Thursday, January 26, 2006


Lila went to visit the friend she made in the pub. He was extremely poor and lived in a garbage can. "Is there room for two of us in there," she asked through the open lid. "Oh yes," the answer, "please enter my world." So she entered the ugly underbelly of existence, and found herself in a loft, vastness defined by distant walls all lined with fascinating colors of artwork. They seated themselves in plush arm chairs that nearly engulfed them, and smiled confidently at each other, enjoying the silent moments when nothing had to be said, only the exchange of glances proclaiming that they'd each found the one they were looking for. She was distracted for a moment as the lid of the container opened, and a sack of garbage emptied into the abode. She saw rotten vegetables and other refuse streaming towards her, but as it fell a transformation occurred. Ivory carvings and crystal vases landed on the tables all around, diamonds and emeralds, shining impeccably, pattered onto the floor. Paintings by a master's hand assumed positions in gaps on the wall. "My world is beautiful," he told her, winking slightly. She left him late into the night, wondering just how many hours it had been in his company, but she couldn't work it out. The next day she returned to see him again, to move in with him, as she knew it must be. But only bare walls greeted her expectant gaze into the dwellings. It was Wednesday. Garbage day.

Story #330

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmmm...Oscar the Grouch?

Anonymous said...

I really like the twist on the end of that. And that pink fur at her ankles.

The Mushroom said...

Shades of the image on OneCaption.com that's been there for freaking months...

Love the boots. And now we know where to find women who are trashy AND flashy... please, one per customer. They are recyclable and biodegradeable, so be a good citizen and return your empties.

Ariel the Thief said...

Indie, this must be one of the greatest stories you've ever written. I wanted to say so last night but blogger crashed. beautiful and elegant with that twist of waking up.

Indeterminacy said...

Taorist: Never thought of that, but I missed Sesame Street growing up.

Wierdso: That makes my day. (Your liking the story, not the pink fur on her ankles).

MUshroom: I remember that picture, now that you mention it. Is it still there? Creative stagnation.

Ariel: I'm overwhlemed that you would think this is so good. I'll have to reread it and figure out what I did. They announced they would be working on blogger a few days ago for 15 minutes but I think they meant they would be working on it for a few days at 15 minutes a time.

Tom & Icy said...

One man's trash is another man's treasure! We had fun fun fun until momma took the T-bird away! Love your stories!

admin said...

What a pity! They took him away with the rest! Nice magical story.

PS: Blogger is extremely slow these days, its frustrating, I often cant comment.

Doug The Una said...

I thought of Bluto's tent. That was great.

Jamie Dawn said...

That poor fella must have to start over each week, redecorating his palace. Of course, he may have been tossed out with the trash too. In that case, her true love would be found at the dump site, probably living in some cardboard box turned castle.

Mikki Marshall said...

I absolutely LOVE LOVE this story! Most definitely one of my favorites; two twists in one story!
Thank you.

ie said...

this story reminded me to look beyond things. wonderful. =]

Indeterminacy said...

Tom&Icy: I would never take anything away from you two.

Viruswitch: I think blogger has slowed down to my pace of writing stories. What solidarity! Also I always feel magical when you like one of the stories.

Doug: What's Bluto's tent. Probably some pop-culture I missed out on in the last 15 years. Whatever it is it sounds like the bee's knees.

Jamie: Maybe that's why I'm a hoarder. I can't throw anything away.

Still Life: I'm really stunned by all this, and still not sure I understand what happened. Anyhow, I'm happy you liked the story, too. What was the first twist?

Nizoral: I admit, I had no idea what meaning people might see in this. I' glad you found such a positive message.

Now I have to figure out what makes this story so different from the others.

Prmod Bafna said...

Great story! love the way you've woven it!!

Doug The Una said...

Bluto's tent is an Indie-era pop culture thing, but pretty obscure. Apologies to every one. There was an episode of Popeye based on the Arabian Nights and popeye sees a tent with a camel as tall as the tent standing just behind it. Out steps Bluto, and when Popeye looks in the tent it's a palace going back as far as the eye can see.

The Mushroom said...

re: OneCaption - creative stagnation? Nah, laziness or lack of getting back to what he started. He's bound to have other photos waiting. Maybe he forgot his username/password? :)

Anonymous said...

Reminds me of Endgame by Samuel Beckett.