

The very best flat was on the top floor of the building at the corner of Eagle Street and Hawk Avenue,  both named for the birds that lived in the areas before the town had spread this way. 

There were still hawks to be seen now and again, but the eagles had long since gone. 

Poachers had killed them off in the early sixties and sold their tail feathers as genuine Apache artifacts. 

This flat was the largest with two bedrooms and a balcony and Kim hoped the rent was negotiable. The view was amazing. Miles and miles of fields, with mountains backing them and a few small woodsy areas between. 

Most of the rest of the tenants seemed okay too, Kim had spoken to a few of them while walking around the block admiring the trees on Hawk Avenue where the entrance to the flats was. It was a mixed block for sure, people of all ages living there. 

She'd been immensely pleased to hear the happy sounds of a birthday party coming from the ground floor flat. Knocking on the door, she was greeted warmly by Megan O'Brien, who had lived there for most of her married life and invited her in for a cup of tea. 

"Oh, but I don't want to interrupt the party," said Kim. "I just have a few questions about the flat and the area. I can come back tomorrow."

"Nonsense, you're here now, come on in, maybe we can find you a fairy cake or two to go with that cup of tea," said Megan.

"It's my grand-daughter's fourth birthday, but she won't mind at all," Megan said as she led Kim into a bright cheery room filled with giggles and fairy wings, where ten little girls danced around with balloons and ribbon streamers.

"I would like to know more about the other tenants," Kim began as Megan got out cups and saucers and put the kettle on. "In particular, that gentleman in number Four. He seemed a little...strange, a little rough, spoke to me only in almost menacing monosyllables. Is there anything you can tell me? Should I avoid him if I move into number Six?"

"Don't you worry about Bob Smith," said Megan as she sat down and placed a plate of fairy cakes in front of Kim. 

Cecelia Cosgrove phoned me earlier and said you might be around, I told her I'd give you all the information you might be wanting. 

Now Bob Smith is a little odd, but he's very harmless, he's lived here longer than I have and I've never had a lick of trouble from him. He does sound a bit scary with his 'No! Go! Shoo! Off! Off!' and those frowning eyebrows are quite off putting too, but once he gets used to seeing you about in the building, he'll be fine."

"Well, that's good news," said Kim, "this is the best flat I've seen and I'd like to take it and move in as soon as possible. I don't have much so it won't take long to move from where I am, I've been staying with Stuart, he owns the diner, and has let me stay in his spare room. But I'd like my own place, since I've decided to stay in Bitty."

“Do you have time to sit and chat for a while?” asked Megan. “My daughter won’t be picking up the girls for another hour.”

“I do have plenty of time,” said Kim, “unless you think I should get back and sign the lease for the flat straight away?”

“Not at all necessary dear,” said Megan. No one else has been interested in it, you’re the only new person in town, I’ll just phone Cecelia and she’ll have it ready to sign in the morning.”

“Thank you,” said Kim as she settled back in her chair. She had a feeling she was going to like Megan O’Brien very much.

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As soon as the phone call was over, Megan called all the little girls to the low table by the television and shared out plates of fairy cakes and glasses with small amounts of lemonade, then turned on the dvd player with a movie about Fairies. 

She came back to the dining table. “Now, about Bob Smith,” she began. “He’s a little odd, but harmless as I said before, he’s had a rough time since living in that hippie village in the sixties. 

There were about a hundred young people out there, camping in the ruined barn, some of them looked far too young to me, I suspect they’d run away from home, and the goings on out there! Oh My! 

I’m certainly glad my girls didn’t get caught up in that Hippie movement, being only ten and twelve they were safe enough I think. 

Anyway, those kids out there lived what they called a “free” lifestyle, some called it “alternative”. Fringe living I suppose it might be called today, living on the edge of society as they did. Do you want another cup of tea dear?”

“Oh yes please,” said Kim, “these fairy cakes are delicious.”

“I made them myself,’ said Megan, “from scratch, I don’t like those packet mixes. They’re easy, but there’s not much real flavour to them. Not like home made.” 

She poured the tea. “Now where was I? Oh yes, the hippie barn. There was a lot going on out there, kids all sleeping together, changing partners like it didn’t matter, smoking that Marijuana, and taking that LSD stuff too.

I don’t know where they got it from, none of them ever had any money to pay for drugs or even food. Nobody worked at all. I expect many of them didn’t eat either, they got awfully skinny and walked around like zombies, half out of their minds they were. 

Well, it was that LSD stuff that was the ruin of Bob Smith. 

He didn’t smoke much, we learned all this later of course, but he took that LSD every day. Said it was “mind-blowing”. Well, it blew his mind alright! 

 

I was a nurse back then and worked at the hospital when a couple of them drove into town on that old tractor of Ted’s, and dropped Bob at the front doors. Didn’t dare come in I suppose. 

Well, we took Bob in and he was so emaciated! Having hallucinations too, seeing miniature aliens climbing up his legs all the time. The resident psychiatrist worked with him for years and Bob gradually came good, but he still has occasional flashbacks and hardly talks at all, except to the aliens. 

To Bob, anyone new is an alien and that’s why he most often says things like Go! No! Get! Off! Leave!”

“That’s really sad,” said Kim. “Does he remember who he was before all this happened? 
Anything at all about himself or his family?”