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carlatsukinamistolemyhamsandwich · 5 years

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Amaryllis - Chapter 2

Link to chapter 1

A/N: Oh my word this took forever but it’s finally here! Real life is keeping me very busy at the moment so I’m afraid I don’t know when I’ll be able to publish chapter 3 but it will appear at some point!

Chapter 2: Spoils of Tragedy

It was not often Carla felt nervous, but as time stretched on and Shin failed to make a reappearance, a distinct sense of anxiety descended upon him. Coupled with the already unsettling air of the mansion, it was enough to make his stomach twist as he tried to think of plan of action.

Even if they could find somewhere with phone reception, it wasn’t like there was anyone they could call aside from Karlheinz, the man who’d led them here in the first place. His thoughts trailed the same paths over and over as his eyes traced the patterns in the carpet, trying to find something he’d missed, anything they could use.

“My sincerest apologies for keeping you waiting.”

Carla jerked his head up in surprise at the female voice coming from directly in front of him. Before him was a young women who could be no older than himself, dressed in a crisp black shirt with a short, pink and black checked skirt; definitely not a member of staff.

He hadn’t heard anyone approach him and that she could get this close to him without his notice… Was his illness playing tricks on him?

“Oh, did I startle you? Then, being in a creepy old mansion like this does tend to set one on edge, doesn’t it?” She offered him a polite smile that Carla made no effort to return.

“I suppose.” He stood to his full height and gave her an assessing glance. Surely she was too young to be the business contact Karlheinz had spoken of, or the proprietor of such a grand house, but then appearances could be deceiving. “And you are?”

“My name is Kuronagi Seiren and I suppose you could say I’m the owner of this mansion. I knew I’d be having house guests but I was misinformed as to the date, so I was unprepared for your arrival. But er…” She made an effort of looking around the entrance hall. “I thought there would be two of you.”

“Yes, myself and my younger brother. When no one greeted us, he went in search of someone. You haven’t seen him?” Carla tried to keep any trace of concern out of his voice. If Shin hadn’t found anyone, he should have returned by now.

“No, I haven’t I’m afraid. I shouldn’t worry though; it’s a large house so he could easily be lost or even still looking for someone. The mansion is a little understaffed, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he’d gone this long without finding someone.” Seiren offered him a reassuring smile. “I tell you what, why don’t I give you a tour of the place and we can look for him at the same time?”

“Hm, I suppose.” Something still felt off, but there was little he could about it. At least this confirmed the place hadn’t simply been abandoned.

“Good, someone will fetch your bags,” she said with a dismissive wave towards their luggage, before turning to walk down one of the many hallways leading off from the entrance hall. Carla fell into step behind her and she turned back slightly to look at him. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”

“Tsukinami Carla,” he replied simply.

“Hm, Carla? That name’s German in origin I believe, an interesting selection on your parents’ part.”

“My mother’s family hail from Germany, it was her choice,” Carla said, before quickly shutting off that train of thought. It wasn’t something he wanted dwell on, especially not now.

“I see,” Seiren said before turning back to the corridor. “On the first floor, we have the dining hall, the kitchen, the living room…” She continued to list off rooms and point out various doorways an she led him around the grand estate.

Carla paid only a moderate amount of attention, more intrigued by the large number of paintings decorating the hallways than anything else, a collection that certainly rivaled his own from before they fell into ruin and impressive enough that it allowed him to forget the unnerving aura surrounding the place.

Seiren appeared to notice his interest, as when they started a tour of the second floor, she paused in front a spectacular piece portraying a castle build from pale stone, dyed a soft pink by the light of a vibrant red moon hanging in the sky. “You have interest in art, I take it?”

“Yes, you certainly have quite the assortment.” He looked over the painting, scanning over the texture of the brush strokes, how the artist had used them. The warmth of the pink and reds against the midnight blue sky.

“Ah indeed, I’m something of a collector. A lot of the paintings here are very special.” Seiren’s voice was wistful as she trailed a finger over the thick layers of paint.

“This one here, for example, is the only remaining work of the artist. The others were all destroyed in a fire sometime after his death. A pity, he was quite skilled, but then it does make this piece all the more unique. The spoils of tragedy, I suppose.” Her lips quirked in amusement as she spoke. “Anyway, we should be getting on, I’ll show you to your room,” she said, turning back to the corridor.

Carla spared the painting one last glance before following. The artist was indeed talented, and now that he knew what had happened to the rest of his legacy, the artwork seemed to take on a melancholy air. Even the red of the moon looked duller, the color closer to that of partially dried blood. It was uncomfortable enough that he turned away, keen to leave the picture behind.

