#Photo Challenge – Tessa Dean

“What do you find so interesting outside that window?” Mary, Yolanda’s long-time friend, asked. “You have been staring out the whole time we have been visiting.”

“We have new neighbors moving in. They have their own car. No one in here has their own car. We have to take a taxi or bum rides from family and friends. I have been wondering if I can make friends with the woman. She is pregnant and may not feel like driving me around.”

“You would befriend her and then ask her to drive you around? That’s gutsy. Maybe you should wait before asking her to be your chauffeur,” Mary advised, her voice tinged with amusement.

“I will see. Maybe she’s not friendly. Hmmm, one of our neighbors is already over there. I wonder what they are talking about,” Yolanda mused, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

“You have to be nuts. I wouldn’t pounce on her right away. She will think you only want to be friends so that she will drive you around. Besides, maybe he drives the car to work.”

“I’ll tell you what she says when I talk to her.”

Yolanda got up to leave, and Mary walked her out. She wandered over to the apartment building across the street, the sound of her footsteps echoing in the quiet street, and approached the new couple. “Hi,” she said. Welcome to the complex. Are you military, too? I’m Yolanda,” she said to the woman.

“I’m Tammy, and he’s Will. Will is in the Marine Corps,” she replied.

“Oh, nice to meet you. Are you new to the military? We have been here for a few weeks and hope to get base housing.”

“Will is in school, so we will be here for about three months. What is there to do around here?”

“The beach is around five minutes away, and we usually go there once Raymond, my husband, finishes work.”

“Oh that sounds like fun. Although being pregnant is tiring for me. I only have a few months left til I deliver. I get bored easily, but I am so tired. I am having twins. I can’t imagine having two children at once. People tell me that having more than one baby at a time is hard, and I can imagine that it entails a lot of running around. Do you have any children, Yolanda?” Tammy asked, her voice filled with a mix of excitement and exhaustion.

“No, not yet. Although it is not for lack of trying. I just haven’t been able to conceive yet.”

“My doctor is going to put me on bed rest here soon. The babies are growing rather fast and I won’t be able to get around very easily. It means staying in bed 24 hours a day.”

Oh, rats, she won’t be able to drive either then. Yolanda lost interest in the conversation when she realized that she wouldn’t be able to get her to drive her around. “Oh, my husband is home, and I have to get ready to head to the beach. See you around,” Yolanda said, her disappointment evident in her voice.

Yoland hurried back to her apartment, her mind filled with thoughts of the new couple. She told Raymond about them, leaving out her disappointment that she wouldn’t be able to get a ride from the new woman as she was pregnant with twins and about to be bedridden.

Tessa –

Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses

New Author’s Website – http://www.tessadeanauthor.com

Author – Old Writing – http://www.finallyawriter.wordpress.com

About my life – http://www.tessacandoit.wordpress.com

Fiction, Mindlovemisery's Menagerie, Photo Challenge, Photo Prompt, Prompt, Writing

Photo Challenge #519

June 11, 2024 Tessa

Use the above image as inspiration for a poem or short story.

Alternatively, if you are an artist or photographer, use this as an opportunity to showcase your own work.

You have 1 week to complete this challenge.

When you’re done, TAG the post ‘Photo Challenge’ and ‘Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie.’ Create a pingback and add your link to the comments for others to read.

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Mind Love Misery’s Menagerie’s Instructions

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Skull!

By Tessa Dean June 2024

Ronald had a man cave that he built himself out of all kinds of junk. It wasn’t fancy, but it would do. He had his own place and that is what he wanted. Somewhere he could call his own and keep everyone out unless he gave them permission to enter. He put a skull on a post right outside the door. He knew Sara would not enter because she was deathly afraid of skulls and thought them to be evil. When he put the post up she said, “Eww, what do you need a secret space for and why the evil skull to guard it.”

“Just make sure you stay out. This is my place and you and your stupid friends aren’t invited.”

“I wouldn’t think of entering that filthy place,” she said. She turned and walked away toward the house. She called over her shoulder, “I haven’t seen Priscilla since yesterday when she said she was coming over to visit me. I told her that you had forbidden us to enter your filthy man cave, but she just laughed and said we’ll see. Let me know if you see her.”

