Pen & Ink Writers Group

Pen & Ink Writers Group The truth is we gather on the Third Monday of each month to practice our writing skills. We listen and share in each other s work. We are small in number and our commitment is strictly to produce and foster creativity among our members. We started in July 1999 and consist of adults that enjoy writing memoirs, commentaries, essays, poems, and/or prose. Our simple method each month is to use a pre-selected word or phrase as the basis of a story, an idea, an opinion, a derivative of, or an implied essence of and write a 1 to 1 ½ page document. We share our stories, comment, and in that way build up our writing skills through practice and presentation. The atmosphere is friendly and supportive, and the feedback is gentle. Curious? Always wanted to try writing for fun, entertainment, or even profit? Come visit with us at any of our open meetings. Bring a sample of your work. Sit in and see what we do. If you like it, join us every month and become a member. Works of the Members of the Pen & Ink Writers Group 2013 Pen & Ink Writers Group August selections - Sleep or Sleepless Once Upon A Time By Phyllis Babbs She moaned softly in her sleep. She still heard the voice telling her not to make any noise and to keep that GD baby quiet. My baby! she said with alarm and tried to sit up. She winced in pain and then the pain pushed her into consciousness; every inch of her body hurt but her broken heart hurt the most. My baby she groaned over and over. Amanda, I m Officer Davidson. Amanda, I need to talk to you. Can you tell me what happened? He raped me! Amanda, listen to me; tell me what happened last night. Her eyes opened and she tried to focus. Last night. Yes, last night he came home high again but it was worst than usual; he was drunk too. He complained the house was dirty, said I was a pig and a slut. Then the baby started crying. He yelled at me and said to keep that GD baby quiet. But when I tried to get the baby he hit me, called me a bitch and hit me again. I fell down and he kicked me. Don t worry bitch, I ll take care of the baby. And he told me not to make any noise and kicked me again. I tried to get up but then he hit me and I blacked out. She closed her eyes. Take your time, Officer Davidson told her. She took a breath and continued telling her story. When I came to I could hear him yelling at the baby. You frickin kid you re going to grow up to be just like your stupid mother. The baby was scared; I could tell by the way she was crying. They were in the kitchen. I managed to get up and then I saw him shaking the baby. I told you to

shut up! he yelled. Then he started shaking and shaking the baby. I asked him to give me my baby but he just laughed. I didn t know what to do so I grabbed a knife and told him to give me my baby. I don t want the little bastard and was going to throw the baby down so I stabbed him and was able to get the baby. But the baby didn t look right. I went to call 911 and he was yelling and calling me names. He came into the living room and pulled the knife out and told me now he was going to cut me. But the blood started spouting out of his side and he looked down and fell over. There was so much blood; I couldn t move. I still had the phone in my hand when the police and EMTs came. She paused and was silent. She whispered Is my baby alive? Officer Davidson nodded his head no. I want my baby! And then there was a doctor at her bedside putting something into her IV tube and she slowly went back to sleep. She wants her baby. Doesn t she understand the baby s dead? A nurse shook her head yes. She understands Officer. She knew that when she called 911. I m just waiting for her mother to bring different clothes in so I can dress the baby and give it to her. It s important that she gets to hold her baby and say her good byes. A few hours later, the nurse handed Amanda her baby. The girl gently stroked the baby s head. She looked up at Officer Davidson. She s such a beautiful baby. Yes she is Amanda, he paused. Look at the little dimples on her hands. And those fat little cheeks. I can tell you were a good mother. Amanda gave a little sigh. I used to believe in that once upon a time and happily ever after stuff. But look at me now. A dead baby and a husband I killed. Officer Davidson patted Amanda s shoulder. You re tough. You ll get through this. And some day you ll find the right man for you. He may not be a handsome prince but he will be someone who will love you and protect you. Tears filled her eyes. She grabbed his hand. Thanks for saying that. She sighed again. I guess I m ready to see my mother now. As he walked out of the room, Officer Davison heard Amanda talking to her daughter, Once upon a time, a beautiful baby girl was born and her mommy loved her very much. He pinched the tears from his eyes as he walked into the corridor. The Origin of Partners By Nicole Capsopoulos Once upon a time in Ancient Greece, Nikotelios celebrated their 20th birthday. As they had done on so many birthdays before this day, they spent the day tending to the fields, the animals and the house. In other words, no different than any other day and it didn t matter because every day was blessed. Nikotelios lived during the happiest time in the world, a time when the nature of human beings consisted of three parts; the man, the woman, and the androgynous. These beings looked quite different from the humans of today with their 4 arms, 4 legs, spherical bodies, and 1 head with 2 faces. Their lives were full of love, fulfillment and eternal happiness.

