A to Z: Beginnings O

Thank you to everyone who has stopped by to leave words for me so far this month. I've had a great time trying to work as many of them in as possible.

THEME: Short Stories - at least the beginnings thereof.
YOUR PART: Throw out words from the letter of the day and I'll pick some of them to include in the opening paragraphs of a short story.
WHY: I'm most inspired when there's a little challenge involved. Usually that means an opening line or a theme. This month: your words.

Each evening I'll post the beginnings of a short story using some of the suggested words, As to when I'll end those stories...well, that's what the rest of the year is for.

So join in the comments with O words. names, places, moods, genres, things, whatever you want to throw at me. My creative bucket awaits. If you're here later in the day and I've already posted the story start, feel free to leave words for the next day's letter.

Looking for more great blogs? Check out the massive A to Z blog challenge list.

~*~

An orangutan sat on a branch next to a stream, peering down at the strange creature in the water below.  It swam about on its back, on its belly and in spirals. When the crazy creature finally slowed on the surface floating on its back, he called down to it. "What are you?"

"Hello there. I'm an otter."

"OMG, I've never seen one of your kind before in all my travels."

The otter cocked his furry head. "You must be occidental."

"What gave me away?"

"The 'Western is the bestern' shirt you're wearing."

The orangutan scowled at his shirt. "Forgot I had that on. Surprised you can read it down there. It was a gift from Orea."

"Who?"

"The Ontario Real Estate Agency. Stopped by Canada before I got here."

"Ah.  I thought you might be into oology, because you were hanging out in the tree. There are a lot of birds in the area. They like the water. I'm sure there must be some nests nearby."

"No. I'm an orthodontist." The orangutan smiled, showing off his perfect white teeth.

"I heard your kind are expensive. I suppose that's how you could afford this trip?"

"Expensive? Why, that's an outrage. My prices are fair."

"Sorry, must be getting you confused with dentists." The otter smiled apologetically.

"Nice teeth."

"Thanks. I eat a lot of onions."

"That helps?"

"No idea. Someone keeps throwing them in upstream and I keep finding them."