Showing posts with label Eli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eli. Show all posts

Friday, January 19, 2018

Eli Asks Why?

This is Day 15 of the 2018 edition of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaaPlease join us this month on our writing journey. Today's prompt is Why Ask Why?

My first thought on why ask why was - why not? If you don't ask, you will never know. Not that everyone would be forthcoming with an answer.

For instance, my friend Eli, (remember him?) has this strange habit of disappearing into thin air. You read that right. He just spontaneously becomes invisible. Now if you were to ask him why he was there one minute and invisible the next, what do you think he would say? "Uh...I'll have to get back to you on that."

Eli seeks out the only person who can answer him when he asks WHY?

"Why did I suddenly become invisible? I had to leave Paul to face that madman at the bar, not that he didn't deserve itwhy can't he keep his mouth shut? Plus I had to walk home because an invisible man can't drive," Eli exploded at his mother, who was fortunately in her human state, as Eli would have felt even more ridiculous having this conversation with a bird. 

"Can you tell me why, and then maybe how? I need to know. I can't risk randomly disappearing in public like that. Imagine what my boss would say."

"Take a breath," said his mother calmly, "and I'll try to explain. You've always known that you...that we...were different. I had hoped my stories and your dreams would prepare you."

"For what?" Eli asked skeptically.

"For your new powers," she stated, as if that were sufficient explanation.

"I'd say that the preparation was seriously lacking," responded Eli sarcastically. "I had no idea beyond the fact that my mother is a part-time bird princess."

She sighed, "You are inherently magical, as am I. Back at the bar when you wished you were invisible, you became invisible. It was a fear response. You feared for Paul, and for yourself. Each time you wished you were invisible, the power built until you ceased to be seen. In the beginning, our powers are a response to an intense feeling, and difficult to control," she explained.  "I know it was a shock, and I wish you could have known what was happening."

"In time, you gain control of your power and make it work for you. I do not know why you have been given the power of invisibility, but I'm sure there is a reason. Perhaps there is something new on the horizon for you. Another thing you should know is that your powers grow, or advance, with time, and as you master one power, another will begin to appear. 

"Any more questions?" She asked.

"What other powers are there? Will I suddenly find myself leaping tall buildings, stopping locomotives? What am I...like Superman?"

"I just had to ask, didn't I?" thought Eli. "Now what?"


The previous adventures of Eli:
Birdman


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Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Can You See Me Now?

This is Day 12 of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Dreaming. Please visit the other participants for a peek into they're dreaming about.

Today we continue Eli's story. The last we knew he was invisible.

Eli left the bar and headed home. He had to walk because a car driving itself would be hard to explain. He knew he had left Paul in a bad spot but there wasn't much he could do. 

"Excuse me," he muttered as he bumped into a fellow pedestrian. The gentleman looked startled. "Really, I have to be more careful and I need to stop talking to myself, I'm in enough trouble as it is. Just got to get home."

Finally he rounds the corner to his house, bolts up the steps, then checks to see if anyone is looking before he opens the door. Safely inside he collapses on the couch. "I must be dreaming. That's it! I'll just lay here and sleep and when I wake up everything will be all right."

Morning dawned bright and sunny, birds chirping, and the paper landed with a thump in the driveway. Eli roused himself from the couch, squinting at the sun streaming in the window. "Why am I on the couch? That must have been some night last night". 

He dragged his groggy butt into the kitchen and made some strong black coffee. "I must have really tied one on. At least it's Sunday so I don't have to go to work. Maybe I'll just get a shower and watch TV all day.

He padded down the hall to the bathroom, gulping down some aspirin with his last swallow of coffee.  He looked in the mirror and then he remembered. Last night he was invisible, and he left his car, not to mention Paul, at the bar. He peered closely at himself. "I look like crap, but at least I'm visible. I guess I was dreaming." 

His shower finished, he pulled on sweatpants and an Aerosmith tee shirt. Suddenly a bird landed on the ledge outside his open window. It was a beautiful bird with a thin gold chain in its beak. The chain fell to the ground as it spoke, "Hear what I say, Eli, you were not dreaming."

Eli's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "What? A talking bird?  Mother...?"


If you want to catch up on Eli's adventures:
Birdman
The Princess
Eli and the Redhead 
The Winged Woman

Meet Eli's Mother
Eli, Where Are You?

Edited to add links to previous posts.