However, the happiness of these mortals was a direct threat to the livelihood of the Gods. Zeus looked down at his temples and exclaimed, I have no offerings this season! My temples sit bare, with no food, fruit or sacrifices resting near my statues! How can we fight wars if no one is angry? Aries roared next, These humans have all they can possibly want; nothing I do will entice them to go away and conquer other lands! Father, these humans do not appreciate my beauty! Aphrodite chimed in, They have no need to pursue women and lust after them since they are attached to their other half. It is so pathetic! Hermes, messenger of the Gods, interrupted this discussion to announce some news he heard below Mt. Olympus, Zeus, the humans sense they have no need for the Gods anymore. They are planning to overtake Mt. Olympus! The Gods started to panic simultaneously, and Zeus threatened to strike and kill each and every human with his mighty thunderbolts before his wife Hera stopped him, We need the humans for the offerings and the worship. If they perish, so does our existence. Instead of killing them, separate the beings into halves. Then scatter them around the world so they spend their entire lives searching for that part of themselves. They will be miserable, angry and lustful. They will pray to Zeus to find their soul mates, they will venture into other lands under the leadership of Aries hoping to reconnect with their partners, and their desires will drive them mad, and they will worship Aphrodite and search the world for a beauty like hers. Meanwhile, as Nikotelios were going on about their day commemorating the day of their birth, they suddenly felt an immense burst of pain shoot from the top of their skull to the bottom of their feet. A thunderbolt struck them down the middle, along with all the other creatures in the land, instantly separating the one being into two separate parts. Now each being had only 2 arms, 2 legs, 1 lean body, and 1 head with one face. It took them a while to recognize each other since now, Nikoletta had assumed the identity of the female and Telemachus the identity of the male. Before they got a chance to stand up and approach each other, a strong gust of wind picked up Telemachus and he disappeared instantly. All around Nikoletta, others were being separated from the beings they were originally coupled with. Pain and suffering were felt throughout the land, while above the Gods stood over smiling and feeling pleased with what they were seeing. Over the next few weeks, people started experiencing emotions they had never felt before unhappiness, loneliness, sickness, and long sleepless nights all fell upon them at once like a tidal wave. Even a new disease had surfaced, and an alarming number of deaths were occurring due to severe tears in their heart from the separation, the diagnosis being an actual broken heart. Slowly, people did everything they could to reconnect with their other halves. In fact, they did exactly as the Gods predicted they would do. However, it was to no avail they had lost their friends, partners, their other half indefinitely and would spend the remainder of their lives trying to reunite. Since then, future generations are born separate, spending their lives much like their ancestors did, searching for their partners. The Rose Stem By Nancy Stewart

I watched as a stem of the rose plant located along side of my house grew and grew, up and up until it reached the roof-overhang, and there it stopped unable to continue its climb. The lower portion of the plant flowered with beautiful roses the size of my face. Each rose burst forth in a vibrant sunset of colors and bloomed for many days, swaying in the gentle breezes, scenting the area with a delicate fragrance. In due course, the petals dropped, providing a red velvet cover for the surrounding ground. To what do I owe this beauty I thought. Some time later and on a Monday morning, I walked into the living room to get the daily newspaper and there at the ceiling in the corner was the stem, poking its head through the plaster and beginning to penetrate the sanctity of my house. Shades, what is going on here? It started growing down the wall as I stood rooted to the floor. It crept slowly along the floor, pausing to reach out to feel, sensing that there was something nearby. Its leading bud rose up like the head of a snake to test the air. Bit by bit I was backing into a corner as it continued its forward approach. Its feelers reached out and touched my leg. They began to wind around my foot, then wound around my ankle, and then began twisting and turning upward, reaching my knee. I screamed and pulled my leg back and out of its reach. Then I ran and ran but couldn t get anywhere everything appeared to move in slow motion. I had to make it stop coming after me, so I grabbed the scissors from a nearby drawer, believing I might cut it. I turned and My heart raced, and its beat pounded and hammered in my ears. I faced my foe, but it reached out, entwining the scissors and yanking it from my hand. I screamed and screamed as I felt the feelers crawling all over my body. Just then, my screams woke me from my sleep and I found that I was safe in my own bed. I was shaken from my dream experience and attempted to focus on where I was, reaching for the light switch. Something fluttered from the bed cover. I looked around in the light and saw velvety red petals scattered all over my blanket and on the floor of the bedroom, and trailing down the hall for as far as I could see. I shuttered; then screamed anew. Sleepless By Elvira K. Castillo At my age, one is supposed to get no less than six hours of sleep. I say at my age because at this point, my brain seems to be unable to store much. In other words -- FORGETFULLNESS! Getting enough rest is supposed to be helpful in slowing down the process of losing memory cells in the brain. Actually, I try to get eight hours of sleep, but, unfortunately, this doesn t seem to help my memory. I know I ve had some fantastic dreams, but sadly cannot remember them when I wake up. When I was young I always enjoyed remembering and thinking about my dreams. What s funny is I can recall a dream of 50 years ago, but none today. One of my exciting dreams was the ability to fly like Peter Pan, sit at the top of the trees and fly among the bright stars in a dark blue sky. I read in a dream book a long

time ago that this dream meant a desire to escape. Who knows what I would have wanted to escape from. Guess what, I can t remember. One thing great about being retired is being able to go to bed late and get up late, too. This is something I looked forward to and began to put into practice immediately. I ve been going to bed at midnight for the last decade and getting up about 8:30 a.m. By midnight I m generally very tired and fall asleep almost instantly. However, whenever I have problems in my life, I usually become quite emotional and, therefore, have great difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. I keep trying to tell myself, This too shall pass, but it doesn t work. I ve tried counting sheep and saying the Lord s Prayer over and over, but my brain keeps going back to the problem, resulting in my heart pounding loudly away, tossing and turning, and wide-eyed sleeplessness. After several sleepless nights in the last few years, I have finally found a way to overcome this problem. There is an old time radio show that comes on at 12:05 p.m. It plays two shows, usually a detective genre or a comedy. I try to completely concentrate on these shows and not think of any problems. Usually I fall asleep before the first show is over. This has helped a great deal in failing asleep. The frustrating thing is I never hear the conclusion of the radio show, and what really bugs me is I cannot even remember what show I was listening to the next morning. In conclusion, yes, I am getting enough sleep, I ve solved the problem of sleeplessness, but I don t think my sufficient sleep is helping my shrinking brain.