AN INCHWORM MADE ME DO IT

SUNDAY 12th JULY 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

July Writing Prompts

AN INCHWORM MADE ME DO IT

by John Yeo

   Old Mathew was in his eighties and a bit confused sometimes. Mary, his youngest daughter looked after him and cooked for him and generally did most of the chores. Mathew was a vegetable grower and had won numerous prizes for giant fruit and veg. One day he came in from the garden loaded up with produce for the kitchen. Mary began by washing and preparing a huge cabbage. Suddenly she screamed loudly.

‘Dad! This is crawling with caterpillars, look!’

Mathew rushed into the kitchen and said, ‘Don’t worry they’re only inchworms. Just wash the cabbage thoroughly, Mary.’

Mary prepared the meal and they both sat and enjoyed their meal. Mary couldn’t get over the feeling she might have eaten an inchworm and kept worrying. She had drunk a couple of extra glasses of wine to wash away the possible slime from the caterpillar, and she was feeling quite woozy.

 After dinner, she slipped upstairs to the bathroom and swallowed a half dozen extremely strong emetic tablets, washed down with another glass of wine.

 ‘Not to worry, the stronger the better.’ She thought to herself, ‘ l must get rid of that slimy creature from my stomach.’ Mary took a few more tablets to make sure she got rid of the loathsome thing.

 Later her father found her collapsed on the toilet floor with severe stomach pains and called for help from Judy, their next door neighbour, who immediately called an ambulance. Mary was rushed off to hospital with the tablet packet and after they had brought her round and pumped everything from her stomach, the young sister at the hospital asked her what had led her to swallow so many tablets.

‘It was the nasty inchworm that made me do it. I know I shouldn’t have drunk so much but I just wanted to get it out of my system. 

© Written by John Yeo 

A prompt response for INSPIRATION MONDAY ~ “ DYNASTIC PRESSURE”

“The Future” ~ Image © Copyright John and Margaret

A prompt response for INSPIRATION MONDAY ~ “DYNASTIC PRESSURE”
http://bekindrewrite.com

  I am still very busy working on my book, and I am up to Chapter Eighteen now. I am happy to say Marg is well and thriving.

   This flash fiction prompt came up from, “Inspiration Monday,” and I thought it might be a good idea to base my response around some of the characters who feature in my novel.

• Don Francisco
• His two sons, Angelo and Giuseppe} ~Twin Brothers
• Bella ~ their Sister.

I have to point out now, that the two men are not brothers in my novel and Bella is not their sister. However for the purposes of the thrust of my story in response to this prompt, I have used a little poetic license here.

DYNASTIC PRESSURE

by John Yeo

      There were not just ripples of unease spreading throughout  the family. Storm clouds were on the horizon and building up, it seemed a tremendous family storm was brewing and the various strands of the family were coming together for a very crucial meeting.

       Don Francisco held the members of the Vicente family in a grip of steel, his father and his grandfather and their forefathers had kept the family together for generations. In a word he was the Godfather. The leader of a thriving dynasty.

     News of a shocking diagnosis had spread, Don Francisco was dying of cancer and was not expected to survive for very long. Don Francisco had twin sons, one of whom was expected to take control of the family business. Angelo was present at the bedside of his father and Bella their sister was comforting her mother, Maria. Giuseppe was supposedly on the way but there had been no news, then Maria came rushing into the room in a distressed state.

     “Papa, Papa, I have shocking news! Giuseppe is dead, he was killed by a suicide bomber, who blew himself up and killed twelve people. He just happened to be on a train, in the wrong place at the wrong time!”

     Don Francisco went white with shock, speechless with horror. “Leave me please, I want to be alone with my grief.”

     Bella and Angelo withdrew. Bella then turned to Angelo and said. “You will now soon be The Godfather, as Papa is dying and you are next in line. He was about to pass on the title to Giuseppe who was second-in-command, while you were away at university, studying. You will control everything now!”

     “No! That is not possible Bella.” shouted Angelo, “I have been studying to become a priest,  I want nothing more to do with the family business!”

      “Angelo! This will destroy him, you must not tell him, what you have just told me. You must pretend to accept, and allow him to die peacefully. I will secretly take charge, to keep the family dynasty together. You will become a godfather in name only. It will be seen as a sign of weakness if we announce that our family is run by a woman. A godmother, who will be ridiculed and cursed with malice in a male controlled world.”

