Contest Entries

Summary of 23 Candles

"Happy Birthday WDC! Now you need 23 reasons to have 23 candles on your cake!" Whistle said as he bent over to count the candles.

"Why not focus on the real task at hand? We need 23 differently colored candles for the anniversary cake. It's not too much to ask, those are all white," Billiste said, observing the candles on the table.

"Oh, I need to go back to the store. These are all white. Still, 23 candles is a lot to ask for."

Whistle got up and went out with the company debit card. The store had all white candles. He needed to find differently colored candles. Furious, he went to the candle specialist. Maybe the candle specialist would be able to give the colors he needed. Since he had white, then he just needed 22 more candles.

The candle specialist welcomed him with open arms. He didn't expect such a warm welcome and was caught by surprised. The candle specialist's name was Jackie, and offered to do all 22 candles at various colors other than white for a fee. There were 22 tasks to take on. Food coloring, paint dye, and different colors of flowers was needed.

He agreed to find all 22 colors out there and wanted to have the best colors around. So he needed to go to the specialized stores that contained a variety of those. Going to the Dye store, he found 22 colors in food coloring. That was easy enough.

Next task wasn't so easy. He went to one paint specialist and they only had eight colors. So they referred him to another paint specialist. This one was well hidden and he needed to complete a task to find it and enter it. The task was simple, go to a magic store and gather magic crystals.

Eight blocks away, he saw the magic store. That was easy enough for him to find. But then he discovered to get the magic crystals he needed to find the magic wand. How many tasks did he need to do for paint dye? He swore he was being chased by a vampire.

Going to the park he observed all the bushes. The last bush had a branch that didn't belong. Pulling out the branch, he discovered it wasn't a branch at all but a magic wand, the one he needed to get. Now he needed to find the magic store again.

Back at the spot he had found the magic store in the first place he discovered that it wasn't there. It was gone! Then he picked up a note on the ground and followed that note to the direction of the magic store. He found it!

The cashier was pleased and asked to wave the wand again. A yellow glow came out on the other end of the wand. Then he was told the wand chose him and he could have the wand for free. The magic crystals costed a fortune. But the wand was priceless.

Then he received directions to the paint specialist he wanted to go to. Did he needed to give the magic crystals to the one he came from or for the one he was going to? He didn't know.

The unlucky 13 number appeared on the house of the place he wanted to go to. Since this was it, he wondered if he should walk up to the door. Instead an older looking mage stepped down with a smile and asked for the magic crystals. Then he was told to wait outside. There were 23 crystals and he needed 22 paint dye. He hadn't accepted the ones at the other paint specialist.

He waited and waited. The day was running out and he needed it by 14:00, or 2 pm. His boss was growing impatient.

By 11:00 am the wizard came out carrying a sac. In it were 22 different colored paint dye. Perfect. Now he needed the last thing: different colored flowers, all in solid colors.

He asked the wizard where he would find these flowers and the wizard gave him a note. At first nothing showed up. Then some lines with arrows appeared. A map!

17 blocks he went straight, then had to turn for another 17 blocks. He hoped there wasn't another quest. The paint dye was free itself. He had food coloring still. Good.

Finally he arrived at the flower house. There were all sorts of flowers on sale. Cut flowers was what he wanted.

19 doors to choose from as he walked all around. Which door was it? He began opening the doors and searching.

At the fifth door he opened he saw all sorts of flowers cut at the stem. Choosing it, he observed the colors. 22 matching flowers to paint dye and food coloring were found. Then he went to the cashier and paid for it.

21 blocks away he arrived at the candle specialist. This time a woman was there. He explained his situation and she nodded. She invited him to the waiting area and disappeared with the materials.

After an hour of waiting he got the candles he needed. They waved goodbye to each other and he headed out. Only to find his work across the street and usual buildings behind him! A portal! Just 12:00 pm, he wasn't late.

His boss greeted him as he walked through the door. He handed the candles to his boss. His boss was pleased. His work done now he could enjoy his lunch break which came right up to him: pizza.

Prompt: 23
Word Count: 966
Contest: "23 Skidoo Contest"