Drabble Corner

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Drabble Corner

Michelle Swisz

Thanks to everyone who submitted this month! Our Drabble for January is untitled, and is written by David Burton.

I used to live in your world. I loved every moment: the smiles, the sex, the friendship, the knowing another’s thoughts. Well, at least till the end. Then it became a little claustrophobic. And irritating. But you said the same, so I was happy to share. And, thankfully, you said you felt the same. You said the change could be good. You said you felt we needed it. I agreed: healthy and mature. So we changed. I’m still happy. More so, actually, I think. How are you? Have you been nibbled by any worms yet? Have you been found? Hehe.

I haven't had very much rest lately. It isn't that I haven't tried. School let out the third week of December, and I was so exhausted from writing papers and studying for the final that I stayed in my pajamas the first weekend afterward.

But that Tuesday night during finals week, I came home to find that my sick kitty, Tootsie, who's 20 and has already lived a year past what the vets gave him, wouldn't eat his usual cat food. So, off Mommy went to the corner supermarket. And then when I got back, again, to feed him his gourmet brand, I was locked out of the house. My garage door was stuck just far enough off the ground for me to squeeze under without my jacket, provided I pushed as hard as I could a few inches more, and provided I was able to hold it there for long enough. But, instead of pushing and squeezing, I called a friend, whose screwdriver let me (well, she did it) replace the remote door opener battery. The door still wouldn't open, though, when I got home again, so I had to push and squeeze anyway, And when I finally got inside with the cat food, after resetting the opener from inside the garage, I saw that the kitty had already eaten what I'd originally tried to feed him after all.

This push pull theme seems to be carrying over into the rest of my life, too, at the moment—it's like seeing pink Cadillacs everywhere once you've noticed one. One thing I've noticed is that pushing and pulling are at the heart of every story I've told lately. The struggle can be much more subtle than those I've had with the garage door or the kitchen sink—but at the core of each meaningful conversation, there's been at least one stated and one unstated struggle. For instance, a conversation with a friend about Christmas plans mentions our seeing particular other people, and seeing each other over the holidays, but only talks around what this getting together means within the relationships involved.

What I'm thinking for our next Drabble is—use a push pull situation to construct a story about plans for the holidays (which will be over by the time you read this, but that's okay). Take a look at the guidelines before writing, and submit your 100-word (excluding title) Drabble to drabble@wvu.org within ten days of this e-zine's finding its way into your inbox.

See you next time!

About the Author
Hello, and welcome to Drabbles. I'm Michelle, your Drabbles editor. I live south of San Francisco, with four spoiled cats, near the sea where I love to walk every day. I've tutored English in workshops, classrooms, and individually at San Jose State University, and have worked on the Fiction Panel here at Writers' Village. Comments and questions are always welcome!