Fiction Friday – Once Upon A Kitchen Bench, A Jar of Vegemite…

FICTION FRIDAY Once Upon A Kitchen Bench, A Jar of Vegemite…

(a little nod to Calvino)

On the kitchen bench is a jar of Vegemite, the lid left beside it. There is a knife on the blue plastic cutting board smeared in streaks of viscous Vegemite and mascara mops of margarine. Scattered across the blue plastic cutting board are breadcrumbs, like specks of clouds. You know there is a story here. You are the protagonist (in another iteration, you are the antagonist). As this is a literary fiction story, you recognise the suburban symbolism of the scene as lower middle-class and the tension between want and need, both physically and emotionally. Through another lens, the scene is a point of conflict between a parent and child, or between a couple and you make another connection to the tension of physical and emotional want and need. Walking to the other side of the kitchen bench, the camera tracks with you and the event is a key aspect in understanding how you use physical sustenance in your stories as a metaphor of your need for intellectual intimacy beyond quoting song lyrics and movie quotes as a shorthand of relational connection with your friends. To continue this narrative in different refracted opportunities, go to page 17. To exit the story, go to The End.