Trick or Treat Haiku

In the spirit of this special day, enjoy this little Halloween haiku.

children walk with friends
through neighborhoods for candy
costumes are required

The Collective Unconscious at Work

My best friend just sent me a link to this article: Why Are So Many People Afraid Of Clowns? and the date it was published was the same day I published my own post More About Clowns. Whoa.

Spooky, eh? Not really. It's the collective unconscious at work again. We're all connected. One super brain.

Wait. Does that mean we're connected to clowns, too? Ew.

Happy (almost) Halloween!

More About Clowns

Why is it that clowns bring joy to some while causing nightmares in others?

When I was a kid I went to the circus. The clowns there were funny, doing all sorts of slapstick with each other and throwing buckets of confetti at the audience. While I smiled at the antics, I was seriously creeped out by the makeup and hid my face whenever one of them came near.

Years later I watched the movie adaptation of Stephen King's It, whose antagonist can shape shift into an evil clown. That didn't help. This photo reminds me of that character.  *shudder*

In my story, The Clown, the narrator loves clowns. Her boyfriend takes her to a place he thinks she will enjoy because it celebrates them. Unfortunately, it changes her perspective.

How do you feel about clowns?

The Clown, part 6

"It's okay! It's okay. Shhh, calm down." Brad's voice soothed me as my breathing normalized. "You were just dreaming."

"We need to get away from here." I was hysterical. "There's something wrong with this place. I've never had nightmares like that before. I've never seen clowns as evil, but I keep dreaming about that one in the lobby, even before we got here!"

"Okay, hon. We don't have to stay here. I just want you to be happy. I thought this place would be fun."

"I thought it would be, too. I loved it when we first got here. The energy is just bad."

The sun was coming up, warming the chills in my body. I was so eager to leave, I didn't bother to change my clothes. I jumped out of bed and grabbed my suitcase. "Race you downstairs!"

"Hey! No fair." Brad got up more slowly. He was never much of a morning person.

"I'll drive." I went downstairs and put my suitcase in the trunk before heading to the lobby. The desk clerk was the same cheerful guy from last night.

"Hiya! Did you sleep well? You got the quiet room, ya know?"

"I noticed. Unfortunately we need to leave sooner than expected." I handed over my room key just as Brad walked up behind me. He turned in his key as well.

"Interesting place you have," Brad said kindly.

"Why, thank you. We think so."

"We?" I asked, glancing over at the clown collection. The giant clown doll was missing. My body started trembling again.

"What is it?" Brad gently ran his hands along my arms, trying to soothe me.

"I'll be outside." I left without another word, unable to stay in there any longer. Brad joined me a minute later. I turned to him and hugged him tight. "I'm so sorry, Brad. I didn't mean to ruin your special weekend."

"What are you talking about? It's not ruined. I only planned for us to stay here one night anyway. We're headed to Las Vegas, baby!"

I looked up at him in surprise. "Vegas!"

"Let's do it. Let's get married. I hear they have a circus wedding chapel over there." He smiled, his eyebrows wiggling up and down."

I laughed. "Yes! I would love to marry you in a circus chapel, you goofball."

"I was hoping you'd say that because our families are waiting for us."

"WHAT?"

"Surprise?" 

I laughed and gave him a shove. "Some surprise!"

He chuckled. "Sorry, you know I can't keep a secret. Just act surprised when we walk in, okay?"

"Sure." Tears suddenly filled my eyes. I loved this man so much. Not only did he understand me unlike anyone else, but he put up with all my weirdness. No, he embraced it. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Let's get going."

We jumped in the car and headed for Sin City, where we would become a traditionally (or untraditionally) married couple.

--

Back in the lobby, the desk clerk's smile became a frown as he watched the car speed away. "Dammit, Larry! What happened?"

A skinny man walked out from the back room wearing the blue and yellow striped clown suit. He held a large butcher knife. "I dunno, man! I was about to go in when this black and white clown just appeared in front of the door. Like, out of thin air! He glared at me and shook his head, so I got the hell outta there fast!"

--

The End.

Inking Again

I was going to write another chapter this morning, but I had to help my husband ink a comic book page. He's in deadline hell again. The only way he can finish pages when they come in last minute is if I'm there to assist. We pass pages back and forth. He gets some blacking areas ready for me and then gets more ready on the next page while I'm working. I enjoy helping him. It's very meditative.


Plus it makes me feel less guilty when I spend his money.

The Clown, part 5

I awoke to a cool cloth on my face. It felt nice. I slowly opened my eyes to find Brad looking down at me with panic in his eyes.

"Thank God," he whispered.

"What happened," I asked, unable to remember anything prior to our arrival.

"You fainted, gave me a heart attack."

"Oh, is that all? Maybe I'm just hungry or something?"

He nodded slowly, then smiled shyly. "Is it possible you could be pregnant?"

I stared at him in shock. Would he be happy about it if I was? We had never discussed children before. "Um, I don't think I am...but what if I was? What would you do? Out of curiosity, that is."

Brad sat back as I tried to move into a sitting position against the headboard. How did I get in bed? I suddenly remembered I had been standing. Did he carry me? Whoa. He was stronger than he appeared. That made me feel good. Such a big strong, sweet lovable guy would make a great daddy. Wait, why was I suddenly thinking about kids?

"Huh, ya know I never really thought about it before. I mean the idea was floating out there like some far off maybe someday fantasy, but I hadn't really considered it seriously. Me, a father? Of course, you would be an awesome mother, no question. But if you were pregnant I think I'd be really happy."

I smiled, feeling such a glow of love in my heart for this man. "Good to know. I think you would be an exceptional father. I should know, right? I had the best."

"Yeah, he was a great man. I still miss him."

"Me, too." My dad had been so funny and kind and had brought joy to so many people as a clown until the circus closed down... "Oh, god." I just remembered what I had seen outside the window.

"What is it?"

"You're gonna think I've totally lost it, but I thought I saw a clown walking out in the cemetery."

"Really? That's creepy! Do you think the hotel does that just to freak out the guests? It is close to Halloween."

"Oh, I hadn't thought about that. Maybe you're right!" I laughed. That had to be it. Right?

"Let's get some sleep, so we can go exploring in the morning."

"Yeah, good idea." We didn't bother to undress. I could barely move, so Brad just put his arms around me and we slept.

I dreamed of my father. He was dressed in his old black and white clown costume, patiently teaching me how to juggle. We started out with bean bags, then moved to balls, then pins. When he handed me a knife I was shocked. I looked up at him to ask him why, but it wasn't him. It was the evil looking clown from the lobby! And he was handing me another knife, but this one was covered in blood.

I woke up screaming!

Vacation, Had to Get Away

Sadly, my daily writing run came to an end yesterday. I forgot to post something.

My excuse was being on vacation.

I don't travel much, but my husband was a guest at the Bellingham ComiCon in Washington state and he wanted me to go with him. I did not take my laptop with me, but thought I might be able to at least post some simple short prose via cell phone. Alas, it was not to be. I managed to post something on Friday, but I was so exhausted last night it completely slipped my mind! So sorry to you and to myself. I was doing so well, too!

How do writers keep up with a daily schedule when they go on vacation. Or do they even go on vacations? Do they all take their laptops with them and just keep going? Maybe.

I need to get back into the morning groove anyway. Posting stuff at night really sucks. I'm usually so tired and cranky. Hmm, I'm usually that way in the morning, too, but at least I'll get it out of the way early and not worry about it.

I'll write the next chapter of The Clown on Monday. I really mean it this time!