I have a weird relationship with our apartment manager. Apparently his job description reads in total, “You will get free rent and collect checks from other poor suckers each month.” It is like pulling teeth to get him to take responsibility for anything around here, unless it is near his own building, right next door. I assume this falls within the imaginary crayon line that he has drawn to set the boundaries of his work duties.

When the power went out recently and everyone else in the neighborhood got it back except us, we called to inform him and his response was that we should personally call the local power company or have one of the other tenants look into it. WHAT?!!! I thought the manager was supposed to take the lead in this responsibility. I thought that to take things like this into my own hands would be to overstep my authority and perhaps assume liabilities I do not want. Silly me. Evidently we are enthusiastically encouraged to provide our own materials, tools and know-how to fix anything around here that needs repair. The concept is all so new to me that my head is still spinning from sheer delight.

I have developed a theory I am anxious to test, though. Next time I need him, I will call him and say something like the following:

“Hey, dude! Yeah, we’ve got an emergency over here. I think you’d better come quick, man. The flames are getting pretty high and I’m not sure I can contain them much longer. Oh, and by the way…bring a toilet plunger and a drain snake when you come, okay? Thanks, man.”

Whether this will work or not is up for debate, but it can’t be any worse than the present state of affairs.

The following was written in response to a challenge to write a story based on either the theme 'Missing' or 'Joker'. The stipulation was that it be limited to 100 words maximum. When a challenge like this is leveled, I always add to it by challenging myself to use the entire 100 word allotment while still making the story as polished and complete as I can, without unnecessary words and phrases. Whether you agree with the results or not, I enjoyed the challenge and here is the result:

MISSING—© Steven G. O’Dell 2007

This morning I looked deep into my life and knew there was something important missing. So conspicuous was it by its absence that it left a gaping hole that ached to be filled. Why hadn’t I noticed it before? How could I have overlooked it?

I can’t possibly focus on anything else now. This has become more important to me than anything else in my life at the moment. I am doomed to be forever empty if this need is not met. So, it is with total sincerity and a hopeful heart that I ask you—will you marry me?

With the way the world slips a bit here and a bit there, almost imperceptibly at times, I thought this might be how we would be seeing things as 'normal' in the near future, were it not for modern prophets and revelation.

July Morning--Steven O'Dell (C)2007

This morning I was greeted by the gentle chirping of police dogs and the melodious hum of helicopters. On occasion I can hear the soft barking of a pistol in the near distance. I would never have guessed in a million years life could be like this—so magnificent and awe-inspiring. And the voices that I heard...they must be angels from on high...instructing one to sit on the curb and just chill and enjoy life with one's hands above one's head, praising God for all the blessings of life and awaiting the assistance that is sure to rapidly come. Only one thing more could have made it entirely perfect—the woodpecker rat-a-tat-tat of tiny machine guns in the tree branches. I count my blessings nevertheless.

Relative Size--(C) Steven G. O'Dell Nov. 2005

The warm sunshine felt wonderful on her arms and legs as she ran across the large open yard. The breeze was gentle, but more pronounced as she ran inhaling the fragrant air that wafted from the nearby lilac bushes and rose garden. The grass brushed her toes lightly with each bounding step and all was right with the world in this little girl's life. She felt so alive in this great big world that surrounded her.

With a sudden leap, she rolled to the ground and lay still for a moment, basking in the sunshine that bathed her naked skin and warmed her from head to foot. Catching her breath, she could hear the birds in the trees and in the sky overhead. 'Such a great big world,' she thought. Rubbing her arms back and forth across the blades of grass, as though making a summertime snow angel, the softness of the experience caused her to roll over onto her stomach, where she began to inspect the wonders before her.

Each blade, though seemingly at first glance the same as all its neighbors, was in its own way unique, even if only because the mower had shaved each in a different manner--some smoothly, some more torn, some angled and others straight as could be. She marveled that she had never noticed this before and as she stared closely at one particular blade she noticed the movement of some small creature that caught her eye. It was an ordinary ant, but she was in a state of heightened awareness today that led her to study this insect as she never had before. What a wondrous little creation this was and she marveled over it for several minutes as it went about its business in the grass before her. Until another movement caught her now sensitive eye.

