Daily Scintilla – Vengeful Gods
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
“What’s up with him?”
“Him? Oh, his god struck him blind. You know, you would think these newcomers would learn, but they never do. If’ you’re going to follow a god, you’ve got to be faithful. They are seriously vengeful little sods.”
“What did he do?”
“Forgot to wear his holy symbol. If he’s lucky, he’ll get his sight back once he makes his way home for it.”
“Well, shouldn’t we help him?”
“Are you kidding? And catch his god’s attention? No way!”
Daily Scintilla – Betrayals
“What kind of a man would I be, if I let my wife buy our lives this way?”
“A live one!”
“Not for long, with such shame on me.”
“Do you see another way to save our people? You’ll all be killed within a week if we stay, and the engineers don’t have what they need to fix the engines. We have nothing to trade that they can’t take once they know we have it.”
“Including you. What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that if he betrays us – if his people attack, or if the engines blow up – I will still be alive, and part of his household. Perfectly positioned to kill them all in vengeance.”
“Ahh. Now that’s my girl.”
Question for you:
Who would be interested in listening to the weekly stories as podcasts?
The stories would still be posted on a weekly basis as text, and I imagine the podcasts would be posted some time after – perhaps later in the day or the next week, depending on how putting them together works out.
The reason I ask is I have one friend who mentioned she hasn’t had time to read them, but would enjoy listening to stories on her commute. So I figure if she’s interested, maybe other people are too. 
Daily Scintilla – Dentist
The dental hygenist turned away to pick up a different instrument of torture. Louie took the opportunity to swallow, trying not to grimace at the uniquely rancid taste of blood mixed with tartar.
My own fault, he scolded himself silently. If I did better with the flossing and brushing, I wouldn’t have so much tartar for her to scrape off.
Scrape, scrape, JAB! He stared intently at the ceiling, suppressing winces as the implement slipped into his gums over and over.
My own fault, he reminded himself. She’s not trying to hurt me. She’s just doing what I’m paying to have done. If I did better with cleaning between visits, it wouldn’t hurt so much. I *know* that.”
JAB!
WHY can’t I get myself to do better with flossing? I know I need to…
“This pit is getting deeper. If you don’t do better with cleaning out the bacteria in this gap, you’re going to lose the tooth.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in, and then a surge of adrenaline tightened his throat, making his voice higher pitched than usual. “Pit? What pit?”
© 2010 Catherine Wechsler, used with permission.
