Flash Fiction: Twain

Twain 

            Tinsel let the door bang shut behind her with a sigh.  She was normally too considerate to do so, but it had been a long day.  Her roommate and best friend was gone for the night, or more likely the weekend, and Tinsel was not looking forward to another Friday night alone.

            Becky’s boyfriend was back in town, after a week of out-of-town hockey games.  Tinsel didn’t expect to see her before Monday morning.  When Dave was in town, Tinsel only saw Becky at work. 

            She set her bag of groceries on the counter and checked the answering machine—one message.  She hit the button as she put away her purchases.

            Becky’s voice, “Hey, Tins, just wanted to remind you to look for that book you promised to find me.  I don’t want to be a pest, but I really want to get it for Dave before he leaves town again.  Thanks a ton, darling.  Remember, it’s by Samuel Clemens.  Have fun this weekend.”

            Tinsel groaned.  She hadn’t exactly promised, but she’d known Becky since they’d both been five years old.  Even Tinsel’s overprotective mother could find no fault with young Becky.  They soon became best friends, and done everything together, even gone to junior college together.  Now they worked as dental assistants at the same office.  Becky planned to go back to school to become a dentist.  Tinsel had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. 

She did know she didn’t want to spend her Friday night looking for a book that her friend could easily find herself.  But the truth was, she didn’t have anything better to do.  Tinsel was shy and hated going out by herself.  When Becky was single, they went to bars and plays and concerts, and she loved it.  But when Becky had a boyfriend, Tinsel was on her own.

Which meant eating alone on a Friday night, and trying to find something to watch on TV.

Tinsel shoved the last of her groceries in the fridge, suddenly determined.  She’d order a pizza and rent a movie on pay-per-view.  There were a couple she wanted to see, and she was tired of waiting for Becky to watch them with her.

She started for the phone, but stopped herself.  First she’d better find that book.  Walking to the computer, she opened the browser and typed in the search.

            “Samuel Clemens,” she said aloud.  She often talked aloud when she was alone.  It made her feel less lonely.

            The screen popped up with a list.  She clicked on a link for Mark Twain.  In five minutes, she’d located the book Becky wanted, and placed an order with a local bookstore.  Tinsel grabbed the phone and dialed.  No surprise, it went straight to voicemail.

            “Becky, Tinsel here.  I found that book.  You can pick it up tomorrow.  I had them charge it to your card.  Here’s the address.”

            She disconnected, paging back through her search absently.  She scrolled down the list of Mark Twain websites, surprised by how many there were. At the bottom of the screen, the last link made her pause.

            “And Never the Twain Shall Meet,” she read aloud.  That didn’t look like a bookstore website.  She clicked the link before she thought.

            It didn’t lead to a porn site, or trigger a deadly computer virus.  The site was strange.  She skimmed through it, interested in spite of herself.

            It was all about twins—twins separated at birth.  Tinsel read a little closer, and realized it was really about a particular set of twins.  She couldn’t quite tell what was so special about those particular twins, but the website claimed a conspiracy was keeping them apart.

            Tinsel sat back, disturbed.  She didn’t know why, but this website bothered her.  She rubbed her arms, feeling a sudden chill on her skin.

            “It’s not like I’m a twin,” she whispered, but she still felt uneasy. 

She went to the closet, took down the box that held her passport, her diplomas and all the awards she’d earned as a girl. There was no birth certificate there.

“I could call my mother and she’ll tell me,” Tinsel said.  “She’ll tell me it’s okay, and I’ll feel better.”

She had the phone in her hand when she had second thoughts.  Her mother was overprotective, almost obsessively so.  She had tracked Tinsel’s every move as a child, enforcing strict curfews and always insisting on knowing everything Tinsel did.  She’d even installed a tracking program in Tinsel’s phone when she went to college.  Luckily for Tinsel, Becky had been dating a tech expert at the time.  He’d discovered and disabled the tracker.

“Devon,” Tinsel murmured, her fingers already dialing.  The phone was already ringing when she realized it might be awkward asking Becky’s ex for a favor.  But it was too late.

