by Bill Cox
“Planet, blushing, beg, summer, frame, glasses, greasy, help. Ha! What on earth is this list for?”
“Hmm? Oh, it’s for a short story that I’m writing.”
“What? You write?”
“Yes, I write!”
“You get paid for that?”
“Well, no. But it’s not all about the money, you know. I like to write for the artistic accomplishment, to free my inner muse.”
“Your inner muse! The only thing inside you trying to get out is last night’s curry! Open a window will you.”
“Oh, open it yourself!”
“So how exactly is your inner muse going to concoct a story out of that list?”
“I don’t know yet. Let me see it for a minute. Hmm. Well, blushing, beg, help all suggest someone in need of assistance…”
“Maybe the planet can’t find its glasses! It could be Mars, the red planet. Blushing, get it?”
“Wow. You should do stand up.”
“At least I would get paid for that.”
“Hmm. Anyway, glasses is linked to frame… someone in need of assistance… planet… Yes! There we are. A simple but moving story about an astronomy professor, whose only love has been the planets. Whilst walking through town he slips on a greasy fast food wrapper. No, don’t interrupt, I’m on a roll here. He falls and breaks the frame of his glasses, begging passer-bys for help. A young widow stops to help him, they bond over their shared passion for astronomy and find the love they both thought had passed them by. Ha! An instant classic!”
“What kind of burger was it?”
“What?”
“The fast food wrapper he slips on. What kind of burger?”
“What does that matter! This is a story laden with emotional resonance, with two tragic characters who find each other in the most unexpected of ways! It was written in the stars. Oh, wait, what a fantastic title!”
“Yes, they find each other over a burger wrapper! All this talk of food is making me hungry. I’m going to the café round the corner. You want to come?”
“What! I’ve basically just created a modern masterpiece out of nothing more than eight random words and all you can talk about is burgers?”
“They do chips as well.”
“Oh, I do like their chips. With cheese. And maybe curry sauce. Let me get my jacket.”
“What about your story?”
“Pffft! It’s not as if I’m getting paid for it. Now, do they still do the chicken nuggets in that spicy batter…?”