Glad you could join us for the next intriguing episode of Elliot’s Adventures. If you’re new here, you can catch up by returning to the beginning, and reading really fast…

The shocking splash was a cold, dead hand slapping Elliot smack in the face, yanking his breath right out of his lungs. Water filled his shell, now a brick dragging him belly-up to the bottom of a crushing grave. His life swam before his eyes; it looked a lot like bubbles.

“Oh, please,” he thought as loudly as he could, “don’t let this be the end of me! I’ve only just begun to live. I have a huge debt to repay, and I’ve haven’t yet found true love!”

A shadow passed over him, dimming his sight as he bounced once against the sandy stream bed and came to rest beside a clump of waving, slimy grass.

To be continued…

Previously, on Elliot’s Adventures ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Next time . . .

#AtoZChallenge A-to-Z Fictioneers: Interested in original fiction? Here’s a list of writers who are writing stories for the 2017 A to Z Challenge. The author’s link will take you to their “A” post. If you know of any other story writers I can share, please drop the link in the comments!

• Aditi’s Indian myths from a female POV at Aditi’s Pen
• Arpan’s horror stories at Tales of Unusual Strangeness
• Atherton’s Victorian murder mystery, “Stranded!”, at Atherton’s Magic Vapour
• Debs’s song-inspired fiction at Bunny and the Bloke
• Diane’s 100-word tales at LadiesWhoLunchReviews,etc
• Dipanwita’s 100-word stories at Cocktails Mocktails and Life
• Iain’s alphabet puzzle-inspired murder mystery serial at Iain Kelly Writing
• Jo’s upbeat emotion stories at Jo Hawk the Writer
• Joe’s excerpts from his upcoming post-Civil War historical fiction, “Steel Horse Saviors”, at Fiction Playground
• John’s flash fiction crime stories with a twist at John Davis Frain
• Keith’s everyday life in fictional Amble Bay at Keith’s Ramblings
• Lenni’s speculative fiction, “What Are They” at J Lenni Dorner
• Marquessa’s short stories spun from her larger work, “Living to Die” at Simply Marquessa
• Natalie’s “Secret Diary of a Serial Killer” at Natalie Westgate
• Raven’s 100-word flash fiction at everywhere and nowhere
• Shailaja’s 100-word oxymoronic stories at The Moving Quill
• Shweta’s Tiny Tales at My Random Ramblings
• Sorchia’s Gothic fantasy, “A Cold Spring” at Sorchia’s Universe
• S.T. Ranscht’s fantasy/adventure serial, “Elliot’s Adventures”at Space, Time, and Raspberries

• Vanessa’s build-a-30-word-story at Vanessence

Today’s twofer from April 11, 2016:

Introduction to Infinity

Isn’t it cute? A vintage 1950’s Tommee Tippee sipper cup exactly like the one my mother said was mine. Not my older sister’s. Not my baby sister’s. Mine. The one I drank from even after I didn’t use the mouthpiece anymore. The only one Mom ever offered me.

The one I couldn’t look at because it scared me to death.

I used to look at it. When I was a toddler, even at the worldly age of two, I could face that little Tommee Tippee with a smile.

One day, when I was three, I looked at what he was doing. Really looked. With a penetrating stare and eyes that grew wider and wider.

He was drinking. He was drinking from a cup like mine. He was drinking from a cup with his face on it… drinking from a cup with his face on it   drinking from a cup with his face on it  drinking from a cup with his face on it drinking from a cup with his face on itdrinking from a cup with his face on it…

As I wrote this, my heart and my breath started racing. Just like they did back then.

I knew with every cell of my being, every philotic thread connecting me and my soul to everything that is and everything that isn’t, that this went on

F…O….R…..E……V…….E……..R………

I was looking directly into Infinity. I could see Eternity.

Mom had told me not to look directly at the sun, but she hadn’t warned me about Infinity and Eternity. She never hinted that if I could see them, They. Could. See. Me. And that moment, my friends, is when I truly began to become who I am.

Well, that moment and the one on Christmas Eve when I was two.