The Z Master

An artist's portrait of The Z Master.

The Z Master (formerly known as The Master of Laziness, The Zen Napper and possibly, The World Record Holder for taking the longest naps, 4 days and five hours) was all already to answer all your life questions but a sudden urge to nap overtook him. Everything is postponed until farther notice. In the meantime, he left us with these wise words, "Never ignore the urge to nap. It is a way to cleanse your soul and something else I forgot but you can figure it out yourself." There you go, the Z Master has spoken. Good nap to you.

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Note: This is the last post for the A-Z Challenge but there will be a reflection post after this in which I'll say a little bit about this year's experience.

For more about Blogging from A to Z Challenge, click on the image above or go here.

Fiction: The Yesterday Portal

Photo by Ray Bilcliff

Fiction: The Yesterday Portal
The Portal was an archway of long-ago ruins framed by a vivid forest. Its circular shape was mirrored in the clear water. It was just as Jane's literature professor had described - heavenly and peaceful. If she wasn't here for a specific reason, she might have stopped and tried to enjoy being there.
    Slowly, she rowed through the archway. In a flash she was back in the same boat looking at the same archway. Everything looked the same as a moment ago. Was she mistaken? She tried once more and rowed through the archway only to be back in the same place.
    Had her professor not said the portal took you back one year? Was he in such a delirium state in his last days that he got it wrong? At first, she had thought he was telling her one of his fanciful stories when he spoke of the portal. A gateway to go back in time? It was a fantasy and yet, it was just what she wanted.
    Jane stood up and looked around her - the water, the trees, the sky - they looked slightly different and yet, almost the same. She peered down at her clothes. White shirt, gray pants with gray boots but a moment ago, her shirt had been pink and her pants was white and she was wearing the same gray boots. At that moment, she had a realization. Yesterday, she came here but then hesitated and returned to the hotel without going through the archway. 
    She dropped down on the wooden thwart. The boat rocked from side to side while the paddles made a splash in the water. Above, a few rays of light shone down between the clouds. She spent almost a month riding hot air balloons, boats, trains, horses, vehicles and endured all sort of discomfort and intolerable people just to get here and it was all for nothing. She took off a boot and threw it through the archway. It disappeared mid-air. Tears filled her eyes. She laughed. Her voice echoed all around her. Above, a few birds flew passed but it soon became as silent as before. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
    I must destroy this thing, she thought. Her time here may be a waste but she was not going to let another follow her path. She glanced down at her socked foot. First, she must get her boot back. She rowed through the archway and was instantly back on the other side. Both her boots were on her feet.
    She looked up at the archway. It appeared old and plain, a structure of leftover stones weathered by time and storms. If she was still teaching history, she might have studied the structure, took photos and gave a lesson to her students but this place wasn't worth studying. She searched through the sack left by the boatman and took out a rusted wrench almost as long as her arm.

X Words Followed By Sentences

In which I try to use X words and turned them into very short stories and maybe continue my semi-murderous writing streak.

01 - Xenomancy   
Meaning: divination using strangers
Sentence: The psychic studies the woman: brown eyes, large and wide, lips, thin and frowning, nose, long and lean. "I know you too well to use my xenomancy on you but if you want to know the future, the immediate future, death is what to expect," she says. Then she laughs manically and drops dead onto the floor.

02 - Xanthippe
Meaning: ill-tempered woman
Sentence: The xanthippe scowls at the large, bearded man sitting on the barstool cradling a glass of yellow liquid. Making a fist, she throws a punch at the man and lets out a few profanities but her hand goes right through his face. In the many years, she have been following him, lashing at him and basically screaming her lungs out, she have never managed to lessen her anger. Just once, she would like to break his large nose for turning her into a ghost.

03 - Xenagogue   
Meaning: guide; someone who conducts strangers
Sentence: The psychic nursed his cold glass of beer at the bar. His days as a xenagogue was over. Not a single client believed him enough to follow his advice. They all thought he had been lying but he could never lie ever since he was cursed to speak only the truth. In the end, he gave their money back but he knew a few of them won't live long enough to re-spend it.

04 - Xenomorphic   
Meaning: having a form not its own
Sentence: From time to time, being xenomorphic have its use. But pitifully for Sam, she could only transform into a wooden doll or a piece of wooden furniture, neither one is useful when people are trying to kill her.

05 - Xenodochial
Meaning: hospitable; kindly to strangers
Sentence: Nobody is xenodochial in Threadbare Town and yet, the population grows every year even as neighbors face new neighbors and keep having screaming matches on their front lawns. But Mayor Leonard doesn't like having strangers living in his town. He is going to change that by committing the one thing the town had never experienced in the 100 years that it existed: a murder.

Can you use one or all of these X words in a sentence or two?

(X words are found here.)

For more about Blogging from A to Z Challenge, click on the image above or go here.