{"id":928,"date":"2021-03-08T10:21:49","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T17:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/?p=928"},"modified":"2021-03-08T10:27:34","modified_gmt":"2021-03-08T17:27:34","slug":"random-story-i-swim-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/?p=928","title":{"rendered":"Random Story: I Swim Alone<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a>
magnifying glass, fish, eye<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Back to our regularly scheduled Random Stories. This week, a short, dumb joke for my own amusement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I Swim Alone<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I swam out of the castle in search of breakfast, but stopped dead at the grim sight above me. Goldie was dead. There was no doubt about it. There he was floating, belly up toward the sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I lost my appetite, but my curiosity got the better of me. I swam up to get a better look. I had to know. What happened? Was it just his time, or had there been foul play? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I got as close as I dared to the surface and nudged at Goldie. He didn\u2019t react. Just floated amidst the fish flakes, cloudy-eyed and belly swollen. I didn\u2019t detect any signs of struggle or injury. He was just dead. For no reason. I thrashed my tail at the injustice of it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There had to be a reason for this. Maybe if I could remember something he\u2019d said or done that could shine some light on this mystery, I could ease my soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When had I last seen him alive? I couldn\u2019t recall. I looked back down toward the castle. That seemed the most likely place to start. I swam back down though the portcullis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dark in here. Too dark to really see anything. That\u2019s what makes the castle such a great place to hide from predators. I nestled down into my usual spot in the corner and started a slow count to twelve. That was usually a safe amount of time to make sure any danger had passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I could see some light creeping in through the opening. A new day was dawning and with it came an end to the threats of the evening. My stomach started to rumble as the light crept further inside, until hunger at last overcame the need to stay hidden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I swam out of the castle in search of breakfast, but stopped dead at the grim sight above me. Goldie was dead. There was no doubt about it. There he was floating, belly up toward the sky.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

magnifying glass, fish, eye Back to our regularly scheduled Random Stories. This week, a short, dumb joke for my own amusement. I Swim Alone I swam out of the castle in search of breakfast, but stopped dead at the grim sight above me. Goldie was dead. There was no doubt about it. There he was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[34,49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-random-stories"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2rDfa-eY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":688,"url":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/?p=688","url_meta":{"origin":928,"position":0},"title":"Random Stories","author":"admin","date":"January 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Rory's Story Cubes Several years ago, my wife gifted me these lovely story dice in my Christmas stocking. For a visual thinker like me, they're great tools for busting through writer's block and story ruts. This year, after a pandemic-induced creativity slump in high gear for far too many months,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/?cat=34"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/story-cubes-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/story-cubes-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/story-cubes-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/story-cubes-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":885,"url":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/?p=885","url_meta":{"origin":928,"position":1},"title":"No Dice This Week","author":"admin","date":"February 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Random Stories is taking the week off. Clark Kent duties and some business-side work on Seraph need my attentions. Back next Monday with a new roll of the Story Dice.","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/?cat=34"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/no-dice.jpg?fit=1200%2C649&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/no-dice.jpg?fit=1200%2C649&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/no-dice.jpg?fit=1200%2C649&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/no-dice.jpg?fit=1200%2C649&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/no-dice.jpg?fit=1200%2C649&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":734,"url":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/?p=734","url_meta":{"origin":928,"position":2},"title":"Random Story: We Can Eat Any Billy Goat for $29.99*","author":"admin","date":"February 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"tall building, scales, bridge Last week's story ran a little long. This week, we're going quick and dirty We Can Eat Any Billy Goat for $29.99*(*terms and conditions may apply) TO: All Cabraphage Corp., LLC Bridge Staff - All Regions FROM: Chorck Gravelpounder, VP for Overpass Traversal RE: New Updates\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/?cat=34"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_0251-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_0251-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_0251-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_0251-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_0251-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":969,"url":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/?p=969","url_meta":{"origin":928,"position":3},"title":"It’s a Monday Random Story Roll (on a Wednesday)!","author":"admin","date":"March 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Got a little distracted with book birthday tasks this week. But, by Thoth, we're doing a random story this week! Let's see what the dice have in store: some sorta license\/ID thing?, a keyhole, a magic wand Well, that first die is up for some interpretation. Driver's license? Business card?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/?cat=34"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/cube-1655118_640.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/cube-1655118_640.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/cube-1655118_640.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":742,"url":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/?p=742","url_meta":{"origin":928,"position":4},"title":"Monday Random Story Prompt","author":"admin","date":"February 8, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"parachute, shooting star, bee Today's random story roll. Back this weekend with a brand new short.","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/?cat=34"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/cube-1655118_640.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/cube-1655118_640.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/cube-1655118_640.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":881,"url":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/?p=881","url_meta":{"origin":928,"position":5},"title":"Random Story: Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men?","author":"admin","date":"February 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cIt\u2019s my shadow, you see?\u201d The Seamstress took a long look at Jasper, and then at the troubling shadow behind him, vaguely Jasper-shaped and decidedly not cast by any visible light source. Indeed, the early sun still hung in the east, and Jasper\u2019s shadow was pointing toward it. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/?cat=34"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_0277-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_0277-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_0277-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_0277-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_0277-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jcmckenna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/IMG_0299-edited-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1920&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=928"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":932,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928\/revisions\/932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcmckenna.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}