Third Story - A Cherised Memory

Hey guys,

It's me again, here to bring you another little tale. This one revolves around a person who has decided to try and move on from the past, despite how hurt he is feeling. Hope you enjoy. =)

               The calming breeze wafted through the air, gently caressing my body and hair. I breathed in deeply, smelling the rich aroma of the salty sea. As I climbed the increasingly steep hill, I finally emerged upon the edge of a cliff. The deep blue sea stretched out beyond the horizon, the sound of waves crashing against the rocks echoed from below while the sun peeked between the clouds casting down warm, comforting rays of sunshine.

                Feeling calm and free, I placed the wicker, picnic basket I had brought with me on the ground and laid out a blanket. I then carefully pulled out some sandwiches, chips, cups for tea and a picture of a smiling woman with golden locks for hair. Placing the picture opposite me, I couldn’t help but smile as I gazed down at it.

                “Well, Sarah, here’s to another anniversary,” I said.

                I began to quietly eat the food I had brought with me whilst listening to the sea. Looking down at the picture, I felt at peace knowing that I was here with her. After finishing the food, I neatly packed it away before gazing down upon her.

                “It’s been almost a couple of months and, no offense Sarah, I can’t handle it anymore. Every time I look at you, I feel like my heart is being squeezed tightly. I just – I just can’t take it. I have to move on,” I said, tears beginning to form in my eyes.

                Reaching into the basket, I pulled out a tiny silver urn. Walking towards the edge of the cliff I looked out over the sea.

                “This is the spot where we had our first date, the first time I fell in love with you, the first time we kissed,” I said as I felt a large lump begin to form in my throat. “The place where I proposed to you.”

                Slowly opening the urn, I gazed within and saw a pile of ash filled halfway.

                “You always enjoyed this spot. And now, I want you to be a part of it.”

                A sudden gust of wind blew from behind me, ruffling my hair and causing my clothes to flap furiously. Upturning the urn, I shook it up and down and watched as the ash fell from within and began to flow with the wind, gracefully turning and gliding, heading towards the sea.

                A sense of relief washed over me as I watched her disappear. Peering over the edge, I saw the large rocks below, the waves crashing over them. The lump in my throat began to grow larger. With shaky legs, I turned on the spot and headed back towards my picnic basket before stooping down to pick it up. As I began to walk back towards the trail, I peered over my shoulder at the beckoning sea.

                “Goodbye Sarah. I will always remember you. In this life and the next,” I said, a tear beginning to roll down my cheek.

                Wiping my face with the cuff of my sleeve, I marched down the trail, leaving behind my beautiful Sarah to become one with the wind and the sea forever in the sunshine.

And there goes another tale. Short and sweet. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did when I was writing it. If you would like to read some more, check out the other two stories I've posted so far or stick around for later posts in the future. =)

Second Story - The Defining Day

Hey again,

Welcome back to another Tale. This one is about an eighteenth birthday that defines a future. Hope you enjoy it. =)

               I was so excited. Today I was officially being recognized as an adult. No longer would I have to worry about buying alcohol or not being able to gamble. Nope, because today was my eighteenth birthday and best of all, I would finally find out what kind of job I would have.

                Every person who turns eighteen receives a small parcel that contains a watch. Everybody knows they come from the government, but they don’t know whereabouts. These watches determine what kind of career you will end up with by displaying it on the face. My mum and dad have both got one, same with my brother and sister. Now I was the last one in my family and I couldn’t wait.

                We were all gathered in our lounge room. My parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. We’re a very close-knit family so it was a bit of a squeeze. We were all full from dinner and having a joyful time. Gifts had been passed out, when I noticed that my watch hadn’t been among them. I wasn’t the only one who had noticed that.

                “Hey Tom, where’s your watch?” My cousin, Zach asked.

                “I was thinking the same thing. You usually get it first thing in the morning,” my sister, Erin added.

                Disheartened I looked at my mum and dad.

                “Today is my birthday, right?” I asked.

                “Of course it is. Maybe it just hasn’t arrived yet,” she replied.

                “Did you check the doorstep? Because that’s where they usually leave it,” my grandmother chimed in.

                “It might be. I remember on my birthday, I nearly broke it by nearly stepping on it. It was just there, with the word ‘Teacher’ on it,” my brother, Ryan said.

                Everybody looked at their watches then smiled in a dreamy expression. Suddenly, the doorbell rang jolting everyone from their daydreams. Excitement flooded my body as I ran to the front door. Wrenching it open, I saw nothing outside, except for a tiny black box with a black ribbon wrapped around it.

                Hesitantly picking it up, I walked back to the room where I found everyone looking at me with relief.

                “I wonder what took them so long. You should write a complaint.”

                “To who, nan? We don’t know where these watches come from,” my sister said.

                Ignoring everyone, I carefully opened it and peered inside. A small, round clock stared back at me, the tiny hands ticking away indicating the correct time. Shakily picking it up, I instantly felt a connection to it. Like it was truly a part of me.

                “What does it say?” My grandmother snapped.

                “We don’t know yet. Put it on,” my mum asked.

                Slipping it on my left wrist, I buckled it tightly with the leather strap and gazed at the face, waiting in anticipation. Nothing appeared. The hands shone in the light pointing to the silver coloured numbers on the black background.

