For this week's six sentence story, I was honored to be invited to participate in the world of Six Sentence Café & Bistro with my own character. Honestly, such things make me a little nervous, as I have never participated in any type of collaborative writing before, partly because I'm scared of the Manager's Office and plot holes and my characters tend to be a bit unhinged, and partly because I started writing stories with this challenge; before that, it was mostly poetry.
However, as our wonderful Denise, who hosts the weekly six sentence blog hop, said: "After you escort the first butterfly out of your stomach lining, it is cool, Reelika. And fun." I decided, what the heck—most cool and good things (especially the things that help you grow) are difficult and scary at first.
Also, if you like flash fiction and stories told in six sentences, you should definitely check out the other authors' submissions in the link-up (wink-wink).
the Six Sentence Café & Bistro #1
For three nights straight, Aurelia couldn't contain her thoughts in her palms; like sand, they slipped through her fingers, and in time her tiny room seemed to suffocate her with words—so many words scattered about that "getting this mess into a presentable form" would surely be a task only a certified lunatic would attempt.
After a particularly nasty confrontation with her muse, who was unconvinced that the heroine could simultaneously be a god and a martyr, the Nervous Poet ran out of her small apartment in her pajamas; those big, pink, fluffy pants decorated with cartoonish bats were marked with red stains from an accident with wine,
while the poet was engrossed in a particularly vicious rhyme.
"Judging by the missing shoes, you sure are running from something terrifying," remarked the figure our Nervous Poet had just collided with; when Aurelia looked up, her eyes widened and she blurted, "Good grief, you are tall as heck," which earned her a surprisingly charming laugh before the man looked her up and down and replied,
"The ink-stained fingers and the state of your hair—which is rather unfortunate—tell a different story; I think you would like it down there," whereupon he pointed toward a building that seemed to possess somewhere between five and seven stories, depending on whom one asked, and, more specifically, an entrance that was hardly noticeable as it was three steps down from the sidewalk.
"A café? In such a place? I don't know, I don't fancy crowded places," Aurelia protested, but the figure had already disappeared;
"Well, what could go wrong," she muttered to herself after sitting on the sidewalk for awhile, and before she knew it, she was gripping the handle, wondering whether "hello" was a better word for asking where the loo was than a simple "hi" and upon her grand arrival to what seemed to be a place where most customers were reading or having a talk about their latest rhyme blurted out "I really need to pee!".
Luckily the Bartender seemed nice enough to show our skittish Poet the way and, after spending some time in the loo trying to make herself more presentable she thought about ordering something refreshing to drink just to clear her head—or perhaps to make the words make sense; whichever explanation you prefer for her drinking habits—but when she tried to recall whether there was a table in the back, somewhere farther from the other customers, she couldn't remember and decided that home might be the better option.
However, just as she stepped out, the lights went out—a development that was perhaps a bit unfortunate considering that our Nervous Poet had a tendency to become even more nervous in the dark; she frantically searched for her phone only to discover that, in her impromptu escape, she had left it behind, and so the Poet stumbled about—now becoming a decidedly disoriented poet, who somehow wandered into a seemingly endless corridor after a visit to the loo—which, if you ask me, is precisely what one should expect from a building with God knows how many rooms, stories, or secrets...
...an inconsiderate architecture perhaps,
but surely it's worthy of some exploration, no?
There's more of my work:
All of the six-sentence stories.
The Nervous Poet Entries for the SSC&B.
There is also a page for all of the poetry.
More personal entries can be found at the Blog.
The IT studies blog in Estonian for a course at the university.
the Band "Chaos in Spring" is on YouTube, Spotify and other streaming services.
Welcome to the Six Sentence Café & Bistro!
If you stand with your back to the long bar that runs from the entrance down to where you found the restrooms, you can see the main public area of the Café.
To the right, halfway down along the interior wall is a small stage. (Music and Readers and all sorts of entertainment).
Standing on the stage, you see the numerous small, round wood tables, their lacquered tops decorated with drink-rings and cigarette burns.
The opposite wall, (from where you stand), is the exterior wall. By virtue of the architectural buttress design of the building, there are regularly-spaced columns.
In the space between the columns are private tables (curtains, as diaphanous as one desires), offer privacy for certain guests.
You may, if still in residence, avail yourself of one of these tables.
Of course, on poetry slam/open mic nights, you are at risk of being invited back up to the stage.
Fun Six
Thank you for inviting me and showing around the room.
