Free Short Story - changed every season (solstice and equinox) - Thanks for your interest!
False Key “Box of Chocolate” mini-stories for Amazon Alexa/Echo
These stories are told by Opal, a character created by Amy Stapleton. Opal is a young British woman who enjoys traveling the world and mastering the art of chocolate making. During the month of April, you can listen these and 10 other False Key stories from various authors by telling your Amazon Alexa to “open a Box of Chocolates.” Or, visit tellables.com to listen on another device.
Story 1 - The Chance Encounter
Waving goodbye to fellow chocolatiers after Miami’s Convention, l glanced around the crowded parking lot. I'd traveled light, with only two day’s clothing and a toothbrush added to the everyday items in my bag.
Hand-painted pink, yellow, and green letters on the side of a bus advertised “See Florida’s Keys”.
Why not?
After six hours of bridges and islands, wide vistas, local attractions, pleasant conversation, and a spectacular sunset, the bus exited the last, dark bridge and rolled into Key West.
Most of the passengers got off at a hotel, but a few lingered. I stayed, too, and was surprised when the bus turned down a narrow road and then crept across a rickety bridge to its final stop, False Key. When I asked about lodging, the driver deposited me at a youth hostel.
The next morning I rented a bicycle. Peddling through False Key’s historic district, one corner lot stood out. Oak trees almost obscured a fading Victorian house and the large, gleaming objects on its lawn. I slowed to get a better look, and nearly ran into another cyclist when I turned the corner.
We both stopped, and traded apologies and introductions. Diane was my age. A sculptor, she was curious about the shining objects called “Old Granny’s statues”.
I grinned and said I could speculate, but my statues were small and edible. We chatted as we peddled away, and Diane invited me to her workshop. Later, she recounted rumors about Old Granny’s pearl statues.
Story 2 is “Shark’s Eye” by Serena’s Schreiber. A rather grim supernatural story about Old Granny's younger days, and how she ended up on the tropical island of False Key.
Story 3 - Starfish
I’m a charmed traveller; it’s true. Diane and I were strangers. Then we bonded over ghost stories, art, and avoiding bike wrecks. She invited me to stay at her house.
Her isolated cinderblock bungalow sits on a limestone beach. Beyond the sandbar to the left lies a pristine lagoon.
As I sat on the lagoon’s white sand, a deep sadness filled me. Climate change could flood this area in fifty years, and three fourths of Florida’s coral reef is infected with a bacteria that’s killing it.
Something touched me. I looked down and smiled at a small starfish that seemed to pat my ankle. I picked it up, and noticed a gold ring pierced one of its arms.
To my amazement the starfish spoke, saying, “Why is one so temporary crying for Earth? Earth recreates, and will recreate you. My kind has witnessed many eras. Look, even dinosaurs are reborn. Humans burn dinosaur remains, creating heat and electricity, light and wavelengths that broadcast ideas that may last forever.”
Diane ran up. “You found it!” she said, holding out a broken gold chain. I looked at the starfish in my hand. It had changed. It was feather-light, dry, and stiff. Diane told me that before she moved here, she had found the starfish in a box beneath the deed for her house. That night, she’d dreamed the starfish climbed up her neck, whispered in her ear, and said, “Take me home.”
(This version is slightly longer than the one you will hear in Alexa's Box of Chocolates. Can you tell the difference?)
One of the fun parts of working on Tellables is listening to the personalities Amy programs into Alexa the chocolatiers’ robot-voice. She even gives Alexa a sense of humor. ;-D I hope you enjoy it!
These stories are told by Opal, a character created by Amy Stapleton. Opal is a young British woman who enjoys traveling the world and mastering the art of chocolate making. During the month of April, you can listen these and 10 other False Key stories from various authors by telling your Amazon Alexa to “open a Box of Chocolates.” Or, visit tellables.com to listen on another device.
Story 1 - The Chance Encounter
Waving goodbye to fellow chocolatiers after Miami’s Convention, l glanced around the crowded parking lot. I'd traveled light, with only two day’s clothing and a toothbrush added to the everyday items in my bag.
Hand-painted pink, yellow, and green letters on the side of a bus advertised “See Florida’s Keys”.
Why not?
After six hours of bridges and islands, wide vistas, local attractions, pleasant conversation, and a spectacular sunset, the bus exited the last, dark bridge and rolled into Key West.
Most of the passengers got off at a hotel, but a few lingered. I stayed, too, and was surprised when the bus turned down a narrow road and then crept across a rickety bridge to its final stop, False Key. When I asked about lodging, the driver deposited me at a youth hostel.
The next morning I rented a bicycle. Peddling through False Key’s historic district, one corner lot stood out. Oak trees almost obscured a fading Victorian house and the large, gleaming objects on its lawn. I slowed to get a better look, and nearly ran into another cyclist when I turned the corner.
We both stopped, and traded apologies and introductions. Diane was my age. A sculptor, she was curious about the shining objects called “Old Granny’s statues”.
I grinned and said I could speculate, but my statues were small and edible. We chatted as we peddled away, and Diane invited me to her workshop. Later, she recounted rumors about Old Granny’s pearl statues.
Story 2 is “Shark’s Eye” by Serena’s Schreiber. A rather grim supernatural story about Old Granny's younger days, and how she ended up on the tropical island of False Key.
Story 3 - Starfish
I’m a charmed traveller; it’s true. Diane and I were strangers. Then we bonded over ghost stories, art, and avoiding bike wrecks. She invited me to stay at her house.
Her isolated cinderblock bungalow sits on a limestone beach. Beyond the sandbar to the left lies a pristine lagoon.
As I sat on the lagoon’s white sand, a deep sadness filled me. Climate change could flood this area in fifty years, and three fourths of Florida’s coral reef is infected with a bacteria that’s killing it.
Something touched me. I looked down and smiled at a small starfish that seemed to pat my ankle. I picked it up, and noticed a gold ring pierced one of its arms.
To my amazement the starfish spoke, saying, “Why is one so temporary crying for Earth? Earth recreates, and will recreate you. My kind has witnessed many eras. Look, even dinosaurs are reborn. Humans burn dinosaur remains, creating heat and electricity, light and wavelengths that broadcast ideas that may last forever.”
Diane ran up. “You found it!” she said, holding out a broken gold chain. I looked at the starfish in my hand. It had changed. It was feather-light, dry, and stiff. Diane told me that before she moved here, she had found the starfish in a box beneath the deed for her house. That night, she’d dreamed the starfish climbed up her neck, whispered in her ear, and said, “Take me home.”
(This version is slightly longer than the one you will hear in Alexa's Box of Chocolates. Can you tell the difference?)
One of the fun parts of working on Tellables is listening to the personalities Amy programs into Alexa the chocolatiers’ robot-voice. She even gives Alexa a sense of humor. ;-D I hope you enjoy it!
