Origaminous Part 3

(The third and final piece)

For several days after, he did not even want to see another piece of paper. Nonetheless, he really wanted a new bicycle. This time he decided to prepare and made the wish in the bathroom. He filled the sink and bathtub with water in advance. He made the wish and small paper alligator formed. Quickly grabbing it by the tail, he dispatched it into the bathtub where it swam for a minute before dissolving.

It became easier and easier for him to make wishes, catch the little monsters, and extinguish them in some container of water.

I am sure you know what happened next. No one gets off that easily in Willakaville. Something bad is going to happen. There will be a big mess. Somehow, it gets resolved, everybody is safe again, and they all learn a lesson.

Not this time! Marcus kept on making wishes and got whatever he wanted, the end.

*****

Just kidding. Stories are not fun if everything goes right. We all love there to be a challenge to overcome. Life is the same way. It can be difficult sometimes, but it is more fun when we have to use our brains to solve a problem. Try to remember this next time you are having a hard time in your life. All right, enough of me giving you boring advice. Back to the story.

As you can imagine, Marcus made bigger and bigger wishes which resulted in bigger and bigger origami monsters. He felt he could handle it, so he kept going. He had all the toys, ate candy and cake every day, didn’t go to school, and was good at every sport he played.

Then he wished for the big one. The one wish that we all think of when we imagine being granted a wish. He wished for infinite wishes. Well, what do you think happened? That’s right, an infinite amount of origami monsters appeared. Every second a new monster popped up.

Within a minute, Marcus was overwhelmed. He barely made it out of the house before they took over. He watched from down the street with horror as hundreds of little origami monsters streamed from his house. They swarmed to the trees. Eating the wood allowed some to grow into humungous sizes, casting large angled shadows over the houses. Others in the forms of spiders, wasps, and other insect stayed small.

More and more kept coming. People ran from their homes as the monsters spread like fire. All seemed lost and Marcus felt lower than the deepest ocean crevasse. The entire world was being destroyed and it was all his fault. Too shameful to go on, he sat down and gave up.

The paper swarm came closer and closer. Marcus braced himself for the worst when he heard a somewhat familiar voice. It said, “You should have listened to me.” Marcus turned around to see the sushi chef from the Golden Ginzo. The chef held a glowing gold Makari. He raised it above his head and yelled, “Mizu wa jōshō shimasu!”

Water began flowing from every direction, surrounding the origami horde. It formed a giant wall and began closing in. With a giant crash, a huge circular wave came falling down on top of the masses. The chef motioned his hands into a spin and the water swirled tighter and tighter, tearing the origami into bits of paper. It then raised into the sky, a giant funnel of water sucking itself into the blue ceiling.

The chef brought his hands together with a large clap. The spout exploded, sending giant spit wads in every direction. They fell with splats to the ground making small piles of wet mushy pulp.

Marcus looked at the chef with amazement. The chef simply bowed and nodded his head. Marcus instinctively bowed back. Neither of them spoke a word and parted ways.

Marcus spent the rest of the day helping to clean up the mess. In fact, he spent the rest of the month cleaning. By the end of it, he never wanted to see paper again. He was even tempted to burn the instructions for the Magic Makari. Yet, something inside him told him that he might need it one day. So, he hid it inside a puzzle box his grandfather had given him and placed in the attic of his house.

Origaminous Part 2

Several days passed and Marcus still couldn’t complete the Magic Makari. He was able to get most of the folds. However, one fold proved to be very difficult. Everytime he attemped it, the paper would rip and he would have to start over. It was the reverse-outside-switch with a closed-z- sink-kite-pocket-fold.

Marcus was determined and he would not give up. About a week later, after many sleepless nights, he finally managed to complete it. It was beautiful and he felt a deep proudness. There was something unusual about it. No matter which way he turned it, the folds cast no shadow. Normally, the side of each fold opposite of a light source would be a little darker. With the Magic Makari, each surface was as bright as the next.

Marcus believed it might be truly magic. He held it between his outstretched hands and made a wish. He said, “I wish that I was not sick anymore.” Since he had not been getting enough sleep, he contracted a cold and had a runny nose and cough all day.

As soon as he made his wish, the Magic Makari floated from his hands and began spinning. It rotated faster and faster until it suddenly stopped and fell on the floor. Marcus quickly picked it up and was surprised to notice that his cold was gone. Amazingly, he had no more symptoms.

“Wow,” he thought. “This thing really is powerful! I should wish for some money. Wait, that guy said not to use it for dark thoughts. Maybe if I just ask for a little bit of money. I am not going to use it for anything dark. I just want to buy some video games. Video games are fun. Nothing dark about that.”

Therefore, he did. He wished for one hundred dollars. Again, the Magic Makari floated, spun, and fell to the floor. As he went to pick it up, he found a one hundred dollar bill lying underneath. Then he heard a noise. It sounded like some papers rustling.

He turned around and instantly became frightened and amazed. One of the dinosaur origami’s he made was walking around. It was trying to eat the pig shaped origami. Marcus picked it up and it bit him. The tiny teeth gave him a small paper cut. He reacted by crumpling up the dinosaur in his hands and throwing it on the floor.

To his astonishment, it un-crumpled itself and returned back to its dinosaur shape. Marcus grabbed a plastic cup and scooped up the little monster. It ferociously scraped and clawed at the sides, trying to escape. Thinking fast, he ran to the bathroom and dumped it in the toilet. The paper beast thrashed and splashed until it finally softened and fell apart. A quick flush sent it to a final and watery grave.

Willakaville 50% off !!!

50% OFF !!!!!

Click here to get Willakaville for 50% off!

Only on Smashwords!

Use the code SSW50 at checkout for 50% off during our site-wide promotion!
(Offer good through July 31, 2016)

The Noise - Part 3

This is the third and final part of the story. I hope you enjoyed it and keep your eyes out for the next story coming soon!

Shawna told her parents that she had to stay late after school to study for a test. She did not want to lie, but was sure here parents would not believe her if she told the truth.

She met the nurse in the parking lot and they walked down the row of cars. Towards the end, the stopped in front of a bright white Cadillac. It had gold rims and trim. Shawna thought, “Pretty flashy car for a school nurse.”

They got in and headed down the street towards the west side of town. After a several miles, Shawna started to become concerned. They had taken many different small roads, deep into the tall trees. So tall, that they blocked a large part of the sun. It seemed to be getting darker and creepier by the minute.

Shawna had to ask, “I am not familiar with this area? Is there a church back here somewhere?”

The nurse smiled, showing a full set of blinding white teeth with a twinkling diamond on the upper right incisor. She answered, “Don’t you be a worryin’ my dear. We soon be dere.”

Deeper into the trees they went and Shawna’s fear grew by the second. “We here!” announced the nurse. In front of them was an old wooden shack of a house. Dead animals and bones hung from tattered ropes on the front porch. Shawna felt her stomach sink and sheer panic set in.

As she opened the car door to escape and run, she felt a sharp pain in her back. She managed to run a few steps until her legs became numb. Then she collapsed to her knees and felt the rest of her body become limp. She couldn’t move and an overwhelming sleepiness swept through her. The last thing she saw before everything went black was the face of the nurse laughing.

Upon awakening, she found herself tied down to a hard, wooden table. Twisting and pulling, she struggled to break free. It was no use. The ropes burned her wrists every time she moved them.. Desperate, all she could do was cry.

That’s when the nurse came in wearing a full outfit made of bones and hair. Her face was painted white with black around the eyes and lips. All sorts of brown and black feathers decorated her hair. She said, “Now don go an a cry baby girl. Dis da easy part. It gonna hurt a lot more dan dat.”

“Where am I?” cried out Shawna. “Why are you doing this? Please let me go.”

“You bout ready to bring me da power. Babbi Makki ain’t really come yet. Das what you for. You be his sacrifice. You bring him here. He wanna you dead so he can live.” Then she pulled out a large spear decorated with red and black paint.

“No, no, no. Please stop. I will help you get whatever you want. I can get you money, I can help you.”

“I don need no help. Babbi Makki only one can givin’ me what I want. He bring me da power and da beauty and da immortality. Now you hush girl. Or else dis gonna be more painful.”

Shawna’s body shook with fear. She could hear the noise getting louder and louder in her head.

Budu dubba budu bida budu dubba budu bida…

The nurse began chanting and dancing. Her eyes glowed orange from the reflection of the fire torches surrounding them. The chanting became louder and faster as her body rolled in waves. Then she stopped, raised the spear up high and whispered, “Babbi Makki, Babbi Makki, Babbi Makki.”

Shawna thought this was it. Visions of her life flashed through her eyes. She felt her mother’s gentle kiss on her forehead. She felt her father’s strong arms holding her tight. Gripping the sides of the table, she braced herself and closed her eyes tight. It was silent.

Then came a whoosh, a crack, and a thud. Shawna did not feel any pain though. She opened her eyes and no longer was the nurse standing above her. Instead was a strange little man. He had pure white skin and wore all white robes.

He smiled as he untied Shawna and said, “You are a very brave girl. I think you deserve a gift.” He handed her clear plastic bag full of oddly shaped seeds. “Now I will sing you a song: Lobba looba lippity loo. Shloopy shleppy shamma shoo.” As soon as he sang the last word, he farted very loudly and disappeared into thin air.

Shawna did not know if she should cry or laugh. Either way, she was very happy to be out of danger. The little man must have also loosened her restraints, because she was now free. She expected the nurse to be lying on the floor. However, a voodoo doll lay in her place.

She did not want to stay there any longer and ran out of the shack as fast as possible. On the way out, she tripped over a stone and hit her head on the ground, which knocked her unconscious. When she woke up, she was back in the nurse’s office lying on the cushioned table. This time a different nurse was standing over her.

“How are you feeling sweetie?” she asked.

Shawn said, “I am ok. How did I get here?”

“You fell unconscious during the show.”

“What show?”

“The Caribbean drum show, silly. Don’t you remember it?”

