Saturday, August 3, 2019

Tact and Stitches

“I wanted to smash and destroy, but here was another path for the storm raging inside me: to create.” ~ The Poison Thread

“You are a sexy Zombie,” Voo said to the mirror, as she gently stitched a tear above her cheekbone. Too much pulling would pucker the skin, make her eye look and see funny. She was about to knot the last stitch, when her eyeball dropped out of its socket.

Time seemed to slow, while Voo watched her startled eyeball roll towards the door, at the same time her roommate—a live girl—walked into the cabin.

“Watch it!” Voo said, leaping to the rescue. But a squishy pop, and the horrified look on her roommate’s face, told her she hadn’t been quick enough.  

The live girl hopped out of her shoe. “Sorry. It came out of nowhere. I didn’t see—”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Voo said, sighing. “Stop fretting. I will replace it.”

“Thank goodness,” the live girl said, using an index finger and thumb to pick up her shoe. After wiping off the remains of Voo’s eyeball with a paper towel and flushing it down the toilet, the live girl added, “Zombies are so lucky. Your eyes fall out and you just get another. I would need surgery. Then there’s the pain. And, OMG, I don’t think I could survive the scars. Your kind is so brave. I just wouldn’t know…”

The live girl kept spewing nonsense, but Voo had tuned her out some time ago. Her eye socket was throbbing all the way to the back of her skull. She was in no mood to waste tact on stupid.


for the Imaginary Garden (Art FLASH / 55), The Sunday Muse (#67), and Poets United (Telling Tales with Magaly Guerrero: a Pantry of Prose #6 ~ Stitches)

Emperor of the Dawn, by Quincy Washington
 

61 comments:

  1. Sounds like in Voo's story, zombies have a lot more heart than live girls! I would love to hear more stories about her! You rock Voo! So glad you joined us at the muse too Magaly!!

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    1. Voo is so fun to write about. So, I suspect there will be more of her.

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  2. Zombies fascinate me though I really don't know their ways. If you start writing of them please let me know where I could read them.
    You missed my last line's revelation, at night EotDawn becomes his real self, a vicious leader of the Hawk ilks.
    ..

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    1. If I write more quirky zombies, I shall let you know. :-)

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  3. Zombies are so lucky.
    Your eyes fall out and
    you just get another.

    How nice for Zombies having problems solved without tears. Great imagination Magaly!

    Hank

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  4. I love the play on words in the title, Magaly : tact / tacked, and that your zombie is called Voo, I do! The opening paragraphs are both horrific and comedic, focused on the eyeball.

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    1. My work is done then! I always like my horror funny (and preferably with eyeballs in it).

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  5. I see the eyeball was very inspiring. I especially like the way you ended this conversation - no one can really understand another's pain.

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  6. A deliciously dark tale with a deep undertone. I like Voo's no-nonsense approach to fretting weaklings. And I must add, there is power in stitching.

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  7. She was in no mood to
    waste tact on stupid

    The live girl appears to be an intelligent being having to react to zombies in direct encounters

    Hank

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  8. Oh my gods... that last line! Bwaahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Holy hells yeah I've been there. Sometimes the better path is to let petrified stupidity be and conserve your energy for the fights that will mean something. And healing ourselves is often more important than being the stupid whisperer.

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    1. You know, now I can't stop wondering about what "petrified stupidity" would look like. Bwahahaha!

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  9. Well there appears to be some recompense in being a zombie and able to replace an eyeball. Humans are pretty useless beings aren't they?

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  10. Deliciously magic - a story that flowed effortlessly

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  11. A rocking zombie story with a really cool ending. Loved it!

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  12. I love this zombie story with wisdom. A fine close."....she gently stitched a tear above her cheekbone." This kept me pondering for a while. There seems to be another story there.

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    1. I, too, have been wondering about the injury being stitched...

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  13. loved this rocking story! Voo is pretty tactful for a zombie. :)

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  14. I imagine the author is the recipient of much the same sort of babbling. The tear on the cheek is wonderful, and i love the closing line especially.

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  15. Your's is the most complex, Magalay. Had to come back and nibble a piece at a time instead of gorging myself with one large mouthful. Then read it all together. Enjoyed very much. :)

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  16. Ah I see! Thought the little green men were the recipients of my first effort when you were playing hard to get all along . . . haha

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    1. Green? And here I was thinking they were all rainbowed! 😁

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  17. No one can understand another's pain until they experience it themselves (quiet frustrating at times). Love your story! I hope to hear more about Voo.

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    1. I'm almost certain you'll hear more about Voo...

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  18. Wonderful story. Reminds me sort of that TV show I sometimes watch iZombie. Voo is a most tactful and amazing woman - You can always replace parts but not without some pain involved. Pity there isn't a cure for stupid. I'd send a boatload to the White House.

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    1. I'm so behind on TV watching these days. But you are the second person who mentions iZombie to me. I might have to check it out.

      Oh, we'd be so happy if stupidity was curable.

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  19. Boohoo Voo... with a friend more concerned about sticky shoe mess and if ‘she’ was inconvenienced rather than the cause of the runaway eyeballs demise... I think Voo maybe shoo that self absorbed pal lol

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  20. Cracked me up s soon as the eye ball rolled! This is the very first zombie story I have ever liked. In fact, I totally loved it. "She was in no mood to waste tact on stupid."

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  21. I love this, Magaly. the last line resonated with me perfectly. Tuning out wasteful prattle is so important for peace of mind. Such an apt reflection of the busy bodies out there who think they know where you're at. Well told ! :)

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    1. Thank you, Vivian. It was a rather cathartic tale to tell.

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  22. Wow! I can tell you had a lot of fun with this very imaginative tale. Very creative. Awesome title … great close. I wish we'd all get into 'no mood to waste tact on stupid'. Clearly Voo knows something about dealing with 'stupid' that many live ones don't.

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  23. Suffice to say, I see what you did there, and there's a knowing smirk that refuses to leave my face. 😏 ♥♥♥

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  24. Ewww! But, hmmm, there are things to be learnt.

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  25. Jumping up and down, “It’s a story! It’s a story!” The last line needs to be a meme! And Voo? What’s not to love! Thank you!

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  26. But you do have tears, and sense of loss and throbbing pain. You are just used to being there....alone, with your pain, and sense of loss. So sorry dear Voo.

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  27. LOL...sounds like she was planning to take an eye from her friend...look out girl!

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  28. This is brilliant!! I love this story!!!! Big Hugs!

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