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Friday, January 9, 2015

Eli, Where Are You?

This is day five of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Please join me as we share a month of reading, writing and discovery. Today's topic is Invisible.  This is a continuation of my series following the life of Eli.

Eli and his friend Paul were knocking back a few beers and playing pool at the Come As You Are Saloon when in walks this stranger.  Now strangers aren't an unusual sight at the CAYAS, but this one was different. He had a ominous air about him and a crescent scar across his left cheek. His eyes were dark, almost daring someone to mess with him.

Image Source: Wikimedia
Eli and Paul watched as he worked his way to the bar. "Bartender, I'd like a pomegranate martini." 

When they heard that, Paul burst out laughing.  "A pomegranate martini?  What kind of a drink is that for a man?"  

"Shut up, Paul" urged Eli. "What kind of idiot are you, anyway?"

The stranger turned and stared at Paul.  It was a dark stare.  An evil stare. He started walking toward them, glass in hand. He stops mere inches from Paul, tosses back the martini and slams the glass on the table, sending shards of glass flying.

In a low voice that belied the intensity of the moment he remarked almost casually, "That wasn't very nice." 

By this time Eli wasn't feeling very confident about the outcome, and wishing he could suddenly become invisible. 

"My friend didn't mean anything" Eli interjected, hoping to defuse the situation. "Sometimes he can be a bit crass, but he's totally harmless. By the way, my name is Eli, what's yours?" Being friendly couldn't hurt he thought.

"Name's Rico" growled the stranger, and I don't take kindly to being laughed at," gripping the stem of the broken glass. "I ordered this for my old lady."

Paul never knew when to leave well enough alone and asked, "Then why did you drink it?"

Again that dark, evil stare.  "So I could do this" as he raised his arm. "Nobody laughs at me in front of my woman!"

At that point, Eli again wished he were invisible.  As Paul was about to feel the wrath of Rico, he called out "Eli, where are you?"

"What's the matter with you, I'm right here, but not for long. Run!" shouted Eli.

Both men turned and stared. They'd heard Eli shout, but there was no one there, and Paul asked again, "Where did you go?"

Eli reached out his hand to wave, "over here", and it was his turn to freak out. He couldn't see his hand.  He looked down, he had no legs. He looked in the mirror.  No reflection. "What the...?"

Eli, he said to himself, stay calm and don't say anything...just leave.  Gotta try and figure this out.

What do you think happened to Eli?



If you want to catch up on Eli's adventures:

Birdman
The Princess
Eli and the Redhead 
The Winged Woman

Meet Eli's Mother


No time to comment? Please click the visitors box below to let me know you stopped by.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Meet Eli's Mother

Do you remember Eli, the awkward, slightly clumsy, but well meaning guy who got a busted nose and and bruised ego when Judy punched him out?

Well, that night he had an encounter like nothing he had ever imagined.  All the strange dreams came to life and the truth was revealed.  "He will be all right now" she had said.

"What did she mean by that" he asked himself time and again.  He didn't feel any different.  He didn't look any different. When he mentioned it to Paul, he laughed and said Eli must have a short circuit. 

Now every night he goes to bed hoping for a glimpse into that other world and every morning he awakes, his questions still unanswered.  "What did she mean?"

He and Paul are heading to the bar after work.  Yes, that bar, you know, old habits and all...

They grab a couple stools, order their beers and start checking out the eye candy.  "There's a looker" said Paul as he nodded to a raven-haired beauty with scarlet lips.  

Photo courtesy of Magpie Tales
Eli said "Good luck there, friend", as Paul sauntered over.  Eli grinned, "This I've got to see" as he made his way over to where Paul was trying to gain favor with the lady.

 "Hi, my name's Paul.  What's yours?"

She replied politely, "My name is Alexandria di Ravenelli, but you may call me Princess."

"Well, I'm pleased to meet you Princess.  I must say the name fits" replied Paul smoothly.

"Oh, but you are mistaken" she responded with a royal air, "That is not my name, but my title."  

"What is that like 'Miss America'?" Paul was a bit discombobulated, and it was Eli's turn to laugh.  The tables were turned and Paul was about to get his comeuppance.

"No", she replied frostily, "I am a Princess among my people."  

As Paul stared, trying to digest this, slowly it dawned on Eli.  This wasn't just any Princess who happened into this bar.  Besides whoever heard of a Princess going bar hopping anyway.  No, this was his mother.  "Whoa" he said, "This is all wrong.  What are you doing here?"

