Wednesday 10 April 2013

#atozchallenge: Ink

Harry had the worse handwriting in the world. Imagine a doctor in a hurry, and you'd get something that approximated Harry's writing on a good day. Imagine someone writing poorly in Jawi, and that would be Harry's writing on a bad day. It made his teachers tear their hair out and sometimes twist his ears, especially if he had used an ink pen, which resulted in multiple ink smudges all over the page.

The Inkwell (TM) advertisement caught his eye one day after he had emerged from his form teacher's room with red ears and flushed cheeks. It was lying innocuously on the floor beside his bag, as if someone had dropped it on their way out.

IF YOU WANT TO INK WELL, USE INKWELL(TM) it yelled at him from off the glossy paper. Guaranteed to make your handwriting readable, it whispered in neat letters. What would it hurt? The only thing they could blame him for was getting outside help.

As soon as he reached home, he dialed the number listed on the brochure.
"welcome to inkwell! The only way to write well!" a cheery voice greeted him. "How can I help you?"
"I'd like to buy..."
"Of course! Why else would you be calling, right? Silly me."
"How much is it?" he asked. "Only I don't have a lot of money."
"Hmm, let me see. Could you open your latest homework?"
He thought it was a strange request but did so anyway. "How will you-"
"My, your handwriting is terrible! Tell you what- this first package will be on the house."
"What do you-"
"Enjoy, Harry!"
"Hey, how did you..." but the line had cut off and all he heard was the dial tone.

He had just put the receiver down when he noticed a little small bottle filled with ink on the table beside his homework.


17 comments:

  1. My handwriting is also horrible so I feel for Harry. However, I think I'll pass on the creepy mysterious peeping ink salespeople and their questionable product.

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    1. You don't have look for them... they will find you!
      *creepy laugh*

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  2. Delightful post, Anna. Funny how your "I" post and mine have the same title. But from very different perspectives. I love the light-hearted nature of yours. Fun and engaging. Thank you for a good read. And so nice to meet you here on the A to Z.

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    1. How cool is that!
      Great to meet you too :)

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  3. Creative story! I have a couple of small people who could use some handwriting help, but I don't think this would be how I want them to get it. :)

    TaMara
    Tales of a Pee Dee Mama

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    1. It's the keyboards... the keyboards that are the death of handwriting...

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  4. Ohh..this is getting sooo exciting! Are all these stories going to tie in to make a dramatic ending?

    I imagine..Harry grows up. He works for a special unit. There's a murder - complicated one! Goes out to catch murder suspect Natalie the gum-on-a-stick cat burglar, using "Inkwell", that handwriting recognition software. The murder weapon, an asparagus knife recovered at the scene!

    An attempt on his life, the Beatles' "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" way...as he gets closer to solving the crime.....

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    1. Your comment just made my day :)

      I don't know if everything can tie in to a story! I never thought of that possibility... hahaha

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    2. I really think it can..Natalie's LIPSTICK on Harry's collar. MmmMMmmm...

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  7. I confess to not really "getting" your micro fiction pieces but I'm fascinated.

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    1. Glad you're fascinated, DA! :)
      They're actually quite random pieces...

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  8. Your description of Harry's writing was quite graphic--I could actually imagine how bad it was!
    tm

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  9. Great post. I relate to poor Harry and his handwriting.

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