Monty Rediscovers Home

Six-year-old Monty, a master of his plastic sword, calculates strikes against imaginary giants while he takes cover behind backyard trees. When his mother’s voice pierces through his fantasy, calling him for dinner, the warrior boy marches home victorious.

Forty-year-old Monty daydreams of being a fearless commander defending his country against terrorists and, at night, dreams of being a superhero saving his city from crime and corruption.

While cleaning out his garage, Monty finds his plastic sword and wields it again, destroying enemies with a battle cry whoop. The brave boy/man rediscovers his inner sanctuary to face his lackluster world.

From Guest Contributor Leigh-Anne Burley

TBT: The Brubaker Spectacular

The Brubaker Spectacular trundled down Main Street, festooned with ribbons and fur, exploding confetti at every corner.

The children trailed after the wagons, quivering in epileptic fits of joy. The Brubaker Spectacular had arrived.

Elephants trumpeted at the sky. Acrobats danced from the rooftops. Giants wrestled lions, while swinging from trapezes suspended over fiery pits.

The Brubaker Spectacular promised two weeks of bewitching sensation, exceeding even the most remarkable dreams of splendor.

Shops closed their doors. The school master tossed aside his exams. Reverends and ministers forgave a fortnight worth of transgressions.

Nobody ever said no to the Brubaker Spectacular.

This story first appeared way back on Feb 15, 2010. It was then published in Picasso Painted Dinosaurs, a collection of 100 100-word stories, which is currently available as a digital download on Amazon.

Wrong Turn

Gareth and Melissa knew they were lost when they reached the gas station. It seemed abandoned, with the rusted pump and the crooked sign and the station house that had collapsed years previously.

They argued bitterly, with each blaming the other. Melissa had missed the turnoff, Gareth had refused to look at the map. But their anger towards each other was really just a mask for their own fears.

The station pump was well over 3 meters tall. They couldn't be sure when it had happened, but sometime during the night they had crossed over into the land of giants.

Reldresal The Giant Killer

Reldresal, the giant killler, was famous among his people. He slayed every giant that stood before him. His hunting expeditions usually involved a tremendous amount of Earth shaking, what with all the giant slaying.

But not enough giants invaded for Reldresal's taste. He dreamed of an entire country peopled with nothing but giants.

He petitioned the emperor to outfit his voyage. He would return to Lilliput with a trail of giant heads as long as the ocean.

Redresal's fame as a giant killer never reached America. His ship was swallowed by a bluefin tuna somewhere off the coast of Hawaii.

The Unluckiest Boy In The World

"The giants are coming!"

The shepherd's febrile shouts aroused the sleepy village to immediate action. Parents grabbed young children and ran for the underground shelter. Soldiers mounted the hamlet wall, pikes in hand.

Herman gazed at the pandemonium from the imposed security of the bell tower. He was well known as the unluckiest boy ever to be born. He was not allowed to fight the giants, not allowed to talk to anyone else, never even allowed to set foot outside the sacred grounds.

Herman watched the villagers without resentment. "Better to be unlucky than to fight giants with tiny sticks."