Don't Bite Heads Off

I'm just gonna leave this here. Something that I have been seeing examples of a lot lately, in real life and in the series my family is re-watching (Smallville). Someone wants something and they jump to conclusions and get all nasty about things before even stopping to consider what the outcome might have been if they had asked politely and nicely.

Not everyone is like Lex Luther from Smallville, deviously planning things behind the scenes and leaving Clark to always blame him first. Well, because lets face it, it normally IS Lex's fault.

Would their relationship have been any different had Clark tried to connect and hang out more with Lex in the beginning? Eh, maybe not- because it is Superman's story after all and somethings just can't change without messing up the whole series.

And then we have major disasters like what happened to our neighbor last year. Something broke her waterline right at the shut off in front of her house. No one was home and we didn't notice it till the middle of the night when I ran outside to scare away some dogs that were ganging up on another dog.

I ended up ankle deep in water in the middle of this lady's yard, waving and yelling like a lunatic. Yeah, I'm nuts... I know. Anyhow, the dogs ran off and I realized that gallons upon gallons of water were gushing out all over the place.

Now, I don't know how this lady reacted but I do know how some might have. Calling up and fussing out your water company because the water bill is high and it wasn't your fault may not be the right thing to do. Fast forward to this recent cold snap and I found out something really nice about the water company!

Our pipes were run in our attic, during the last cold snap they froze and created an epic gargantuan disastrous mess. Water damage company and insurance company was called, yeah... after we panicked a tiny bit first of course. THEN we received the water bill. Oh my gosh was it high (hundreds of dollars).

So I called the water company up and explained to them what happened and that we just don't have the funds to pay all this up front and was there perhaps a way to set up a payment plan. The lady told me not to worry about it, just send them an invoice of what repairs were done and what the damage cost and they would deduct the water overage off of our bill.

Color me shocked and relieved!

But lets rewind to the very angry water patron from earlier (imaginary of course). Had our irate customer simply explained to the water company that there was damage done (and it wasn't that they were filling up swimming pools) then the water company would have been able to answer politely in return. Everything would have been fine, and our irate customer needn't have embarrassed themselves.

So- lesson from all this? Be calm, ask nicely, and try to put yourself in the other person's shoes.

Memories in the Wind- Flash Fiction

Photo credit: old story | via photopin (license)

Dreea swiped at a tickle on her chin only to find it wet with her own tears. She sniffed back further tears in shock as she considered her surroundings carefully. She remembered the crash, remembered him dying in her arms. She remembered the explosion that consumed the ship along with the body of the man she loved before sending her sprawling onto the rocky ground.

 She slowly sat up in the bed, wiping the tears from her eyes before tentatively feeling the bandage across her forehead. She didn’t remember coming here, she didn’t remember this place at all.

 “Hello?” Dreea called out with a dry voice.

 No one answered. Dreea decided that she’d better figure out if she was a guest or prisoner. She slowly made her way across the room, noting that almost every muscle in her body ached along with the emptiness she felt deep in her chest.

 Trying the handle on the metal door she found that it swung easily on its hinges and allowed the sun to pour into the small room. Dreea peered through the sunlight and stepped out into the gray dusty road in front of her. A tinkling sound drew her attention across the street to a pole hanging above the door across from her.

 A few moments passed before someone approached Dreea. She paid just enough attention to tell that the alien wasn’t armed before turning again to the object twisting in the wind.

 “What is that?” Dreea asked the scaly creature waiting patiently by her side.

 The alien reached into a pocket into its apron and pulled out a box that translated its answer.

 “The family lost an elderly one, the mobile tells their loved one’s story.” The computerized voice responded. “Her favorite place was among the trees in the growing place. She loved to sing and to feel the wind. Her son and daughter decorated this to hang in memory of her.”

Dreea’s eyes swam with tears and the ache in her chest swelled as she considered the imagery that could tell her dearest’s story. A constellation of stars, his mission patch, and the image of the sailboat from his favorite book. Maybe some blue and silver ribbons, and the buttons from his favorite shirt.

The alien touched her injured arm gently.

 “I saw your burning ship. Would you like to make one?” The translated voice said.

 No longer able to hold them back, her tears poured from her eyes and dripped to the rocky ground beneath her feet.

 “Yes please,” Dreea mumbled.


This post is part of the 52 week flash fiction challenge on facebook
Week 52 word prompt: Story
Word Limit: 20- 500
Word Count: 423