                Slowly, letters began to form behind the hands. Inching my face closer to the watch, I saw the letters continue to appear, forming a word.

                “Conquer,” I said.

                “What?” My parents asked.

                “It says, ‘Conquer’,” I replied.

                I heard my family muttering amongst themselves. They had never heard of anyone with the word ‘Conquer’ before. My face reflected in the glass as I remained staring at the word. What did it mean? Who was I supposed to conquer? Or what was I supposed to conquer?

And there goes another Tale. I hope you enjoyed it. This one, much like the first, leaves us all on a little cliffhanger, one that's possibly unique or cliched. Nevertheless, it's always enjoyable to write these Tales. I really do love writing creatively.

Anyway, more to come in the near future, so stick around and be sure to check out the Random Writing Prompt from earlier on today. =)

Random Writing Prompt

Hey there,

I thought that there must be some people out there looking for a little bit of a creative burst. So how about a writing prompt? I've come up with a little writing prompt that you can use to expand upon and make your own story. I thought this one might be a little like the first story I published, but with a little extra. So without further introduction, here it is:


You wake up to find yourself on an unknown island with a 30cm ruler, a knife and a blank notebook.


This is just a short and simple writing prompt. One that will allow you to expand upon however you wish.

So, what happens next? How did you get these items? Are they clues to survive or to escape? Or are they just random, meaningless items that you just so happened to have when you ended up on the island. The choice is yours. So turn the page, get writing and stick around for more stories.

First story - Survival

Hey there,

It's been a while since the introduction post and I apologize for that. Been pretty busy what with my job and other stuff. But nevertheless, here is my first little story. Very basic one, a person wakes up on a deserted Island and wonders what's going on. Enjoy.

The sun shone brightly in his eyes as they slowly flickered open. Blindingly, he squinted his eyes until they adjusted to the harsh light. The rough sand clung to his face as he slowly sat up. His clothes were slightly tattered and his skin turning a slight pink. He clutched his hands to his head as it throbbed with agony. Spitting out bits of sand, he looked around to try and find out where he was.

                On a small, desolate island with only three palm trees and one rock, he found himself lost and deserted. The deep blue ocean spread out as far as the eye could see around him. Slowly turning on the spot, he saw another island a short distance from him. Relief overcame him as a lush, green forest and large mountain beckoned towards him.

Standing on his feet, he carefully walked to the water and dipped his toe in it. The cool water caressed his foot as the water flowed past his toes. Wading his way in he began to swim towards the other island. Halfway across, his arms and legs began to ache as he struggled to keep his head above. Finally, he felt his feet land on soft, wet sand that caused it to swirl in the water with each step.

Stepping out of the water, he fell onto the hot sand and breathed in heavily. His body ached from the swim and the sun began to rapidly dry his body. Standing up again, he headed towards the forest where he saw strange footprints around the edge of it. Heading deeper into the forest, he felt like he was constantly being watched. He also found it unusual that since landing on this island, he hadn’t heard anything else but the crashing waves of the ocean.

Approaching a large tree, he saw a small piece of paper pinned to it.

“Six o’clock,” he read.

Reading the writing again, it looked like it had been written in a rushed manner. He heard a low growl echo in the distance that caused him to jerk his head around. Fear began to rise up in him as he walked away from the note.

Twisting his neck constantly, always alert of where he was, he heard crunching paper from underneath him. Looking down, he found another piece of paper, similar to the one on the tree except this one had a different word, some dirt from his foot and little drops of blood.

“Before,” he read.

Another growl echoed in the distance as the breath caught in his throat.

“What is going on?” He asked in a squeaky voice.

Dropping the note, he continued walking until he stopped in shock. Among the splintered trees, overturned ground and broken branches was a crashed helicopter, the remains of a fire still present from the singed grass around it. Inside the cockpit was a bloody and battered pilot who was no doubt, no longer with the living. In the back was another person, hanging out of the side on his stomach with a backpack strapped to his back and a headset on. In his hands was a notebook that was slightly damaged.

With shaky hands, he picked it up and saw that it was open. On a blank page were two large words, hastily written with what appeared to be an unstable hand.

“Swim away,” he read.

A loud growl appeared from the other side of the helicopter as the sound of grass being brushed accompanied it. Terror struck him as he dropped the notebook. He suddenly realized that he wasn’t on that little island because he was lost. He was on that little island to be saved.

I hope you enjoyed that little story. More to come in the next couple of days so stick around. =)

Welcome to Tales from a Bored Mind

Welcome,

I am an aspiring writer at just the tender age of 24. I created this blog, 'Tales from a Bored Mind' to share with all of you some short stories and experiences that I have encountered so far. These stories are a way of finally sharing with everyone to hear their feedback and to also help further my hopeful career as a writer.

So sit back, relax and I hope you enjoy reading the many different stories that I have created.

Cheers,

Dave H

Please note that all of the stories that I will be sharing are of my own originality and have not been stolen or copied to be republished on my blog. I will from time to time be using some writing prompts to help with these story ideas though. Please do not copy or use my stories and try and pass them off as your own or use them to enter competitions, contests or publishing in any form.