“Most of the rooms on this floor are unused, but I’ve put you and your brother next to each other. This one’s yours.” Seiren paused in front a dark wooden door and opened it, allowing Carla to look inside.

The room was certainly better than the one he’d become accustomed to. The space was furnished with heavy wooden furniture and thick, plush, dark red fabrics covered the bed. The finery of it was enough to remind him of what they’d lost once more. What they needed to regain.

“Is something wrong?” Seiren asked, and Carla turned to look at her.

“How did you come to own all of this?” The girl’s wealth was clear but Kuronagi was not a name he was familiar with and Carla was well versed in who was who in the upper echelons of the business world.

“Ah, well my father purchased this mansion for me and has allowed me to do with it as I please for the most part. He was the one who informed me you would be coming to live here, but you won’t be meeting him during your stay, he’s a very busy man. ” Although there was more Carla wanted to ask, Seiren gave him no room for any further questions, turning instead to the next door along the corridor.

“And this,” she said, pushing it open, “is your brother’s room. Would you care to take a look?”

Carla approached but stopped dead in front of the door, the air in his throat turning suffocatingly thick as he caught sight of what lay within.

Hanging from the frame, suspended by his wrists, was Shin. He appeared unconscious with his head hanging down and his legs limp, like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

That alone was enough to make Carla feel sick, but the most horrifying detail was the wounds littering his younger brother’s body. Shin’s shirt had been ripped clean from him, revealing bloody puncture marks covering his neck and shoulders and one of his arms was twisted at an uncomfortable angle.

For a moment, Carla stood frozen in horror as he scrambled to process the situation. Something hard slammed into his back with enough force that he was sent sprawling onto the floor. It was only instinct that had his hands brace his fall, palms stinging as he just stopped his face from colliding with the carpet. A dark chuckle came from above him and Carla looked up to find Seiren giving him a wicked smile.

“What an excellent expression! I really should have taken the time to set up a camera.” Her tone had changed from the polite, mild one she’d used with him earlier, now it was full of sick amusement.

“You! What is the meaning of this?” Carla cursed his sickness as he struggled to get to his feet, the action requiring far more effort than it should have.

Shin was strong, he knew how to handle himself for the most part, so how could a lone woman overpower him and inflict that much damage so easily? There wasn’t a scratch on her. He could only conclude she’d had help, but he had yet to see any trace of anyone else in the mansion. Something icy crept through his veins and it was only years of behaving as the perfect heir that kept him from showing it.

Seiren chuckled and placed a foot flat on his back, pushing him back to the floor. ”Why don’t you use your imagination and try to figure it out? It’s a bit more fun that way.”

Carla grit his teeth at the humiliation of being forced to the ground, he tried to move away from her but she simply applied more pressure until his torso was being pressed into the carpet. “Release me and explain yourself,” he barked. Even though he was in no position to give orders, it was not in his nature to cower or beg.

“You are a curious pair, aren’t you? I thought your brother behaved in an overly self-important manner for a mortal but it seems it runs in the family. Tell me, you come from wealth, don’t you?” Carla twisted around to look at her and found her staring down at him with a faint curiosity. “It’s always amused me the way humans think that having a certain amount of money entitles them to respect, as though they were ever more than chattel to begin with.”

Fear gripped him as he stared up at those bright grey eyes. He was not used to being at another’s mercy and the way she spoke about them… Current assets aside, Carla was still his father’s heir, he had more dignity than this; being trodden on and treated like a curiosity had his temper flare but it was quickly being smothered by a sense of panic at his own helplessness. He glanced towards his younger brother, the taste of bile coating his tongue as he took in the sight of him once more.

“What- What are you?” It took everything he had to keep his voice steady. No mere girl should be able to keep him pinned like this, even with his ill health. And no matter how much his rational mind tried to explain it away, he couldn’t help but notice the way the puncture wounds on Shin were all in pairs, all equally spaced and mostly centered on the neck.

Then there was the way she’d just referred to them as humans, as though she was something else. The explanation his brain supplied was not one he liked, not something he could accept as being real.

“From your expression I think you’re starting to work it out, you just don’t want to accept it. Would it help if I told you your brother’s blood is delicious?” Carla snapped his head back to her and she drew back her top lip, revealing sharp white fangs.

“That’s not possible.” This had to be a dream, some nightmare induced by his sickness or the drugs used to treat it, even as his senses screamed at him that the creature above him was something out of fiction.

