The following photo is my contribution for the Weekly Photo Challenge:
This lovely little structure is the birdhouse hanging in the tree in my backyard.
Monthly Archives: January 2014
Destination Weirdsville: A teahouse in China
This post will be about a certain teahouse in China. Yes, you read the right: a teahouse in China. You’re probably asking yourself, “What’s so weird about a teahouse in China?”
Nothing. Nothing is weird about a teahouse in China.
“Well is it haunted or something?” you might be asking.
Nope, it isn’t. What makes this particular teahouse peculiar is not the teahouse itself but the journey one must undertake to get to the teahouse.
It all starts at the “heavenly stairs” located at the base of Mt. Huashan. This is a steep staircase carved into the mountain side. There are so many stairs that a few villages even exist alongside them, and believe it or not, the stairs are one of the easier parts of the trek.
Image from https://www.uqpu.net/teahouse/
Once you make it well beyond the point where you’ve stopped counting those endless stairs feel free to take a breather on a gondola ride across the giant chasm to another peak.
Image from https://www.uqpu.net/teahouse/
This is where it gets interesting. The faint of heart should probably just turn around and go home if they’ve managed to make it this far. You’re destination is at the top of this peak, but this is the path you must follow:
Image from https://www.uqpu.net/teahouse/
Yes, those are wooden planks attached to the face of a cliff and chains to hold on to as you go. My question is what happens if someone is coming down while you’re going up? How do you manage to pass each other? Does one of you have to backtrack or do you risk falling and a few moments of awkwardness hugging a stranger against a wall. This is actually probably one of the easier parts of the trek. Next up are some toe holes carved into the wall.
Image from https://www.uqpu.net/teahouse/
Afterwards you’ve got a few more stairs to climb and you will have arrived at your destination for a cup of tea before making the return trip down the mountain. I wonder how much their tea costs…
Image from https://www.uqpu.net/teahouse/
Personally, I’d go for the journey. The tea at the top would just be a bonus.
So, who’s up for a cup?
The Interview
This post was written for Friday Fictioneers based on the following prompt:
Leon took a long drag from his cigarette before dropping the butt in the grass and stamping it out. Sighing, he ran his hands through his hair and went back inside the building.
He approached the man tied to the chair from behind, his footfalls echoing through the deserted workshop. “We’re going to try this one more time, Jimmy.”
He knelt before Jimmy and looked him square in the eyes. “Should your answer be less than satisfactory, things will, unfortunately, get a bit messier than either of us would like.”
Leon took a deep, calming breath. “Where’s the money, Jimmy?”
Weekly Writing Challenge: Leave Your Shoes at the Door
This post was written for the Weekly Writing Challenge. This week’s challenge was to write from the perspective of someone else. Being a lover of all things dark, I chose to write from the perspective of the boogieman.
Searching
photo credit: Big Fat Rat via photopin cc
All I want is a friend, but everywhere I go kids run away screaming, or cry for Mommy or Daddy. I’m usually so quiet that they shouldn’t even know I’m there, but somehow they almost always wake up. I don’t know why it happens so much, but it does. I almost always hide when they wake up. I wait as patiently as possible for an opportunity to sneak back into the closet. Sometimes I have to hide in the toy box for hours before that chance comes. Have you ever been inside a toy box? It’s dreadfully cramped in those things, especially when they’re packed with toys with jagged edges. The worst, though, is when they leave Legos on the floor. I can’t tell you how many of those I’ve stepped on. I remember how much easier it was to get in and out before those horrible things were invented.
There’ve only been a couple instances, very few and very far between, when a child hasn’t been scared witless by the mere sight of me. Those were the ones I became friends with, but sadly they’ve all grown up. Each of those special children holds a dear place in my heart. Unfortunately, there comes a time in every child’s life when reality must sink in and they suddenly become an adult. When that happens, I fade into obscurity rather quickly and they’re left wondering if I ever existed at all. That’s why I’m always popping into the rooms of random children. Most people assume I get my jollies scaring the young humans, but that’s not me at all. I’m just searching for a friend.
My Writings
