His garage was full of boxes jammed to the flaps with a truly odd assortment of, well, rubbish.
Clear glass jars of toenail clippings, dust bunnies, cookie crumbs.
Matchboxes from around the world.Cocktail umbrellas. Plastic hula dancers.
Desiccated mice feet inside cardboard tubes.
Owl claws strung on leather shoestrings.
And rubber bands so old they crumbled when touched.
The thing that creeped me out the most?
A box of stuffed birds, moth-eaten and moldy, with bright yellow beaks
just like the one he sent to Mikey Short
with a note that read,
“Sing like a bird and you’re dead.”
(99-words)
Up From the Ashes 
Creepy and scary. I’m glad I didn’t know him!
NB – *Should it read ‘sing’ in the last line instead of ‘sign’?
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Yes! Thanks, Iain! That’s what I get for writing early in the morning without lights on.
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You’re welcome Alicia – we’ve all been there with the annoying typos! 🙂
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There’s something extraordinarily luxurious about using so many of your words for a list. I’m going to steal that idea
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Oh! How nice of you to say so. I thought it might get tedious. Thanks.
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No, the list creates a world and a character
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Oh, “sing” like a bird. Got it.
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I know, right? It makes no sense if you misspell words. Thanks, James. (Note to self: WAKE UP before you start writing.)
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It’s impossible for me to write without creating typos. Especially for longer stories, they pop up no matter how many times I do the editing.
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What a creepy collection. This takes hoarding to a whole ‘nother level…
And why one would be threatened… wonder what anyone could know!
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Good question! Perhaps “to be continued.” Thanks for wondering. I’m kinda’ thinking gangster of some sort.
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Hmmm
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That’s chilling. Pure madness or a death threat? Well penned.
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A sprinkle of both perhaps. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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A pleasure!
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Wow! Love the build here, you describing the increasingly bizarre and creepy selection of items in the garage (dessicated mice feet? Urgh, seriously). Then to end with the stuffed birds … Love it, in a horrified way. I recently finished a first draft of a novel where on of the characters has had stuffed every one of her murdered pet cats – stuffed animals are definitely good for the creeps. Nicely done Alicia
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It was so fun thinking of creepy things someone might collect. I read a story once about a guy collecting toenails. How creepy is that? well, maybe not as creepy as stuffing all your pet cats! Nice one. Thanks for reading
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Definitely fun to indulge the darker, Gothic side of your imagination. Toenails is pretty bad, though I have heard of some people who collect everything their body produces – imagine the state of their house! There was a famous Victorian taxidermist who made tableau of stuffed animals dressed in clothes, acting out poems. A disturbingly large number of kittens as I remember. I mean, where did he get all of the animals from? Ooh, found a link – hope it works
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gallery/2013/sep/13/curious-world-walter-potter-pictures-taxidermist-victorian
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Dear Lish,
Dale took the words right out from under my fingers. That’s some serious hoarding. I gagged on the toenail clippings. Have you ever seen the movie “Everything is Illuminated”? A must see about a collector with Elijah Wood.
Good story, my dear.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I’ve watched the movie twice and listened to the story on audiobook. What a great tale. Thanks for enjoying (?) my story. Cheers! Lish
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Whew… it was creepy with the toe-nail clippings and then it became worse… excellent
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Thanks, Bjorn. I had fun thinking of odd things a person might collect without getting too gross about it. Glad you stopped by.
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Ugh. This was truly creepy. Great take on the prompt.
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Thanks ever so much.
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Unique take–utterly creepy!
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Thanks!
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she’s definitely a compulsive hoarder. fire and health hazards are just around the corner.
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Possibly! Thanks for reading and commenting. Alicia
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Sounds like a hoarding mobster. We know the use he put the birds to, I wonder if he had other nefarious uses for the rest of his hoard?
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Ooohhh! Good question, Ali. Or if they’re from …. No, we won’t go there. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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What a great way of introducing a gangster! He’s obviously mentally unstable; I wouldn’t want to be at the wrong end of his gun!
You’ve written a good story, Alicia, and like Neil, I admire the way you used the list to describe his character. He’s creepy – but dangerous creepy.
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Thanks, Penny. I’m glad the list worked for both of you.
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Mobsters everywhere. Well done!
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Really! Thanks for reading and commenting Miles.
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I could almost smell that stinky garage as I read about it! Glad he’s not my neighbour.
Click to read my FriFic!
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Thanks! I hadn’t thought of the smell. Phew!
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That was one repulsive collection. Glad I had my dinner a couple of hours back.
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I’m glad he’s not my neighbor. At least I don’t think he is. Thanks for stopping by.
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Dean Koontz had a similar character in one of his novels – a hoarder extreme. Though this one was good-natured. Enjoyed the tale (tail?) .
Mine: https://kindredspirit23.wordpress.com/2017/10/12/birds-of-a-feather-flock-me/
Scott
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I love his books. Thanks for stopping by to read my tale.
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I haven’t read him in awhile. Never started his Frankenstein books, though I have a couple.
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This is indeed creepy. Always wonder why people keep their toenail clippings, paranoia, I presume.
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Gosh, who knows? Thanks for reading.
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Not much joy in his life, poor fellow. Great descriptions, Alicia!
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Thanks! He does seem a bit dour, doesn’t he?
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You had me at plastic hula girls. Can I have one for the dash of my truck?
The omnious ending was spot on. Good tale, Lish.
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I’m glad you liked the hula girls! I worked with a couple of ladies we called the hula girls because if anything in the schedule changed, their heads kinda’ wobbled and their eyes got big! I even think question marks appeared over their heads. Anyway, thanks for stopping by. I always appreciate your comments.
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I do like how you sing. I thought you were going to take us on an alchemy, time travel ride until the last line. Good tension.
Tracey
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Thanks, Tracey. I just sort of rolled with the muse. I was so flummoxed by the picture I almost skipped writing at all. Glad you liked the ending.
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Love the contents of that garage – so evocative. A great tale that leaves us guessing (or does it?) as to whether Mikey sang or not.
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I’m thinking a moth-eaten moldy bird would keep my lips sealed. As always, thanks for reading.
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You’re probably right.
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Hmmmmm fascinating. I’m hooked…
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If only I wrote mystery novels.
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A very creepy collection!
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Yes indeed. Thanks, Clare.
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Absolutely loved this! terrific descriptions that really built the atmosphere. Great story and a terrific end. 🙂
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Thanks so much.
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What no horse heads? lol
Good story, as always Alicia.
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Maybe they’re in another box? Thanks for reading and commenting.
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Or the deep freeze. Your guys sounds like one who is prepared. Very clever.
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Oh! Yeah! The deep freeze forgot about that.
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Great stuff, a sinister tale full of yuk and foreboding
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Thank you, Michael. I always appreciate your stopping by. Alicia
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Had to the bone! Loved this take on the prompt (and watched sopranos this week so this was in tune with that)
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Thanks so much, Alicia
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The inventory of his man cave gave a great build up to the last line. I have a feeling Shorty sang.
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Like a canary! Thanks for stopping by. Alicia
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Oh oh, scary guy. Unexpected take on the prompt.
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Thanks! I had fun turning it around.
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