It was incredibly tiny and she actually strained to come closer and focus upon it. What appeared to her fascinated gaze was an almost unbelievably minute creature, red and having all the appearance of a spider in its nature. She was now struck with a sense of wonder that she had indeed never felt. Here was something that she was discovering for the very first time in her young life--as if it were a new world, only now revealed to the eyes of mankind.

The detail she observed in this nearly microscopic creature was stunning. Every needful part was there to allow it to function in its own huge world and each worked to perfection. The young girl suddenly knew two things very clearly. First, large as her own world had seemed but a few short moments ago, there were things that must feel so much tinier than she. And secondly, she knew that she would never see her world in quite the same way ever again.

All In How You See It--(C) Steven G. O'Dell Nov. 2005

The old woman sat on the park bench pretending not to notice that her husband was doing it again. It happened every time they went to the park. It happened when they walked the street as they did each day at this time. It was happening again--now--and the old woman had finally lost her tolerance for it. She had never said anything as she saw him looking at these young women in the park or on the street, but had held her tongue as long as she could. She would say nothing again today, but her silence was no indication of concession on her part. No, far from it. Today she would hold her peace and do what she had imagined for so long. She would finally put an end to his wandering eye forever. She only had to wait for the right opportunity, but she was confident it would soon come. Perhaps something in his evening cocoa or a mix-up in his medications. No matter how, she thought, the time had come and she would act upon it. There were limits to what a woman ought to tolerate and she had indeed reached her limit.

The old man sat quietly on the park bench beside his wife. Occasionally he would watch the young women there with their boyfriends or their husbands. He hurt each time he thought of how badly he and his wife had wanted children of their own, but had not been able to do so. Reflecting now that his wife had especially wanted a daughter, the old man gazed silently at the young lady passing before him and wondered to himself--if they had been blessed with a daughter of their own, how old would she be by now? What would she look like? Would she already have children of her own, making him a grandfather? Dismissing these thoughts from his mind, he sighed in a barely audible manner and turned to his wife and smiled. He had at least been blessed with the most beautiful and wonderful woman in the world. He had enjoyed many years together with her, despite having no children, and he hoped to have many more in loving her. He was indeed a happy man and could complain very little about the hand that God had dealt him.

Anywhere I Want—© Steven G. O’Dell Nov. 2005

Thomas Feldon had reached the end of his workday. He slogged dejectedly through the front gate and climbed the worn steps to his front door. He had no one to return to each day, he hated his job and he had not so much as a pet to complain to for comfort. He was exhausted—not physically, but mentally and spiritually. Thomas unlocked and opened the door for the thousandth time, slipped in quietly and closed it behind himself. There was no noise at all in his house. It was silent as a tomb.

Sighing to himself, Thomas abruptly dropped his briefcase and thought to himself, That is the last of you for the weekend. Removing his suit jacket, he dropped it onto the sofa and felt yet another weight lifted from his shoulders—No more nasty bosses for the next few days. Sitting down, he removed his shoes and again delivered himself from a not-so-imaginary burden. No more deadlines to contend with for now. He removed his socks, smiled and dropped them where they would. No more nasty looks from the bosses’ secretary until Monday. Thomas stood up and unbuttoned his shirt, breathing a deep sigh of relief and exhaling it slowly. Removing his shirt, he tossed it onto the back of the sofa and stretched his arms upward. No whispering around the water cooler when I am approaching. He grinned widely and with renewed determination headed toward the back door, clad in T-shirt and trousers.

There was nothing in Thomas’s backyard except the grass and the sunshine, a few flowers that had voluntarily come up this year and the sound of the birds in the neighborhood trees. No matter. He was now in complete control of his world. Thomas closed his eyes and with face toward the sun, immediately detached himself from life as he knew it. Eyes still tightly shut, he smiled confidently and mysteriously and then stepped boldly forth into the dense forest that had just appeared before him. What a grand adventure must await me there, he thought. Perhaps this time I shall not return at all. And this time he didn’t.

