Monthly Archives: September 2022

Two Souls: Into the Fire # 51

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Two Souls: Into the Fire # 51

warning … adult content

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Ghost reluctantly agreed to drive Kinsey’s car back to Missing Mile, but he hated to drive. There were too many rules, and he had trouble focusing on driving and not daydreaming, and he did not have a license, anyway, but off they went down the highway.

Steve liked the way his new/used car ran, and he was good with fixing cars, so if anything needed done, he’d be able to take care of it. What he didn’t like, was how Ghost was driving, up ahead of him.

He’d forgotten that Ghost drove like a drunk, old granny, out for a Sunday sightseeing day.

“C’mon, Ghost,” Steve muttered, “get it going. Crap, we’re only going like thirty miles an hour, and we got thirty miles of this,” he said. “Aw, man…he almost ran off in the ditch! Quit daydreaming, Ghost!” he yelled.

People were trying to pass, and giving dirty looks at them both. Steve was afraid a police car would show up next, and haul Ghost in for no license. Meanwhile, Ghost was terrified. He’d only ever driven Steve’s T-bird before…a long time ago. Kinsey’s was way different. His knuckles were turning white from the death grip he had on the steering wheel. He tried staring at the road only…but, he kept seeing cars pass, and the people were shooting him the bird, and yelling. His heart was pounding, while sweat ran down his face, stinging his eyes. On top of that, his left eye was twitching again, and he could feel a migraine coming on. His stomach was rolling around, and he almost lost his lunch, right there in Kinsey’s front seat.

They finally made it back to the Yew. Ghost just started sobbing and shaking, as he put his head down on the steering wheel. Steve jumped out of his car, yelling at Ghost.

“What the hell were you doing, Ghost? A freaking monkey could’a drove better than that! Don’t every try to drive this one, ’cause it’ll never happen!”

As Steve yanked open the door to Kinsey’s car, Ghost cried even harder. “Stop yelling at me, Steve! You know I can’t drive.”

He tried to get out of the car, but mostly just fell out onto the asphalt by the car, next to the curb.

“Get up off the damn road, Ghost! You look like a fool.”

“Steve, please stop yelling at me…my head hurts so bad…and…and…” he gagged. “I feel sick!” He threw up then, right there in the road.

Just as he did, Kinsey, who’d heard the commotion, had come out the front door, just in time to witness this scene; and, to take in the old guys across the street, at the hardware store, who were pretty much forming a posse to come and save Ghost from Steve.

They’d not seen either of them since that day two years ago, when they’d seen a dying Ghost on their porch, and learned it was Steve who’d done it.

Kinsey grabbed Steve, pushing him hard toward the door of the club, then yanked Ghost up off the road, and pushed him into Steve.

“Get your asses inside…NOW!” he yelled. “You’ve caused enough trouble already. GIT! I’ll deal with y’all in a minute. I’ve gotta hold back the Army.” He turned to face the older men. “Nothing to see here, guys,” he said, “show’s over.”

“We won’t tolerate Steve beating Ghost, again,” one said.

“It’s not like that, anymore, guys…go on back to your porch,” said Kinsey, as he turned and went into the club. He slammed and locked the door.

“Where’d y’all go?” he hollered. “Get out here…I’m not gonna chase ya down!” He went behind the bar and poured himself a shot of whiskey, gulping it down. He could hear them back at the bathroom. Ghost was still crying and being sick, and had locked the door.

“Open the door, Ghost!” Steve was hollering and banging on the bathroom door. “I’m sorry I hollered at you…let me in there!”

Kinsey shook his head, and poured himself another shot. “I’m too old for this,” he sighed.

Steve finally quit his hollering and banging, and Ghost opened the door. He was a mess. His face was red, sweaty, and tearstained. His shirt was wet where he’d tried to wipe off the vomit. He was frowning and holding his hand over his eye, as he was in awful, head pounding pain.

Steve pleaded his apology, and Ghost allowed him to hug him, and lead him out to face Kinsey. They stood there in the cool, dim bar, and Kinsey just looked at them hard.