“Would you care for some proof? Normally a simple bite is effective enough but-“ she sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose in distaste “- I can smell the sickness on you. I’m surprised my father would even think to send me any sort diseased prey, let alone someone like you. I can’t tell what it is exactly but from the stink of it I’m sure it’s serious. A shame, you’re very pretty, for a human, and I’m fond of pretty things.”

Carla spluttered as heat flooded his cheeks, never in all his life had been spoken about in such a crude manner, as though he were nothing more than a slice of meat. The mention of his illness stung too, even if it were all that spared him from being preyed upon by the supposed vampire before him.

“I suppose a demonstration of my strength might suffice.” The force pressing against his back increased sharply and Carla hissed through his teeth at the pain. “Is this enough or should I keep going until I crack a rib? In your condition I’m really not sure how much you can take.” Her expression was positively wicked.

“Stop this,” Carla wheezed, struggling to draw enough air into his lungs. His body was weak enough without this sort of abuse, he didn’t dare to think what might happen if she did worse.

“I think that request is missing something, do you not know how to ask for something politely?”

Damn it, he shouldn’t be treated like this, let alone yielding to it, but his chest burned and he could feel another coughing fit on the horizon. As much as he wanted to hold his head high, he was in no condition to do so. “Please,” he rasped, grateful that at least Shin wasn’t conscious to witness this.

The foot on his back vanished and if he had enough air, Carla would have sighed in relief. “There, that wasn’t so hard was it?”

Seiren gazed down at him, eyes devoid of any sort of empathy as he took rasping breaths interrupted by spluttering coughs.

“What is it you intend to do with us?” His voice wasn’t as strong as he would have liked but at least he was able to get the words out.

“I would have thought it was obvious,” Seiren said, glancing at Shin. “But if you really need me to spell it out for you, you’ll be staying here to provide me with food and entertainment.”

“You won’t get away with keeping us here against our wishes.” Carla got to his feet, trying to retain some semblance of dignity.

“Oh really? And who’s going to come looking for you? The only humans sent here are the ones with nowhere else left to go and no one to miss them. I find it very unlikely that you’re an exception.” The words made his skin crawl.

“You mean other people have been sent here before us?” Carla thought about how empty the house was and his gut to turned to lead with the implications of their fates.

“Not for a while, I’ll admit, but yes. As for what happened to them, well, all you need to know is that you and your brother are the only living mortals here.”

Carla instinctively took a step back in horror. He needed to get out of there, now, but his chances of escape seemed low. Even if he still had the strength needed to carry his unconscious brother, he would have to contend with the vampire standing between him and the door to the room.

“I tell you what, I’ll make you an offer. I have no interest in drinking from a sick human so you’re really not of that much use to me. Your brother on the other hand…” Seiren walked over to Shin and ran a hand over his chest.

“This is my offer Tsukinami Carla, I’ll let you leave this house, with transport to a nearby village and enough money that it’ll make whatever fortune you once possessed seem like a pittance but, in exchange, your dear little baby brother will be trapped here with me, left with the knowledge that you chose to abandon him. And should you get it into your head that you could come back here and save him, well, you’ll find that all memories relating to the location of this house become rather difficult to recall.”

She gave him a wicked smile that showed off her fangs. “What do you think? Freedom and your fortune restored for however long you have left, or sacrificing it all just so that darling Shin here doesn’t have to endure me alone?”

Carla’s mouth went dry. It had to be a trap, there was no question of it. No matter how tempting the idea of regaining their status and leaving this wretched place behind may be. But not only that, even if Seiren’s offer were genuine, he couldn’t abandon his only brother to this fate, to spend the rest of his days with a monster. They’d find a real way out of this, together.

He fixed her with the steeliest glare he could muster. “No amount of money is worth Shin’s life. When we leave here, it will be together.”

Seiren looked at him for a moment, scrutinizing, and then burst into laughter. “Aw Shin,” she said, taking hold of his chin and tilting his head towards her. “Did you hear that? It seems like your big brother really cares about you. How precious… and stupid.”

She let go of Shin and his head slumped down once more, still fully unconscious. “You’d really trade the offer of being a free man just so that you and your brother can share in your misery? It’s so disgustingly sentimental I think I might vomit. Alright then Carla, let’s see how far your love for your brother goes, shall we?”

She slipped a hand beneath her skirt and withdrew a small, sharp dagger. Before Carla could react, it was pointed at Shin’s neck. “Now, you’re going to follow my orders to the letter, or else I’m going to slit his throat. Although,” she trailed the edge of the blade against his skin, “I think I’ll have some fun cutting him open first.”