Maybe when she gets out of her fear of the dark moment she can turn around and see the tables. Funny how her nervousness expands the room around her.
Unless she manages to stumble into some stockroom or something… Preferably containing chocolate.
All I know right now there may be either ghost or just a lost poor poet on the premises, maybe she could make slam poetry nights interesting…
Unless I decide to give her stage fright too….
What a big impact. This beginning pulled me into the story. It is a contemporary and typical error to lose a cell phone and be mired in more exasperating conditions. Poor character, but interesting reading.
Thank you for the comment, I almost felt sorry for her too as someone who had trouble with social anxiety and panic in public places in the past. But luckily it’s a character and if the writer decides so she may maybe one day have a brighter day.
…And at that point, the steady thrum of an upright bass filled her chest and cleared her mind, and she padded out of the hallway and into the music…
Ayeee. That would be a very happy ending.
See, another author fixed it!
Brava to the Nervous Poet for venturing out! When the muse won’t let up and the pressure builds, going out into the world is a surefire fix. Can’t think of a better place than the Six Sentence Café & Bistro. Bit of bad luck about the lights going out especially going to a place for the first time. She’s right about it being a building with unknown and unexplored places… Poor Aurelia!
Well done and fun Six, Reelika.
Thank you so much Denise!
And I agree, venturing out was a good call, even if I personally don’t know about running and sitting on sidewalks but usually a walk in a park or a cafe helps.
Hopefully she is by now relaxing at one of the tables or something.
An excellent walk-in, Reelika. Welcome.
No worries about the lights ; my alter ego, Nick the Gatekeeper , has always an eye over the well being of the Bistro’s patrons.
And if a full house is not your preference, I keep a table and a couple of chairs by the entrance where you will usually find me and Hūnga, our dog.
Possibilities are endless, Reelika.
Have fun and worry not of plot holes – there are none.
Aww. Thank you!
Oh, fabulous, and fabulous – brava! Loved this, and a love your handle, The Nervous Poet. Excellent. I do hope we will see each other together… and soon!
Thank you so much Chris.
Honestly the Handle picking was difficult, so many cool adjectives… Nervous, eccentric, jada-jada.
Perhaps we will if am invited again someday.
I actually enjoyed building this character/alter so much am thinking maybe to use her in some other sixes too, unrelated to the SSC&B, but not in a strict timeline…
Nothing like a “particularly vicious rhyme” to lead one to the Six Sentence Café & Bistro.
Thank you for the comment!
Some of those rhymes are like that 😂.
I love this – it captures the frenetic, anxious energy of a poet at their wits’ end, blending magical realism with relatable artistic neuroses – and a great ending🙌
Thank you so much am very happy you liked it.
What a wonderful addition!
Thank you Violet! It means a lot coming from one of favourite authors in the community!
It’s wonderful to have you. If that crazy hall light goes out, and it does, Mimi will go back and wrestle with the fuse box. It won’t stay on, the place is too odd and unconventional for that, but it will stay on long enough to find your way back to the main bar.
Thank you so much, Mimi!
That damned light was making me nervous and next time I will bring my own light too, hopefully, 😂.
“…to clear her head—or perhaps to make the words make sense”
a good motto for those of us who find ourselfs in the SSC&B among decidedly engaging characters
enjoyed meeting your Aurelia and thanks for joining us
Thank you!
Now that I read your comment, I think it’s a good moto too, didn’t even think about it. Hm.
Oh excellent. I look forward to Aurelia (gorgeous name btw) joining the SSC&B troupe!
Thank you so much.
Funny thing with the name btw.
In my youth I used it as my penname (Aurelia Inverno) because my mother liked the name Aurelia but named me Reelika which is a derivative and more … Estonian. Both mean gold or the golden one…
You are just what the Bistro needs, you brought a little light to the darkness!
Awwwwww. Thank you so much Keith that’s so sweet of you.
congrats on the invite… great entrance to the building with that tall character… brought this reader right into the center of your story…. couldn’t wait to see how to made your way…. was always curious about the inside of the bistro… and yes, a drink to bring it all into perspective if that’s possible on such a night as your first… i would have been a bit off kilter in my pajamas as well stained with red wine…. i had to laugh at the forgotten cell and needing that light…. i have become dependent upon this very light when i go into the cave for more rocks…. great six story….
Oh my thank you so much, I was a bit hesitant as I had Ideas what she would do but I also wanted to introduce the character herself first. Am glad you enjoyed it.
👏👏👏👏
Thank you!