“What happened, guys?” He didn’t yell. Steve started to talk, but Kinsey held up a hand. “Stop…I don’t even want to know, but I’ll tell you one thing…I’ve had enough. You two, pretty much grown men, going at it time and time again? When Terry and I left, everyone was in a good mood…when y’all left here, y’all were in a good mood. Now, it’s gone crazy again.” Kinsey shook his head.

“Well, I’ll let y’all do the show next weekend, if you can keep it together long enough. We’ll see how it goes…but, I don’t ever want to see a commotion like I just saw, to ever happen in or in front of my business again…understood?” He eyed both of them. They both nodded, and said they were sorry for causing trouble.

“Okay, now go unload my supplies, then get outta here; leave me in peace for awhile. Settle yourselves at your own place.”

~

Neither said a word on the way back to their house. Ghost was in too much pain, and Steve was taking the car through it’s paces, getting the feel of it. At home, Ghost got out and went to get a potion for his headache, then went to his bed. Steve grabbed a beer and strummed his guitar for awhile. They avoided each other. It had been a long and weird day.

***

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Next part coming soon!

***

Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2020 BS

***

This is a work of “fan fiction” based on the novel, “Lost Souls” by Poppy Z. Brite. All credit for the original characters, places, and some backstory mentions, belong to Ms. Brite and her publishing affiliates. Only newly introduced characters, places, and original elements of this story are entirely from my imagination. Character descriptions are a blend of the original book descriptions and my interpretation of them.

All songs included in this work will be solely owned by the original performers/writers and will be credited. Creative license is taken in including them in this story.

No harm is intended toward author, musicians, or people and situations to whom there may be a resemblance.

warning      warning      warning      warning

The content herein is rated by me as being at the high end of MA (Mature Audience). It includes strong language, violence, sexual themes, including same sex pairings, religious themes, and fantasy horror.

Flower of the Day – Hot Pepper

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Flower of the Day – Hot Pepper

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This little potted plant is called an ornamental pepper. There are red, orange, and darker peppers, and green leaves. I read that it does produce white flowers. Also, the peppers are edible, but are extra hot.

I saw this in the floral department at the store, so hope it counts as a flower of the day.

I know my mom had one of these a long time ago. It was a cute and interesting plant.

***

For Cee’s Flower of the Day:

https://ceenphotography.com/2022/09/28/fotd-september-29-pansy-peony-poinsettia/#like-64837

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2022 BS

Two Souls: Into the Fire # 50

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Two Souls: Into the Fire # 50

warning … adult content

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The morning came and went, then toward noon, one by one, they staggered out to the kitchen with their individual hangover torture. Steve gulped water and Advil for his pounding head, and Terry grabbed some, too. Kinsey’s stomach was rolling around worse than his head, and Ghost slurped down a hangover potion he brought out of the back room. He offered it to the others, but no one took him up on it.

Coffee was made, and they sat in silence around the kitchen table. Ghost finally went out to the front yard, where he stood looking up at the sky. It was his usual ritual of starting his day…a short commune with nature, but as it was already past noon, it was too hot to stay out long. As he came back in, Terry and Kinsey were just about to leave. Steve walked with them out to their car. He had to ask Kinsey if he could borrow it, before he left.

“Hey, Kinsey, I need a favor,” he started. “Is it okay if I borrow your car later this afternoon? I’ve got an errand to run, and if you want, me and Ghost will pick up any supplies you need, over in Raleigh.”

Kinsey didn’t mind, and he could use a few things. “Yeah, ok, Steve. Come on by later, and I’ll have a list for you.”

After they’d left, Steve went in to tell Ghost his plan. He found Ghost in his bedroom making a new writing on his wall. He agreed with Steve to go check out the bank vault, and go shopping for Kinsey.

“Well, get ready, and we’ll go on over there,” Steve said. He picked up his guitar, and went to the couch to strum through a few songs. Ghost came out, humming along, and in a good mood, and they began the walk into town.

