Paul J. Fleming's Blog, page 5
October 20, 2019
The Mystical Tree
There’s a tree which stands proudly amid the green of the
park, its branches outstretched and held up by black metal roads to help
support the weight as it continues to age past its thousandth year.
It’s seen so much in its time, with generations of people
taking shelter beneath the canopy of its leaves as the weather turned foul, or found
shade from the bright, summer sun.
Brutal wars have been fought and monarchs crowned. Empires have risen and then fallen away while this venerable tree continues to grow and thrive, a witness to the fleeting existence of man.
[image error]
100 Word Story Challenge
The Mystical Tree – © 2019 Paul J. Fleming
The Mystical Tree in this short tale is, in real life, The Allerton Oak which stands in Calderstones Park, Liverpool. Should you visit the park you can see the tree to this very day, although now fenced off to prevent any damage being caused. There are numerous legends surrounding the tree, which is reputed to be over 1000 years old! This is why I chose it for this particular tale!
You can find out a little more here: allertonoak.net
OR here: https://calderstonesdigest.wordpress.com/2016/04/08/the-oldest-oak-in-the-northwest/
I’d also like to include a link to a tale penned by the amazing Jude Lennon, The Dragon of Allerton Oak which is a Children’s book available from Little Lamb Publishing.
Find out more here: https://littlelambpublishing.co.uk/books/
The Dragon of Allerton Oak – Jude Lennon – Available to buy from Little Lamb Publishing https://littlelambpublishing.co.uk/books/
The door that was always locked
It seemed strange to see the dark, narrow slit around the open edge of the door.
Something about it gave rise to a mix of excitement and foreboding within my soul, the urge to reach out and pull it open grew with every second I stood and stared.
For as long as I’d known the house, that door had been closed.
It seemed almost part of the décor, like a picture or painting which sat upon a solid surface. To see it stand open seemed wrong, yet I burned with curiosity.
I reached out my hand to ease it open…
[image error]
100 Word Story Challenge
The door that was always locked – © 2019 Paul J. Fleming
The Secret Garden
The cool, autumn air seemed to ease my troubles as I
strolled through the unkempt grounds, my gaze downcast to the blades of grass
underfoot.
Something glinted amid the green.
It was an old, ornate key, but as I crouched and scooped it up
there was a sensation which sent tremors through every fibre of my being.
I stood and slowly turned about to gaze upon the boundary wall and the old rustic door which was set within. I’d not seen it there before, but now as I slid the key in the lock, I felt compelled to go through.
[image error]
100 Word Story Challenge
The Secret Garden – © 2019 Paul J. Fleming
October 18, 2019
Not quite done yet…
So here we are, Friday morning. The flurry of frantic updates and coding snafus has taken its toll and I sit here poised in front of the laptop with no compulsion to tweak or edit the site AT ALL.
I have a veritable horde of short stories to write, others to transfer from paper onto the computer and some nonsense about re-plotting and fixing my two main titles so they can go back out onto Amazon, but as I lift my oversized mug of coffee and take a lingering sniff at the aroma I simply think… ‘ahh, to hell with it.’ It’s not like the world will end if I don’t craft out a little tale or edit my novel, is it?
Quite often I will divert on the journey home from the school & office run to sit up for a while somewhere public, like the nearest McDonald’s or Asda Cafe, with a steaming mug of brown liquid before me as I peruse those others who’ve stumbled in, searching for some form of nourishment, but this last week has been rather intense and I’ve just returned to the keyboard over the past few days to continue the updates.
Not today though.
Today, I chose to divert and linger in order to observe my fellow members of the human race and watch their quirks, ticks and mannerisms in the wild. It’s often very rewarding and quite often some of those details will make their way into a character.
I know the pages for ‘Tales’ and ‘Gothic’ need attention but, quite simply, they can wait.
The updates will happen. The stories will be written, but today I think I shall take some much needed time away from the computer to ‘recharge the brain cells’ and do some odd jobs around the house which also need urgent attention.
We all need time to step back and take a breather.
So stay wonderful out there and I’ll post another update soon when something happens 
October 17, 2019
Update on the Site Update
As you may (or may not) have noticed, the site has been drastically overhauled in the past 48 hours.
