Such a Character: Austin

I'm a cool guy. All of those tall girls with pretty hair give me a ton of attention, which I like. My hair is light brown--rather common; most everyone I see in a day seems to have light brown hair. Most everybody has brown eyes, so I must too. (Although every time I try to check I get dizzy in the head.) I know there are other people out there in the world, but the ones I see the most all resemble me. Anyway, my life is good and I'm content--except for when I don't get what I want or else I get something I don't want (like oatmeal). Then I exercise my powerful lungs. I saw this other really cool guy when we were out the other day. He was tall--taller than the tall girls--and he had big muscles in his arms. He reminded me of myself. I don't think I'm quite as tall, I will admit, but looking down at my arms--and my legs--I would say they're bulging too. So I guess I'm muscular like he is. All in all, I'd say I've gotten a good start in life. The rest ought to be pretty good.

Just so long as Mom keeps that oatmeal away from me.



Credit: diggerdanno

Such a Character: Thelma

"Come right this way, right this way!" she said in her creaky voice.

I followed the bobbing showercap from the side door into a tunnel-like kitchen. Involuntarily, I blinked several times, but it wasn't my eyes that gave the entire room a yellow-ish tint. The countertops probably used to be white or off-white. "Off-" was an understatement now. The refrigerator seemed to have the same malady as did the linoleum floor.

morguefile.com / naomi

A soft clicking noise brought me back to the present. I saw that she had continued into the dim living room beyond, and, in doing so, had set to swinging the colorful beaded doorway curtain.

Again, I blinked. That wasn't a beaded curtain. On closer inspection, I realized this curtain was entirely comprised of colorful plastic bread bag tabs linked together to form the strands. Some had expiration dates printed on them, and it made me wonder how old some of them were. By now the curtain had stopped swaying and I had apparently spent enough time inspecting it that she came back to look for me.

"Ah, appreciating my art, are you?" she said. "Take your time and enjoy the picture, enjoy the picture!"

A little flustered at being caught, and hoping my face hadn't been wearing an amused look, I took a step back.

Art?

Then it struck me: the bread tabs were not randomly linked. The various colors were arranged in such a way that a picture emerged when the curtain was still and the viewer attentive. A pink rose. A pink rose made of bread tabs! There could be no hint of amusement on my face now, for my mouth was sagging wide open.

"Roses," she was saying from the living room, "have always been a favorite of mine; they're so delicate, so delicate!"

Inspiration: throwing away a plastic bread tab while cleaning my kitchen this morning.
Note: this character is fiction and not intended to represent any real person, living or dead.