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Old Brindle by Nathaniel A Miller A story of my Great Grandmother in Cica 1936 rescuing the family cow, their only source of milk dur... [1,559 words]
Ethel by Ekaterina Alexandrova Ethel by Kate Alexander. A man's struggle with his emotional demons finally ends in death of his much be... [1,407 words]
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My First Lifeline by Joe Pena The true story of a young boy who learns the greatest life lesson from his grandfather. Publ... [1,774 words]
Alone In Blood by Christina Aspears A girl is on a bus to see her parents. Little does she know, there's a surprise waiting for her.... [2,212 words]
The News by J Shartzer A young woman tells her husband she is expecting. [361 words]
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The Slaughterhouse Electric H2o by Stuart Eric Longridge A walk in my reality. [1,312 words]
The Mysterious Stars by Somdev Mukherjee A short story about Akash's quest for knowing about the heavens and his enlightenment. [859 words]
Words To Die For...
Whittlin' by Gypsey Teague Even the dead need company from time to time. Daryl learned the hard way that friends are often for ... [959 words]
What A Bad Day! by Emma The Apprenticeserialkiller It is a bad day today. Note - Skippy is a person. [1,598 words]
Viewing Essential by Geoff Nelder New job, new town and a completey bizarre set of new problems for teacher John Forrister. Wha... [3,744 words]
The Stairs Of Woman Hill (Phnom Srei) by E Rocco Caldwell It's time we brought home all our missing Americans from the Vietnam War.... [1,208 words]
The Rear View Mirror by Brotherman A story about a man who blew his chances in life. [2,427 words]
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Somewhere Else Than Here by Krige Van Rensburg This is a fast-paced story that beheads dull moments. (For lack of a better phrase) [3,361 words]
Not In My Name The Conclusion by E Rocco Caldwell He confronts the fireman in death that couldn't save him in life. The fireman hop... [1,402 words]
Not In My Name Part 1 by E Rocco Caldwell A spirit from the terrorist attack on the World Trade Towers must let go of the living in... [2,458 words]
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Forgive Us Our Debts...Part2 by E Rocco Caldwell - [1,525 words]
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Under The Full Of The Moon by Norman A Rubin A love goddess looking for new seed for the renewal of life. [1,771 words]
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Alchemist. by Durlabh Singh Short story with Indian settings. [1,187 words]
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TITLE (EDIT)
Words To Die For...
DESCRIPTION
The story of one man's obsession with words....
[571 words]
TITLE KEYWORD
Horror
AUTHOR
Harvey Kennett
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wallace (We are Legion)
[November 2007]
AUTHOR'S E-MAIL ADDRESS
[email protected]
AUTHOR'S OTHER TITLES (23)
Architects Of Our Own Demise (Short Stories) Man questions God for answers... and God replies... [369 words] [Horror]
Behind The Wheel (Short Stories) Tirenedness kills...take a break ! [556 words] [Horror]
Biding Its Time (Short Stories) Sometimes, you cannot rush Nature... [836 words] [Horror]
Birthday Boy (Short Stories) Younger children place a great importance to their Birthdays. An importance that adults should never underestimate... [967 words] [Horror]
Can You Trust Us Strangers ? (Short Stories) Your life is not your own... [304 words] [Science Fiction]
Divine Domain (Short Stories) The search for God takes many forms, not least of which is the Internet. A young man stumbles across God's Domain on the Web. This short story is the result of his "First Contact". [1,471 words] [Humor]
Eating Babies (Short Stories) Forgive the title...it just seemed appropriate for this disturbing little tale... [1,074 words] [Horror]
Elegant Provisions (Short Stories) Everyone is looking for the "perfect recipe"...here is a personal favourite...bon appetit ! [420 words] [Horror]
Eternal Diary (Poetry) Your clock is ticking... [123 words]
Goodnight Sweet Kevin (Short Stories) It concerns me that we, as a species, follow trends and "buzzwords", and anyone who dares to question the self-styled Hierophants of the Press and Govenment is crucified at the Altar of Supposed Freed... [603 words] [Science Fiction]
Lost In Space...Beagle 2 (Short Stories) The true story of Beagle 2 ? Apologies to Yanks in general... [1,105 words] [Science Fiction]
Man Skin (Short Stories) When you sleep, what happens to your dreams ? [776 words] [Horror]
Morning Comes (Poetry) Author�s Notes: This poem was written some 16 years ago, one morning when I woke from a beautiful dream. I imagined that my long-distance girlfriend who I only saw once a year was cuddled up in my ar... [65 words] [Romance]
Naming Of Farts (Poetry) Apologies to Henry Reed.... [243 words] [Humor]
Nobody Heard Me (Short Stories) If you found this when you returned home, how would you react ? [577 words] [Horror]
Some Body (Short Stories) Two lovers collide.... [220 words] [Humor]
The First Cut Was The Last (Short Stories) One man's irrational fear following a shocking discovery. [813 words] [Horror]
The Last Revelation (Short Stories) An alternative look at when we die... [883 words]
The Model (Poetry) ...incoming transmission... [167 words] [Science Fiction]
The Voyage (Poetry) We can all sail a calm sea, but life is about how we deal with the obstacles in our path. [130 words] [Self-Help]
This Golden Age (Poetry) I have met many folks who were unhappy with the time they were born in to. This poem is dedicated to them... [164 words] [Animal]
This Green And Sterile Land (Poetry) The UK coined the term "The Industrial Revolution". Once the wheel had turned full circle from unemeployment to employment and then back again, Britain eventually lost it's industrial edge and the fac... [154 words]
You Don't Have To Talk... (Short Stories) When you are shy, and cannot find the words to say, say nothing. [607 words] [Relationships]
Words To Die For...
Harvey Kennett

I am the dictionary man.