“Hello?”

“Devon?  This is Tinsel.  How are you?”

“Tinsel!”  Devon seemed genuinely delighted.  “I’m great.  How are you?  How’s Becky?”

“She’s fine.  We’re both fine.  Becky’s dating a hockey player—but that’s not why I called.  I need a favor.  Are you busy?”

“Completely free,” Devon answered immediately, surprising her.  “What do you need?”

            Tinsel was caught off guard by his quick agreement.  “I just realized I don’t have a copy of my birth certificate.  I thought you might be able to find the birth records online?  I’ll buy the pizza.”

            “Should be no problem.  But why don’t you have a copy of it?  How did you get your passport without your birth certificate?”

            “My mother takes care of all of that.”

            A short pause.  “I see.  And I bet you don’t feel like calling her to ask for a copy, right?”

            “Not really.  Do you mind coming over?”

            “Sure.  I’ll be there in about an hour.  Call the pizza order in to Gianni’s and I’ll pick it up on the way.”

            “Sausage and olive with hot peppers, right?”

            “You know me too well, Tinsel.  See you soon.”

            Tinsel placed the pizza order, pre-paying with her credit card.  She straightened up a bit, shoving Becky’s clutter into her room.  She took a quick shower and had changed into casual clothes when the doorbell rang

            She answered, accepting a pizza box and a kiss on the cheek from Devon.  It really was good to see him.  His breakup with Becky had been amicable, but they didn’t hang out any more.

            They chatted easily as they dined on pizza and root beer, catching up on old times.

            “Are you seeing anyone?” he asked casually, as he threw away the paper plates they’d eaten from.

            “No.” Tinsel answered simply.  “You?”

            Devon lit up like a Christmas tree.  “She’s amazing, Tinsel.  Beautiful, smart and so sweet.  You’d love her.” 

            Clearly he’d just been waiting for a chance to brag.  Tinsel smiled indulgently.  “Sounds perfect.  So why are you alone on a Friday night?”

            Devon shrugged as he poked in the freezer, looking for ice cream.  “She’s out of town on assignment.”

            Tinsel laughed.  “Don’t tell me she’s a hocky player, too?”

            “Model,” he replied.  “All you have is vanilla?”

            “There’s chocolate syrup in the cupboard.”  Tinsel went to help him with the ice cream.  “Is it going to cause problems, you being here?” she asked. 

            “She’s a model, Tinsel,” Devon reminded her.  “She doesn’t have a problem with me having female friends.”

            Tinsel wasn’t so sure, but she let the matter drop.  Pouring hot chocolate syrup over two bowls of ice cream, she led him to the computer.

            After a fortifying bite of ice cream, he pulled up the hospital’s website and accessed their records.

            “Easy as pie,” he told her.  “Now all we need is your date of birth . . .. “

            He punched in the information and pulled up a list of records.

            “Here it is—“Tinsel Marlin, Mother was Janine, Father unknown.”  Devon went still.     

            “I knew that,” Tinsel assured him.  “My mother never tried to hide it from me.”

            “It’s not that,” he told her, his fingers flying over the keys again.  “There’s a file attached here.  Looks like an encrypted email.”

            “Can you open it?” Tinsel leaned over his shoulder.

            He shot her a glance.  “Please!  It’s twenty years old.  I’ll have it open . . .  now.  Let’s see.  ‘Re:  Twin Girls-- Tinsel and Coco.   Alternate identity has been established for the twin in my care.  I have no information on the other.  Protocols have been created to assure their paths won’t cross.  Never the Twain shall meet.’”

            Tinsel drew in a breath.  “Do you know what this means?” she whispered.

            “You’re adopted?”

            “I have a twin sister out there.  Somewhere.”

            “But why all the secrecy?” Devon wondered.  “Lots of twins are separated.  This is all too weird, Tinsel.”

            “Never the Twain shall meet.” Tinsel whispered, and knew her life had changed forever.

