Okay, I feel a little better this morning. Not any clearer headed mind you, but better.

Rules this week, you can post your story on the main page, but make sure you mark it somwhow so we know that it is the week's topic. Also, make sure you post your story here on this forum thread as well. Otherwise, we will have no idea who in the hell is participating and we will never know what stories were written.

Okay..now that I am done being a pushy broad, the starting sentence is

Sally woke up screaming in a cold sweat.

Your story should also include the words...donkey and mystical, but not together necessarily!

Happy writing!

Whoops...deadline is by Monday the 3rd.

Sally woke up screaming in a cold sweat

With the sheets and covers now dripping wet

All because the day before she lost a bet

And now must sleep with a donkey to pay her debt

She lays awake now and begins to fret

Bout that drunken wager she now regrets

At the mystical shelter next morning in search for the pet

I need a donkey fast she pleads to the vet

Actually a well hung steed would be better yet

Anything else you would like me to get

Throw in a bottle of wine and a string quartet

And for when it's all over...a good cigarette

Sally woke up screaming in a cold sweat. This was the third night in a row. Her husband's insanity was getting to her, his words poisoning her mind like armies of invisible germs, conspiring inside her. Her husband's eyes were wild with confusion, his expression forlorn and distant, and even the tangled strands of his brown hair looked tired in the smoke-filled light of his study. All that held him together was desire. He could do it. He would do it. It wasn't even difficult. He knew everything was one. He simply had to point out the connection and make it beautiful. It's obvious when you think about it. An epic about a mystical donkey, explaining the meaning of all things. There was no beginning or end, only convenient points of interest. Things were absurdly, inevitably, inextricably linked. Things were just too... Things were too... AHHH!
His research donkey looked into the window of his study, smiling with sympathetic wisdom. And Sally kept screaming.

Topic 2 too
Sally woke up screaming in a cold sweat. It was her second nightmare in as many days. The night before she dreamt she was arrested for shoplifting. The dream had felt so real, the store, the Indian proprietor, the carton of cigarettes she shoved in her blouse. And then as if possessed by some mystical demon, the following morning, she found herself under arrest by the police. She begged the officer, explaining that she didn’t even smoke, but he wouldn’t listen. It wasn’t until she explained to the owner that she had duplicated her dream exactly as it was laid out the previous night, that he dropped the charges against her. Raji Parumanjai was Hindu. He knew the power of nightmares.
This next night’s dream was just as vivid as the first. She dreamt she was naked in front of all her coworkers at the brokerage firm. Impossible, but oddly enough, she was scheduled to make a presentation at 9 a.m. in the conference room. She wouldn’t let it happen though. Now that she knew what could occur she would force herself to prevent it from happening.
The huge conference table was surrounded by her fellow brokers with the CEO of the mega firm seated at the head of the beautiful mahogany table. Sally began explaining the third slide of the PowerPoint presentation with the laser pen, when in mid sentence; she jumped up on the table and ripped her blouse off, horrifying and intriguing her peers. Before the CEO could protest, she had stripped to her panties, performed a cartwheel, and landed on her back, legs spread wide, two feet from her humorless CEO. She regained her senses and looked up and over her naked breasts at the man who would soon end her promising career.
Two hours later she lay on her psychiatrist’s couch.
“What made you do that Sally?” he asked. “What possessed you to strip in front of your peers?”
“Exactly,” she exclaimed. “I was possessed. I dreamt it would happen and it did. It was identical to my last dream. I lost my job. I was almost arrested. I need help Doctor Roth, please?”
“Alright Sally, I’ll try hypnosis on you. We need to stop the nightmares, so listen carefully to me…”
Within minutes she was under his spell. It didn’t work. Later that night, she dreamt she ran her car into a large donkey. Although it worried her to drive the following morning, she felt she had no choice. She had another psychiatrist’s appointment, and there were no donkeys in the large city that she knew of. She turned the corner on Primrose and drove the half mile to Dr. Roth’s office until when she came up on a small food store, midtown.
The same fog that clouded her mind earlier, returned, and she floored the accelerator, crashing the car into the side of the small store at forty miles per hour. She woke a few minutes later and stared over the deflated airbag at a large poster of Juan Valdez loading Columbian coffee onto a donkey.
“Oh God what’s happening to me?” she said aloud, as the paramedics helped her out of her wrecked car.
Dr. Roth visited her at the hospital in her private room. “Sally, the physicians will release you in the morning. You’re fine. Was this another nightmare?”
“Yes, doctor, please stop them, please?”
“Alright Sally. I think I can help.” In five minutes she was completely hypnotized.
“Sally,” Dr. Roth said. “You’ve done everything I’ve asked you to do, dear. Everything I’ve told you to do, the shoplifting, removing your clothes, and now the accident. You followed my orders exactly. I’m proud of you, but I have just one more task for you. My partner, Dr. Herman Wells…do you hear me Sally, you’ve met him before, Dr. Herman Wells. I want you to take the pistol you keep in the dresser at your house, bring it to my office tomorrow and shoot Dr. Herman Wells. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Sally said. “I need to shoot the doctor…Dr. Herman…”
“Wells, Sally, Dr. Herman Wells. Yes that’s right dear, and after you shoot him in the head you will shoot yourself. Do you understand?”
“Yes…shoot myself.”
“Yes Sally, shoot Dr. Wells, then shoot yourself.”
“Shoot doctor then myself.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
At 10 the next morning, Sally walked into the psychiatrist office in a daze. She walked up to the receptionist and asked. “Are you the doctor?”
“No,” the receptionist replied. “There’s the doctor,” and she pointed at the tall well groomed man. Sally removed the pistol from her purse and walked up to the slender doctor who had his back turned to her. She lifted the barrel to his head and fired.
The receptionist screamed as Doctor Roth slumped to the floor while Sally held the barrel to her head and pulled the trigger six more times before realizing the chamber was empty. The fog in her brain lifted and she screamed when she saw what she had done to poor Dr. Roth.

