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

Sweet Tooth (Sweet Shop, part 5)

Read Sweet Shop, part 4 here.

He sat at his desk, sucking on a peppermint. If anybody in his office caught him he would probably never live it down. He couldn't help it. He had a sweet tooth. It was the reason he went into his current profession.

He closed his eyes, savoring the cool freshness on his tongue. He thought back to the lovely girl from the candy store. He had tried to casually run into her a few times, but each time he saw her he couldn't get up enough nerve to start a conversation. Oh, well. Maybe one of these days he would just buy some cotton candy and hand it to her like a bouquet. She would probably appreciate the gesture.

"Doctor, your next appointment is here."

He froze, trying not to chew. "Tan yew, Bwenna," he garbled.

She raised her eyebrow at him. "You might want to spit out that mint. It sets a bad example."

What was she, his mother? He spit the candy into the waste basket. "Good point. Thank you, Brenda. What would I do without you?"

"Sarcasm is unbecoming."

He narrowed his eyes at her as she walked away, then stuck out his tongue.

---

She had noticed that cute guy from the flower stand watching her from afar every day last week. She wondered if he was a stalker. Maybe he was just shy. Hopefully that was it. After all, a man who loved cotton candy couldn't be all bad, could he?

She heard footsteps and set down her magazine.

"Good afternoon--"

She looked up at the familiar voice. "You!" she exclaimed.

"You!" he breathed.

They both laughed nervously.

"You've been stalking me!"

"Actually, I've been trying to get up the nerve to ask you out."

She blushed and changed the subject. "Where's Dr. Parker?"

"He retired last week. I guess Brenda forgot to call you. I hope this won't be too awkward."

"So, you're a dentist who loves candy?"

"Why do you think I became a dentist? With all the sugar I consume, I need industrial strength teeth cleaning quite often."

She smiled. "You must work out a lot to stay in such good shape. I mean--" She blushed again.

"Thanks," he laughed. Aside from my candy habit, I'm pretty health conscious." He cleared his throat. "So...about that date?  And don't feel pressured just because you're stuck in the dental chair of doom. I promise I won't ask you again. I mean, I understand if you want to keep this professional...that is if you want to keep me on as your dentist."

"I'd like that."

"Great!" He paused. "Um, were you referring to a date or to me being your dentist?" He held his breath.

"Both." She said with an amused grin. "Maybe we could go visit the Sweet Shop together."

"I'd like that."
--

The End.

Flowers and Candy Haiku

Inspired by my Sweet Shop story.

colors of the earth
flavors of another world
senses overwhelmed

Kindred Spirit (Sweet Shop, part 4)

Read Sweet Shop, part 3 here.

He had watched her since the sweet shop, his favorite hangout since moving to town a few weeks ago. She had shown such unbridled joy when looking at the rows of treats. He didn't think anyone had as much appreciation for candy as him. He was wrong. She was obviously a kindred spirit. He had laughed quietly as he watched her dance around the store with her giant lollipop. The glow on her face had lit up his own heart. Since he had been on a mission to get gifts for his nieces, he turned back to the collection of chocolates. When he had looked up again, she was gone. 

"I guess it just wasn't meant to be," he sighed. 

Then she had reappeared a few minutes later to pair up some cotton candy with her lollipop. He knew it must be fate. He quickly purchased his chocolates and ran outside to follow her down the street. He tried to act casual, keep his distance. Grown men didn't follow women around, watching their every move. Well, not sane ones, anyway.

At the flower stand she got that same glow, but this time it was bigger, if that was possible. She looked like a forest nymph gliding through a meadow, touching each bud, making it bloom. He wanted her to touch him, to make him bloom. He shook himself. What ridiculous thoughts. Next thing you know he would start writing romance novels. 

He wanted desperately to say something, but he didn't know how to approach her without looking like a stalker. Then she did something unthinkable. She threw her candy into the trashcan!

"You're killing me! How could you throw away cotton candy?" He teased. At least he hoped it sounded that way.

