Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Naomi Does It Again, Again (A To Z Challenge)(250=1)

Naomi Does It Again, Again.

Everything in everyone’s life is a challenge. Whether you like it or not, that’s how it is.

It is.

Take Naomi’s life.  Some of her challenges are obvious.   She is, for example, training for a half-marathon.  Don’t sneer, because even though “Iron Man” competitions and those races where people zap you with tasers have upped the ante, a half-marathon is not nothing.

It isn’t.

Naomi’s other challenges include deciding whether to actually marry Alfred, who she suspects maybe isn’t worth it, getting that promotion at her job so she can have an office, not a cubicle, and trying to find a copy of a out-of-print book she read in the sixth grade and wants very much to have to pass down to her daughter, causing her to visit the second-hand book store on her lunch and sometimes be late back to work.

Another challenge for Naomi will be having a daughter but in the big scheme of things that one will not be too hard.

And right this moment

Right… now


…Naomi’s challenge is finding a parking spot at the movie theater. She’s camping out for the next week to be the first to see the new Star Wars installment. She was first in line to see each of the first six, and (spoiler alert!) she’ll be first this time.  Second in line will be a nice guy named Stephen. She’ll recognize him from the used book store, and he’ll help overcome two other challenges.

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Every day for the A to Z Challenge, there's a new short story.  This was a 250=1 story -- a story that's exactly 250 words long, including the title.  If you liked it, there's a whole list of the other ones I've written here.

Every day in April I'm giving away a free book! Today's the last day to get my collection of short stories, Just Exactly How Life Looks totally free! It includes the story Thinking The Lions, originally published in The Adirondack Review, and it includes the sweeping story of an artist's attempt to recreate his mom's memories in Panorama, one of my favorite stories ever.  What've you got to lose? Click here to get it free.

And, if you're interested, the next post is ALSO an A To Z Post, an ongoing story of turmoil in the alphabet that is far more philosophical and weird than even that sounds:


7 comments:

Robin said...

I am going to start reading the Tags first. They are hilarious.

I figure Stephen will 1) help her find the book for the daughter she doesn't yet have AND 2) help her conceive that daughter. I have no idea where that leaves Alfred in this picture. But I bet that kid is a sci-fi nut.

Crystal Collier said...

Cute. I love the way you tied this all up and the happy ending. I'm so not a sad ending person.

True Heroes from A to Z

Briane said...

I think you're right. It's too bad for Alfred, who's not really a bad guy.

Jean Davis said...

I don't feel bad for Alfred at all. If he was the right guy, he'd have been in line beside her. :) Great happy ending!

Andrew Leon said...

The big question, I suppose, is whether the conception happens in the line.

Liz A. said...

Alfred may not be a bad guy, but he's probably the right guy...for someone else. This one made me smile. (Parking spaces are easy if you ride with someone who always seems to get them...)

Rusty Carl said...

I miss the announcements being first. BUT... You write a great 250 word story.