THE 'LIFT' OF LIFE...

Monday morning, 9 a.m. The usual rush, the usual grumbles. I was on my way to office, with the thoughts of the early morning fight with my fiance fresh in mind. As any 'NORMAL' girl, she was suspicious of me having affairs with the damsels in my office. Sigh! When will these girls grow up?

My office was on the 10th floor. We had a wonderful contraption known as the elevator, which was so human! It had its mood swings! And it was always in a bad mood on Monday morning. Always going out of order and leaving poor old souls stranded for about an hour or so. The authorities were efficient enough not to do anything about it, despite repeated complaints. Fortunately, by some strange quirk of fate, I never had to face it's moods. We were good pals by now.

And yet, I entered it with a prayer on my lips, as I always did for the past 7 years.

Eureka! It was working... it hadn't failed me even once. The entire office was jealous of me for this very reason.

As I whistled my way up the levels, the elevator stopped at the 5th floor. Two of my good-looking (and I MEAN good-looking!) female colleagues just walked in. And just as I was feeling good about the world (with the two beautiful ladies), the lift stopped in between the 7th and 8th floor.

My worst nightmare had come true. The power had gone off. Everything went dark. I could hear only deep breaths and worried whispers. As my hand groped around for some buttons to push, I felt that I was pushing SOMETHING ELSE, as I got loud screams and constant whacks on the head. How these girls find the target in the dark, I just don't know!

Apology was of no use. Neither was asking them to calm down. Dealing with one terrified lady is bad enough, and here I had two! I even tried the good ol' male charm and wittiness, but to no avail. Finally, after an hour of exhaustion, all 3 of us fell flat on the lift floor. My world went dark after that. No sound, no light.

Funnily enough, I didn't realise when the lights came back on... because the next thing I remember was being in a hospital bed, with a letter of dismissal in one hand, and my fiance's ring in the other!

Then I heard a heavenly voice - THE LAW OF AVERAGES HAS FINALLY CAUGHT UP WITH YOU MY SON!

Fortunately I was qualified enough to get another job. But it took me 3 years. Why, you ask?

You don't think I would accept a job that was above the ground floor, do you???

And yes, I'm still searching for a girl who would marry me.... anyone out there interested? But no LIFTS PLEASE!

THE CURSE OF LOVE

A Polish gentleman with the largest mane of hair one could ever imagine to see, happened to come across a frozen lake in his native place. He took out his skates, and was about to embark on his ice-skating journey when something in the middle of the lake attracted his attention. As he drew closer, he witnessed the most stunning beauty - a lady with the eyes of a doe, hair as black as night, and in her hand was the probably the most white and pretty swan he had ever seen. She seemed to be stuck in the lake, and Popolski (which happened to be the gentleman's name) walked up to her and asked her, in his typically Polish accent, "From where do you come ma'am? I have never seen you in these parts."

The lady, who was expressionless up till now, managed to bring about a smile, and replied in a teary tone, " I stand here, frozen in the middle of this lake with this swan, thanks to a curse by a black magician..." Tears started forming in her eyes.

Popolski was considered to be a stone-hearted man, but this show of emotion caused him to let his guard down too. He asked back in a very soft tone, unusual for him, "What is the cause for this curse, my dear lady? Can I be of any help to you?" The lady of the lake replied, "I happened to be foolish enough to try and steal one of his magical amulets... I regret it so much now! The only way for me to get rid of this curse is if someone were to take care of this swan for me. Will you take care of this creature for me, oh kind man? I would be ever obliged to you..."

He looked at the creature with some speculation. Never a lover of animals, he resented the fact that the lady's fortunes were bound to such a creature. The swan looked endearingly at Popolski - he returned cold, unfriendly stares. But he had come too far. Beauty and a tragic story had taken over his senses. He was falling prey to love (although such a thing was deemed impossible in Popolski's case - it had just happened) and eventually, gave in. He agreed to take care of the swan for her.

The swan made loud noises, as if to celebrate a victory, and the lady only too readily gave it to him. Popolski accepted the swan gingerly, and patted it on the head. When he wanted to make his way back, he found that he couldn't walk! His feet had become part of the lake, and now he was frozen to the middle of the lake just like the lady was. The swan had gone quiet again.

The lady was laughing, and quite evilly at that. Popolski, no matter how hard he tried, couldn't free himself. She only had this to say, " YOU FOOL! You did not have an idea of what you were getting into eh? I was waiting for a 1000 years for some fool to come along this way and free me - and God decided to send you! HAHAHAHA! Now, I shall make sure that no one comes along this way again... you have fallen for my beauty, without thinking about the consequences! And you only had eyes for my beauty - you never thought about the poor swan! Now you shall suffer!"

And saying so, she just drifted away, leaving Popolski in the middle of the lake with the swan, laughing at the fate & foolhardiness of a man who had fallen in love with a CURSE...

The first post - a strange story in itself

Hello one and all,

Welcome to the Ominous Omnibus of Stories. Please do not ask me why I have kept this as the name of my dream; I might go mad wondering about that. If you're still "curious", all I will say is, "CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT - AND YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN THAT..."

Sorry - people say that I am mad. I wonder why. I was always under the impression that I am an impressionable, well-behaved and socially accepted being on this planet. Curiously enough, recently, some people have questioned the sanctity of my sanity! Of all the nerve that people have!

Therefore, in order to vent out my frustration, I decided to write dark & short stories. Stories that would leave people wondering. Stories that would reveal the insanity of people who questioned my sanity! Stories that would question the questionable curiosity of people! Stories that....!

Oh sorry, I told you that I am frustrated. Enough of this first post, I guess it's too long already. I'll get on with the stories next time. They are not in any particular order or chronology. Just random stories for you to pick and enjoy. Read them, comment on them and hopefully enjoy them!

Good night, God bless, and wait for my first story tomorrow.