Ronald opened the door once she was out of sight and entered. He switched on the fairy lights he had strung around the building and plugged into a heavy-duty extension cord that he had run out to the man cave from the house. There was just enough light to see the body in the corner, mostly covered by a blue tarp. She wouldn’t be snooping around here anymore. He had to finish digging a hole in the ground so he could bury the body and avoid the smell of decay. He couldn’t take a chance on trying to move it out of there without Sara seeing it and freaking out. Luckily he had a dirt floor in there. “Priscilla had been warned,” he muttered to himself. “She had no one to blame but herself.”

Tessa –

Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses

New Author’s Website – http://www.tessadeanauthor.com

Author – Old Writing – http://www.finallyawriter.wordpress.com

About my life – http://www.tessacandoit.wordpress.com

Fiction, Photo Challenge, Photo Prompt, Prompt, Writing

Photo Challenge #518

June 4, 2024 Tessa

Use the above image as inspiration for a poem or short story.

Alternatively, if you are an artist or photographer, use this as an opportunity to showcase your own work.

You have 1 week to complete this challenge.

When you’re done, TAG the post ‘Photo Challenge’ and ‘Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie.’ Create a pingback and add your link to the comments for others to read.

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Mind Love Misery’s Menagerie’s Instructions

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Audition!

By Tessa Dean June 2024

I wandered around backstage before the auctions started. I was here to audition and was supposed to be outside in the line waiting to get in, but I slipped through the entrance and made it backstage without anyone seeing me. I looked at the set I was on. I wondered what show they were using this one for.

It had a psychedelic-patterned floor, and red curtains lined the makeshift walls, creating a corridor. I looked around at the other sets and then snuck into an office, looking for a script or a poster for the show. I was really curious about this brightly colored set, and it would be great if it were part of the show I was auditioning for.

I heard voices and looked for somewhere to hide. I ended up behind the curtains in the makeshift corridor. Little did I know that my feet were sticking out. Suddenly, the curtain was flung open, and I was in full sight of a small crowd.

“What are you doing here?” the man in charge said. “The auditions haven’t started yet, and you are supposed to be out in the line formed at the side door.”

“Umm, I was just curious. I wanted to see the scenery. I meant no harm.”

“Please go back out in line and make sure you go to the end of the line. No cutting in front of anyone.”

“Yes, sir,” I mumbled as I started to make my way back outside.

When my turn came to enter the building, I walked inside and hoped no one would recognize me. My audition went on without so much as a remark about them seeing me inside, so I hoped I was in the clear, and it wouldn’t hurt my audition.

“You there,” I hear as I wait for the final announcement. “You were the one wandering around back here. We have decided to disqualify you for trespassing. There wasn’t a good reason for you to be inside the building wandering around unescorted.”

“But, sir, I was curious and didn’t see any harm in looking around. Please don’t disqualify me for that. If I wasn’t any good, I could see you disqualifying me, but not simply because I was curious about the sets.”

They talked and finally decided. “Okay, since you were one of our favorites, we will allow you to audition for the second round, but no more sneaking around.”

I thanked them with a smile of relief and joined the group for the second audition.

Tessa –

Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses

New Author’s Website – http://www.tessadeanauthor.com

Author – Old Writing – http://www.finallyawriter.wordpress.com

About my life – http://www.tessacandoit.wordpress.com

Fiction, Mindlovemisery's Menagerie, Photo Challenge, Photo Prompt, Prompt, Writing

Photo Challenge #517

May 29, 2024 Tessa

Use the above image as inspiration for a poem or short story.

Alternatively, if you are an artist or photographer, use this as an opportunity to showcase your own work.

You have 1 week to complete this challenge.

When you’re done, TAG the post ‘Photo Challenge’ and ‘Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie.’ Create a pingback and add your link to the comments for others to read.

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Mind Love Misery’s Menagerie’s Instructions

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Peacock!