They had retrieved the key from the back of the journal, and Steve kept jiggling it around in his pocket. He didn’t know why he felt nervous. He felt weird, hoping there was a lot of money in there…because it wasn’t his, and he felt greedy to use Ghost’s inheritance; but, Miz Deliverance wanted him to manage it for Ghost, so it didn’t really hurt to fantasize about it. Maybe there really wasn’t any money…maybe she was delusional; or maybe there was some, but not very much. Well, only one way to find out, and that was to go see for sure what was in there.

They reached the Sacred Yew, pushing open the heavy wooden door, to a blast of cool air. “Ahhh,” they both sighed at the relief from the hot, humid air outside. Kinsey brought them both a cold soda and a sandwich, and they went over the grocery list.

“No big hurry, this time,” he winked in understanding to Steve. They also firmed up a date for the next weekend for Lost Souls? to have a show.

~

On the way up to Raleigh, Steve suggested the song list they could do, and that they’d need to practice some more. It had been so long since the last time they’d had a gig…over two years now. He missed it, and hoped they’d get back into the groove they’d always had. The he started worrying about the money situation, again.

Ghost rode in silence, just listening to Steve rattle on, and after a few minutes, he fell asleep, as he almost always did on a car ride. As they parked in front of the bank, Steve woke Ghost.They sat there a few minutes, watching people come and go. Steve was thinking that he and Ghost looked like a couple of hooligans, or redneck hillbillies, compared to the people he saw, even though they were both wearing decent clothes, this time out.

“Well, nothing to be done about it now,” he thought.

“We belong here as much as they do, Steve…we have a key.” Ghost said, as he got out of the car, and walked right on up and through the bank’s door. Steve followed, feeling people staring at them. Ghost kept going, straight to the first desk he saw, and asked where the vaults were. They were led down a hall into another room, with about a hundred locked boxes covering each wall.

Steve looked at their key number and found the right box. Taking a deep breath, and even though his hands were shaking, Ghost inserted the key and turned it. Steve was afraid to look…afraid to be disappointed. Inside was a large manilla envelope, which Ghost carefully pulled out. They sat at a table, there in the vault room. Ghost glanced at Steve, then opened the flap.

Inside, he saw actual money. The envelope was stuffed full of it…some in neatly stacked and wrapped piles, others, just loose. He pulled it all out. It was just pieces of paper to him. Looking over at Steve, he asked, “Well, what do you think? It’s money, isn’t it?”

Steve stared at the piles of money. He was having a hard time finding words. Finally, he said, “It’s a lot of money, Ghost…a lot. I’ll have to count it, but just on this top layer, my God, Ghost…there’s over a hundred thousand dollars, and…and…look at all the layers!”

“Is that good?” Ghost asked.

“Ghost, that is more than good. Where do you think all this came from?” Steve was genuinely puzzled. “Did your grandmother win the lottery or something? Did a rich uncle leave it to her? Is it for real…like real money? Is it stolen? did she have a side business going on, besides her potions? Did she conjure it out of thin air?”

Of course, Ghost didn’t know, or even care…as long as they had food to eat, and an occasional trip to the second-hand store, he was happy enough. They discussed what to do now. They decided to take out enough for a car…and not Terry’s old junker…and enough to get by on for a few months. That barely made a dent in the pile. Steve asked a bank employee to get an accurate count of it…he was sure he was too nervous to count right.

The banker looked astounded, when he totaled it up…Steve almost fainted. There was two million dollars, minus what he’d taken out. The banker wanted to know if he wanted to make a deposit, but Steve figured it’d be just fine for now, locked back up in the box. They’d think about what to do, later.

With the money safely locked back up, they walked out of the bank, to carry on with their ordinary, little rock ‘n roll, hippy lifestyle…and no one suspected they were really a couple of millionaires.

“This is so weird,” Steve said.

“Yeah, can we go shoppin’ now?” Ghost asked.

“Sure we can, Ghost, and I’m not even gonna get mad when you get distracted. Take all the time you want,” Steve smiled.