Flash Fiction: Sanctuary

Sanctuary

            Ominous dark clouds gathered overhead as he carried in another armload of firewood.  There would be rain tonight, he knew.  He considered the sky for a moment then went back for another load.  He didn’t want to run out of dry wood tonight.

            There were definite disadvantages in living in a six hundred year old monastery.

            Finally deciding he had enough wood brought in, he considered his home.  There was no power, no heat.  He had to carry in supplies on foot from the nearest road, two miles away.  It was cool and comfortable in the summer, cold and damp in the winter.  At times it could be lonely.

            He stirred the pot that hung over the small fireplace.  There would be plenty of hot soup for dinner tonight.  The kettle was full, ready to brew his favorite tea, made from herbs he gathered and dried himself.

            Yes there were many disadvantages to living in the monastery, but it was his home.  He loved it.

            Two hours later, he was toasting bread over the fire, using the old fashioned toasting fork, when he heard someone pounding on the door.  He hesitated, but the rain was coming down hard.  He set aside his toast and went to the door.

            He should have expected it.  No matter how remote, or how long abandoned, whenever a storm blew up, someone invariably came to his door needing help.  Never mind that the last of the monks had died a hundred years ago, someone always came here for help.

            The last of the monks but one, he corrected himself.  Though his qualifications were dubious, he supposed he might qualify.  His life was definitely chaste, and he did spend most of his days in quiet contemplation.  But that was as far as the comparison went.  His old life had been far removed from religion—but that was a time long past.

            He swung open the heavy wooden door, expecting a stranded traveler or a wayfarer who had lost his way.

            The last thing he expected was a woman, her dress soaked through, hunched over a large wicker basket.

            He frowned and pulled her inside.  She was not heavy, despite her sodden clothes.  Pulling the door closed against the storm outside, he carried her back to the fire.  The monastery was huge, but he really only used three rooms, and this was the only fire he bothered to keep lit. 

            He unwrapped her woolen shawl, and the woman stirred.  She tugged weakly at the basket. 

            “Sanctuary,” she murmured, pushing it toward him.

            “Easy,” he told her, his voice husky from lack of use.  “I’ll get you warm.  You’ll be okay.”

            She shook her head, giving a weak cough.  “No.  Not . . . . me.  Sanctuary,” she insisted, pushing at the basket again.

            He glanced down, distracted, and realized that the basket held, not clothing or food, but a baby. 

            “I don’t understand,” he began, looking back at the woman.  But it was too late.  She was unconscious.

            He set the basket closer to the fire, where the baby would keep warm.  Then he turned his attention back to the woman.  She was burning up with fever, her breathing little more than weak coughs.  He felt his heart sink.  He could not help her.

            But still, he did what he could.  He stripped her wet clothing, bathed her with warm water and dressed her in one of the simple brown robes he wore.  He did best to soothe her, talking to her and even crooning a lullaby when her sleep grew restless.

            But by the dawn, she was gone.  He covered her face and said a simple but heart felt prayer.  He would bury her beside the monks, a fitting resting place for her courage.

            At last he turned his attention to her belongings.  There was nothing to give any clue to her identity, or that of the baby.  All she carried was the child, some blankets and clothing and a small bottle of milk.

            Reluctantly, he pulled the baby from the basket.  The baby girl stared up at him solemnly.  She’d been remarkably quiet throughout the night.  He touched her cheek, but she showed no signs of fever.

            He drew in a breath, and cradled her in his arms.  She smiled up at him, and as he brushed her cheek again, he felt a strange peacefulness come over him and he realized something. 

            The woman hadn’t meant the monastery when she said sanctuary.  She’d been referring to the baby she carried.

            He sat back on his heels, taking it in.

            “You are going to be trouble, little one,” he murmured.  “The very best kind of trouble imaginable.”

           

Flash Fiction: Democracy

Democracy

 

            There were times when Tucker hated the idea of democracy.  To be honest, he’d always loved the idea of people having the freedom to choose their own government.  But the sheer aggravation of the past seven years was starting to wear him down.

