Weird and Wacky Tales: Short Stories with a Twist

By Hanlie Brand

Inspired by the Roald Dahl-type entertaining, funny, ironic and sometimes macabre plot twists, I wrote 13 weird and wacky stories, each with their own special twist.

Some of these stories might be a bit weird and very wacky. The fact that I am a trained social worker and saw what people can do to each other, might have slipped into some of my word-play. This is not meant for sensitive readers but those who like reading something different and prefer a surprise ending.

I aimed to entertain and I invite you to slip into an imaginary world with me. There are innuendos and characters that might sound familiar, and I wanted them to be. They were inspired by inspiring people.

I hope you enjoy my stories as much as I enjoyed writing them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hanlie Brand
• Release date: Oct 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005526191

Hanlie Brand

I am a qualified social worker and life coach.I have always been interested in people, what motivates them and what happens to them. I do believe we are all unique and special.I enjoy coaching and mentoring people and have done that all through my life.

Book preview

WEIRD AND WACKY TALES-SHORT STORIES WITH A TWIST

By Hanlie Brand

Weird and Wacky Tales – Short Stories with a Twist

Copyright@Hanlie Brand 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Story 1: Loss

Story 2: The Alley

Story 3: Funny

Story 4: A Stranger at the Door

Story 5: A Life worth Living

Story 6: Imagination

Story 7: An Unexpected Offer

Story 8: Rude Awakening

Story 9: Rain

Story 10: Starstruck

Story 11: The Professor

Story 12: Virus

Story 13: Lovesick

Final thoughts

Sources

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Other Books by the Author

INTRODUCTION

Inspired by the Roald Dahl-type entertaining, funny, ironic and sometimes macabre plot twists, I wrote 13 weird and wacky stories, each with their own special twist.

Some of these stories might be a bit weird and very wacky. The fact that I am a trained social worker and saw what people can do to each other, might have slipped into some of my word-play. This is not meant for sensitive readers but those who like reading something different and prefer a surprise ending.

I aimed to entertain and I invite you to slip into an imaginary world with me. There are innuendos and characters that might sound familiar, and I wanted them to be. They were inspired by inspiring people.

I hope you enjoy my stories as much as I enjoyed writing them.

LOSS

My friend Cass – Cassandra as she preferred not to be called – was missing. Her mother called me up last night - she cried so much, I could hardly hear her. But the message was clear: we are very worried and we don’t know what to do. I was already asleep for a while but was suddenly wide awake. My brain raced through all the information I was privet to and at the same time trying to take in all that her mom told me.

Naturally I did not sleep after this call. I spent the night reminiscing.

Cass was a late-comer in a family of seven children and two somewhat mature and very rich parents. She was born long after her parents closed that chapter of their lives. Cass was a very belated honey, I am home and she jokingly referred to herself as an accident. She found it ironic that she did not come into this world planned and that she never planned anything since. She has lived her life mostly in the same erratic manner and took everything in her stride.

Nothing was normal about Cass. I am not sure if it was because she was always spoiled rotten by her parents and many other additional parents in the form of six much older siblings who were old enough to be her parents too and who also made a point of giving her everything she wanted, or if she was just different. And different Cass was indeed, and much so.

Cass grew up seeing the world as the shell and she was the oyster. She was the purpose for the shell’s existence. She owned her world. She never wanted for anything, never stressed about anything and just lived to have fun. She always had the best of all worlds. Nothing was an obstacle, as everything was possible in Cass’s world. If only we all had it so easy. But Cass was not pompous about it – the easiness suited her just fine.

I met Cass when we both moved into the same apartment block. Her parents bought her a huge apartment and filled it with designer furniture. I was in the little studio next door and struggling to make the rent. We kept on bumping into each other for a while. Then we started greeting and then we added chatting and before long we became friends We became inseparable after that.

We were both young and suddenly far from home and we could push boundaries and do anything and everything – and we did. Cass was never short of money, and we could very well enjoy everything life had to offer. Cass made a point of not disappointing the universe that bestowed all this good luck on her. She complied fully to all she was given. Cass’s motto was: ‘have fun and have no regrets’.

I never had the same experiences as Cass – I certainly was not born with a golden spoon in my mouth and everyone mollycoddling me and giving me everything I wanted. I had to work very hard to earn a living and having to move on in life.

But it certainly was amazing to know someone like Cass. It was like being in a racing car and never stopping. Nothing fazed Cass, nothing bothered her, nothing stopped her and nothing kept her from chasing fun as an occupation and enjoying fun as the natural and somewhat expected outcome and reward. I was just lucky to be part of the excitement and being able to share in the spoils. I was the passenger in the ‘sports car called Cass’, and I certainly enjoyed the ride. It was the ride of my life for a while there.

We became two inseparable party animals who were always looking for fresh and new entertainment. Sometimes we got on flight on a Friday evening and landed up in a new location a few hours later. It was always an exotic place where we played on the beach in the day and frequented the bars and shows at night. We were young and carefree and the tide was out – we rode it.

My life suddenly became a completely different place to live in. And Cass never ran out of money so we stayed in excellent hotels, ate gourmet meals, we saw the best of what is out there to see and did anything that we fancied. I became