Story #6: Old Birthday

My door and joints creaked in sympathy.

Surprise! Happy birthday!

 

“Gertrude was too old for a surprise party” by Full Ben

 

Stories Under 10 Words

Inspired by Hemmingway’s 6-word story “For Sale: baby shoes, never worn”.
More Short Shorts at Stories Under 10 | Six Word Stories (Reddit) 

Story #5: No Truth

 

Don’t explain.

Speak what they want to hear instead.

 

“The Expert” by Lauris Beinerts

 

Stories Under 10 Words

Inspired by Hemmingway’s 6-word story “For Sale: baby shoes, never worn”.
More Short Shorts at Stories Under 10 | Six Word Stories (Reddit) 

Haze on a Bad Stomach

So the annual haze is back and roiling across South East Asia.

It’s not as bad as the haze in 2013 which went up to a record high of 401 PSI (Pollution Standards Index). This year round it managed a measly 220.

But I felt worse.

from Straatosphere

Apart from keeping me indoors and blocking out the sun, somehow the Haze got into my system and bothered me with never-ending coughs, irritated throat and itchy eyes for two weeks.

A pain in itself. But then, it mutated into blood-stained phlegm (only in the morning and after a racking cough) and chest pains for a week.

I freaked out.

From Health Tap

Singapore’s Polyclinics are crowded, orderly, and rather efficient affairs (although the waiting could take a while). The GP poked, prodded, and gave me an ECG.

The verdict

• Chest – muscular-skeletal. Intercoastals muscles are strained
• Cough – possibly dyspepsia and acid reflux

I got medicine for it and a lecture on cleaning up my diet. That means no coffee, no chillis, no alcohol, nothing heaty (like durian). Interestingly enough, my cough started to clear up and I’ve not been spitting blood into the wash basin.

Perhaps it’s just a one-off injury from coughing too much.

I certainly hope so. But to be safe, I’ll go clean liver for a month (or more).