Monthly Archives: July 2022

Friday Fictioneer – Shivers

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A glass table, with underlighting. An empty wine glass and salt and pepper shakers sit atop the table, also a QR code for ordering. Give a tunnel like effect.

Photo prompt by Fleur Lind

‘Roaches.’

‘Where?’

‘I’m having flashbacks, what a crap installation.’

‘You see roaches?’ I ask.

‘In my imagination. Memory. Movie memory. Creeps me out.’

‘You’ve lost me.’

‘So has this place.’

A shiver tingles from my hairline, down my spine. I shake a shoe, fully expecting an explosion of brown ickiness to erupt.

‘Should I call the waiter?’

‘No, idiot. There aren’t any roaches.’

‘I don’t understand! You’ve lost me, sweetheart.’

‘A white tunnel, leading to depths. A clean, pristine environment? It’s begging for a roach infestation.’

I toss back the wine dregs. Feel something touch my tongue as I swallow.

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Thank you Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for continuing to set this 100 word or less challenge. It is certainly a commitment appreciated by many. Other 100 word stories can be read here.

Six Sentence Story – Lost

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I thank GirlieOnTheEdge for this week’s Six Sentence Stories prompt — the word is LABYRINTH.

********************Six Sentence Story Logo

I lost myself in the complex labyrinth of life.

A journey from child all the way through to wife, mother, wife, mother.

The career dream lost along the way, day to day drudgery of peon administrator, soul destroying lowliness became the way.

Middle age is the veil of invisibility, where you are now lost not only to yourself but the uprising youth, who do not admire, respect, aspire to anything that you grew, shared, owned, developed or gave.

Why aspire to old age when I could give in now, let go of that dream of retirement, forever downtime, sofa comfort, cruising, reading of books, eating of fine cheeses, imbibing of finer wines.

I don’t look to a haunting purgatory, heavenly thereafter, glorious afterlife, and so should shoot straight for that hole in the ground, because I’d need to have faith in a higher power waiting to take my hand and help me grow and prepare for the next life for that to have any point.

Friday Fictioneers – witch work

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A spinning wheel, standing on tiles, with a brick wall backdrop

PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

She played into nervous naivety, intriguing with nervy grit.

We were whitewashed, wounded, whipped

Held in her hands, hoodwinked, hijacked

Every word a lie.

Enchanted and ensorcelled.

Left bamboozled, blind, bemused.

 

Stolen purses

Identity nicked

Native, innocence, naively given

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Thank you Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for continuing to set this 100 word (or less) challenge. It is a commitment appreciated by many. Other 100 word stories can be read here

Simply 6 Minutes – Breathless

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An old, disused, railway track, covered in moss leading upward into mist and trees

Wow! It took my breath away, and so I took a moment.

What usually takes my breath is a punch to the stomach, daredevil drops from height, too cold, too hungry, too scared.

I was in a hurry and under pressure, with no time to appreciate nature, but I stopped.

Not too many years ago, happy people on exciting holidays would have traversed this track. Gasped in awe at the drop away, delighted in the natural features all around. Pointed out deer, birds, bears – who knows.

I looked at the track veering away into the distance, into the mist and imagined different times.

I remembered a loving, carefree family. Kisses and playtime, cakes and lemonade. Living parents.

That was so long ago it was as if a dream. Or something read in a book.

Books. Dreams. Not all lost, because I always had a novel in my backpack. It took up precious space, but it made life bearable. And there were plenty of pristine libraries in my travels. Nobody looted libraries.

The moment stretched, and I breathed deep.

Then I tightened shoelaces, sipped some water, hitched the pack higher on my back and began to pick my away along these now dangerous tracks.

Into an uncertain, but almost definitely treacherous future. [6 minutes, 211 words]

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Thanks to Christine for running this challenge.

How it works:

https://christinebialczak.com/2020/07/14/simply-6-minutes-writing-challenge

  • Set up a timer or sit near a clock so you can keep track of the six minutes you will be writing.
  • You can either use one of the prompts (photo or written) or you can free-write.
  • Get ready and write for 6 minutes, that is it! Can you write a complete story? Can you think of a new Sonnet? Can you write 400 words? 400? 500? There are no restrictions on what kind of writing you do, but you should try to be actively writing for six minutes.
  • After you are done writing, include your word count and then post back to this page #Simply6Minutes or include your link in the comments section. Pingbacks are enabled.