Digging his nails into his palms, Carla assessed the distance between himself and Seiren. Even if he were in good health, there was no way he’d be able to reach her before she’d been able to do some damage with the dagger. And what would he do once he reached her anyway? She would have no difficulty fending him off with that hideous strength, as much as he hated to admit it to himself. No, he was left with little choice but to submit and it made his stomach curdle.

“Hmm, what should I have you do first, I wonder? Ah, I know, I think I’ll have you kneel for me. I get the impression that you’re not used to lowering yourself before anyone so I think you’d better start getting used to it.” Her expression was positively viscous.

Carla glanced at the plush carpet beneath his feet and then back towards Shin. He had to do this, no matter how much it rankled with him.

Gritting his teeth, Carla sank to one knee and then lowered himself so that he was kneeling, glaring hatefully at the woman before him all the while.

“Now, normally I’d have you kiss my feet to demonstrate how utterly beneath me you are but I don’t particularly care to get your saliva on my shoes, so I think I’ll have you lick the floor instead.”

Even with everything she’d already done, for a moment Carla thought that she couldn’t possibly be serious. There was no way he could lower himself to doing something so base.

“I’d suggest you do it quickly, before I start to get bored. Or-“ she pressed down with the knife and drew it slowly across Shin’s skin, leaving a thin gash behind “-have you decided your brother’s life isn’t worth your pride?”

The sight of Shin’s blood was enough to get Carla to force his head to the floor, silently spitting every curse he knew. One day, somehow, he would make her pay for this.

He ran his tongue over his lips, bracing himself for the shame of it.

A knock sounded on the door and irritation flashed across Seiren’s features, while Carla lifted his head, relief surging in his chest at the interruption.

“What is it?” She snapped.

“A letter has arrived for you mistress Seiren.” A voice came from the other side of the door, soft and male.

The vampire let out an exaggerated sigh. “Can’t this wait? It’s been a while since I’ve had guests and-“ she locked eyes with Carla “-we were just getting to the good part.”

“It’s from the King himself, mistress.” The man, who Carla presumed must be some sort of servant, replied.

“Very well, leave it in my room; I shall be there in a moment.” The dagger became a blur of silver, arcing towards Shin’s arm before Carla had time to react and he felt his heart stop. A second later, Shin’s body fell to one side, one arm now hanging down. Mercifully, it seemed she had only cut the rope tying Shin to the bed,

“I trust you can now get your brother down by yourself,” Seiren said, turning to make her exit. “I’d advise you not to try to make a run for it, though I doubt you could get very far, given your condition and the fact I dislocated Shin’s shoulder earlier. If you stay put like a good boy then I’ll send someone to fix it soon but if not-“ she paused at the door, turning to give him a truly terrifying smile “-then I might just be in a poor enough mood to cut his whole arm off. Until later, Tsukinami Carla.”

The door closed behind her with a soft thud and Carla felt the tension in his muscles loosen a fraction. He looked down at his own shaking hands with a sense of disgust. To be forced into such a low position by someone like Seiren was beyond humiliating, even if no one else had witnessed it.

Looking back up at Shin, Carla felt his stomach churning, along with a pang of guilt. He should have taken over the family business the moment he noticed the unwise decisions his father had made. Even failing that, he should have stopped him from fleeing with the remains of their fortune.

And now, that lack of action had stranded them here, in a mansion with a monster.

Carla had thought there was nothing else he stood to lose.

He’d been wrong.

#Amaryllis #my writing #AU #my OC #Originally this chapter was going to be longer but I felt I reached a nice place to end it #I hope it's okay I ended up rewriting it a lot #I'm sad there isn't more Shin in it but don't worry he'll be back next chapter #This is mainly a Shin story

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hopelesstargazer · 5 years

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End of the Year Tag

So....I was tagged by @saijspellhart....never done one of these before so here goes nothing.

~favourite food?~

Okay, so I am a Minnesota raised girl and do love a good wild rice hotdish (and yes there is a difference between hotdish and casserole and if you don’t know, let me know so I can explain!). However my favorite food is either pupusas or pozole (latino cuisine). Both of them I over eat when my godchildren cook them for me and never regret it!

~favourite drink?~

Ummmm....Diet Pespi. Yeah, we won’t get into how cranky I get if I don’t have at least one pop a day. My godsons might have a story or two about how possessive I get in the late morning over my can of pop on the weekends....

~favourite clothing?~

My Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fleece pants and my long sleeve Cuddle-Duds. Comfort for the win. After a long day of dealing with people, nothing is more comforting than cozy wear.