            Fifteen years ago the king of Pretaria decided he wanted his subjects to choose his successor.  The king had no child to take the throne, and there were no living relatives to claim it.  The only way to avoid a violent civil war, he’d reasoned, was to allow the people to choose their own leader.

            Which was all well and good, Tucker reflected, but he wished the king had taken care of the elections before he’d died.  Instead the king had spent the last five years of his life setting up the rules for choosing his successor.  And he hadn’t had time to iron out all the kinks.

            There were roughly one million people in Pretaria.  The rules stated that every citizen above a certain age was required to vote.  In order to allow a wide base for the people to choose from, the king had designated the first vote to be a write-in ballot. 

            There had been over 100,000 candidates submitted during that first ballot.  It had taken almost a year just to collect all the ballots, and most of another to interpret and count all the votes.  Many Pretarians had illegible handwriting.

            Subsequent elections narrowed the field, as the Electoral Committee—and Interim Government—created rules to eliminate the least likely contenders.  After three years, the Committee realized they needed help, and sent a request for experts to help them.  Tucker had not volunteered.  But here he was anyway.

By the 17^th ballot, they’d narrowed it down to 217 candidates, with Tucker’s help.  The 18^th ballot had 309.  Tucker had locked himself in his room and cried.  He wasn’t ashamed to admit it.

He’d lost count of how many candidates they’d eliminated over the years.  He’d nearly lost count of how many ballots they’d created.  Tucker was tired.  He wanted to go home.  He missed his own country, where the laws were already in place, and the daily business of government wouldn’t give him a headache.

A knock on his door drew him from his wishful thinking.  He opened the door to find Catherine waiting.

“Reginald,” she said by way of greeting.  “You’re still up.  Good.” 

Catherine shouldered past him, an electronic clipboard in her hands. 

“Come on in,” he muttered dryly.  “And why don’t you call me Tucker?”

She blinked at him.  “Your name is Reginald.  I don’t understand why anyone would call you anything else.”

Tucker rubbed his temple as he closed the door behind her.  He felt another headache coming on.  Not that his last headache had ever really faded.

“It’s a nickname, Catherine,” he explained, yet again.  “It would be like someone calling you Cathy or Kate.”

“No one calls me either of those,” she pointed out, with a strange sort of logic, “Because neither of them is my name.  But Tucker isn’t even close to Reginald, so I don’t understand why you would answer to it.”

“It’s a long story.”

“We don’t have time for stories now.  The latest election results are in,” she said, passing him the E-board.

“Great.”  He tried to summon up enthusiasm, and failed.  “How many are we up to now?”

“Thirty-four,” she answered absently.  “We’ve got it narrowed down to 52 candidates this time.”

Tucker groaned, scrolling through the list.  “52?  I thought it was 51 last time.  We have to stop letting people submit candidates who aren’t on the ballot.  Who is it this time?  That hunter from up north again?”

Catherine’s lips twitched.  She shook her head, eyes gleaming with humor.

“Not that crazy farmer who swears aliens keep abducting his livestock?  What’s his name again?”

“Marvin Haskell,” Catherine answered immediately.  “But he was listed on the ballot remember?  He got enough votes last time.”

Tucker tossed the E-board on his small kitchen table.  “Then who is lucky number 52?”

Catherine covered her laugh with a cough, and took up the E-board, and pulled up the final name on the list.  “Here,” she said, handing it back to him.

He stared down at it in shock.  “You have got to be kidding me.  This isn’t possible.  It’s not even legal.”

“Actually, it is.  There’s no law stating that the president has to be a Pretarian citizen.”

“It’s ridiculous.  It’s preposterous!  It’s . . . It’s . . . butt stupid!” he burst out as he paced his small apartment.

“Well, you didn’t get quite as many votes as Mr. Haskell,” Catherine managed.  “But you did get a respectable number.”

“Who in their right mind would vote for me?” he asked, nearly tearing the hair from his scalp.

Catherine sobered at his tone.  “Pretaria could do much worse, Reginald.  You have all the skills anyone could ask for in a President.”

