The Story Teller

Yes, I’m beginning to feel tensed. My husband is coming home from abroad in  few months time and his toolbox which he left nearly filled to overflowing is now almost empty. Most of his tools are gone especially the frequently used ones like his electric drill, screw drivers even the saw and hammer.

I don’t know how to explain that his tools were borrowed and weren’t returned. The bigger problem is that I can’t remember anymore who borrowed which. Just a few nights ago, he mentioned how he wanted to buy one of those precision vises online in addition to his tools and stuff.

Right now, I still have about six months to tell him the sad news.

I just added J.A Jance to my collection of favorite lady writers which include Nora Roberts and Mary Higgins Clark.

After reading her book, Cruel Intent which was about a serial killer who victimized married women who cheated on their husband, I realized I like her books and I want to collect them. Luckily, I found three of them in addition to Cruel Intent.

Image Source: Sony Reader Store

Another thing I like about JA Jance’s novels is that, there are side issues besides the primary.

Well.. Thumbs up for J. A. Jance!

A few weeks ago, an old acquaintance dropped by our house while I was out. When I came home, my son told me that a certain Miss Mayette came. I immediately recognized who she was. Yes, I remember her, she was one of my classmates when I was taking up a Caregiver Course.

My most vivid memory of her was when we had a group activity in table setting. I was appointed leader of our group and she was theirs. We were given forty five minutes to come up with the best table setting we could manage. My group members knew and acknowledged that I was smart, probably smarter than they were, but none of them realized that I suck at table setting. I did my very best, but I wished we had the best table skirt clips on hand. In the end, my group lost and Mayette’s group won.

I wish my son thought of getting her cell phone number but he assumed I already have it..

Sandra is a very smart girl. She was a consistent honor student from grade school to high school. She went to college through a scholarship and graduated with honors. But though unquestionably smart, Sandra is also a very shy girl. Her parents have assured her time and time again of how good she is but she still feels uncomfortable around people and prefers to be alone with her books.

When she graduated from college, Sandra started to feel sad. Though she graduated with honors and her chances of being hired was good, she wouldn’t be hired if she wasn’t interviewed and she dreads the interview. She was sure she would be tongue-tied and would blow up her chances of getting the job.

Then one day, she saw an ad for a job that she really really likes. She looked at the ad the whole day and pondered on how she would get the job. Her mother noticed her pacing nervously back and forth across the living room. Mother asked Sandra what was wrong so Sandra told her.

After hearing her daughter’s problem. Mother asked Sandra what her plans were and Sandra answered she didn’t know yet.”

‘I would go if I were you..’ i mother simply said.

‘But mother, what if I get too nervous and fail to answer the interview questions?’

‘But why would you? You’re smart, surely you would be able to answer the interview questions..’

‘I don’t know mother. If only there’s a potion I could drink that will give me courage to go through with the interview, then maybe I could get my dream job..’

Mother’s face lit up. Suddenly, an idea occurred to her. She went inside the room she shared with father. When she came back, she had with her a round shaped flat pebble.  She handed it to Sandra and said.

‘Here, take this..’

‘What is this? And what am I supposed to do with it?’

‘It was mine. Your grandmother gave it to me on my interview for my first job. I put it in my pocket and every time I felt nervous, I touch it and my nervousness would go away, and because of that, I got the job..’ Mother explained.

‘Really? Wow! Why didn’t you give it to me before? Do you think it would work for me?’

‘There’s only one way to find out..’

The following day, Sandra went for the interview. She put the pebble in her pocket and every time she got nervous, she would touch it. She would feel calm and would be able to answer the interview questions casually and very confidently. When the interview was over, she was told she was hired.

Sandra went home very happy. She told her mother what happened and thanked her for the pebble.

‘It really worked, Mother! I wished you’d seen me. I was so good. I was very confident and the interviewer was obviously impressed. This pebble is magical. Where did grandma get this?’

‘From our backyard.’

‘What!? But how come it got magic?’

‘Did I ever say it has?’

‘But… but it worked. I got the job because of it..’

‘i didn’t work, Sandra. You did. It didn’t get the job for you. You got it for yourself..’

Sandra stared at the pebble on her palm for a long time. Then she closed her hand around it and smiled.

‘Yes, I got the job for myself. Wow! I didn’t know I was good and this ordinary pebble showed me that I am.’

Sandra reached for her mother and hugged her..

‘Thank you, Mother. If this pebble isn’t magical, then you are…’

‘Most mothers are, Sandra. And someday, you will be, too..’

