T
he eighth short story from my collection Upon The Ground is available for your reading pleasure at greenspotblue.com (here). You can catch up on the previous short stories via the links on the Upon The Ground page.
Today’s story a surreal black comedy called “Jake’s Amazing Talent.” Here is a bit of the beginning of the work:
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“Jake’s Amazing Talent”
The last thing Jake expected to be when he woke up on Monday was dead.
“Not today,” Jake moaned. Jake Hawkins was an ad consultant for a large grocery store corporation. He was born into the job. His father started the corporation over thirty years ago. Jake was raised with the notion that this great business would be his as soon as his father kicked the bucket. So patiently Jake grew up, waiting. Never did another thought enter his head other than the idea of owning this large moneymaking business.
But now that would never happen because Jake Hawkins, age twenty-eight, was dead. He sat up in his bed, yawned, and thought about this some more. His arm itched so he scratched it. Jake collapsed back down on his bed. “Oh, why today,” he moaned again. “Why did I have to die today?”
Today he was supposed to propose a new ad campaign to the board (He was calling it “Eat to Live.”). His father hoped that his presentation would show his strength to the members so they would not worry when he inherited the stores. But that was all too late.
“I’m dead…. I’m dead…. I’m dead….” He kept mumbling it to himself. It felt so weird to say it. The idea of death was just something Jake never pictured happening to him. He was always raised with the notion that he was somewhat greater than normal people. He was the heir to the great business king and his veins flowed with blue blood…. Or better yet, had flowed with green money-like blood.
He was dead.
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You can read the rest of the story here. I hope you like it.
Since the passing of Ray Bradbury, I’ve been re-reading his books (or reading ones for the first time), trying to find a lost classic, a gem I had not discovered before. So far I’ve reviewed two of his books (Here are the reviews: Something Wicked This Way Comes and From the Dust Returned). Today, I review The Halloween Tree.
The Stories of Scott D. Southard 