She looked startled, flustered. Finally she shrugged and mumbled something. It sounded like "Priorities?"

So, flowers were more important to her than candy? He watched as she blushed prettily and turned away. He walked up to the clerk and said softly, "I would like to pay for that young lady's flowers."

"Oh, that's so sweet," the clerk whispered back. "She'll love it! I see her here almost every day, but she never buys anything, just sort of skips around sniffing everything."

He snorted. Why wasn't he surprised? Since she frequented this place, he knew he would probably run into her again soon, so he decided to be mysterious. He paid the clerk and left.

Read Sweet Shop, part 5 here.

Roses (Sweet Shop, part 3)

Read Sweet Shop, part 2 here.

She walked down the street with her giant lollipop in one hand and her cotton candy in the other, licking sugar off her lips. She wasn't looking forward to her dentist appointment next week. Dr. Parker had some sort of sixth sense when it came to teeth. He could look at your less-than-pearly whites and just know exactly what you had been indulging in. She had lost count of how many times she'd promised to cut back on coffee/soda/candy. Take your pick. She wasn't giving up anything!

A beautiful fragrance filled the air. Roses! There was a little flower market up ahead. How long had it been since she had bought herself flowers? Too long. She stepped closer to the cart and was overwhelmed by the sweet aroma and beautiful colors. Swirls of pink, purple and yellow danced before her. She wanted to scoop them all up in her arms and hug them. They made her so happy!

She looked back and forth between her lollipop and her cotton candy. They were pretty, too, but the flowers were calorie free. That would please both her dentist and her bathroom scale. She dumped the candy into the nearest trashcan and grabbed two bunches of cheerful flowers.

"You're killing me! How could you throw away cotton candy?"

She whirled to face a smiling handsome man with a twinkle in his eye. He mock groaned and held his hand over his chest. She was momentarily speechless. She held up her flowers and shrugged. She cleared her throat and mumbled, "Priorities?"

She mentally kicked herself. Why did she forget how to talk around good looking guys? It's not like they ever took any interest in her anyway. Who was she trying to impress? She turned away and pretended to look at other flowers. A few minutes later she stepped up to the register.

The clerk smiled and shook her head. "They've been taken care of."

"What?"

"That nice man. He paid for your flowers."

"He what?" She turned to look for him, but he was gone.
--

Read Sweet Shop, part 4 here.

Cotton Candy (Sweet Shop, part 2)

Thank you to my facebook friend, Paul Myers, for his lovely photograph!

Read Sweet Shop, part 1 here.

Still dancing, she did a pirouette out of the sweet shop door. There was a park across the street, the perfect place to enjoy her treat. She headed over to a large oak tree. It was a hot day, so a little shade was in order. She sat with her back against the tree trunk and peeled off the cellophane. The lollipop was so pretty, she almost hated to eat it. She stared at it, getting hypnotized by the colorful swirls. 

The next thing she knew she was lying on the ground, gazing up at the sky. There was a wide opening between the branches. The brilliant blue sky was painted with puffs of pink. She had never seen clouds like this. How strange. What would cause clouds to turn such a shade? Maybe the sun was setting. She had lost track of time.

She picked the lollipop off her chest and covered it back up in the plastic wrap. It no longer held any appeal. 

She was suddenly craving cotton candy.

Read Sweet Shop, part 3 here.

Lollipops (Sweet Shop, part 1)

This image, shared by an article about high-end sweets, really caught my eye. It brought on this scene...

She stepped through the door and her eyes went wide. She had never seen so many bright colors in one place. It made her deliriously happy. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten a lollipop. Was it when she was a child? 

She stepped closer to the massive display of the hard candy confections. They came in all shapes and sizes, from tiny spheres to giant discs. She ran her fingers along the rainbow swirls of the largest one. She picked it up and twirled it like an umbrella. She danced up to the register like Gene Kelly. 

Her diet could wait.

Have a sweet day!

I have continued this little story. Read part 2 of Sweet Shop here.