The Guitar—© Steven G. O'Dell July 2005

The music was unlike any she had ever heard. It grabbed her by the heartstrings and pulled her physically to itself. The otherworldly strains came softly from the inner recesses of the undistinguished and quaint little shop that she had nearly missed in her private rush down the narrow cobblestone street, but she now stood transfixed as the sultry tones of the simple acoustic guitar beckoned to her from the darkness beyond the door.

One step at a time, slowly she marched forward, led by the intoxicating siren sound of an unseen master. Gradually, as her eyes became accustomed to the dim lighting of the room, the form took shape of a seated man bent over a guitar. His eyes were tightly closed, as though in deep meditation and his head subtly bobbed and weaved to the emotional melodies that so fluidly poured forth. His behavior suggested that he did not just play the music, but that he also experienced it, lived in it fully and passionately.

His fingers were now gentle and quivering, then again swift and light and she knew that the music that so deeply stirred her did not come alone from the fingers and mind of the musician, but from the depths of his very soul. His roughly handsome face changed with each phrase; soaring, now weeping and then flights of ecstasy and beyond. Tears flowed easily from her as the melodies played about her heart and feelings. She felt nearly captive and helpless in the grip of this master musician.

As she watched his two hands orchestrate their dance around the instrument he held, it occurred to her that the device he so masterfully expressed himself upon bore strong resemblance to her own feminine shape. She blushed as a warmth surprisingly surged through her and she instinctively knew that such hands as could express themselves in this spirit-touching manner must also know their way around the body of such a woman as she--nay, even her very soul.

Now nearly breathless, she lifted her gaze from the interplay of man and instrument, the dance between fret and soundboard, mesmerized by the now open, dark and penetrating eyes that seemed to search her inner depths. The soft smile on his lips assured her that any fears were in vain and she began to willingly open her heart and mind to this heavenly symphony that she had nearly lost in her desire to hurry to nowhere important.

Yours For A Wish - (c) Steven G. O'Dell Nov. 2005

The small boy stood eagerly on his porch, watching the deliveryman bring the large crate that he had wished for. Inside, he knew, would be all the wonderful things he had been told of and had come to desire so deeply. He opened the crate excitedly. It was so large. Out spilled all the wonderfully ornate, shiny baubles he expected. His eyes grew wide and he ooh-ed and ah-ed in complete amazement. These were all his and his alone, to do with as he pleased. Now they were all within his reach and his life could begin in earnest.

As he grew, the young man fondled and polished all the shiny accoutrements that he had wanted so early in his life. He noticed how some seemed to have lost their sheen with age. Others appeared to be cracked and nearly broken, but he was a prideful young man and nothing would take these things from him or demean them in any way while he still lived and breathed. They were still his and his alone.

The man grew older still. He was bitter now. None of what he had wished for in his life seemed of any consequence. Old habits die hard, however, and the tarnished baubles were still his and he still clung to them jealously, all the while hating them deeply.

The time came when the old man died and all of his worldly belongings were left behind to be sold cheaply to the next covetous young man who desired to accumulate all the world had to offer him. What the dead man took with him was a simple gravestone that marked his final resting place, soon to be forgotten by all but the groundskeeper.

Another small boy stood wide-eyed on his front porch. His box, too, had arrived. His mother and father handed it gently, almost reverently, to him. They took the time to explain the proper use of all the contents within his wonderful gift box and then bade him open it. With a sense of wonder and awe he carefully began to peel the ribbon from the small container that sat easily within one small hand. He could scarcely conceal his smile, so excited was he to be finally getting what he had been taught to so deeply desire above all else. The lid lifted away, the young man stepped into the full sunlight where he could more easily investigate the contents and to his great surprise, the light that was caught and reflected from the object within was nearly as bright as the sun itself. He shielded his eyes and squinted against the gleam of what appeared to be a beautiful cut diamond. His parents corrected him and explained that it was indeed a rare jewel, but no earthly diamond at all. It was far more valuable than anything so common as a diamond. The boy smiled, hugged his parents and promised to always cherish the gift throughout his life.