     “So be it, my sister, for the sake of my father, I will live this lie. How will you manage?”

     “Angelo, I have spent my life close to my father and I have learnt much. I have been involved in missions for my father. I have made many friends, and I expect to get married some day and my fiancée  who will then be my husband will take over with your blessing, my brother. The godfather will arise from within our family and the dynasty will continue unbroken.”

    ‘Thank you Bella, I will love you forever my sister!”

 

Copyright   © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

• This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Peace

http://bekindrewrite.com

DAILY PROMPT ~ 4th SEPTEMBER 2015 ~ CONSULTING WITH HIS LORDSHIP

Image © Copyright ~ John and Margaret

DAILY PROMPT on Word Press ~  3rd Sept 2015
Inside the Bubble
A contagious disease requires you to be put into quarantine for a whole month (don’t worry, you get well by the time you’re free to go!). How would you spend your time in isolation?

~~~~~~~

CONSULTING WITH HIS LORDSHIP

by John Yeo

  A whole month to concentrate on many things and try to use the enforced isolation to create something that I can build on by the time I am well enough to go home. My first requirement would be a laptop or an iPad, hopefully with an Internet connection that would enable me to work on my writing. The internet connection is not an essential as I can quite easily work offline. If necessary I would be able to work with an old-fashioned fountain pen and paper, I am quite capable of writing using longhand.

  The most important requirement would be a clear state of mind. Would I be on strong medication, that could affect my thought processes?
Would I be able to summon up the energy and be able to demonstrate the reserves of commitment and concentration?
Given that my state of health is fairly reasonable and I am not zonked out by very strong drugs. I would spend my time working on creative writing.
I think I would start a whole new project, using the models of my carers as characters in my story.
Beneath the anonymous sterile protective garments required by the staff who would care for me in the isolation ward, are some very real dedicated people.

 The consultant in charge of my case, would be written in as the Lord of the manor and a king of all he surveys. A cool unemotional man who is very guarded in his manner and very cautious in his relationships with his staff and his patients. The hospital consultant is always briskly visible on ward-rounds and is looked up to by one and all. As the Lord of the manor he would be very distant from all, delegating much responsibility to trusted managers.

 The junior doctors and medical trainees, would be individually written into my story as these invaluable confidants, who work wonders in keeping the treatment plans of the patients and the estate management plans on track.

 The ward sister would be written as his personal assistant, trusted almost to the point of becoming a colleague. The exceptional people-managing skills she possesses would be invaluable to our Lord of the manor and she would almost certainly be represented as his Personal Assistant or the estate manager.

 The hardworking nurses who administer to my needs in the super sterile isolation ward, very friendly, skilfully detecting and reacting to any change in my condition, or my mood, would be very important characters to his Lordship. This team of dedicated individuals would be the estate employees, very competently working to keep things running smoothly, checking supplies and reacting to the slightest change or trouble looming ahead. The hospital nursing staff interact personally and directly with the patient, raising his or her spirits when required and granting the people in their care the dignity of a friendly face to relate to. These skills would be invaluable in any organisation. His lordship would be very aware of this and these valuable personnel would be transferred to many areas in his organisation.

 The auxiliary staff who would be securely gowned and masked in protective attire, would speedily but efficiently carry out their duties, cleaning and delivering clean linen and removing soiled linen in special protective bags. Always very friendly, but always cautious as they quickly carry out their duties. These invaluable people would be members of his Lordships domestic staff, tirelessly working for the continued very smooth running of a large estate and organisation.

 Then as my month in isolation progressed I would build the character of his Lordship and introduce her Ladyship, an ex fashion-model and now a society queen, ruling over an empire of social butterflies who would be vieing with each other for her attentions. This would translate to the hospital general manager and chief executive, responsible for authorising the budgets for each department throughout the hospital.

 My impending discharge from hospital would come to the fore as my enforced quarantine isolation came to an end. There would be many visitors and my family and friends would now be allowed to visit. The protective masks and gowns would disappear.

 This would relate to the lifting of the quarantine restrictions and many people would be allowed back into my life. Leading to my personal very interesting ongoing story.

Copyright (c) Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved