A Forgotten Tale Starters

       “Oh!” The air was knocked from his lungs as he ran into another person. His phone fell from his grip, landing face down on the sidewalk. “I’m sorry.” He bent down onto his haunches, reaching for his phone to check it. There was a thin line down the center of it, creating a spiderweb of fractures all across the screen. Sighing, he slide the phone into his pocket and stood back up to face the person he had run into. “Are you okay?” He asked, plastering a model smile across his lips, trying to replace the disappointment of his phone. 

“No, I don’t, Mom!” she roared into the phone. This was the fifth time they’d had this conversation this week. Merida had reluctantly agreed to join her family for their biyearly charity dinner, but they fundamentally disagreed on what constituted “appropriate” clothing.

“I told you, I’m wearing my docs, or I’m not going!… why does it even matter?… Oh please, no one is going to look at me and think ‘well I better rescind my donation, she’s in boots!’… call me back when you’re ready to listen, I’ll be here.” With that, she hung up, groaning and throwing her head back in frustration. It was only then that she noticed she was not alone.

Rani popped her head out of the water long enough to catch a breath and then dove right back down to the ocean floor. She scooped up the shells that she had collected into a pile and swam up to the surface once more. The blonde had to overwork her legs to get back to the shallows, since her arms were full of the shells that she had spent the last half hour collecting. When she was about knee length, she plopped down in the shallows and started sorting the shells into piles on the sand by her legs. The ocean was calm today, so the shells actually stayed in place for once. She noticed someone who had been watching her from the shore for a few minutes and turned toward them with a welcoming smile. “Did you want some shells? I have plenty. Fresh from the ocean floor.” She called to the person, giggling a little.

     “Here” Zarina placed a glass down in front of the other carefully, offering up a small smile. “You just looked like you could use it. It’s on the house” she shrugged gently. “I’m here if you want to talk to nobody about it…it’s not exactly like I’m going anywhere anytime soon” Zarina smirked softly, nodding towards all of the empty tables. This was one of her least favourite shifts, the restaurant was always so quiet at this time. “But no pressure, whatever you need, you know?”

@aforgottentale-starters​

Eugene liked parks. For one thing, they were free. And, generally, no one really cared about how long you stayed or had any desire to kick you out for ‘loitering’.

So when he’d laid down in the grass to relax, he expected it to be the start of a peaceful afternoon. He wasn’t sure if he’d actually fallen asleep or if he was simply resting when the frog landed on his face. What he was aware of was that he was suddenly very much awake and fully alert once it happened. 

     It was with deep regret that this was unfortunately not a rare occurrence; Once again Wendy had found herself caught up in a daydream that had been bursting at the seams with all of the colour and joy of adventurous spontaneity that she had been anxious to get a taste of for as long as she could remember. New Fantasia was a lovely town to live in, really. A quiet and quaint place wherein everybody knew everybody and nothing ever changed. It would have been an amazing home had Wendy not held such a thirst for the thrill that came with the adventures her mind could conjure up on a whim. Adventures just like the one she had been daydreaming about today until she had made herself late. It was hardly an excuse, but she simply hadn’t the time to look where she was going. She sprinted towards her morning class, juggling her books as not to drop them when she let out a hmph sound, her body colliding with another and drawing a gasp from Wendy. “My goodness, I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” She exclaimed, inspecting the other for an signs of damage before she met their eyes, cheeks flushed. “Sorry again, I should have been looking…”

     The sound of steady footsteps echoing against tile startled Sylvia out of her entrancement, her attention pulled suddenly from the penguins as blue eyes searched for the source of the noise. The aquarium was otherwise empty but Sylvia often stayed late after closing just to sit with the animals (and ultimately her thoughts, too) for a little while before returning to her dorm. There was just something soothing about it that she’d never been able to place. She liked this part of the aquarium in particular best, where she could sit beneath the penguin enclosure and watch them swim above her. The feeling of being surrounded by water had always been a calming one for Sylvia and she could often be found here whenever her class deadlines began to mount up or even if she was simply having a bad day. “Hello?” She called into the silence when she found nothing out of place. “Is somebody there?”