The young man had kept his promise and found that as he shared the beauty of his wonderful gift, an amazing thing happened-the shine seemed to get even more brilliant than before and would cast its light to greater and greater distances around him. All who came within the influence of his precious gift were touched and improved in some strange way. What tremendous delight this brought to the young man and all who knew him.

An old man had lived a long and fruitful life. He smiled as he thought back on all that had meant so much to him in this world. It seemed that everything he cherished most could not be bought with money or traded for insignificant worldly goods. What he most treasured were the moments of love and friendship with family and acquaintances. The memories of a lifetime graced the pages of his mind in the last few hours of his mortality, but before he went, he called to his side all of his children and grandchildren and with a shaking hand held aloft the same small box that his mother and father had delivered to him so many years ago. With wide eyes and awe-opened mouths, the family received from his lips the story that his parents had told him in his childhood. When he passed, they were sad to see him go, but knew that to a wonderful and very real extent he remained with them as much as ever. When he passed he took with him no more than the first man had taken. However, far more than the groundskeeper took notice of his passing. His name continued to be spoken within his town and in an ever-broadening circle, for generations thereafter.

The two men came into this life with the same opportunities. Neither had the advantage over the other, except in one thing. What made the difference? The teacher. The first young boy was turned loose without guidance to desire what the world would teach him were things to be prized above all else. He found later in his life that these were but empty and meaningless things that brought no comfort to him or to anyone else that he came in contact with. The second boy, so similar to the first, was taught that what he held was the power to make the world around him a better place, if he would but do so. He was taught that the power he wielded could be used for good or for evil and that it must be used wisely or it would destroy him and all who came into contact with it. He was shown that as he used wisdom, the gift would reach out to enlighten and guide the lives of others, who in turn would enlighten then more lives beyond theirs. So great was the love of this young boy for his first teachers that he carried that gift with reverence all his life, simply to honor their names with each use. And so great was the joy that it brought, he could not help but pass it on to those who had come to love him for his shining example of beauty and benevolence.

You see, we are all placed in this world with the self-same promise-that "nothing shall be withheld from them which they shall imagine to do". We hold within our hands the same gift, though to some it may appear large and to others small. Some trade it for baubles and beads that become mere trash and bring no lasting value to anyone, even their owners. Others learn the priorities of life and become a shining city on a hill, where none can hide the light from all who would draw near and truly see for the first time. You have that power to choose what you value most in life. You also have the power to become a revered teacher in your own right-to anyone you may touch in this life. The choice is yours. What do you wish?

The maze was cruel and twisted. Some passages were completely aphotic and lifeless. The rest glowed by a diluted yellow light emitted from some concealed source. The walls of these passages seemed to crawl with the shadows of invisible creatures and machines, and a weird, sickly breeze hovered near the ceiling, carrying with it haunting whispers of whatever arcane thing waited at the end. The shallow and wavering sound of Lee’s breath was the only other noise that accompanied the whispers. The air was bitterly cold. As he slowly made his way down the longest corridor he’d been through so far, questions swam through Lee’s mind about how he had ended up in this sinister place, the memory seemingly out of reach.

Lee no longer questioned why he did not just turn back. He had tried already, confident in his memorization abilities. It did not take long for him to realize that nothing looked familiar as he had expected. Disheartened, he turned back around, feeling there was nothing else to do but push onward to the end. Assuming, that is, that there was an end. He really wasn’t sure anymore; it seemed every time he turned a corner, the walls and shadows behind him would shift. The corridor he had come down just moments before, each turn or doorway fresh in his mind, was gone. Lee experimented on his suspicions, rounding one corner and a moment later, leaping back. The hallway he had just passed through no longer existed. If it had been short, it now extended and curved beyond his sight. If it had been lit, it now harbored the absolute nothingness that made Lee’s stomach churn. Familiarity was impossible.