~favourite product?~

.....Pespi?.....I think. Does that count when you are an addict? Like can a pot head say that their favorite product is potbrownies? If not, I would say Google! Because it owns me and my information searching needs. After all, if you don’t know something, Lord Google will know it. Thus, All Hail Lord Google!

~favourite month?~

I’ve never thought about it. I guess you could say I like March. It was the month I was born and I like the little myth that comes with the month. The month of the Lion and the Lamb. My grandmother (a wonderful mother to 11 and a farmer in Northern MN) would always tell me that you knew how the month would go in the very beginning. If the weather was shitty and roaring at the start, it would leave calm and sweet at the end. Or in other words, if March came in like a Lion, it would leave like a Lamb. Of course, the opposite applies as well. If this is true, I honestly couldn’t say. I think it does, but I’m already bias so who really knows?

~favourite season?~

I’m fond of either Spring or Fall. It’s not too cold, but it’s not too hot. You really get those glorious days where the sun is shining, the air is crisp, and there is a magnitude of colors everywhere. It is just rejuvenating.

~favourite holiday?~

I’m partial to Easter. And before you ask, yes I happen to be Christian, BUT that is not why I like the holiday. I like Easter because it symbolizes rebirth. It symbolizes a new beginning, a fresh start. When you go into this season, you might have just experienced a shitty winter or the pervious year was just horrific. Thus, your soul is all crusty and flaky and thinking that nothing gets better. Then this season of new beginnings start and there are baby animals, new flowers, laughing children, and brightly colored eggs everywhere! It is a reminder that life is nothing more than a cycle. Yes, horrible things can and will happen to you. Yes, it will be dark and sad to deal with it all. Winter, both figuratively (in your heart/soul) and literally, SUCK ASS! But! BUT! There will always be a moment of something new. Something bright. Something colorful. Something living. Something that will bring you up out of the ground of cold despair and into the light of a new beginning. Even if it is for a moment, it is there. Easter is the holiday/season that best represents what it means to be human. A shitty start that only turns into the brightest and warms of sun rays. And that is my Ted Talk, thank you for listening.

~favourite place?~

Minnehaha Falls! Gooseberry Falls! Or any waterfall. I adore waterfalls. The sound of crashing water and rushing waves drowning out bad thoughts. The scent of crisp water pulling you into the moment. The sensations of moving water rumbling in your chest. The sight of dancing sprites in the sky as water droplets create rainbows. Cold water taking the heat from your body only to leave a pleasant tingle in its wake. *blush**cough* I’ll stop with the poetry now.

~best experience?~

So, I took a trip to Scotland with my Father at the beginning of this year. I would definitely say that was my best experience of 2018.

~best song?~

Best song? Of all time or this year? This year I really like Burning Man by Dierks Bentley. Of all time, you can’t beat the Hokey Pokey. It is a must have dance song at every public gathering. I have no shame when I say that I request it and drag EVERYONE to the dance floor.

~best movie?~

We have to clarify this nonsense for next year. Honestly, it’s just too vague. Best movie? This year? Of all time? Genre? Or is it just me that over thinks this stuff? *sigh* Okay, I thought Black Panther was extremely good, not just because it was an excellent superhero movie, had amazing female leads, astonishing action sequences, and wonderful humor. It really made me think about how hatred can pass down through the generations. It made me reevaluate how I teach my students in karate class and how I speak with/to them about social problems. Since most of them are immigrants or children of immigrants, it was an eye opening experience. Let’s leave it at that.

~best series?~

TV series right? (again with the over thinking simple questions) I really enjoyed Miraculous Ladybug, Voltron, How to Train Your Dragon, The Dragon Prince, and My Hero Academia. Granted, I also rewatch a bunch of anime classics as I taught the ways of being a nerd to my godsons. I’m proud to say that we have finally left the realm of Naruto and moved on to the great chasm that is known as Deathnote and One Piece.

~best book?~

Okay, so this one is exciting for me. I was suffering Tumblr and found a post that simple said “if Deadpool wrote a book, this would be it.” So of course, the ten year that still loves poop jokes and crude humor in me scream in joy and bought the book. It is called “Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes: A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology” by Cory O’Brien. I wish I could find the link so you could read some excerpts from it. I’ll just have to quote it.

