Tale Teller Club: short story

Showing posts with label short story. Show all posts

Jun 24, 2024

Modern Fairytales by Sarnia de la Maré FRSA, Red Riding in the Hood (Red Riding Hood)

Red Riding in the Hood Book Illustration

In the heart of the city, where skyscrapers loom like ancient trees, lived a young girl. She wore a crimson hoodie, her signature style, which earned her the nickname 'Red' among her friends. But this was no fairy tale forest; it was the concrete jungle and this young girl needed to be strong to look after Nana.

Red’s grandmother, Nana Fiest, resided in a cosy house on the outskirts of the town. Nana wasn’t bedridden; she was a tech-savvy retiree who loved her iPad as well as her knitting needles. But getting about was harder now with her arthritis. Some days Nana was in great pain but she muddled through. She’d often video call Red, reminding her to stay safe in the urban wilderness and to look out for wolves.

One day, Nana fell ill. Red, balancing her freelance singing gigs, social life, and caring for Nana, promised to come home soon on her push bike. Armed with a take away supper and her phone, she set off. The city streets were her forest, and the subway tunnels her winding path. As Nana was poorly, Red decided to take a shortcut across an estate she was not familiar with. But suddenly the lights on her bike ran out of battery because she had forgotten to recharge them. It was dark and now Red realised she was lost and remembered Nana's warning words.

But lurking in the shadows was a different kind of wolf to the one Nana had meant —a wolf named Victor. He wore tailored black suits and drove a sleek black car. Victor was a corporate predator, devouring startups and dreams. He’d heard about Nana’s home and wanted to knock it down it for his next venture, yet another skyscraper.

As Red cycled through the poorly lit winding streets, she noticed Victor tailing her in his flashy car. His eyes gleamed with greed. She peddled faster, her phone buzzing with Nana’s worried messages. But Victor was relentless, closing in like a wolf scenting its prey. But Red was too fast and snuck down a little alley. Then he was gone and Red breathed a sigh of relief. finding the main road to Nana's at last.

But when Red reached Nana’s house, Victor was waiting outside.

'I heard Nana Fiest was sick,' he said.

'Jump in my car and I will take you to the pharmacy to get medicine.'

Then Victor smiled and Red saw his long brown teeth dripping with spit.

Red was no fool.

She saw Victor was holding a document in his hand with the words

'High Rise Planning at 92 Forest Drive', Nana's actual address.

'I know what you are up to Victor, but you won't sweet talk me or Nana to get her to sell her house. Nana was born in this house and Nana will stay here forever,' said Red feeling brave, 'and so will I.'

Inside Nana’s apartment, Red found her grandmother weak but still feisty.

'Red,' Nana whispered, beware the wolves in suits. They’ll devour everything.' Red understood—the corporate world was no fairy tale. Nana' wise words were her superpower. But now it was Red who needed to be clever and strong for all the nanas in the city.

So Red devised a plan. Armed with her smartphone, determination, and her signature red hoody, she went to Victor's office and spied on him from behind a bush filming his activities with her mobile phone.

Victor was meeting with shady characters and Red uploaded her videos to YouTube and TikTok so the world would see he was a common criminal.

The city and the whole world watched as Red unmasked the wolf, revealing his true nature. Finally the Wolf was arrested and sent to prison. Victor’s empire crumbled, and Nana’s apartment was safe. So was everyone else's and Red became a local hero, her crimson hoodie a symbol of courage.

And so, in the modern cityscape, Red wasn’t just a girl with a red hood; she was a force to be reckoned with—a guardian of the elderly and a thorn in the wolves’ side.