They did their shopping for Kinsey, and had fun doing it. Ghost got to look around as much as he wanted, and Steve picked out some things for their own use, and didn’t holler, even once. On their way out of town, they stopped at a used car place. Steve looked at all the cars, wishing his T-bird was still around, but he was anxious to have his own wheels, again.

There were a couple he liked, but chose an old caddy convertible, over a newer, sporty car…when Ghost pointed out that if they ever took another road trip, they’d be able to stretch out in the back seat better. Steve understood Ghost’s hidden meaning immediately, and since he always did like the big, older cars best, he bought it.

He paid in full, and in cash. The dealer had not paid much attention to them, there on the lot…took them for just a couple of guys wishing they could buy a car. When Steve pulled out the cash, though, he couldn’t do enough for them.

“Hah, money talks,” he said to Ghost.

“What did it say?” Ghost asked, looking confused.

“Never mind…we got the car. Now, I’m gonna drive it home. You drive Kinsey’s back to his place, and I’ll follow you.”

***

***

Next part coming soon!

***

Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2020 BS

***

This is a work of “fan fiction” based on the novel, “Lost Souls” by Poppy Z. Brite. All credit for the original characters, places, and some backstory mentions, belong to Ms. Brite and her publishing affiliates. Only newly introduced characters, places, and original elements of this story are entirely from my imagination. Character descriptions are a blend of the original book descriptions and my interpretation of them.

All songs included in this work will be solely owned by the original performers/writers and will be credited. Creative license is taken in including them in this story.

No harm is intended toward author, musicians, or people and situations to whom there may be a resemblance.

warning      warning      warning      warning

The content herein is rated by me as being at the high end of MA (Mature Audience). It includes strong language, violence, sexual themes, including same sex pairings, religious themes, and fantasy horror.

 

Flower of the Day – Unknown Yellow

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Flower of the Day – Unknown Yellow

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A bouquet of pale yellow flowers, possibly Primroses?

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For Cee’s Flower of the Day:

https://ceenphotography.com/2022/09/27/fotd-september-28-ox-eyed-daisy-orchid-oriental-poppy/#like-64809

***

Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2022 BS

Share Your World

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Share Your World

https://sparksfromacombustiblemind.wordpress.com/2022/09/26/share-your-world-9-26-2022-i-hope/

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Welcome back, Melanie! Thanks so much for the SYW questions! ❤

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Would you rather have no nose, or no arms? (apologies to Fandango, who is olfactory challenged)..

I don’t want to be without either one.


What is your spirit animal?  (Mine –>  🐺  Lone of course  😉  )

***See painting and poem below

My spirit animal is the Tiger! I’ve known this since I was a kid. My birth year is in the year of the Tiger, and I had many dreams where a tiger would come to tell me so. Of course I couldn’t have a real tiger for a pet, but cats will do just fine.


Do you think cavemen had nightmares about cavewomen?   🥍  💪🏼😱

Who knows, dreams are strange and I imagine some would be about this.


Where did the name Pina Colada come from?   (for those out of the know of foo-foo drinks, a ‘pina colada” is rum, pineapple and coconut juices and sometimes fancier liquor for a bigger kick (with a paper umbrella sometimes)   🍹🍸   Since I dislike coconut except in the odd Mounds bar or on shrimp; I never had one. 
I’ve never drank one of these but it sounds good, but without the alcohol. Where it came from I have no idea – maybe a tropical island or somewhere.
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This is a picture I painted a long time ago.

I’ve always known the tiger is my spirit animal.

This is a poem I wrote about it years ago.

~

Tiger

In misty dreams you came to me

When I was only two or three

A forest dark, and deep, and green

I wondered what my dreams could mean

You were my friend, my Spirit kin

A guardian without, a guardian within

I was born into your year

Tiger Spirit always near

Magnificent eyes, shining bright

I weep at what now’s your plight

Endangered in this cruel world

Victim of the weapons hurled

If only we could be at peace

Return to dreams without surcease

To that mystery forest in the night

We could try to again make it right

I know that you will always be

In my dreams

A part of me


Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2022 BS