Six From One

By Mozart

The challenge:

Take one line and come up with a story. Just to make it interesting, do it in 48 hours.

The result?

6 stories from the edge of reality that take you for a day of on the job training with a very lonely school teacher, a date with a hurricane and a lesson in the value of life. Along the way you’ll meet a retiring scientist who isn't waiting around for his gold watch and go searching for sunken treasure ships with the ultimate tour guide.

A collection of dark stories based on a single line, Six from One stands out as a unique accomplishment in the literary field both for the eerie mood it creates and for the fact that no other author has been willing to put their creativity to such a demanding test. This is the new benchmark for strange and Mozart is the story teller for a new generation of readers who need more than a bump in the night to feed their insomnia.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Twin Wicks Publishing
• Release date: Mar 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781909241206

Mozart

Mozart was born and raised in the desert south west where there was always plenty of sunshine and bare sand to nourish his natural curiosity. After enduring years of mosquitoes and other stinging, venomous insects he moved to southern New Mexico to attend college. His inability to pass even the most rudimentary classes landed him in a bitter, one sided meeting with the Dean of the Arts and Sciences Department. Soon after, he began his writing career in the mid 1980’s somewhere near Las Vegas Nevada after being summarily dismissed from the university for multiple infractions of the student code of behaviour. After being denied employment at every newspaper and publishing company in the state he moved to Colorado where employment records could be enhanced without detection. The tales of his legendary exploits led to a huge contract with a major publishing firm which was unfortunately nullified when the office building and all copies of his masterworks were destroyed in an untimely fire the night before the release of his first book. Since then Mozart has compiled numerous volumes which have been languishing in obscurity waiting for some brave publisher to take the reins and ride this mule to long overdue recognition and wealth. Leap Day marks the beginning of the new partnership with Twin Wicks Publishing and represents the first step in vindicating a long overlooked and forgotten author who still hasn’t forgotten all the haters who said I don’t have any talent. Here’s to sticking your tongue out in the face of enduring criticism.

Book preview

SIX FROM ONE

MOZART

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Copyright 2013 Mozart

Published by Twin Wicks Publishing

Smashwords Edition

ISBN - 978-1-909241-20-6

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This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. if you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. if you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Dedicated to Ceri Pritchett: the first person to ever believe in me.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

The Six:

Doodlebug

Exit Plan

Dust to Dust

Jimbo

Sandy

The Missionary

Manon’s Bed Time Story (2010)

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Preface

For years I have written strange tales and other works at the behest of people who wanted something that they couldn’t find anywhere else. Often times, people would inspire me to write things when they didn’t even know the seed they had planted. That creativity and my strange sense of humor found an outlet in a website that I owned and managed for a several years. One of the more enjoyable aspects of running a website was that it gave me an opportunity to give people what they want and satisfy my creative impulses as well. Even though that time has passed, the basic ideas that sprouted from that highly creative period in my life have persevered.

One of my personal favorites was The One Line Challenge. In this challenge I would present a forum in which I gave all the members 24 hours to give me their best single line. After the 24 hour window closed we would take a show of hands to see whose line was the favorite. From that point I gave myself 48 hours to write them a story around that single line. I don’t think I have ever done anything that was harder or more rewarding. Usually the stories would be far from perfect, but they held a special place in terms of meaning since they were genuine and completely spontaneous. For me, this is the core of what writing is about and as far as I know, no one has ever done this as a book before. It is the ultimate ink blot test for me since all I had was a single mark on a paper which I had to construct an entire world around.

What follows are five examples of this challenge, which I have posted at differing intervals on my Facebook page over the last few months of 2012. The sixth story was not an actual challenge that was presented to me, but rather one that I presented to myself based on a line that I read in the news. I have included the line that was submitted for each story above the title so that the reader can see what inspired each particular tale.

As a bonus, I have included a story from 2010 that I’m not officially calling a part of the main body since it was written two years prior to the rest of this book but it was still a one line challenge that was written specifically for a friend. It is those friendships and that inspiration that makes life much more enjoyable and I feel very fortunate to have been allowed to do this. I hope it means as much to those who read it as it did to me to be able to write it.

Mozart

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The Six

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Doodle Bug

Years ago, when I was in college, a number of professors scolded me about my inattention to the subject matter that was being presented. For some reason they felt that I should be focusing my mind on the material that would be on a future test rather than looking out the window. Hah. If only they had known the power of escapism.

We have all had to live through bad times but somehow we find a way to press on then later wear our scars as a badge of honor to show how we have endured. This story was inspired by a friend of mine who was going through a rough time in his life. I’m certain that he had no idea how this one line had influenced me.

As a disclaimer, I have to state that the legend contained herein about Ayers Rock is of my own creation. It is not an actual folk tale nor is it part of aboriginal mythology.

Lance Townsend

"I think I just let the best thing in my life slip through my fingers."

Lance wasn’t sure what time it was when he woke up. All he knew was that he was in pain. Lots of pain. There didn’t seem to be an inch of his body that didn’t hurt. He could vaguely remember the accident, or more precisely the fact that there had been an accident. The only real memory he had was that of his body flying through the air and then everything going black. It was probably better this way because instead of obsessing about what went wrong or what he could have done differently, his mind was left to deal with the searing waves of pain that gripped him like a set of iron jaws.

He was aware that he was in a hospital yet he could not see anyone around that looked like a nurse, a doctor, or even a janitor. He was all alone in dim room with nothing except the beeping of the machines that surrounded him to keep him company. He called out desperately to anyone who could hear him but there was no answer. Adding to his torment was the fact that the nurse’s button on the side of the bed was just out of his reach. Try as he may, there was no way he could move far enough to the side before the agony ripping through his body reminded him that he was indeed forced to lay there and wait.

Surely they had to know how bad off he was, he assured himself. There would be someone along very soon. They would have to come, because if they didn’t he would either go insane or die. He wasn’t ready to accept either outcome so he waited. For days he waited. He could tell the sun was coming up by the brightness of the room, even with the shades drawn, and as it went down the room was illuminated by the fluorescent lights that were only partially turned on to keep it dim. Yes, he was certain; it had been days, maybe even a week since he had seen another living person. Why didn’t they check on him? Couldn’t they hear him scream? The door was wide open, they had to know he was there and they had to be able to hear him begging for help. He glared hard at the door. If there was anything he could label as his enemy right now, it was this door. It was either the portal through which help would arrive or a barrier to keep it away. God! he cried aloud, Please let someone come through that door and help me!

The silence