dreamszilla

Proud American trucker Earl Bishop takes on a new cattle hauling contract that is destined to change his life. Image generated with OpenAI Heat waves shimmied atop the asphalt ribbon like minnows darting in a pond. Outside the temperature topped a hundred, but inside the Kenworth W990, seventy-two degrees kept Earl cool as that proverbial cucumber you hear so much about. For certain men, there's something special about guiding a five hundred horse power engine over barren blacktop for mile after mile of endless highway. Earl Bishop was one of those men. Long haul truck driving was the apex of his ambitions since he was old enough to have any. And sure, it had taken a number of starts and stops for him to reach his goal. From farm worker to construction crew, oilfield roustabout to roughneck, spot welder to pipe fitter, Earl kept enough meat on the bone and money in the bank to eventually make a down payment on the eighteen-wheeler he had always wanted, and now he was li...

A stranger asks to see a suburban dad's luxury car, and he is hard to refuse. Image generated with OpenAI When Carl scissors open the blinds, the Saturday morning sun reveals more than the weather; a man stands at the end of the driveway, motionless. "What the..." he mumbles, instinctively narrowing the slats. The man, unlike the usual cast of dog walkers out this early, simply stares. Into Carl's garage. "Hon, you expecting someone?" he calls to Andrea in the kitchen, where the scent of toaster waffles fills the air. "Yes, my other husband, the one who knows when to take out the trash without being nagged," she replies with familiar sarcasm. Carl smiles, the blinds snapping shut as he follows the familiar aroma. He kisses Andrea's neck, the mood broken when Brianna hops on the stool with a loud, "Are they done yet, I'm hungry." Her younger brother D'Angelo is right behind. "Why do you ask?" A...

After a long search, a Ghanaian chief finds his wife, who did not want to be found. Image generated with OpenAI He found her in Cape Coast. Cape Coast had not changed since his last visit years ago. The buildings still held the sun like it belonged to them. The breeze still shrieked through the alleys, carrying the salt and the burden of history. Even the dust felt familiar under his sandals as he walked down the alleyway between a kenkey seller and a secondhand bookstall. The chop bar was just where the receipt had said it would be; it was behind a pink-painted building, beneath a blue-and-yellow umbrella that flapped against the wind like it had complaints to file. He stood outside it for a long time. It was not the kind of place you expected to find the woman you had failed. The one you had pushed away, bruised with grief and pride. There she was, visible through the open entrance, placing a bowl of fufu in front of a hunched-over man who had already begun licking ...

Christmas is coming up, so it's time for Chuck and Amy to revive their parents from cryosleep again. Image generated with OpenAI "Okay, we'll have your parents out shortly," the company representative announced. "That's great," said Chuck. "We have to have them back by 5:00 Monday, correct?" The rep checked some data on his tablet. "Yes, that's right," he replied, "but there is something else we need to take care of." "What?" asked Chuck's wife, Amy. "Your Uncle Mike." "We'd prefer to leave him," said Chuck. "We're just having a small Christmas. We don't need Uncle Mike there." "You have to do something with him," explained the rep. "The contract clearly states that each enrollee must be revived at least once every five years. It's necessary for updating and system maintenance." Amy shook her head. "I don't ...