“So one night Uranus is about to get busy with Gaia again I guess so he can father another baby and then stuff it back into her but instead of getting sex he gets a SURPRISE PENISECTOMY”

“So the moral of the story is that if you are not ready to be a father consider all of your options before skipping directly to cannibalism”

“ARE YOU READY FOR DISTENDED RACCOON TESTICLES? NO? WELL, YOU BETTER GET READY QUICK BECAUSE JAPAN JUST CALLED AND IT’S ‘BOUT TO DELIVER ONE WHOPPER OF A BALLSACK TO THE BAINPAN”

“So the moral of the story is that we should seriously consider firing the moon because I didn’t know we could do that and I bet we have the technology now to genetically engineer a WAY BETTER MOON than some dumb rabbit.”

So...10/10, greatest book I’ve read this year

~best video game?~

I don’t play many video games. Frankly, if it is not a bashing the buttons kind of game, I’m no good at it. Thus, I really like Shounen Jump battle game. I can hit random buttons while having no real skills. I also like watching people play them. That would lead me to Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Such a pretty game!

~have you unlearned any bad habits?~

hahahaha...oh, are you serious?

~biggest disappointment?~

I didn’t get back into college like I planned on. I just couldn’t find the time to give myself in order to achieve what I wanted.

~worst experience?~

If we are talking about this year, then that would go to almost dying in a bus accident in the middle of the Highlands in Scotland. It’s a great story that I love to tell, because it turns out to be the funniest tale of my really long list of horrific stories. Minus the thought of dying on some random hill and how inconvenient it would have been for my mother to retrieve our bodies cause I didn’t buy travel insurance.

However, if we are talking about ever in our lives, then that golden trophy would go to the time I, a store manager at Dollar Tree, was threaten with a plastic shank over $0.50 on hour 15 of my shift where I slept in the store that night so I could be there for the delivery at 5AM. That was horrible. Funny in hindsight, but horrible at the same time. Let me know, I can tell that story too.

~any new hobbies?~

Where do people find the time to start new hobbies? Serious, could you donate that precious time into a bank so I could have some? I would greatly appreciate it.

~did you achieve your goals for 2018?~

hahahahahaha....oh, you’re serious again?

~have you fulfilled a long-term wish?~

Ah, this it did! So, back in 2011, I studied abroad in Scotland and vowed to take my father back so he could see the country that I fell completely in love with. Severely in love with. Like, I would marry any Scottish man that said to me, “Ach, lassie, yer bonnie and me heart tis yers. I have this castle in ta middle of the great Highlands. Would ye leave with me to Gretna Green to marry ov’r an blacksmith’s iron?” I would say yes in a heart beat. A HEARTBEAT YOU HEAR?!

~have you tried something new this year?~

um, I dressed myself in a kimono for the first time by myself. That was stupid hard. Also, I did a bang up job if I do say so myself (after the fourth attempt).

~what plans or wishes do you have for next year?~

Let’s see, I am the best man at my best friend’s wedding in May, so I got that going. Also, in September, I’ll be going to Japan to visit my sister who is working as an English teacher, so I got that to look forward too. I would love to find some time to myself so I can try and finish my college degree that I started back in 2009. Cross your fingers. Also, I would like to complete this book I’m writing for myself. I would really like that. Oh, and finally, sleep more. Yeah, sleep. Good thing that is.

~what was the funniest moment?~

Serious, I teach kiddos karate at my church. I have no shortage of amazing moments in my life. Also I have three godsons and a goddaughter, stories are made every weekend. But I can tell you one of my favorites.

So, I’m teaching this not-yet-seven-year-old an introductory class to karate. I’m explaining to him that not only does yelling scare the bad guys away, but it tells the teacher that you are breathing. So I asked him playfully, “Do you like to breath?” And he stops all motion and looks at me. Then he shrugs and says “not really.” Needless to say, I too stop to stare at him, stunned by a response that I had NEVER received in my 13+ years of teaching children karate. So, I logically asked why not. This tiny little american-latino child that comes up to my waist tells me with the straightest face I have ever seen “Cause it take a lot of work to breath and I don’t know if I have the time for that.” (#mood much?) I’m losing my mind trying to hold in my laughter. Thus I spend the next few minutes with a 6 year-old having a philosophical discussion about the pros and cons of breathing. Eventually, we agree that blue is an ugly color on people’s face and we cannot do karate in our sleep so he had to stay awake and moving instead of passed out on the floor due to the lack of air in his body. Once that was establish, I asked another instructor to take over because I simply had to find a corner to sit in as I collected my laughing ass off the floor.

I will forever remember this child as the boy that I had to convince that breathing was a good thing and made me almost piss my pants in the middle of karate class. TWICE because that little stinker had to randomly blurt out in the middle of a different class weeks later that we were wrong because blue was a flattering shade on dead people and we should not be racist to dead people.

