TANIKA SMITH WHEATLEY
Bio
When I was a child, I would wake up in the night because of nightmares. As time went on, I realized that I was looking forward to my dreams. Now, I write them, among other stories as well.....
Stories (36/0)
THE HOUSE - Part Two - Finally
THE HOUSE Part Two - Finally Tanika Smith Wheatley I hardly recognize myself. Gone, is the old fashioned female who loved lovely old architecture, beautiful homes that looked as though they grew up among nature; flowers, and surrounded by hills, trees and rivers – gone is the carefree, fun loving girl who loved to dance, and party – I used to wonder why old women were so grouchy – now I know it is because at some stage, we realize that there was no longer anything to be happy about. I have become as callous and cold as my environment; as the concrete block house my husband built in the empty plains of the desert…
By TANIKA SMITH WHEATLEY19 days ago in Fiction
ECLIPSE
ECLIPSE I never believed an eclipse could make such an impact on our everyday lives, I do now… A few days before the eclipse of April 2024, friends invited themselves to visit with us – as the sorts who love socializing, my husband and I prepared a meal and during the course of enjoying our lunch, these friends, a couple, mentioned that they were looking for a house in our area and were interested in one, but the owner seemed reluctant to sell…these friends had always said they loved our house and garden, so I (not forcefully, just casually) mentioned that at our age (we have a rather large block) we had been considering downsizing and they immediately mentioned their interest in our home – aaaahhhh, I realized, the reason for their visit…
By TANIKA SMITH WHEATLEY2 months ago in Fiction
Southwest of the Setting Sun - The Epic
SOUTH WEST OF THE SETTING SUN THE EPIC By Tanika Smith Wheatley ‘I never knew what it was like to have a loving father and mother – I had parents; well, sort of – my mother, Mahuika; even as a small child, without meeting or seeing many others yet, I knew she was beautiful – a perfect oval face with petite nose, large dark eyes with long black lashes, and full lips – long, thick lustrous hair, rounded breasts and hips, tiny waist and long legs – everyone called her the beautiful woman of the mountain; who had captured the heart of a Prince - however by the time I was born, she spent most of her time silently sitting on our hard cavern floor – near the underground pool which had an outlet to the ocean so it would often glow from the sunshine in the daytime – sometimes she’d soak in that pool, swim around a little, and I’d join her – and at night, sometimes she’d go outside for a walk, get some fresh air and exercise, sit on the rock ledge at the entrance to the cavern and closing her eyes, breathe deeply of the fresh night air – sometimes I’d join her there as well – but she never took much notice of me – at first I had no knowledge of my being neglected, until I noticed that other children who lived outside of the cavern in shelters on the rocks talked and laughed with their parents, and were hugged by their parents as well; lovingly, and held tightly…
By TANIKA SMITH WHEATLEY4 months ago in Fiction
South West of the Setting Sun
South West of the Setting Sun Author and artist: Tanika Smith Wheatley This is a story about a Polynesian man known as Maui the Half God who travelled the Pacific in search of his father and in doing so, found several other islands, including Aoteroa, now known as New Zealand, for his people to live on. Some Maori believe that he was Hawaiian. The first great Polynesian migration to New Zealand was believed to have been made from either Hawaii, or Tahiti. And, the first great (I say great because this migration had a fleet of seven boats plus a smaller one that belonged to the half God) Polynesian migration landed in the Bay of Plenty at a place that they decided to call Hawai which is supposed to be after the old land.
By TANIKA SMITH WHEATLEY7 months ago in Fiction
WONDERLAND
For my seventh birthday my parents gave me the Lewis Carroll books and I have been a Lewis Carroll fan ever since and in turn, I have been giving these books to other children of the family to enjoy, when they are on the brink of learning to read. The stories opened my mind to a myriad of possibilities, and I knew that they would do the same for them...
By TANIKA SMITH WHEATLEY9 months ago in BookClub
The Dead Planet
I was at school and only seven years old when I wrote this story, my first ‘essay’ at school, after having just learned the alphabet and how to read and write. I even did my own artwork cover. It was a red planet in a starry night sky. At that age, I don’t even know how I was aware of space and other planets. Perhaps a teacher spoke of our constellation, I know we had lessons in later classes, but I don’t remember lessons on space at or before seven years of age. Perhaps I’d seen comic books, maybe I heard other people speak of the planets. The teacher was impressed and put my book on show in the main foyer. It went missing while on display, and I don’t remember every word that I wrote at the time, but I remember the story, so I am now attempting to write about The Dead Planet once more…
By TANIKA SMITH WHEATLEY10 months ago in Writers