While most of the bugs have been captured and dealt with I’m finding one or two that remain as I try out the new layout on different devices, browsers and platforms. Please bear with me. There’s only me doing all this and I will freely admit that I’ve learnt more about WordPress in the past couple of days than I ever wished to know!
I’m still working on a few sections, most namely the Tales from the 23rd Century pages and the Liverpool Gothic page, however the Short Tales (Paul’s Shorts), Quick Reads and News sections are done.
Over the coming few days I’ll be adding more content, so watch this space!
Paul.
ps. Want to know when something happens?
Sign up to the newsletter by popping your email address below, then hit submit.
Easy as that!
Email address:
October 14, 2019
A Town Made of Food
The cold night air nibbled at my ears and nose as I stared out across the flickering lights far below, and watched as people went about their lives with no knowledge of what lurked in the shadows.
I was like them once, not too long ago.
The heavy footfalls sounded out from behind me and I spun around, my eyes narrowed as I focused against the gloom to watch my new companion advance. He joined me at the edge of the roof and peered down.
“Look at all that fast food,” he muttered and I knew to what he referred.
[image error]
Entry into the 100 Word #weekendchallenge by @WriteStoryBooks
A Town Made of Food – © 2019 Paul J. Fleming
The Sceptre
The excitement rippled through our little group as we breached the inner wall and crawled through the opening, our torches fighting back the gloom as we surveyed the riches which lay within.
I moved closer to the centrepiece, a large sarcophagus mounted on a pedestal.
The carvings were ornate and I felt compelled to reach out to trace the shapes cast in gold.
I wish I had not.
We were warned about the soul whose tomb we’d just defiled, the trickster who sought to cheat death, but I could not help it. My fingers moved ever closer to the sceptre…
[image error]
Entry into the 100 Word #weekendchallenge by @WriteStoryBooks
The Sceptre – © 2019 Paul J. Fleming
The Fairy Queen
“I have a secret to tell,” she whispered as her eyes glistened with tears that threatened to cascade down her rosy cheeks.
I’d asked her to be part of my life and continue the joy we experienced together over those long, summer months but, instead, she became so sad and then led me down to the clearing in the woods where we met.
My heart felt hollow as I waited to hear her reason for I feared there was another.
I’d lose her.
I watched with stunned awe as her wings unfurled and she cast me a nervous, thin smile…
[image error]
Entry into the 100 Word #weekendchallenge by @WriteStoryBooks
The Fairy Queen – © 2019 Paul J. Fleming
The Broken Mirror
I stared down at the floor and all the pieces of glass littered thereon.
Some compulsion overtook me and I began to fit them back within the frame. It wasn’t long before I had but one piece left to place.
The door behind me burst open and the old man raced into the room, his face a twisted grimace of fear.
“You must not!” he cried, but the deed was done.
The piece fell into place and the surface seemed to ripple, my reflection casting a malevolent sneer as it took a step closer, and then through into our world…
[image error]
Entry into the 100 Word #weekendchallenge by @WriteStoryBooks
The Broken Mirror – © 2019 Paul J. Fleming
October 11, 2019
The Madness of Professor Schmidt
While my hastily typed out scribbles are quite often rather brief, here’s one which makes the rest look like novels! It was scribbled out quickly in response to a weekend challenge I received for a 100-word entry focussed around a mad scientist’s laboratory.
So, here you go…
At first, I only saw the sheet draped over the table and the ungainly shape which was covered beneath but then, as I moved a little closer, I saw the hand which escaped from out of one side.
The Madness of Professor Schmidt – © 2019 Paul J. Fleming
It was large, seemingly more that of a beast than a man.
I felt the heavy beat of my heart inside my chest as if to break free and take flight from this dreadful place, but my mind burned with insatiable curiosity. What was the strange-looking man up to in this dank cellar?
Slowly, I reached out and pulled back the sheet…
So, there you have it. 100 words if you will allow ‘strange-looking’ to count as 1, otherwise I tipped over at 101! I’ve already seen where I could alter the text to shave off that 1 extra if needed…
Let me know what you think 