“But I don’t want to be president!” He was actually shouting now.  “I can’t handle this insanity any more.  I want to go home, Catherine.  I want to go home.”

Catherine stepped closer, dared to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder.  “There is no reason to worry,” she said soothingly.  “We’ll eliminate your name from the next ballot.  We’ll be able to narrow it down more than ever.  We’re almost done, Reginald.  Won’t you please see it through?  For Pretaria?  For me?”

He looked up at that. “For you?” he repeated.

Catherine gave him a wobbly smile.  “You have become my good friend, Reginald.  I will miss you when the elections are finished.”

He smiled back at her.  “We are friends,” he agreed, “though I suspect you had something to do with lucky number 52.”

She giggled at that.

“Perhaps when this is over, you can come home with me.  I’d like to show you how a sane government operates.”

She nodded.  “That would be useful for my people.  Does that mean you’re staying?”

Tucker—Reginald—let out a resigned sigh.  “I’ll stay.”

Flash Fiction--In-laws

In-Laws

 

            “All in-laws are crazy!”  Joffrey laughed.  “You needn’t act like you’re the only one.”

            Clearly, he did not understand my situation.  And just now, I didn’t have the energy to argue with him.

            “I suppose you’re right,” I managed to conjure up a smile.  “See you Monday.”

            And I walked out the door.  I had packed my bag that morning and stowed it in my trunk, so I was ready to go.  The tank was full.  I’d been careful to give myself no excuse to delay my trip.  But I did stop to pick up a peanut butter milkshake for the road.  Nothing relieves stress like a peanut butter milkshake.

            Don’t get me wrong, my in-laws are wonderful people.  They accepted me and had given me all the moral support these past few months while my husband was out of the country.  At least I assume he was out of the country.  My husband did something, for some branch of the military—I think.  It was all highly classified, and I knew basically nothing about it.  Dan mentioned getting me clearance, but before he could start the process, he’d been sent on assignment, and I hadn’t seen him for almost three months.

            It was nerve-wracking not knowing where Dan was, how much danger he might be in and when he might be coming home.  I had been in contact with his parent by phone almost every day, but today was only my second trip to see them in person.  Like I said, they were wonderful people, but they were . . . .odd.  Truthfully, I wasn’t ready to go back, but I had news to share, and since Dan was out of reach, they were the only ones I had to share it with.

            An hour later, milkshake gone, I pulled up into the driveway.  I glanced warily over the fence at the back yard.  Everything seemed perfectly normal, but I didn’t let myself feel relieved.

            The door swung open as I pulled my bag from the trunk.  Dan’s mother came out, smiling brightly.        

            “Jessica!” she cried, her face alight.  “It’s so good too see you.  David, come help Jessica with her bag.”

            “It’s alright, Minnie,” I assured her, but David was already taking the bag from me.  “But thank you, David.”

            “Anything for my favorite daughter-in-law,” he responded with a grin.

            “How are you, dear?” Minnie asked, as she ushered me into the house.  “I’ve been a bit worried about you.  I hope you haven’t been ill.”

            “I’m perfectly healthy,” I assured her, truthfully.  The doctor’s appointment I’d had yesterday proved it.  I couldn’t resist my next question.  “But tell me, what happened to your rocket?”

            “Our rocket?” David asked blandly.

            “I didn’t see it in the back yard today,” I answered.  “Did you finish it and sell it?”

            And that was part of the reason I hadn’t been to visit my in-laws in so long.  The last time I’d been there, they had a half-finished rocket in their back yard.  I’m not talking about a toy rocket, or a miniature rocket—David and Minnie had a full-sized rocket complete with boosters and fins and all that stuff that I vaguely recognized from watching space shuttle launches as a child.

            “Oh, Jessica,” Minnie laughed.  “As if we’d sell our rocket.”

            “The neighbors complained,” David said, “So we put it out of sight.”

            “Why don’t you take Jessica’s bag up to her room, while I fix us all a nice glass of iced tea,” Minnie said, leading the way into the kitchen.