I will now kindly remind you that this boy is 7 YEARS OLD.

~what are you thankful for?~

I am thankful for family and friends. I am also thankful to @saijspellhart. In my desire to let her know that she is not alone, I am finding the courage to become more open with myself and other around me. So thank you. I hope that this year will be a rebirth for both of us and tons of smiles for everyone that reads this.

As for tagging other Tumblr users, I am too damn shy for that. Instead, if you are reading this and want to do this, tag me! I would love to get to know you and your likes. It’s nice to see the humanity on this site. Thank you for getting to the end and I hope to get to know you too!

#text #long post #end of year #hopelessstargazer get to know #well this happen #this was fun #blog #ask blog

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boredsingaporean · 5 years

Text

Chapter 16: Let Me Sell You This

It was already eight o’clock by the time I stepped out of the office. For the past two weeks, I had been seeing the moon on my way home. Yes, I had been working for twelve hours a day. I remembered that during my interview, I asked Rose what were the working hours like. She laughed and replied “Eight thirty to five thirty. By right”. It did not take more than a month for me to figure out what the laughter and “by right” were supposed to mean. To leave the office at six was a luxury; to leave at seven was normal. From Suntec City, I walked through the City Link underground shopping tunnel to Citihall MRT station. It was in utter chaos as usual. The crowd rushing from City Link split into two crowds – one towards the MRT station and the other towards the Raffles City shopping center. The crowd who had just alighted from the train split into another two crowds - one towards City Link and the other towards the Raffles City shopping center. The crowd coming down the escalator from Raffles City shopping center split into yet another two crowds – one towards the MRT station and the other towards City Link. If a coin was dropped onto the ground, it would be kicked and lost in the blink of an eye. I barged through the chaotic crowd and walked briskly through the MRT station gate. I then took the escalator down to the station platform to join other kindred souls who were rushing home with an empty stomach and an empty brain. A few minutes later, a crowded train arrived to throw out an excited crowd rushing to shops and dinners, so that it could be refilled by an enervated crowd who just wanted to find a seat and sleep all the way home. I had never considered myself an agile or lucky person, so I was not surprised that I could not find a seat on the train again. Well, the Health Promotion Board recommended that thirty minutes of exercise a day is good for health right? Hopefully the act of balancing in a moving train for thirty minutes could be considered as a good exercise. Just when I was going to plug in the earphones and listen to my MD player, somebody tapped me on my shoulder. I turned around to see a guy neatly dressed in an ocean blue wrinkle-free long sleeve shirt and a pair of black trousers, and holding a black document bag. His smile was as slick as his greased-back hair and Giorgio Armani spectacles. When such a fresh and energetic guy was found in a train leaving town area on a weekday evening, he was either on the way to propose to his girlfriend, or to sell something. This guy looked familiar and I guessed we must have known each other at some point in time because he was calling my name. “Beng! Have you forgotten about me already?” Mr. looks-familiar grinned. “No, how would I? How’s life? You are looking better than you used to!” That was a safe line. Everybody believes that at any point in life they are always looking better than how they were previously. “Yeh, glad I left the company. Too much pressure. How about you? Are you still there?” said Mr. seems-like-an-ex-colleague. “Yap, nowhere to run.” “So how’s everybody at the Latin America FX team? Is Simon Hatcher still the head?” asked Mr. so-and-so-from-Latin-America-FX-team. “Yeh, he’s still there alive and kicking asses. So what have you been doing?” “Oh, I’m now in Marketing. Here’s my name card!” The card read “Peter Sim, Marketing Consultant, Livelife Inc.” So he was not on his way to present a marriage proposal. For the next fifteen minutes, Mr. Sim was very concerned with the water that I entrusted my life to. He was worried that the unclean water that passed through dirty and rusty water pipes before reaching my tap could cost me my kidneys, lungs and livers and put me in a grievous old age. And with the reservoirs opening up to water activities, he could not bring himself to believe the government’s claim that those water activities will not affect our drinking water. He thanked God that it was really my lucky day because I had to meet him on the train. This grave peril of losing my organs because of drinking water could be averted easily by purchasing a water filter that cost merely over a thousand dollars from him. In fact, if I were to join his company as one of the marketing consultants, I could have further discounts that already very reasonably priced water filter. “Beng, think about it. If you join our company as a freelance marketing consultant, not only can you buy our products at great discounts, you can earn substantial commissions!” “Err… Peter, you know how busy my work can be right?” “You don’t have to worry about that at all! As a freelance marketing consultant, you can always work only when you’re free and there’s no pressure in meeting