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Find out more about the Tale Teller Club

iServalan Show: A podcast covering topics like AI, culture, and music. Tale Teller Club Publishing: Produces and distributes audiobooks, ebooks, and short plays Music Therapy: Based on the theory of Rife Healing Vibrations, exploring resonance therapies. Tale Teller Kids: Under 5s and Under 8s

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Animation Films by Tale Teller Club for the Book of Immersion Series are available on YouTube
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Links to episodes of Immersion written and illustrated by Sarnia de la Maré FRSA, published by Tale Teller Club are below

VIDEO BOOKS by Tale Teller Club

Strata 1 Book of Immersion

Strata 2 Book of Immersion

Strata 3 Book of Immersion

Strata 4 Book of Immersion

Strata 5 Book of Immersion

Strata 6 Book of Immersion

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Dec 23, 2021

The Cafeteria by Sarnia de la Maré FRSA, a short story for animal lovers

Bunnie hopped her way down a long corridor. The bright lights were blinding her and she had a headache. She was in a hurry. The walls were lined with celebratory portraits of animals and insects from all over the world; intricate batiks and weaves as well as paintings in ostentatious frames. The high ceilings and open views from the large windows made her nervous, and jumpy. Frankly. she would be glad when this was over.

Someone startled her, trotting up from behind, clippety-clopping loudly. They overtook her, turning to look at her huge brown eyes. It was a man with long grey hair. He shimmied his main proudly and smiled before clippety-clopping ahead in worn black shoes that had seen better days.

Bunnie smiled back, nervously. She needed all the support she could rally, being a stranger here.

Bunnie is nervous

At the double doors, a woman waited. She looked Bunnie up and down with a supercilious stare then looked at the door.
Bunnie felt awkward and was uncertain of her next move. Should she barge past? She stopped briefly and leaned forward to open the door, waiting for the stranger to go through.
The woman just looked at Bunnie then turned away to glance outside through an adjacent window at the view. Then, just as Bunnie tried to make her own way through the door, the woman leapt in front of her nearly tripping her over.

Bunnie called out a mild expletive and the woman turned around and hissed something back at her, running off to the food area.

Bunnie was feeling agitated. She had been told to meet someone called Ratindra.
Apparently, she was distinctive-looking because of her very long nails.

‘You can’t miss her,’ the concierge had added, ‘she has sticky-out ears too and sits watching everyone from a table in the corner by the drinks cooler.’

The cafeteria was large and busy. There were people all around; running, walking, sitting, some slow, some fast, some skittish, some brazen, some reading, some eating. There was a lot of noise too and Bunnie wondered what they all did here, this diverse group of characters all having refreshments in the cafeteria. There was a lot to take in.

Bunnie spotted Ratindra at last, who was just as the concierge had described.
‘Hi Bunnie,’ said Ratindra, ‘We have been expecting you.’

‘Hi,’ Bunnie replied nervously, ‘what is this place, why am I here?’
Ratindra wiped something off her cheek with the back of her hand and scratched her long nose.
‘Ah, have they not explained? Let me go over things. This is the pre-metamorphosis area. This is just where you come to sort out paperwork before your change.’

Bunnie looked confused.
‘Sorry, I don’t understand.’
Ratindra wiped her cheek again and started nibbling her long nails with her front teeth.
‘Interesting,’ mused Ratindra, ‘where are your papers?’
‘Papers, what papers? I don’t have any papers. You mean like a passport or something?’ asked Bunnie, now feeling self-conscious.

Ratindra sighed.
‘Wait here,’ she said, ‘I will be right back.’
A few minutes later Ratindra returned with a colleague.
‘This is Camila, she said,’

Camila was a top-heavy lady with a hunchback. She had long fluffy eyelashes and as she read her notes, repeatedly flared her nostrils. Ratindra offered her some water which she declined.

‘Just to clarify, Bunnie,’ said Camila, ‘you
don’t have your notes?’

‘No,’ said Bunnie, with a sigh. ‘I was just told to come here immediately after the prang in the car.’
Ratindra and Camilla looked at one another. Ratindra spoke first, ‘I think we may need to speak to Eddy,’ she whispered, ‘there may have been yet another bureaucratic balls-up.'

Eddy joined the group ten minutes later giving Ratindra and Camila a great big hug. He was a large rotund man with lots of facial hair and a bounding gait. He moved down to hug Bunnie too, who panicked, but then realised he needed to be professional in the circumstances and sat down instead to look through his stack of papers.

