Pixel Prose Challenge: Time and Again

July 27, 2014August 3, 2014 / Steve Lakey / 7 Comments

Photo: Matlock Bath, Derbyshire, UK. 2014.

It wasn’t the first time I’d visited Matlock Bath, the quaint Victorian Spa town in Derbyshire. But I’d never noticed this particular fountain, with its magical, out-of-time feel. I sat on a park bench and took in the atmosphere.

I’d lost track of how long I’d been sitting there, when a strange thought came to me. Throw a silver coin in to the fountain. And make a wish!

I wanted Time to stand still and preserve this perfect moment. My gleaming 2014 coin dropped into the clear water without a splash. I watched it float slowly down to the bottom of the pool. It joined a selection of other coins already in there.

One of the coins looked pretty old and worn. I knelt down and fished out a large Penny. It showed the profiled head of King George V and was dated 1914.

As I gripped the coin, the sun clouded over and the temperature dropped to an icy chill. A thick mist descended. When it cleared, the fountain appeared the same, but the park looked somehow…different.

A young couple strolled towards me, arm-in-arm. A soldier in a First World War uniform and a lady with a parasol! They could have been attending one of the local Historical Themed weekends that seem so popular now. But something told me they weren’t. As if confirmation was needed, where the park’s War Memorial had stood, there was now just neatly trimmed grass.

I looked down at my 1914 Penny, now looking shiny and new!

The young couple were eyeing me strangely, as if I was the odd one out. Of course! Here, or rather Now, I was. My jeans, and Beatles t-shirt had quickly got me noticed.

Without thinking, I dropped the coin back into the fountain. The water seemed to reach out and pull it back in. Fishing out my original silver coin, I soon felt relief as the thick mist swallowed me up.

Sunshine returned, and I was back. The young couple had gone. I wondered if the Soldier’s name was on the War Memorial. I hoped not.

Sitting down on the bench again, I tried to collect my thoughts. Had I just wasted a golden opportunity? I needed to go back. This was the opportunity of a lifetime – or many lifetimes.

I don’t know how long I Iooked for the coin that I had just dropped into the water. Or did that happen a century ago? Either way, it wasn’t to be found. And there were no more old coins in that fountain! I had literally thrown it all away.

But then I had an idea…

I ran through the park towards home and changed into my grey work suit. OK, styles change, but hopefully a suit won’t stand out too much. Then I called into the Antiques shop, the one that sells handfuls of old, battered pennies that no one uses these days. Well, I had a use for them! I collected an equal supply of 2014 coins from the bank. Mustn’t forget those.

I sat on the park bench and arranged them in date order. Quite a few years were missing, but I had about twenty years between 1901-1953 covered. Where to start?

After scattering a number of 2014 coins around, inside the fountain, I selected an old coin, and put the rest back into my pockets.

I carefully dropped the battered old coin into the water and impatiently waited for a few minutes for the fountain to work its magic. I took out the coin and gripped it tightly. The mist fell…

I took this photo recently, and edited it with Photo Toaster. This story was written for Pixel Prose Challenge, hosted by Amanda Lakey, at

www.Unique Art Chic.Com

Click the logo for more details.

To view the other posts in this challenge, click the blue frog!

Pixel Prose Challenge: Merking at the Car Wash

July 20, 2014 / Steve Lakey / 1 Comment

Detective Johnny Block slowly scratched the crumpled collar of his three day old shirt. Yet another strange case had got him stumped. A series of disappearing Mercedes-Benz owners and their cars.

Johnny had of course checked out the only car dealership for miles around – Crystal Peak was a small town after all. The proprietor, old Dave Diamond, seemed a harmless Geezer. His two sons were surely cut from the same cloth, albeit a little rougher around the edges.

Detective Block paid them a little retainer, so they’d keep their ears to the ground. So far, he had got nothing to show for it – other than a healthy discount on a C-Class Coupe. How could the perp keep getting clean away with it?

As he waited behind the wheel for the Diamond’s automatic car wash to kick in, Johnny looked at the thirty-something sons, David Junior and Danny valeting a nearly-new Merc. But why were they using bleach? Bleach!

Wait a minute! That car’s interior would soon have any trace of the previous owner removed. Right down to the DNA.

Johnny slid his gear lever to Reverse, but the automatic chain was already pulling him forward. He started to open his door but a huge spinning brush forced it shut again. He quickly closed his half-open window as the soapy bristles threw water into his face.

From inside the car wash, Johnny was aware of a dark figure wearing a hooded waterproof, walking up to his door. Instinctively, Johnny drew his pistol, but it slipped through his soapy fingers and under the pedals. The figure pulled at Johnny’s door handle at exactly the same time Johnny put his shoulder against the inside.

The impact sent the figure reeling. Johnny leapt out of his car and picked up the metal bar that the figure had dropped. He needn’t have worried. The hooded man was out cold.