**I want to start another story so im going to get this out of the way.Not very origianal and not the best but nevermind.**


Sally woke up screaming in a cold sweat. The last thing she could remember is running away from the restaurant and then passing out as she collided into the door. Her boyfriend Tim had arranged a meal for her 21st birthday; Sally would have rather gone out with her friends than be with Tim. She knew it would be difficult, but she had to break up with Tim. It wasn’t that she didn’t love him but she knew that he wanted marriage, mortgage and children. Sally didn’t want to turn out like her mom; she was a drunk that spent her time complaining that her children held her back. Sally was starting a new job on the other side of the country next month, more money and definitely no time for kids. Tim placed the engagement ring in the middle of the table and Sally couldn’t stop the impulse to run as she headed towards the door, and now as she lay in the bed her head ached. She shifted in the bed removing a children’s action figure that annoyed her leg, Sally threw the toy away and inspected the room.
Children toys and clothes littered the room and Sally sat up shouting for Tim.

“We are down here, Lazy head, breakfast is ready,” Tim called back.

She walked down the stairs avoiding the mess as if a minefield and she stared around the room not looking at Tim.

“Tim, why didn’t you bring me home, last night? And where am I?”

Her mouth dropped as she pointed at Tim, he moved around the carpet as if a donkey,a child sat on his back occasionally slapping him.

“Who are you?” Sally said, pointing at the child.

The child ran at Sally, he hugged at her legs and Sally now stared at Tim in bewilderment.

“Mammy, you’re so funny. Happy Birthday, I love you mammy.”

Tim shouted at Daniel to get his mammy her birthday presents, Sally collapsed on the sofa looking around for someone to shout “It’s a joke,”, but she did notice that Tim looked a little different. He had put a little weight on and he also had a beard. Her son ran at her with presents, before singing “Happy Birthday,” he climbed onto her lap.

“How’s it feel to be 26,” Tim jeered.

“No! I am 21,” Lilly said defensively.

Daniel ran off to get the birthday cake and Sally stood up staring at the mirror, her mouth dropping for the second time. Her hands skimmed over her face that had a few lines and her long blonde hair was now in a short bob, her slim figure of yesterday had gained a few pounds.

“We went out for a meal last night, you proposed and I,” Sally spluttered.

“That was five years ago, you passed out and the next day the doctor told us you were pregnant.” Tim spoke, his eyes filled with puzzlement.

Sally fell into Tim’s arms as she cried.

“What about my job,” Sally cried.

“You’re still there, you got another promotion there last week, and they have a crèche for Daniel,” Tim said as he looked more worried.

Tim whispered into Sally’s ear as she wiped her tears.

“Why don’t you have a lie down and ill get the doctor round later,”

Sally walked upstairs with a whimper, stopping to look at the photos that hung on the wall. Sally touched the photos that held the secret of her missing five years and the Sally that smiled back at her looked so happy in her wedding dress, her eyes looking lovingly at Tim. Sally began to weep as she looked at herself holding her newborn child. Sally fell into her bed thinking this is similar to some mystical story her grandmother had told her when she was a child. The door swung open and Daniel shuffled towards her, the young child pushed his mammy over and snuggled into her. His fingers rubbed at her face as she spoke.

