Ten Minute Story - Suggestion: Fruit Hammock

The first thing that Mike noticed when he entered the house was the smell. It was dark even though it was early afternoon (because the blinds were drawn), so he couldn’t see exactly what was causing the stench.

He found an unopened can of motor oil on the floor and slid it over to prop open the door. Maybe air the place out a little. Then he moved into the living room.

“Mr. Samuelson,” Mike called out. The heavy summer air seemed to grab his words the minute he let them loose, dragging them down to the floor before they could make it out of the room. So he called louder. “Mr. Samuelson!”

There was a rustling from somewhere in the back of the house, followed by a sort of grunt. Mike knew this was coming from Mr. Samuelson’s kitchen, but he had expected to find the old man in the living room or maybe in the backyard doing his daily gardening. But not in the kitchen. He kept a strict eating regimen and this was much too late for lunch.

Mike shuffled from the living room toward the kitchen, making sure he made a lot of noise. He didn’t want to reach the kitchen and frighten his handball partner. It would be hard to win today’s tournament with a teammate who just died from cardiac arrest.

When Mike entered the kitchen he immediately knew where the smell was coming from. A box full of peaches rested on the floor next to the ancient refrigerator. Fruit flies hovered around it. And there was Mr. Samuelson, already dressed in his old man shorts and sweatbands, stretching. His shirt was stained with peach juice.

“Mikey! Fancy a peach?”

Mike just shook his head.

To Get Started All I Need Is a Suggestion...

I recently started studying long-form improv. It’s different than what you might have seen on a certain improv TV show hosted by Drew Carey (and/or the British show that spawned it). Instead of a series of short “games”, long-form starts with only one audience suggestion. Performers use whatever the suggestion makes them think of to start scenes, then they build them into a half-hour show. The result is fun to perform and fun to watch.

But you can’t read it. So I’d like to try an experiment. Starting from an audience suggestion, I will write a short story. I’ll start the instant I read the suggestion and write for a set period of time. Probably five minutes. Maybe ten. Then I’ll post the result unedited. (Except for typos.)

“But, Steve,” you say, “where will you get the suggestion? There’s no audience.” Ah, but there is, friend. If you’re reading this, it’s you. So leave a suggestion in the comments. It should be either one word (“Expressionism!”) or a short phrase (“Puerto Rican Day Parade!”) It can be anything. I’ll use the first one posted. (So if you see that someone posted one already, save yours for next time.) I’ll write a story around whatever it makes me think of.

Comment away, loyal readers!