Tiny Stories: Recipe To End A Sibling Rivalry

Popular belief has it that the universe is comprised of atoms. In reality, the universe is actually made up of…

“If you want your life to be better, you need to take action to begin the process of transitioning into a more positive state of being,” the therapist said.

John mulled over this piece of advice and decided since he enjoyed preparing food above all else in the world, he would tackle his current problem the same way he would a complicated meal, so he wrote:

Recipe To End A Sibling Rivalry

Ingredients:

1 Treasure Map (rendered as detailed as possible on parchment or a leaf of crumbling yellowish-brown pulp paper to add authenticity)
1 Fantastic Tale based on a local urban legend detailing the account of some nefarious criminal who needed to bury their ill-gotten riches while evading authorities (don’t make the story too far-fetched and be sure to include the fact that the criminal met their untimely demise before retrieving the loot or revealing its location)
1 Gullible sibling
1 Shovel
1 Sports drink
1 Lighter or book of matches

Directions:

Approach the gullible sibling in a frantic state, babbling about the urban legend and how you came to be in possession of the map and invent a sense of urgency (ie. someone else made a copy of the map–make it someone your sibling despises–and they’re gathering supplies to head to the location at this very moment). Grab your sibling, the lighter, the sports drink and the shovel and set off. Follow the map directions until you reach the X, where you will discover a hole roughly 36 inches wide by 8 feet long and 6 feet deep (some prep work is involved in the fact that you will need to dig the hole ahead of time).

Exclaim, “Oh no! That bastard got here before us! Did they leave anything behind by mistake? Maybe something fell and they didn’t notice it?” (rephrase this to make it sound authentic to the way you speak, naturally). When your sibling peers into the hole, grip the shovel like a baseball bat and follow the instructions Mel Gibson gave to Joaquin Phoenix in the movie, Signs and “Swing away, Merrill!”

With your sibling situated in their new resting place, fill the hole as quickly as possible. When completed, burn the map entirely and scatter the ashes, consume the sports drink to replenish your electrolytes and return home confident in the knowledge that you are Daddy’s favorite, now.

The two things John forgot to add to the recipe instructions were to burn the recipe as well and not discard the empty sports drink bottle containing his DNA at the gravesite, mistakes that eventually led to his arrest.

Tiny Stories: The Unstoppable Turn

Popular belief has it that the universe is comprised of atoms. In reality, the universe is actually made up of…

William should have done the deed by now and Fiona begged him to do it but he held steadfast to his faith, hoping against hope for a last minute miracle, a one in a billion chance that his wife had been blessed with an immunity to the infection.

His countless nights of desperate prayer had been for naught, but even now, as she was turning, he couldn’t bring himself to end her wretched existence.

Tiny Stories: Deathbed Promise

Popular belief has it that the universe is comprised of atoms. In reality, the universe is actually made up of…

To allay her son’s fear, Apinya made the unbreakable vow to protect him from the ravenous monsters who nightly dwelled beneath his sick bed and though the cost was her life she was satisfied that even in death she would not break that promise.

Tiny Stories: We Are Not Alike

Popular belief has it that the universe is comprised of atoms. In reality, the universe is actually made up of…

Do not attempt to befriend me, sir, or seek to understand me. There can never be a kinship between us because, trust me when I say this, we do not share a commonality, you and I.

While you wake in the morning and wonder where is your cup of coffee, I drag myself from unconsciousness and wonder whose blood I am covered in.

Is it from an animal or human?

And if human, from a stranger or someone I love?

How could you possibly empathize with that?

Tiny Stories: The Promise of Comfort

Popular belief has it that the universe is comprised of atoms. In reality, the universe is actually made up of…

Magic fades with age and I am nowhere near as powerful as I was in my prime, but know you this, my precious cherub, even as I lay here dying, this promise I make to you:

When you decide it is time for you to venture out into the world, no matter where the road you choose to travel on takes you, no matter how severe the detour your despair diverts you from your true purpose, my arm will always find its way to you to offer the comfort needed to carry on.

You will never be alone, this I swear on the remaining ember of my life.

Tiny Stories: Unappreciated Beauty

Popular belief has it that the universe is comprised of atoms. In reality, the universe is actually made up of…

“What can you tell me of the house’s previous owner?”

“Annabelle Postlewaite? She was a kindly woman.”

“A spinster?”

“Sadly, yes. She possessed a beauty that no one cared to appreciate.”

“I don’t take your meaning.”

“I believe there is a picture lying around…oh, here it is!”

“Dear Lord!”

Tiny Stories: The Tobacco Enema

Popular belief has it that the universe is comprised of atoms. In reality, the universe is actually made up of…

The Henderson boy was pulled beneath the water’s surface by a rip current where the water that surrounded him was suddenly freezing cold, numbing him to the bone.

By the time the lifeguard was able to reach him with a float and drag him back to the beach shore, he had already succumbed to the water and surely would have perished had Dr. Phineas Ogden not been on hand with his kit containing a tobacco enema.

Interesting Fact: The Tobacco enema (circa 1750-1810) was a device primarily used for resuscitating drowning victims by introducing smoke into the victim’s rectum. It was believed that the hot tobacco smoke would restore lost consciousness allowing the victim to begin breathing again.

Tiny Stories: Always Find Her Way Home

Popular belief has it that the universe is comprised of atoms. In reality, the universe is actually made up of…

Bláithín always had such a strong belief in promises.

“A promise made is a promise kept,” she used to tell me.

But I, being a proper skeptic, hadn’t actually believed her when she told me, “I will always find my way back home to you. The water will be my guide.”

I will gladly admit that I am a fool and I was wrong, for true to her word Bláithín never failed to visit whenever the rain fell on the anniversaries of our birthdays, our wedding and her death.

Tiny Stories: Love You For The Rest Of Your Life

Popular belief has it that the universe is comprised of atoms. In reality, the universe is actually made up of…

What are you complaining about? You should consider yourself fortunate, Guillermo!

Of all the miserably single men in the world, struggling to find a soulmate and settling for whichever wretch stumbles across their path, you’ve met a widow, a beautiful black widow who will love you and only you for the rest of your life!

However short that may be.

©2018 Rhyan Scorpio-Rhys

Tiny Stories: Her Time Has Come

Popular belief has it that the universe is comprised of atoms. In reality, the universe is actually made up of…

Oh, I have lived lifetime upon lifetime, participated in events that have shaped this world, loved the best among you and the worst, but I must admit that never in all the many years of my immortal life have I witnessed anything more beautiful, touching and devastating than the living embodiment of Death gently and patiently explaining to an elderly butterfly that her time has finally come.

©2018 Rhyan Scorpio-Rhys