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General


Hello, Mr./Ms. Reader of my diary! Have you ever had a nagging idea that wouldn't allow you to think of anything else besides it? That's what happened to me on the last day of December. I woke up feeling bored and New-Years-Resolutiony! Every now and then I like to add new words to The Unaware-of-That-Word dictionary--don't hate, congratulate! I got it like that even if Merriam-Webster doesn’t know about it.

Well, anyway, I began to try to figure out how to change this boredom into excitement and lying in bed wasn’t going to do it. The birds at my window did not have my problem as evidenced by their melodic chirping, so I finally dragged my 28-year-old bored self out of bed at 8:00 am, took a shower, and headed downstairs for breakfast. "No oatmeal for me today", I said to myself, "I'm going to do something different--I'm going to have some cream of wheat with butter, cream, and sugar! Now, take that, boredom!". 

I prepared my cream of wheat, a cup of hot tea, and a slice of dry toast. I sat down to enjoy it along with that day's devotional. Do you believe in fate? I do. Of all the topics for my devotional, would you believe that the subject was " Step Out on Faith"? Yeah, go figure!! Remember, I am bored. So, in my boredom, I saw this as a sign for me to do something different so that boredom could take a hike!!

To my surprise, the boredom-breaker was born that very same morning when I stepped out the door of my house to take my daily stroll and the first person I saw was my neighbor, Mr. Springsteen, who lives across the street from me. Mr. Springsteen is about 70 years old but in good shape. He's handsome, too, but old enough to be my grandfather. He had no idea how his “Hello” had turned out to be so inspirational. 

As soon as I said, "Good morning, Mr. Springsteen", the boredom-breaker popped into my head. At first, I was surprised at myself because I pride myself on being kind of conservative. Being conservative had only bought me extreme boredom and my devotional had now given me permission to step out on faith! We exchanged pleasantries and then we each went in opposite directions. I was all smiles because my very first boredom-breaker was taking shape. "Farewell conservative". 

I had come up with my boredom-breaker idea and now I had to determine when I would carry it out. That conservative part of me kept trying to talk me out of it, but the awakening adventurous, impulsive side of me refused to be silenced. There was a war going on and there would be only one victim—boredom. So, in spite of the raging war, I declared personal victory and proceeded to determine when this great event would take place. 

Now, I am a person who believes in new beginnings. Usually, Sunday is my favorite day to begin new things or change a habit, but for this endeavor, Sunday just didn't seem appropriate. My birthday is also a favored day of starting new but that was too far away. This could not tarry that long. The next viable day of refreshing would be the first day of spring. Yes, that's my day! I claim it and I officially adopt it-step out on faith day!

For the next few weeks, I was excitedly planning the how, the when, and the time for execution of the start of something new. Since Mr. Springsteen had been inspirational in the birthing of this change of life for me, I thought it appropriate to include him in the plan. I could barely sleep at night. My thoughts were running wild. I thought of good outcomes and I thought of nightmarish outcomes. I went to bed thinking about it and I awoke thinking about it. I had thoughts for breakfast. I had thoughts for lunch and dinner, too. I just couldn't stop thinking.

March 18

Finally, it's March 18 and all system are set to go! Wouldn't you know it, fear has tried to creep in again and at such a critical hour? I did not prepare for it. The big day is less than 24 hours away. All hope isn't lost, though. " Go ahead what-ifs! You can toy with my mind but I have a trick for you. Tomorrow, March 19th, I will set a timer and when the timer rings, I will kick all thoughts to the curb and just do it!".

March 19:

I was so excited about this day for which I had been patiently anticipating. I was awake at 8 am but did not get out of bed until 9:00 am. The what-ifs started up again. I promptly set my timer for 60 minutes to allow myself time for a shower, breakfast, and my devotional. I laid my clothes out the night before: a red delicately laced bra, a red button-down top, a black skirt, and a pair of red flats. 

9:45, I’m getting dressed and the what-ifs are still trying to talk me out of this. 

9:50, shut up what-ifs, it's too late

9:55, five more minutes

9:58, two more minutes, I’m so nervous

The alarm screams and without thinking, I unbuttoned my top, I opened my door, stepped outside and just as Mr. Springsteen was passing by, I flashed him a great big smile and a pair of twin double D's dressed in a lacy, red bra! " Have a great day, Mr. Springteen", I happily yelled out to him. The look on his face was priceless! He didn't know if he should smile, scream, or run or all three! I turned, went back inside, and when I closed the door, I laughed for the rest of the day! 

Even as I tell you about it now, I can't help myself from laughing. From that day to this one, Mr. Springsteen has never been the same and neither am I. He waves to me and hurriedly dashes back into his home. I, on the other hand, continue to smile as I am busy planning my next boredom-breaker...


March 30, 2020 18:14

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5 comments

Anita Manuel
01:59 Apr 06, 2020

This is my first short story and I am so thankful for the opportunity to share it. I look forward to your feedback.

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Harken Void
08:11 Apr 09, 2020

For a first short story, I think you did great :) Gave me a nice laugh at the end. Though I must say, the character gave me a sense of excitement and not boredom (don't know if this was intentional).

Reply

Anita Manuel
20:46 Apr 09, 2020

Thank you for the encouragement! I could have embellished a little more on her boredom in my introduction. She does have a sense of humor, but she is somewhat introverted. Thanks for your comment because it lets me know that I have to pay more attention to character development so that her coming out of herself would have been in sync with her personality. Did I make sense?

Reply

Harken Void
07:45 Apr 10, 2020

Glad to help. Yes, I understood what you meant ;) It's quite difficult to show character development in a 1k to 3k word story in a way that feels authentic, but it can certainly be done. Try reading one of the previous winners, the one from Bad Hair Day. That story is very cute and it shows a boy and a girl overcoming their shyness (an example of character development).

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Anita Manuel
18:12 Apr 10, 2020

Ok. I will read it. Thanks again!

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