Right or left? Lee was certain this must have been the thousandth time he asked himself this. It was yet another unwanted decision he had to make. Or was it another mistake? Perhaps. “Eenie, meenie, miny, moe,” he said aloud. He meant for the words to be comforting, the sound of his normally comical and careless voice bringing back some of the courage he’d lost along the way. Instead, the sound of his own voice made him shudder; the sound was alien to his ears.

He turned right.

It took Lee just one second to realize, hands down, that this passage was the worst. The whispers he’d never gotten used to began to grow. They howled and moaned as they whisked past his ears. The menacing shadows remained invisible, but now, instead of dubious glimpses out of the corner of his eyes, he could feel them. They reached out to him as he walked past. What felt like frozen flesh and steel on his skin cut through all layers of his clothing, making his body tremor all over. He began to run, flailing his arms out in front of him in an attempt to ward off the shadows. As he ran, the voices continued to grow. Lee still could not discern whether they were warning or taunting.

The frozen air in his lungs burned as his heart raced faster and faster. The walls suddenly seemed to be closing in, shrinking every way as he ran. Lee’s mind willed his legs to move faster, to keep up with his heart, but they were numb and unresponsive as they moved. “Come on. Come on!”

In the midst of the chaos that filled his mind, one of Lee’s aching knees locked and he stumbled to the floor. He closed his eyes and covered his head, waiting for the harrowing sound of bones being crushed by the immense force of the black walls. After a minute or so had passed, he wondered if he had missed it. Had the walls been quick and merciful? When he opened his eyes, would he find himself in light or darkness?

Slowly, Lee opened his eyes and looked up. Before him was a circular room, the same dull shade as the rest of the maze. He glanced over his shoulder to discover the opening he had just flown through remained the same dimensions as when he had started down the terrifying passage. He turned back around, propping himself up onto his knees. The air was warmer in this room; his lungs no longer burned. There were no shadows or voices, and the light that filled this room was white instead of a sickly pale yellow. Everything about this room was different, especially the lone door standing in the middle of the room.
An intense light shone through the narrow spaces between the door and its frame. It danced.

Lee started to take a slow step forward. “Lee,” a soft, feminine voice whispered in his ear. He stumbled to the side and searched the room frantically. He’d felt the cold breath of the voice in his ear, as though someone, or rather something, had been right beside him. “Lee,” the voice whispered again, this time from across the room. Lee followed the voice with his eyes as it continued to call his name arbitrarily throughout the room. The voice was soft and strangely soothing, so different from the terrifying whispers that had surrounded him until now. It was mesmerizing.

Lee didn’t realize he’d been moving until his back pressed up against the door. He slowly turned to face the slab of dark wood, taking one cautionary step backwards. The light behind it continued to shimmer, but it did not translate throughout the room. There were no splotches of light dancing across the curved walls as there should have been. A shot of ice ran down Lee’s back as he reached out and grasped the dull brass doorknob. The bits of the mechanism rattled against one another as he wrestled with the idea of opening the awful thing. Finally, he twisted the decrepit metal until he would have opened the door, but stopped. A chilled breath rested on his ear once again, and the voice whispered:
“Sie transit gloria mundi.”

The door shot open with enough force to knock Lee to the ground. A powerful wind threatened to rip the door from its hinges, but the small pieces of metal held fast. Lee shielded his eyes from the overpowering yellow and white beams that now engulfed the once dismal room. The sound was colossal – a synthesis of thunder and waterfalls. Lee stood back up and carefully made his way forward. As he stepped over the threshold, the voice spoke once more from behind, the soft words somehow breaking through the blast. “Tu fui, ego eris.” Lee did not understand the words. Nevertheless, they suddenly filled him with great fear; his heart pounded against his chest, begging for relief from the terror surrounding it. Lee turned to escape back into the round room, but stopped short as the door slammed shut, stifling his final scream for help.

A compliation of fantastical short stories.