‘So, Bunnie,’ he said, in a deep baritone voice, ‘do you understand where you are and why you are here?’
‘No,’ said Bunnie, fidgeting and beginning to feel anxious.

‘Let me explain. I am sorry if this is a shock but you are dead. This is the metamorphosis centre where you are booked in for your transformation into your spirit animal.’

‘Dead!’ shouted Bunnie, ‘but I am here and very alive thank you very much.’

‘Hmmmm, no not really,’ said Eddy, you were killed twenty minutes ago in a car crash.’

Bunnie thought for a minute and looked down at her body. Something wasn’t quite right.

Things were misaligned and there was dried blood on her dress. Suddenly everything hurt.

‘So, what happens now?’ she asked, beginning to fear the worst. Do I find out if it's Heaven or Hell or something? What exactly IS the procedure?’

Suddenly a man came running over excitedly, jumping from one leg to the other. He ran off again to grab a clipboard then ran back to the table where he finally and sat down.

‘Hi Camilla, Hi Eddy, Hi Ratindra, Hi Bunnie,’ he said panting, ‘I’m Heinz, very pleased to meet you.' Heinz lifted his hand purposefully but clumsily and put it on Bunnie's, so she shook it obligingly assuming it was protocol.
‘Look, there seems to be an issue, Bunnie,’ he said.
‘You don’t seem to have been allocated a spirit animal for your metamorphosis today.’
Bunnie looked at Eddy and said because she could think of nothing else, ‘well someone isn’t doing their job properly are they?’

The four people opposite her gasped in unison. Heinz licked his lips and avoided eye contact. Camilla snorted, Ratindra twitched and Eddy rubbed his eyes.

‘No, Bunnie, you see, it isn’t us, it’s you,’ said Heinz. 'You need to choose your spirit animal before you die otherwise you can’t go through to the next level of metamorphosis. This is basic. You have really been remiss. It’s surprising as you are already an adult. Most people know early on and certainly decide before they get to the cafeteria.’

Everyone stared at Bunnie.
‘So, what now?’ She asked, also feeling concerned about being dead.
Ratindra spoke. ‘You have to go back,’ she said. ‘It’s disappointing I know. The spirit animal phase is really so much better than the human one. But you will get another chance Bunnie, eventually, I promise. You just need to open your heart.’

Camila, accidentally spitting again, added, ‘you have probably just been too busy dear.'

The loud sirens woke Bunnie up with a start. People were running around making a fuss.

‘You’re Ok love, ‘said the paramedic, lucky miss if you ask me. Let’s give you the once over in the ambulance to make sure nothing is broken and get you to the hospital.'
‘Did I pass out?’ she asked.
‘Just a few seconds love, so we need to watch for concussion. It’s a big shock, a crash like that. Airbag and seat belt saved your life probably.’

A few days later when Bunnie had returned home, her sister came to visit. All her many siblings and extended family had been visiting in an endless caring stream and she had been busy serving nibbles and refreshments now for days. It was exhausting. She was really looking forward to some alone time.

‘I’ve brought you a surprise,’ her sister said excitedly. ‘You spend way too much time running around and working. It is time to take things easy. But I think you need to have some company to share the quiet moments and someone to love when we are not here.’

She presented Bunnie with a large cardboard box wrapped in red ribbons.

‘Go on, open it’ she said.
Inside was a warm fluffy ball looking up at her nervously. It the most beautiful long-eared baby rabbit Bunnie had ever seen.

'I saw him and thought of you, you were made for each other,' said her sister.

Bunnie gently lifted him out, enraptured and filled with glee. She held him in her arms like a newborn baby and shed a tear of happiness.
Then the two new friends rubbed noses and stared into each other's big round chocolate eyes for a very long time.

© 2019 Sarnia de la Maré FRSA

This week we launched our short form videos featuring news and music content.

The breaking bulletins are proving a great draw to the blog so welcome to all who have now found us via our YouTube and our website.

Here are some of our latest episodes to today. Click the link to go directly to our podcast on the Spreaker app which is 100% free and easy to download to your phone.