Johnny, now completely soaking, thought about pressing the Emergency Stop button, but then decided against it – he had paid for the Deluxe Wash after all. He grabbed his pistol and then waited for his Merc to come to a gentle stop.

“Let’s have a look at who we’ve got here!” Johnny pulled back the hood. “Old Mister Diamond! I don’t believe it. You’d have gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for your pesky kids!”

And that was that. The whole family came without a struggle. They admitted to a string of unfortunate victims, and the terrible trio will all be sewing mailbags until the big check-out.

On a brighter note, their business was broken up, and most members of the Department have bought a nearly-new Mercedes at a discount price. Nice!

This story was prompted by Pixel Prose Challenge, hosted by Amanda Lakey at http://www.UniqueArtChic.com

Click the logo for more details.

Click the blue frog to view other posts in this challenge.

Oh Well!

June 15, 2014May 21, 2017 / Steve Lakey / 13 Comments

Photo: © Al Forbes 2014

We told every prospective buyer of our cottage about the Well of Abundance in the front garden. How it sits atop an ancient energy source. And how any coins you place in the well, multiply tenfold when you turn the invisible handle. We explained how that well has been good to us over the years. It only seemed fair to tell the next owners.

How they all laughed at our tale. And declined to try it for themselves. We laughed too – having just moved into a large country mansion.

I accepted a generous offer for the cottage. They were a nice couple, although he apparently works in the banking sector. Imagine our horror then, when they casually mentioned their plans to slab-over the entire front garden!

I begged them to let me come over weekly, and I’d tend to the flower beds for free. And show them how to work the well. But they were having none of it. My application to have the well protected as a world heritage site was rejected. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned the invisible handle.

After taking legal advice, I’ve taken the cottage off the market. If that’s the only way to keep the abundance flowing, so be it.

Well, what would you have done?

This story was prompted by Sunday Photo Fiction: June 15th 2014, hosted by Al Forbes.

Click the logo for more details.

To read the other stories for this prompt, click the blue frog!

The Little Boat

June 8, 2014June 8, 2014 / Steve Lakey / 12 Comments

Jimbo wasn’t a very happy boat. In fact most of the time, he felt sad.

He didn’t like being so little. He was jealous of the bigger boats. They got all the fame and attention. Even the ones that sank. Especially the ones that sank! But not poor Jimbo. He had been overturned many times, and no one thought to make a film about it.

This weekend, was the last straw! All Jimbo heard about, was people talking about the big ships that sailed over to Normandy, seventy years ago. How they, even at risk to themselves, carried the brave men that freed a continent, and saved the world. The best that Jimbo ever got to do, was get rowed up and down a safe, man-made lake. Big deal!

But then Jimbo overheard something that completely turned him around. He heard about the bravery of lots of little boats four years before Normandy. They went over to France and rescued a battered army, that lived to fight another day. So, if it wasn’t for the little boats, the big boats couldn’t have done their thing.

Jimbo realised that because of the brave boats, big and small, people were free to row their boats and paddle their own canoes. Or just mess about on the water.

And then he didn’t feel sad any more.

This story is intended as a tribute to all those who risked their lives, to fight for the freedom we enjoy today. Their sacrifice is not forgotten.

The picture prompt is from Sunday Photo Fiction: June 8th 2014, hosted by Al Forbes.

Click the logo for more details.

To read the other stories written on this prompt, click the blue frog.

Smerk on the Water

May 18, 2014May 18, 2014 / Steve Lakey / 14 Comments

Yes sir, I thought that the name Ahab Smerk was a bit fishy. I met him on a boating holiday in Wales. But he was a smooth operator – craftily introducing his business proposition to me over a complimentary Scampi and Chips.

As I wiped the tartare sauce from his glossy brochure, I could see that Smerk was deadly serious. He was looking for some investors interested in a little offshore action. ‘Smerk Leisure Park at Sea. All the profits are Tax free!’

It did seem ambitious, but there were photos of the Rollercoaster being towed into position. At least that’s what he said.

But when I mentioned that some of my colleagues at the Tax office might be interested in this venture, and he upped anchor and slipped into the sunset.

The thing was, he left all of these Share Certificates and Literature behind. And it seemed a shame not to sell them, just to the diners in the café, initially.

Then things really took off. Pretty soon, I’d set up a stall on the seafront at weekends. Not a bad place for a shell corporation!

But the tide soon turned, and I was left high and dry. Those pesky investors scuppered the deal.

So, Judge, if you’ll show me some leniency on a first offence, I can give you some sound tax advice. And I might let you in on another sweet deal I’m working on.

This story is prompted by Sunday Photo Fiction: 18 May 2014, hosted by Al Forbes. Click the logo for more details.

To view the other stories on this prompt, click the blue frog!