“No. I guess I just blacked out. I feel ok now though.”

Just then, her mother and father walked through the door. Her mother hugged her first and said, “I am so glad you are ok. We were very worried when the school called.”

Her father gave her a hug next and added, “Yeah, we love you very much. You want to go get some ice cream?”

“Yeah!” exclaimed Shawna with a big smile. She thought, “Perhaps it was all a dream.” She kept that idea until she noticed something in her pocket while riding in the car. She shivered with chills when seeing it. It was a plastic bag holding strange looking seeds.

The Noise - Part 2

Hello - this is a continuation of the story to be released in my upcoming book. Enjoy!

The nurse came into the room and with a Jamaican accent asked, “What seem to be da matter my precious?”

Shawna replied, “I can’t get this noise out of my head. I keep hearing the same beat again and again. It is driving me crazy!”

“Now there, dear. It sounds like it be a simple earworm.”

“An earworm! Get it out!” Shawna quickly covered her ears with her hands. I can’t have-“

“Hold on. An earworm is not an actual worm. It is just an expression for when ya be havin’ a song stuck in da head. Are ya recognizing the song?”

“No, it just sound like: budu dubba budu bida budu dubba budu bida. It keeps repeating over and over and never stops.”

The nurse’s facial expression changed to one of sheer horror. She had to sit down and catch her breath. “Dat not good. Dat not good at all. It means he comin’ for us. How long ya hearing da noise?”

“Only since last night. Why? Who is coming?”

“Good. That means we still have time. The noise means that Babbi Makki is coming. He is evil and when he comes, he will try to destroy us all.”

“Who is Babbi Makki?”

“Babbi Makki be one a dem ancient voodoo witchdoctors from New Orleans. Someone must have begun da ritual to be releasin’ him. A powerful priest imprisoned his soul over one hundred year ago.

Babbi Makki used da dark magic to turn his victims into dose wooden statues. His hunger for collecting dem grows each time he creatin’ one. I don’ know who trying to release him or why. I only know dat we got tree days to stop da ritual or he be released again.”

Shawna stared at the nurse in silence, dumbfounded by what she just heard. Then she turned her head sideways and smiled, “Wait a minute. You are joking with me, aren’t you? Come on. Witchdoctors don’t really exist.”

The nurse stared deep into her eyes and said, “Dis no joke my dear. Dis da trut. We gonna see da priest.”

The Noise - Part 1

Hello – It has been a while since I posted. Life can get busy sometimes. But, no excuses! I need to finish my 4th book. So each week or less, I will release a piece of a story until I am done. My goal is to complete the book by the end of June.

As I post these, I welcome any and all feedback.:)

The Noise

 At first, no one noticed, except for the dogs. Each had their heads tilted to one side, intensely listening. It was as if an important announcement needed their full attention.

Shawna was the first human to hear it. She was frustrated because no one else could. “What is that strange noise?” she asked her parents at the dinner table.

“What noise dear?” answered her mother.

“That noise. It sounds like: budu dubba budu bida budu dubba budu bida.You don’t hear it?”

“No, I don’t.”

Shawna looked at her dad. He shook his head with some concern on his face. Shawna took a deep breath and sighed. She decided not to say anything more about it as her parents tended to overreact about everything. Rather than create a bunch of drama, she changed the subject. She said, “Maybe it is just a song stuck in my head. Oh well. These potatoes are good mom. What did you put in them?”

“I put bacon, parmesan, and a touch of saffron.”

Shawna took another bite and said, “Mmmmm. Tasty.” Then she carved a bite of steak and began chewing. Her mouth instinctively ground the meat between her teeth using the same rhythm as the noise in her head. It was annoying yet fun in some way. Her mouth was dancing to the beat and she imagined a small disco party going on in her mouth. Tiny pieces of food began shaking to the groove and hopping about.

All through dinner and after, the annoying beat kept pounding in her brain. The only thing that would drown it out was listening to music in her headphones. However, as soon as she turned them off, the noise came right back.

It was worse the next day at school. She could barely concentrate and her hand would uncontrollably tap her pencil to the beat. Other kids and her teachers became agitated with this. By lunchtime, Shawna couldn’t take it anymore and went to the nurses station.

Teach our Children Important Lessons !

Having kids of my own, I have always tried to teach them as much as I can. I want them to take advantage of all the life lessons I have learned over the past 40 years. But there is only so much time in a day and time in a childhood. Since children spend a majority of their time in school, I think it would be great if they would also teach some of these life lessons too. That is one thing I try to do with my Willakaville books. Hopefully, some kids can get those lessons in a fun way.

Math, reading, and history are all important. However, imagine if we taught kids how to deal better with their emotions. Now imagine how much better the world would be when they grow up. People will work better together, solve problems, and help each other more. This ultimately benefits society by reducing conflict, crime and inefficiencies. I would happily pay more taxes to keep my kids in school longer for this purpose.

The below links are to some good articles talking about how to prepare kids for life.

What if Schools Taught Kindness?

Seven Ways to Help High Schoolers Find Purpose