Each day I choose 10 consecutive words from my Collins English Dictionary and try to live those words that day.

My 10 words today were :

�Sugar plum�

I painted my body in a thick, gooey paste made from boiled plums that had cooled down, then sprinkled myself with castor sugar.

�Sugary�

I ate 1 kg of refined sugar, then rang my mother to tell her she was the sweetest and nicest mother a son could ever have.

�Suggest�

I put forward the idea to my mother that I needed help of some kind. She kindly suggested I revisit a new psychiatrist, berating me that my numerous visits to several different psychiatrists had so far failed.

�Suggestbility�

I rang a new psychiatrist and explained to her that I would like to try suggestibility therapy. I had tried auto-suggestion but that didn�t work. She agreed to a visit that afternoon, so I went straight there, since I had yet to experience washing, although I had tried bathing and showering some time ago.

�Suggestible�

I walked in to the shrink�s office and sat down, or more likely sort of squelched in to her leather couch. She didn�t seem pleased to see me. She said that next time I should not come to her office dressed as the sugar-plum fairy. I readily agreed without exception, and a look of understanding crossed her face. She wrote the word �suggestible� next to my name.

�Suggestion�

She asked me to lie down on the couch and close my eyes. She told me to imagine that I was swimming in a clear, blue sea. I told her that I couldn�t swim, having never tried it. She asked me to imagine that I was lying on a tropical beach, but I replied that I had never been to the tropics either. Exasperated, she said to me to imagine that I was in my mother�s womb. I told her that I planned to return to my mother�s womb in a couple of year�s time. She went very quiet.

�Suggestive�

She asked me to imagine I was a famous person. I asked her who? She replied �anything you like�, in a calm and understanding voice.

�Suharto�

I replied to her that I was an Indonesian General called Suharto, who was the ruler of Indonesia from 1967 to 1998. She asked me what sort of person �Suharto� was like.
I replied that I was strict and authoritarian, but corrupt, and currently imprisoned in Cipinang Penitentiary.

�Suicidal�

She asked me what life was like in prison. I explained that I had all the comforts I needed, except for my freedom. I had dishonoured myself, my family and my countrymen, and wished to die. I started crying.

She woke me from my hypnosis. I noticed that she had almost filled an entire notepad with frenzied scribblings. I thanked her for her time, wrote her a cheque, and left for home.

When I got home, I saw the last entry on my daily list and realised that my life�s work could never be completed, though the entry after that would still be fulfilled.

I took out a shotgun I had recently purchased the month before, put both barrels in my mouth and decorated last year�s Laura Ashley wallpaper with the contents of my brain. I had completed my 10th entry of the day, �Suicide�.

*******************************************
The next entry, discovered by the police who were alerted by the neighbours hearing gunfire, was as follows:

�Sui Generis�

Latin for �Unique�.

I had claimed a final entry, even beyond my death.

 

READER'S REVIEWS (3)
DISCLAIMER: STORYMANIA DOES NOT PROVIDE AND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWS. ALL REVIEWS ARE PROVIDED BY NON-ASSOCIATED VISITORS, REGARDLESS OF THE WAY THEY CALL THEMSELVES.

"Don't understand why he would kill himself! I think implying more in the story his unstable life might make it work. I just thought this story was forced based on the words of the dictionary instead of a true and unique plot." -- e. rocco caldwell.
"Hi Rocco, thanks for the valuable feedback, much appreciated. I wanted the story to be in contrast how we normally live our lives, dictated by laws, people, thoughts and emotions. I was trying to convey an individual who lived his life by the dictats of his dictionary, and following each word to the letter (no pun intended). His downfall was that he adhered to the rules to the extent that they resulted in his own destruction, and I was trying to get the reader to draw a conclusion that rules, if rigidly followed are destructive instead of constructive. I chose the words carefully, because I wanted a twist at the end, in which even his death, as a physical end, transcended the self-imposed rules he had set himself by completing the next word "Unique". The man was, quite literally, Sui Generis. Of course, if I need to explain this then perhaps I need to revisit the idea and rewrite it for the audience. Sometimes one can try and be too clever !" -- Harvey Kennett, Chelmsford, Essex, UK.
"This was drop dead funny, even the suicide was clever. Might have gone right over my head but good job." -- Just A Guy.

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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2003 Harvey Kennett
STORYMANIA PUBLICATION DATE
November 2003
NUMBER OF TIMES TITLE VIEWED
2331
 

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