any quota at all!” “Err… I really don’t think I’ve got the time to do any freelancing.” “Oh… well, never mind, I tell you what. Since we’re such great pals, I must get you the discount for the water filter. Just between the two of us, I’ll pretend that I’m the one buying the water filter, and you can get the member’s privileged discount for it! How about that, pal?” I told him that I was very grateful, however very unfortunately, I had already bought a water filter just months ago. Of course I did not tell him that my water filter was a simple one that cost me less than a hundred dollars. Instead, I told him that I paid a few hundred dollars for that new water filter and I could not just throw it away. I did not expect him to get even more concerned and more worked up. “No, you don’t understand. Those water filters that are selling in the market are dangerous! They can’t do a clean job in removing the debris from the water! And worse, sometimes the chemicals that are used in these filters actually pollute the water further!” “Erm… but the one that I bought was certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a Microbiological Water Purifier.” I knew I read these terms somewhere in the Forbes magazine. “But Beng, how can you trust something that is certified by the U.S.? Everybody can be certified by them! As someone working in the water treatment industry, I can tell you the standards set by these U.S. agencies can’t be trusted. That’s why our water filters are more superior. Our company’s water filters are certified by the United Kingdom!” Before he could continue to brag about how the new desalination plant had initially wanted to use their company’s water filter, but because their filters were so out of stock they had to reject the plant, I told him that I had reached my station and I needed to go. “Hey Beng, you have forgotten to give me your name card!” “Oh, I ran out of name cards. But no worries, I’ve got yours.” “Oh yes, call me okay?” Mr. Sim reminded me before the train door closed. I waved him goodbye as the train moved away from the station. I looked up at the station sign. Yio Chu Kang. Not so bad, I was only a few stations away from my destination. Patiently, I waited for the next train. Partially due to the trend of retrenchments a few years back, more people had joined the multi-level marketing workforce. The marketing consultants from these multi-level marketing companies will recruit new people to either buy into the program or to buy products that are totally unheard of but grossly overpriced. The new recruits will then recruit additional people who will also buy into the program or buy the products. The whole process just goes on. That is where the word ‘multi-level’ comes from. As for the word ‘marketing’, they might be using the wrong word. All marketing consultants are promised that if they could create multiple layers of sellers under them, the amount of accrued commissions could lead them to riches that they could never dream of. But the sad truth is only the big boss who started the program is really making loads of money. All others have spent their commissions buying bulks of those overpriced products themselves. Finally I reached the station I had intended to alight. As I walked down the escalator, I was approached by a well dressed lady holding a notepad and pen on one hand, and a cup of colored straws on the other. “Hi, could you spare me a minute?” the lady asked politely. “No,” I had already spared somebody else my minutes. “Just a quick one, okay? We’re offering a free lucky draw!” ‘Free’ lucky draw? Since when must we pay for lucky draws? “What is it about?” “I’m from ABC Insurance and we are having a road show promotion on our latest insurance products. If you managed to draw the lucky straw among these other straws in the cup, you could win yourself free accident cover for a year!” she said avidly. “It’s okay. I’m already covered by other insurance policies.” “But why don’t you give the lucky draw a shoot? Just draw a straw from this cup! It’s free anyway!” “No, really, it’s okay. Thanks!” With that, I walked away briskly before she could continue. As I walked past their booth area, I saw a couple of tables and some people really talking to those insurance agents. But who knows? They could be only interested in getting that one year free accident cover. Perhaps I was just been too skeptical, but I could not understand how a tired and hungry person who had just finished work and was on the way home suddenly had an urge to buy insurance from somebody he/she had just met for the first time, on the street. Then my mobile phone rang. “Hello?” “Hello, is that Mr. Tan Ah Beng?” “Yes?” “Hi, I’m Larry calling from Relax Resorts and I’ve got good news for you! You’ve just won yourself a free trip for two to Phuket from our lucky draw!” “Another lucky draw?” “Huh? Sorry?” “Never mind, so what’s the catch?” “Oh, there’s no condition attached. You’ll just have to attend a short travel presentation at our office and…” “I’m not interested,” I cut him off and hung up the phone. It was one of those timeshare companies again. They will lure you to their holiday resorts presentations that last for hours and pressurize you to sign up a twenty thousand dollars package that allows you to stay in holiday resorts that are usually far away from all amenities and attractions. After dinner, I switched on my notebook. I was planning to get into eBay. Since everybody seemed to have something to sell, maybe I should try selling some of my old VCDs as well.

#nanowrimo

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