            David headed up the stairs, and I found myself on a stool at the breakfast bar, watching Minnie finish dinner preparations and sipping tea.  I offered to help, but she refused.

            “So how exactly do you put an eighty foot tall rocket out of sight?”  I asked.

            “We shrank it,” David answered as he settled beside me with his own glass of iced tea.

            “I . . . see.”

            “It’s about eight feet tall now,” he explained.  “Makes it a bit of a challenge to work on now, but we can store it in the garage at least.  Luckily it’s all done but the tweaking.”

            “Don’t let him fool you,” Minnie said, serving up steaming bowls of soup.  “The rocket is complete.  David just can’t resist tinkering with it.”

            David shrugged.  “We have time.  We can’t use it until we hear from Dan.”

            That caught my attention.  “Use it for what?”  Then, “You’ve heard from Dan.”

            “Not exactly, Jessica.  But I have the feeling he’ll be in touch soon.”

            I nodded, one hand pressing instinctively to my abdomen.  “I hope you’re right.”

            “Minnie is always right,” David told me, patting my hand reassuringly.  “Now have some soup.  It’s delicious.”

            “And my first question?”

            “What was that, dear?” Minnie asked, settling on the other side of David with her own soup.

            I refused to be distracted.  “What are you planning on using the rocket ship for?”

            “Oh, David wants to take it for a little test drive, as it were.”  Minnie laughed it off.  “But enough about us.  How have you been?”

            And there was my opening.  I sipped my soup as I gathered my courage.  Minnie and David were wonderful people, but sometimes I truly doubted their sanity.  I’d worked with dementia patients in the past—people who were so confused that sometimes it was impossible to know if the stories they told were true or not.  All I could do was nod and act as if they were, since I rarely had any way to confirm it.  I automatically treated Dan’s parents the same way.  They might be crazy, but they’d always seemed harmless.

            “I’m pregnant,” I blurted out.

            Minnie beamed at me.  “That’s wonderful news!  Isn’t that wonderful news, David?  Now Jessica and the baby can come with us.”

            “Come with you?  Where are you going?”  I tried to convince myself she meant a drive in the country, or a trip to the flea market.  Somehow I knew I was wrong.

            “We’re going home, Jessica.  To our own planet.”

            I felt my mouth drop open in shock.

            David cleared his throat.  “We’ll be leaving as soon as Dan returns.  We’ve delayed leaving as long as we could.”

            “I—I don’t understand,”  I stammered.

            “We’re not from Earth, dear,” Minnie explained gently.  “Surely you must have suspected it.  We’re really not crazy.  We’re aliens.”

            “B-but Dan . . . the baby . . .” I was trying to make sense of it all.  I knew Minnie was right.  I’d always suspected . . . something, but I hadn’t been prepared for this.

            “Dan really is our son,” David assured me.  “And he is an alien too.  He really does love you, Jessica.  I hope you realize that.”

            “That’s why we’re so glad to hear about the baby,” Minnie chimed in.  “Well, we love babies, of course.  But we’re already overdue to go home, and Dan couldn’t take you with him.  It was breaking his heart, poor boy.”

            “But now that you’re pregnant, we can take you with us.  We can’t leave Dan’s child behind.”

            I stared at them, my soup spoon halfway to my mouth.  David and Millie were from another planet.  Dan was an alien.  And the baby I’d been so happy about would be only half human.

           Minnie patted my hand.  “I know it’s a lot to take in,” she said.  “But Dan really does love you.  You do love my son, don’t you?”

            I nodded helplessly.

            “Then it will all be all right.  You’ll see.”

            I still couldn’t process this.  I sat there dumbly, as David cleared away the dinner dishes, and  followed Minnie upstairs when she took my hand to lead me there.

            “Dan will be here soon,” Minnie told me, as she helped me into a nightgown and tucked me into the bed in Dan’s childhood bedroom.  “You’ll feel better when he’s back.  It’s going to be fine, Jessica.  I promise.  No one will hurt you.  We love you.”

            I found myself comforted by that, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.