✿✿✿ Happy Mother’s Day! ✿✿✿

(Original story by the blog author. Any similarities with other stories, fiction or otherwise, are purely incidental.)

I can’t believe it has been ten years since we moved from the province to permanently live here in the city. My eldest was only in third grade at the time, my middle child was barely three and my youngest was only a five-month old baby. It was one of the biggest decisions I have made in my life.

I was so scared. The fear was so great I couldn’t even talk about it. My parents just migrated to the USA to live with my sister and it was the first time my husband, my children and I would live all by ourselves. My husband rented a truck which was recommended by his friend. I boxed the small items especially the breakables which I wrapped with old newspapers one by one before I put inside the boxes. The important documents like birth certificates, medical records and school records were bundled together and put inside a plastic envelope. The furniture were loaded first and the boxes were stacked with the heaviest at the bottom and the lightest at the topmost.

Just when I thought the packing was the hardest part, I realized I was wrong when we arrived at our new house. As soon as the rented truck drove away, I was left with several pieces of furniture, a dozen boxes and three hungry children with big eyes and empty stomachs. It took my husband half an hour to locate the plates so I could fix my kids some food.

Five days after the move, I still couldn’t fit all of our belongings inside our new house. If only we knew of storage rental, we could have made a call to have our extra stuff accommodated while we clear out our very limited space. After two months, I finally got rid of the last box and though not everything was properly placed, at least we knew where to find our clothes, the coffee cups and the baby bottles.

Image Source: Wikipedia

Despite Eragon’s injury from his fight with Durza, he made a trip to Ellesmera, the land of the Elves,  to continue his training under Oromis, the Cripple Who is Whole, the last Dragon Rider whose existence was kept a secret.

During his training, he realized his growing affection for Arya, whom he discovered as the daughter of the Elven Queen, Islanzadi. But Arya turned him down and that in addition to the assumed death of his friend Murtagh made Eragon feel despondent.

Meanwhile, Roran, Eragon’s cousin, was being hunted by the Razac. The hunt led to the betrayal of Sloan, kidnapping of Katrina, Roran’s beloved and the devastation of the entire village. Roran, determined to get Katrina back, was able to convince the village to join the rebel group, Varden, against Galbatorix. Roran led the village and employed the help of Jeod.

During the celebration of the Agaeti Blodhren in Ellesmera, Eragon wrote a poem for the Elves. As a sign of their approval of the young rider, the spectral dragon transformed Eragon into an Elven-like creature with enhanced strength, speed and senses. It also took away the big ugly scar on his back.

When Eragon discovered that the Empire was about to attack the Varden, he left without finishing his training. He came face to face with a Rider with a red Dragon. Eragon was able to unmask the rider and discovered that he was Murtagh. He was captured by Galbatorix and was forced to swear an oath in the ancient language.

Murtagh did not kill Eragon but told him that they were, in fact, both sons of Morzan, and therefore, brothers.

Some of my friends who read what I write usually ask me where I get the ideas for my short stories. It helps of course that I read a lot. I got ideas from popular writers. Also, I am observant. Though I am not as sensitive as a writer should be, I observe people, what they do and how they behave.

When I was younger and thought of myself as introspective, I would sit down and, with a stick of cigarette between my fingers, ponder.  Of course, cigarette is not as good as a vudu cigar but it usually did the trick.  After a stick or two, I would come up with something. Unfortunately during those times, more often than not, I left my stories unfinished. Such a waste, right?

Lola Nena was an old woman. She lived with her son who luckily bought a house and lot in a subdivision of busy people. Mang Kanor, Lola Nena’s son was once a busy person who held a good and stable position in the company where he worked for almost all his life. Not long after he bought the house, he had a stroke and was forced to retire. Now, he was receiving a small pension which allowed him to live frugally. Compared, though, to other people’s, Mang Kanor’s life is better off.

Since Mang Kanor was the most comfortably set among the siblings, he was elected to take Lola Nena in. Though she ate only very little, Lola Nena was considered by Mang Kanor’s wife a burden. She was just an uneducated old woman who didn’t talk much and messed up with plants every single day of her life.

Yes, Lola Nena loves to plant. She usually wakes up before every one else does and plants into pots, cans, old plastic containers, old cooking pots and any thing that she thinks a plant could live in. She would cut old mineral water bottles, fill with earth, plant shoots and hang by a wire in the gate and fence.