By Tessa Dean May 2024

We lived in an apartment complex in Africa surrounded on two sides by a park. The park had some birds and small animals, so I wasn’t totally surprised when one morning, I woke up and found a peacock on the balcony of my apartment, which faced the park. This was a male peacock as opposed to the female peahen, and it was beautiful. The feathers were long and looked absolutely lovely when spread out to their full width. The main colors of the bird were blues and greens. I watched the bird as it was content to sit on the balcony rail.

My daughter came running out to the balcony, yelling for breakfast. She startled the peacock, and he rose to leave his perch. I scolded her, and after she stopped crying, she looked at the pictures I had found online to show her what she had missed. She wasn’t really interested in the peacock and ran off to play. She and her friends headed down to the park, where they loved to play almost all day. I kept checking to see if he would return, but he never returned that day or the next. I wish I had gotten a picture of him before my daughter startled him. Maybe one day, he would return.

Tessa –

Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses

New Author’s Website – http://www.tessadeanauthor.wordpress.com

Author – Old Writing – http://www.finallyawriter.wordpress.com

About my life – http://www.tessacandoit.wordpress.com

Fiction, Mindlovemisery's Menagerie, Photo Challenge, Photo Prompt, Prompt, Writing

Photo Challenge #516

May 22, 2024 Tessa

Use the above image as inspiration for a poem or short story.

Alternatively, if you are an artist or photographer, use this as an opportunity to showcase your own work.

You have 1 week to complete this challenge.

When you’re done, TAG the post ‘Photo Challenge’ and ‘Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie.’ Create a pingback and add your link to the comments for others to read.

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Mind Love Misery’s Menagerie’s Instructions

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War!

By Tessa Dean May 2024

I was told to meet them at the top of the hill in Ramsey’s Park. I followed the directions and after climbing a series of hills I came across a stone wall. There was silence which was unusual for the middle of the afternoon. The sun would be setting in approximately 5 hours and I had no idea what Richie and Mark were up to.

Something whizzed over my head and landed behind me. Ducking I looked for a place to take cover. I spotted a large tree and dived behind it. “Hey Richie, what are you guys up to?” I shouted towards the wall of rocks.

“We’re at war, man. You won’t get away with messing around with my girlfriend.”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t seen Rochelle in weeks.” Frantically I looked for some rocks to use as ammunition. Obviously they had this planned and built a wall and who knew how many rocks they had in their possession.

“Listen man, Mark here says he saw the two of you together and he wouldn’t lie to me. So what gives?”

“I’m telling you man, I haven’t seen her in weeks and you were with her. I am not seeing her behind your back. I promise.”

More rocks headed in his direction and the tree wasn’t much protection. He threw a few rocks at the top of the wall and heard a yelp. He must have hit one of them.”

“Hey stop that,” Richie yelled.

“Listen, you can’t aim at me and not expect retaliation. I’m telling you I haven’t been with Rochelle. Did she tell you that we were seeing each other? Because if she did, she’s lying.”

“No she denies it too.”

“Then I suggest you believe us over Mark. I don’t know why he is lying, but this isn’t funny.”

Whispers came from behind the wall. Mark yelled, “Stop! I’m sorry. I thought it would be funny. I figured you wouldn’t believe it and it would blow over after a little while.”

“Mark that is so mean man. I could have hurt him for nothing. I am not taking you home. You need to find your own ride home man. This is so not funny. Get out of here.”

Mark pleaded for him to reconsider and apologized, but Richie was having none of it. Mark came out from behind the wall and headed down the hill. Richie headed over to the wall and Richie. “I can’t believe you believed him man. I thought we were best friends. I am leaving too. You are on your own for the next few weeks until things blow over. I suggest you tell Rochelle what happened although I am sure she will be mad at you too.”

“Oh man, I am really sorry. Can’t you forgive and forget?”

“Not right now. Give me a few weeks to calm down and we’ll talk then. Good bye!”

Tessa –

Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses

New Author’s Website – http://www.tessadeanauthor.wordpress.com

Author – Old Writing – http://www.finallyawriter.wordpress.com

About my life – http://www.tessacandoit.wordpress.com