Now Paul was really confused.  "You know her?" he squeaked.

"Why yes, as a matter of fact I do" said Eli, trying to cover his own discomfiture.

"Come Eli" called the Princess as she arose in a swirl of black silk and lace.  As they left, all eyes were on Eli and the beautiful woman on his arm.  She was right, he thought later.  He would be all right now...and from then on Eli had a date every weekend.

He never told Paul that the Princess was his mother, and that was his way of getting even for all the laughs and snide comments. 


Written for Magpie Tales #196.  Click on the links below if you would like to read Eli's adventures up to this point.

Birdman?
The Princess
Eli and the Redhead 
The Winged Woman

Monday, September 2, 2013

The Winged Woman

Written for Magpie Tales #184.  Click on the links below if you would like to read Eli's adventures up to this point.

Birdman?
The Princess
Eli and the Redhead

Remember Eli?  He's the guy who woke up in a giant bird nest.  As it turned out it was really a dream, but what had precipitated it?  His mother told him fairy tales about giant birds who lived in the enchanted forest.  They even raised a child among the tree tops and made her a princess of their family.
artwork by Jeanie Tomanek 

That was just a fairy tale, or so she said.  She never admitted any different or denied the possibility that it was more truth than fiction.

When we last saw Eli, he had just woken up with a substantial hangover after drinking himself into oblivion over a redheaded vixen named Judy in the Come As You Are Saloon.

With his head throbbing, he stumbled into the bathroom reaching for the alka-seltzer, or pepto or anything else that could slay the herd of elephants stampeding through his head. "Why?" he asked himself over and over again.  "Why do things like this always happen to me?"

He fell back on the couch and drifted off again.  Soon he was dreaming of tall trees and sunlight streaming through to the moss-covered ground.  On a branch just above his head he saw a woman.  She was beautiful with soft brown curls framing her face.  What he noticed then took him aback.  She had the most magnificent white wings.  Was she an angel?  Had he died?  Shortly before he had felt like it. 

"Who are you?" he asked, puzzled that there would be a winged woman in a tree.

"Fear not, Eli" she replied in a singsong voice, "for I am your mother.  You do not recognize me because to you this is a dream.  This is the only way I could tell you the truth.  I know you have wondered for a long time.  I know of your dreams.  I was part of those dreams.  It was my way of bringing you to the truth."

"Mother" he began, searching for words.  "All those fairy tales about the princess...that was really you after all wasn't it?  I felt it in my heart, but knew that logically it was impossible.  Birds are birds and people are people.  People don't fly or live in trees, well except for Tarzan, and he didn't fly." 

As he stood there silently staring up at the woman in the tree, he saw her begin to change.  Gradually her soft features became more angular and her curls changed into sleek white feathers.  The basket she had held in her hand fell to the ground.

"Good-bye Eli."

Suddenly there on the ledge appeared a white bird, and much to Eli's surprise he understood what was being said.  

"Come Princess, it's time to go. He knows the truth now and that knowledge will serve him well."

"Yes" replied his mother, "He will be all right now." 


The Quote of the Week will return next Monday!



Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Eli and the Redhead

Welcome to the 27th day of the 30 minus 2 days of writing challenge hosted by Nicky and Mike of "We Work for Cheese".  Today's prompt is "And That's Why I Got Drunk".  My contribution today is a work of fiction and yet another adventure in the life of Eli.  Now go visit Nicky's post for more excuses.

It was in the wee hours of the morning when Eli stumbled up his steps.  He fumbled with his keys, then dropped them.  They went over the rail and into the bushes.  He stumbled back down the steps, missed the last one and landed in a pile of dog poop.  "Darn dog", he mumbled.  He scrounged for the keys, and jabbed a thorn into his thumb. "Sh..!" 

Eli rights himself, sucks on his injured thumb, and climbs back up the steps.  

Four hours earlier: 

Eli was sitting on his favorite stool at the Come As You Are Saloon.  He liked this place because he knew everyone, and they all knew him.  It reminded him of that old TV show from the 80s.  You know the one - where everyone knows your name.

Anyway, he was sitting there nursing a Stella, when in walked a woman.  Not just any woman, but the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.  She was a redhead, and he'd heard they could be feisty.  She was wearing 5-inch red stilettos and a black dress so tight it looked like she must have been born in it.  Her green eyes sent sparks flying when she looked his way.