A few years of living with Mang Kanor’s family, Lola Nena could no longer find a space to put her plants. So, she started to hang them in the neighbor’s fence. The neighbor didn’t mind, in fact, she, herself, likes to plant, but she has no time because she is busy with her work in the office.

Lola Nena didn’t know it but she was beginning to decorate her neighbor’s front yard with her various plants. On rainy season, Lola Nena would just watch as the rain pour down on her plants and with contentment written on her face, would take a nap on the terrace. On summer days, however, she would fill a bucket and patiently water every pot and every can of plant.

When the neighbor’s front yard was already filled with plants, Lola Nena moved on to the next neighbor, and to the next and to the next. After several years, Mang Kanor’s neighborhood was the prettiest, greenest, and coolest street in the subdivision, each house decorated with lush and thriving plants that Lola Nena grew with her bare and arthritic hands.

Then one day, Lola Nena didn’t wake up. She died in her sleep. She had a simple funeral and only few people attended it. For her daughter-in-law, Lola Nena was just an insignificant person who lived and died unnoticed.

But after several months, some people from a magazine arrived. They wanted to feature the Green Street in their magazine. They interviewed the people and took photographs of the beautiful plants and flowers. They felt sad when they learned that Lola Nena has died and that they didn’t get to know her. So, they just asked for a picture of the old woman who singlehandedly decorated and beautified the beautiful green street that was the cover of the next edition of their magazine.

Lola Nena may not have a high level of education, she may not have a lot of money, she may not have won trophies and medals for academic, sports, music or even arts competition but the neighborhood, green and cool and alive all throughout the season was the living proof of how meaningfully and relevantly Lola Nena had lived.

(Original story by the blog author. Any similarities with other stories, fiction or otherwise, are purely incidental.)

Edgar is a hard worker. He works day and night. His parents had been poor and they lived in a very small house. When Edgar got old, he promised to build a house of his own. So, he worked. He accepted any job that pays. He was determined to save money for his house. One day, one of his co-workers, Ador, invited him to have fun after work. Edgar politely refused. He didn’t want to spend his money. It was meant for his house.

Years passed by but Edgar’s money was still not enough to build the house that he wanted. He was beginning to lose hope that his dream would come true. He was getting old and weak. If he doesn’t build his house soon while he still can, then he never would and his dream would never come true.

One day, Edgar had a minor accident. He slipped and fell on the floor. Ador, the one who invited him after work several years ago, helped him up. He led Edgar to a chair and handed him a towel covered ice cube for his bump. Edgar thanked him. Ador smiled and said..

“You’ve been working so hard ever since you came here. It seems like you don’t have time for anything else, least of all.. fun”

“I have to save money so I could build a house.” said Edgar.

Ador looked at him and asked..

“What kind of house do you have in mind?”

“Something big with rooms and a loft, in case of flood. I want a sturdy house. One that will last long..”

“Well, tell me about it over a bottle of beer..”

Edgar was about to refuse when Ador cut him out..

“Do you want to build your house or not?”

Edgar simply nodded..

“Well then, come on and let’s talk about it…”

Ador took him in a simple diner outside the factory. There he saw most of his co-workers who were either eating, drinking or simply talking with each other. They greeted Ador and nodded at Edgar who nodded back.

Ador ordered two bottles of beer, one for Edgar and another one for himself. Then, he called their co-workers and told them Edgar had to build a house and that he needed their help. Edgar started to say that he didn’t need anything but Ador silenced him and continued with what he was saying. In the end, he asked if there was any one who is willing to help Edgar and everybody said ‘I do.’

That weekend, Edgar started to build the house of his dream. With him were hi co-workers who helped out in anyway they can. Every weekend, any one who is available came and spend a few hours to help Edgar. At the end of each working day, they would share a few bottles of beer, talk and sing.

After a few months, Edgar’s house was nearly finished. It was as big as he dreamed it to be and he was sure it was as sturdy as he wished. After all, it was he and his friends who built it.

Now Edgar has not only a house, but also a group of friends who are willing to help..

I’ve been thinking of a new regular post for this blog. Originally, this was put up to feature legends and fables from various countries around the world in addition to original stories that I, myself, write regularly. I also intended to feature stories by different authors. For some reasons, the original plan didn’t work out.

After watching The Passion of the Christ during the Holy Week, I started to think that it would be a good idea to post my favorite bible stories, as much for me as for others who like to read bible stories but have no time for a quiet skim of the scripture.

Well, I hope it would materialize.