“Am I a good mammy?”

He giggled before answering.

“You’re the best mammy in the world,” Daniel shouted.

Sally’s arms tightened around him as they fell asleep.

Sally could feel her arms shake as her eye lids fluttered, Tim’s voice called out to her.

“Are you all right, Sally.”

She began to see clearer, waiters and diners stood around her and Tim knelt beside her, his warm hands stroking her face.

“What happened,” Sally muttered, gripping Tim’s hand.

“You fainted; the ambulance is on the way,”

“I’m pregnant Tim,” Sally said, she waited for a response but Tim stood with a blank expression.

“Do you want to get married still,” Sally spoke again; she pulled at Tim’s hands trying to stand.

Tim broke out in a smile, half laughing as he spoke.

“Yes of course, but if it’s a boy can we call him Daniel.”

They hugged for what seemed a lifetime and Sally nodded yes.

Spirit Guide

She woke up screaming in a cold sweat and immediately silenced herself as she became aware of the strong hands that held her shoulders firmly to the hard surface she was lying upon. Afraid to open her eyes and confirm her situation, she slowly slid her thoughts down the length of her body, doing a quick inventory to make sure she was intact. As her mind traveled down to her feet, she became aware of a pair of hands at her ankles. She lay silent and tried to recall what had happened over the last twenty-four hours, and could come up with nothing. Having no other available options, she decided to open her eyes.

As she opened her eyes and looked up, she found an old man looking down into her eyes, all the way through to her soul. Behind him she could see the black sky covered with stars. She lifted her head and could just make out the silhouette of the man holding her ankles. She rested her head and looked back to the old man, remembering who he was, and where she was – or at least where she was a day ago.

“Do not move, little one,” he said as he removed a hand from her shoulder and turned to retrieve something out of her sight. His hand returned with a bottle of water with a long tube extending from the opening. “Drink this. You have not had anything to drink for the last sixteen hours.”

She sucked the contents out of the bottle in record time, not realizing how thirsty she was until the moisture first hit her lips. “Where am I?”

“We are sitting on the north end of Diablo’s trail” The old man had replaced his hands on her shoulders.

What little calm she had achieved dissolved with those words, “Diablo’s trail? But Carlos, isn’t that a steep mountain trail?”

“Yes, we are on the very edge of a mountain,” the old man calmly answered.

She reached out with her right hand and immediately felt the cold hard surface of the mountain. Sliding her left hand away from her body she managed to cover about two inches before she felt nothing but air. Panic and anger hit her at the same time and she lashed out at the old man, “You know I am afraid of heights! Why did you bring me here!”

The old man smiled when he answered, “Little one, you brought us here.”

“Impossible, there is no way that I would have…”

“Hush,” the old man interrupted, “think for a moment. Why did you come to me?”

She stared at the stars for a few moments then answered, “To find my spirit guide. I was told by the villagers that I must seek out a brujo, a mystic, and ask his help.”

“And?”

“I remember sitting at the fire telling you about myself, and about my failure to find the things that I seek in life” she fell quiet.

“What else?”

“I remember you telling me that the way could be dangerous, and that I may not come back from the journey if my guide does not approve of me. I remember the peyote, and now I am here.”

“You do not recall coming up here?”

“No.”

“That is not unusual, sometimes your guide may not reveal himself completely on the first encounter.”

“I’m not doing this again.”

“There is no need. Once you have found your spirit guide, there is no need for assistance in finding it again. Your spirit guide will find you, all shall be revealed in time.”

“I need to sit up.”

Without warning, she spun around on the ledge and sat with her back against the rock, dangling her legs off the cliff. The brujo and his assistant both looked at her in wonder.

“For one that is afraid of heights, little one, you seem quite calm.”

She let that thought roll around in her head for a moment. Twenty-four hours ago, this would have killed her. There was no way she could have sat on an edge like this. She wouldn’t have to fall to die – if she lost her balance, she would have a heart attack before she even left the ledge. Perhaps her spirit guide still resides with in her? She didn’t know, but whatever the truth was, she was enjoying it.

Springing to her feet, she turned to the brujo, “I think I’ve seen enough of this side of the mountain for the next year, I think we should head down. If that’s all right with you.”

“That will be fine, little one. Follow me.”

As the three walked down the trail, she thought about her spirit guide and went through all of the animals that she could think of that could comfortably navigate the slim ledge she was standing on. She was thinking that her spirit guide surely had to be a large, agile and strong cat. Had she spared a moment to look down, she might have noticed that there were two sets of human prints and one set of donkey prints leading up into the mountain.