VSS - 2022-02
Tweeted story snippets using vssCollab and #BraveWrite prompts.
Aya
1 - I’d expected something a little more, shall we say, upscale when I moved to Nonogawa, not a hick farming town. At least the well stocked local bar run by one of my kin would mitigate moving to the middle of nowhere a little bit. 2 - Venturing out for lunch, I stopped at a tiny, tile-roofed restaurant. The set meal of grilled, local fish, rice, pickled cucumbers, miso soup, and sweet egg omelet melted in my mouth. Perhaps the food was a harbinger of civilization. 3 - I desperately missed the wild forests of the Japanese Alps. Home beckoned. But each time I spoke of it, I managed to stick my foot in my mouth by comparing it to Nonogawa. When Noda-san invited me to a boar hunt, I raised an eyebrow. 4 - He poured sake. “Parch your thirst and your curiosity, Aya-san. Join us for the hunt. Let the juxtaposition of you being the first tanuki doctor and missing home go. People don’t like being judged and you’re dishing it out a plenty.” 5 - “I’d bet our regional cuisine may be the key to you accepting us, and us you in return. Wild boar is excellent and people visit just for a taste of how we prepare it.” I kicked myself. Noda wasn’t educated, but he had wisdom I lacked. 6 - Noda told me of his favorite hunts. Though by the time I left for the night, we were both tipsy. I’m not sure how reliable a narrator he was. Though one thing was for certain, his stories re-awoke the adventurer in me. 7 - I drove to Tsuyama, an hour away, to a sporting goods store. Everything in tiny Nonogawa was for home and office usage, not hunting. The exception was the hardware store, which had sturdy boots. Would the gear help me fit in here? 8 - In the predawn hours, brave souls gathered. Flushers and kishu ken dog handlers formed one group, gun owners another. Unperturbed by the dogs, Noda shared the symmetry of today and samurai of old protecting crops from the boar herds. 9 - With sunrise came the gratifying crunch of leaves under our boots, the stout kishu kens braying as they scented our prey, and our first peek at a truly magnificent boar. Fog puffs swirled past his tusks as the creature spied us. 10 - Oh, I wanted to return to my tanuki form for the chase. But it wouldn’t foster the friendships I needed here in Nonogawa. One of the hunters raised his rifle, but the boar, astute enough to sense danger, dashed behind a boulder. 11 - My heart pounded as we loosed the hounds. We took off after them. The unity and liaison of the hunting party was synced perfectly as we rushed after our quarry. I spotted the boar, pointing for Noda, and he took the next shot. 12 - But another gunshot near us downed the boar. The lack of a break for my fellow tanuki irked me. Noda shrugged, saying, “There may be other quarry today. And everyone still hauls it out to split the meat. I’ll show you how to cook it.” 13 - That day we bagged three boars, including one Noda took down. It took the entire group to haul them back to the trucks. Noda promised to fry some for yakiniku kebabs at the festival. A great venue for people new to the meat to try it. 14 - To thank Noda for helping me finally find a common thread with the community, I invited him for dinner and served several arcane traditional recipes from my great, great grandmother. We drank into the night. Now, I consider him a brother. 15 - The bond formed on that hunting trip was the salvation of my career and relationships in Nonogawa. Noda and I became inseparable. Even decades after I moved to Shimosaki, we still entreat each other to visit often.Nobu's Thoughts
1 - At the turn of the 20th century, I was introduced to Western poetry. The openness was refreshing. But I don’t know if I recommend octosyllable poetry. Haiku, tanka, and haikai fit our language much better. Perhaps I’m old-fashioned. 2 - I was determined to try Western style poetry, though. I just had to do two sets of quatrain to get past four being so unlucky. Japanese, with its limited sounds and verb placement at the end, made it easy to rhyme. What rhymed with south? 3 - Good poetry was like a gourmet entrée for the soul or the loveliest voice being given a chamber to sing in. 4 - Once I’d written the verse, my next task was to hunt down roses in a particular shade of mauve. Why didn’t my wife prefer red, like other women? 5 - If I couldn’t find that hue, not granting her request would cause a stir on her birthday. I loved her and she’d put up with me for centuries. Hunting these impossible to find flowers was the least I could do for her. 6 - While kitsune may tend toward risqué and sensual extremes, my wife preferred sweet tenderness. It took visiting almost every flower shop in Kyoto to find the mauve roses. The florist dyed them, and I didn’t care how much extra it cost. 7 - How did I end up with such a good-natured wife, when our relationship started with a post-grief fling? All I know is that I’m grateful she took a risk on me.Matsuo
1 - My father had said, “Hush,” so curtly that I stopped, stunned. I was youngest of three and very spoiled. He never spoke that way. But his skin was ashen and his hand shook when he grabbed my wrist to drag me along. 2 - When we were several blocks away from the shrine, Father whispered, “Something was back there. Let’s stay in town today. How about we stop at that new Western restaurant?” ”Za!” I shouted and skipped as we headed to the pizza place. 3 - Afterward, we trudged home with full stomachs. Whatever it was Dad saw didn’t make him so quiet anymore, and he didn’t squeeze my hand hard, either. Food had that comforting kind of magic. 4 - When I went to bed, my parents argued. “This month’s pay was scant enough without you splurging!” Mom growled. Dad’s voice turned hushed. “I saw her. My scent was fresh. We had to go somewhere with a strong smell. So I pizza it was.” 5 - What was so urgent about his scent? What did he see? Would we meet it again? If it scared my dad, I hoped not. 6 - I didn’t have the nerve to ask until years later and it took creating a fuss. He finally whispered, “I was witness to my brother’s murder. Do you know what a gumiho is?” When I shook my head, he continued, “A man-eating fox spirit.”Newest
These Very Short Stories (VSS) posted on Twitter relate to my book series the Liminal Chronicles.
The newest ones are at the bottom. So start at the top. Click here to read the newest vss.
What is #VSS365? Fun daily prompts for tiny stories that fit in tweets. The bolded word is the prompt of the day.
This year I'm also running a VSS challenge called vssCollab. Interested? Check out the link below.
All VSS Stories
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