All Things To All People
A series of short pieces of fiction, each based on one of the segments of “Fingertips” by They Might Be Giants from Apollo 18.
“Hey, it’s me again.” “Oh, uh, hey, haven’t heard from you in a while. What’s up?” “Not much, you know, same ol’ same ol’. Just, you know, bein’ a house. That’s all.” “Ah, yeah — how’s that workin’ out for you?” “Pretty…
G’wan, git! I’m busy here — leave! You’re still here? Why are you still here? Don’t you understand English?
“Please pass the milk, please.” “Stop it!” “Please pass the milk, please.” “I know that’s all you can say. There isn’t any milk here.” “Please pass the milk, please.” “It’s not even proper grammar!”
So like OK I was there right and just mindin’ my own business when all of a sudden bam just like outta nowhere this guy comes up and slugs me right in the face and i’m like man, I can’t even see…
It had started out pretty well, in fact, though over the years, their relationship had deteriorated. Or, rather, his relationship had deteriorated; her feelings hadn’t appeared to change a bit. To make things easier — she could be vicious in fights, even…
“Psst….” Late at night, I typically don’t hear voices, outside of those in dreams. And those ones usually come from inside my head, rather than outside it. And I’m typically asleep when those voices are heard. To be fair, I thought I…
The thumping started sporadically and quietly. The first few months, no one noticed — it was surely the house settling. Enough noise to notice, but in a relatively unnoticable way. A noise you hear but decide to ignore. For a long time,…
I know it’s not a standard friendship, but really, what is? Friendship, amongst other things, takes many different forms, all of which equally valid. To claim otherwise is judgmental and wrong. So I don’t want you to laugh. The Wind is my…
“Your arpeggios are suffering. You haven’t been practicing.” “I have — I just haven’t gotten the hang of them yet.” “How could that be — they’re simple.” “I know, I just… I don’t know.” “You haven’t been practicing.” “…”