Now Eli was an average dude, but he believed he sprang from Royalty.  He knew in his heart his mother was a Princess, and that made him special.

He left his stool and walked over to the gorgeous redhead. 

"What's your name, sweetheart?", he said, trying to be cool.

She just looked at him, then past him at his bar mate, Paul.  He tried again. 

"I said what's your name?  My name's Eli".

"Hmmm, that's nice.  What's his name?" indicating Paul who was watching this play out.  Poor Eli!  All the other women had turned him down.  They said he was just too weird...something about birds and he was constantly talking about his mother.

"Oh, that's Paul.  He's another regular here."

The redhead pushed past him and swayed over to where Paul was sitting.  "Hello there.  It's Paul, right?"

Not about to be left out Eli followed, then much to his embarrassment, he tripped on a loose floor board.  As he gyrated to try and stay upright he grabbed for the table, but got the redhead's...um...posterior instead. 

"Oh, sorry...I never did get your name," as he tried to recover.

As she swung and punched him in the nose, she said, "My. Name. Is. Judy."  Paul is now laughing openly at Eli's tortured look, not to mention his rapidly swelling nose.

"Bartender", called Paul, "another round on me, and an icepack for my friend, here." 

Eli slunk into a back booth, bemoaning his never ending stream of bad luck with women. About that time a man, another stranger to the bar, slid into the seat opposite him.  

"I saw what just happened.  That's a dang shame, too, she's quite a looker.  Had no right to treat you that way.  Women like that think they're too good for the likes of us, eh."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Eli gulped down his beer.  "I gotta hit the john" he said and headed down the hall.  When he got back, the stranger was gone, and so was his jacket.  "Dang, everyone's a thief these days."  Then he remembered, when he had pulled out his ID earlier, he'd stuck his wallet in his jacket.  Now he had a fat nose, no girl and no wallet.  He pulled the last ten bucks out of his jeans and called the bartender.  "Bring me a bottle of bourbon and a glass."

The next thing he knew he was climbing the steps to his house.  "Why?" he wondered as he collapsed on his couch.  

Later, when the fog had lifted, he remembered.  "That was why I got drunk!  It was punch and Judy."



Wednesday, April 11, 2012

The Princess

Eli was concerned about his latest dream.  It rang with an eerie reality.  Slowly he remembered...when he was just a lad his mother told him bedtime stories - fairy tales she called them.  He thought they were the same stories every mother told their children.  Ones from a fantasy land, but unlike King Arthur and Hansel and Gretel, her stories were tales of the animal kingdom.


Image source: djajakarta
The tale she told most often was about a princess who was raised by a family of giant birds.  They lived at the top of a huge tree in the middle of the enchanted forest.  They were the rulers of the forest and one day they found a tiny baby whose parents were killed by the beast who roamed the night just beyond the forest's edge.  They took the baby to their nest, cared for her and raised her as their own.  Because she was different, they made her a princess.  For years the princess lived among the tree tops until one day she realized that she didn't belong here, that there was another world below.  She bid a tearful good-bye to her bird family.  Over the years, her family had grown and she had hundreds of siblings.  They gathered to carry her safely to the ground where she began her new life.

But now Eli questioned whether that was really a fairy tale.  It might explain the weird dreams he had been having.  Could his mother be the princess of her tale?  Was she an orphan after all or was she really hatched?

Written for Magpie Tales.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Birdman?

Image Source: image: ParkeHarrison
During the night something strange has happened to Eli.  He stirs to consciousness only to feel all prickly.  His foggy mind is wondering who put all these sticks in his bed.  As he tries to stand up, sticks stab his bare feet.  Ouch!  What? 

It appears that Eli is standing in a giant bird nest.  This is ridiculous, he thinks.  There is no such thing as giant bird nests, or am I losing my mind? 

As he begins to climb out of his prickly confines, he stops to take a look around, and is startled at what he sees.  Tree tops.  Pines, oaks, etc.  How is it that he is standing in a giant bird nest at the top of a tree?


Oh no, he thought, I'm not standing in a giant bird nest.  It's much worse.  I am six inches tall, standing in a normal bird nest at the top of a tree.  Help!!!


When Eli finally did wake up, he found bits of twigs between his toes and a feather in his hair.

Written for Magpie Tales.