Hey everyone, welcome back to Short Story Sunday. I’ve got a bit of a fun one for you today. Mind, it is a little undercooked as I’ve been a little preoccupied with some other articles and other things lately, so just something to keep in mind as you read. Enjoy!

A Very Hot Day

It was morning in the Henley household. And a beautiful, bright morning at that. The sun was shining brighter than ever, the heat radiating from the golden orb of fire immense. The house featured a few bedrooms, a couple of bathrooms, a neat living room, an exquisite dining room, and of particular note was the highly pristine kitchen. And it was in this kitchen where we found Tate.

Tate was hanging around the kitchen, just letting the day flow by. He did this most days, it wasn’t really new for him. He was just taking it easy, having a nice day in, out of the summer heat. Tate liked to spend his days just keeping it simple, and sometimes he had a few friends to chat with. They’d entertain themselves by having a chat, by joking with each other, doing whatever really to keep themselves busy and happy. It was a genuinely simple yet good life to live.

On this particular day, Tate had a few friends with him to keep him company. It was good company at that too. Tom was one of these. Tate and Tom were really good mates, the best of friends. They’d known each other for so long, it felt like they’d never been apart. They’d always hang out together, do everything together. They were truely best mates. Tom was looking a little red today. Tate spoke up, and asked him why.

‘Hey Tom, you’re lookin’ a bit on the red side today mate. You alright? You get burnt or something in the sun?’

‘No, I’m fine’, Tom replied, ‘Just my usual self, you know how it is.’

Tate looked at him, ‘Yeah, well, I guess I do.’

Tom wasn’t the only one with Tate today. Annie was also with the guys today. Annie Yen was a fun one to talk to. And she had some great stories to tell. But some of them were so deep or just so hilarious, they actually brought tears to your eyes. Only she could do that, it was just purely amazing. The stories also kept the others highly entertained, and they all really enjoyed hearing these tales of humour or of woe. Tate for one was really excited to have Annie there today.

‘Hey Annie, you got a good one for us today?’

‘Yeah Tate, it’s a real tragic one too. I’m sure you’ll all love it’, Annie replied.

‘Sounds delectable’, said Tate.

There was one more friend with the three today. This was none other than Peter. Peter was a small guy, quite short in fact. He was a fun little guy. He had a really big family too. Tate was sure he’d heard Peter tell them how many family members he had once. Although he couldn’t quite remember the number. But he knew it was a lot. In fact, he thought he’d ask again just to make sure.

‘Hey Peter.’

‘Yeah Tate?’

‘How many did you say were in your family?’

‘Oh, about a hundred and ninety-six I think. Actually, make that one ninety-seven. We had another join the family a few days ago.’

‘Wow, that’s a lot.’

‘Yeah how is your family that big?’ said Tom.

‘I’ve got a lot of cousins.’

‘Really?’ Annie inquired.

‘Yeah. Some have slightly odd names too. Like Snow, Sugar, Sweetie, Peaches. And then there’s Peta. Lots of cousins. The family gatherings can get immense.’

‘I’d imagine so’, said Tate.

The four friends were all together in the kitchen. All were having a chat, happily discussing what they had each been up to and what their plans were for the coming days. Annie was right in the middle of telling her tragic story when something happened. Something sharp and silver was laid down next to them. Annie kept telling her story despite the minor disruption, but Tate noticed something different about her. Her skin was peeling slightly.

‘Hey Annie, sorry to interrupt, but your skin looks a little out of sorts. Like it’s peeling.’

‘Oh, yeah, I don’t know why it’s doing that. Probably the sun or something, you know?’ Annie replied.

‘Ah, yeah, that’s probably it,’ said Tate.

Annie went back to her storytelling just as Tate noticed that the sharp object next to them had disappeared. He was just thinking how strange that was when that object came down and struck Annie. The others started shouting and screaming, freaking out at the stabbing that was occurring in front of them.

‘Argh, I’ve been stabbed!’ Annie shouted, sounding highly alarmed.

‘What’s going on?!’ Tate yelled.

‘Arrrrrghhhh!’ Tom screamed at the top of his voice.

‘Oh my gosh!’ Peter chimed in.

After the initial stabbing, the knife came down again and stabbed Annie a few more times.

‘Oh golly, it’s killing her!’ said Tate.

After Annie had been sliced up, the knife came down again, this time heading for Tom. Tate looked up and saw it coming.

‘Tom! Watch out!’

Tom tried to move out of the way.

‘I can’t move! I can’t move!’ Tom shouted.

The knife came down and stabbed Tom.

‘Arggggggghhhhh!’ Tom screamed loudly.

‘Tom! No!’ screamed Tate.

‘Get out of here while you still can!’ Tom shouted.

The knife came down a few more times, slicing up Tom, and then it cut off his head.

‘Oh my, what in the..?’ Tate questioned, taken aback by the situation playing out in front of his very eyes. Just as he was doing this, he was sliced in half.

Peter meanwhile had survived the carnage. He sat there, somewhat disheartened that his friends were gone. He was content however, as he had been spared, and could live on with his family and his numerous cousins. He was just sitting there, thinking this to himself, when he noticed that he was floating. He was then hovering over something, and it was hot, really hot. He could see bubbles in there though, so that could be alright. Then he started falling. It was at this point that he had a mid-air revelation, and he realised he hadn’t been floating, he’d been lifted up. And now here he was, falling, falling, descending into a hot, bubbly spring. He could see something below, a sea of green. He realised something about it. It wasn’t just a sea of green, it was his family, and all his cousins were in attendance. Well, except for Pyotr, but he was always late to these events. Then he hit the water and started boiling. It was at this point he realised this was the end of the line for not only him, but for his whole family. Because he was in a kitchen, and he was in a pot filled with boiling water. And he was being served with the roast for lunch in about ten minutes. Why? Because, if you haven’t already worked this out, Peter was a pea. And who else was in the pot with him? None other than a chopped up Tate, the potato. And in the tray next to them were Tom the tomato, and Annie Yen, the onion. Because this was no simple story about some friends having a chat and then ending up stabbed. No, this was a story about four vegetables, each being served for lunch with a beautiful roast lamb for the Henley family.

There you go. Hope you enjoyed it. More to come on the blog soon. Keep an eye out for upcoming articles. Have a good one!

JJ