by Mayumi-H | Aug 1, 2012 | Short Stories
For week 51 of the 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups, the prompt is, simply:
…together the flames…
We have 100 words to produce a creative piece from the prompt. It doesn’t say we have to use those words exactly, but I did, as you’ll see.
“Fire Dancers”
They’d danced what felt a slow forever: circling, stepping, narrowly avoiding, their movements never too close…nor too far. Just enough distance to stay safe, to stay mellow, to stay simply teasing and contained.
But even embers, left alone, will glow, and crackle, and burn.
That’s what they did, at last, one night. Flared fiercely in the dim dark as they met for the first time, feeding and devouring each other both, with each kiss and lick growing stronger, brighter, until they burst, together, the flames forming a consuming conflagration.
His wife fled.
Her husband wept.
And the fire raged on.
“The Lovers’ Boat” by Albert Pinkham Ryder [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
What kind of flames did you stoke for this week’s prompt?
by Mayumi-H | Jul 25, 2012 | From Hell (A Love Story), Short Stories
This week is week 51 over at the 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups (WCGU). As Julia says:
The prompt this week is another simple one:
…. the line was drawn ….
As always you have an additional 100 words to add to these 4 making 104 in total.
Last week, I dabbled in a bit of heady romance. But, this week, which will come clear through those hundred words, I decided on something different:
“No Way Back”
image courtesy Favim.com
Aral ducked behind the chaise, grimacing as padauk splinters rained down. These were just kids. Children. They didn’t even know what they were shooting…! “It doesn’t have to go down this way-”
“You came after us!”
More gunfire, and the Riedel collection exploded.
Aral swore. That crystal alone could have bought these rabbits their freedom…not to mention his and Zera’s birthing permit. “Let’s just talk-”
A spatter of bullets made him duck again.
“We’re not going back!”
Aral scowled. They were right: children or no, the line was drawn; no going back, now.
Pulling a breath, Aral primed his rifle. Then, he rushed them.
After talking with another sci-fi writer, I started to think a bit more about my Stowaways characters. I thought the kids on the run needed an adult who could counter their perspective. I don’t like to make straight-out villains, though; I prefer to examine characters in grey rather than black and white. From that discussion came Substantive Aral and his wife, Zera.
There’s more to these characters than what you see here, obviously. But I’d like to know:
What line was drawn for you, for this week’s prompt? And, do these prompts ever make you revisit stories you’d thought abandoned?
by Mayumi-H | Jul 18, 2012 | From Hell (A Love Story), Short Stories
It’s Week 50 for the 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups! I’ve only been participating for twenty weeks (you can read my entry for Week 31 here), but I feel like I’ve really learned a lot – and grown as a storyteller – in even that short amount of time, so I’m so grateful for the continued opportunity to participate. Thank you especially to those of you who have been so supportive of my efforts!
But, on to the matter at hand! Julia says, The prompt is:
… the rain turned the road into a river…
You have 100 words to add to the prompt, making 108 in total. Please don’t split the prompt and remember to make a link back here so that others can find us.
Here’s my attempt:
Neither Hell nor High Water
“Come home? I need you.”
Sally’s message made Larry scramble, tossing rushed goodbyes to his mates as he bolted outside. The rain turned the road into a river, but he didn’t care. The sky could go on fire, the earth could belch its dead; nothing would keep him from her.
He’d stripped half-naked before he was even up the stairs, where he immediately swept Sally into his arms for an impassioned, instigating kiss.
She flustered. “What’s this, now?”
Larry shifted back, abruptly stymied. “You said…! Aren’t you…ovulating?”
Sally shook her head. “The water heater’s broken,” she explained.
He flushed hot. “Oh.”
She chuckled, coyly. “But, since you’re here…!”
Prosaic, I know…but I couldn’t help delving into such gentle silliness between a couple of want-to-be parents. I’m sure many of us have been there…!
photo courtesy flickr.com/photos/zokuga/6201265728
Did you get rained out on this week’s prompt? Or did you manage to make your way through the storm?
by Mayumi-H | Jul 11, 2012 | Short Stories
Week 49’s 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups is another text prompt:
….Murray was just about to serve for the Championship when…
As Julia says, you have 100 words plus those in the prompt making 110 altogether. The prompt must be in the piece and not split.
Okay, then! I revisited an earlier vignette for this one, inspired as I was by that trailing “when…”
“Sad to Belong”
(With apologies to England Dan and John Ford Coley.)
They left the hotel television on, simply for the noise: noisy rooms were less likely to be disturbed. And they couldn’t be disturbed. Not now. Not after all the cooped-up days they’d already wasted, yearning for each other’s touch.
Robb’s arms were around her, but, still, Emma had to ask: “You’re certain about this?”
He nodded, nearly desperate. “I can’t go another minute without you,” he said, before crushing his mouth to hers.
They tumbled to the bed then, the television’s chatter covering their moans, and the snap of buttons and belts. Apparently, Murray was just about to serve for the Championship, when Robb’s mobile rang.
It was his wife.
I’m likely alone on this, but I don’t see Emma or Robb as bad people. Perhaps because I see their situation as a case of Right Love, Wrong Life.
What glimpse into another life did you take, with this week’s prompt?
by Mayumi-H | Jul 5, 2012 | Short Stories, Songbirds
“The New Girl”
She looked so much like Sally: bright, sparkling eyes; cute, upturned nose; precious pink lips; and dimples, just the barest hint of them, like Sally had when she smiled.
Larry fell in love with her instantly.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, stroking gently at the soft round of her cheek. He bent his head and kissed her then, smelling deeply of the sweet scent of her.
“She is,” Sally said.
Larry looked up, into the tired, teary face of his wife. He smiled. “She looks just like you,” he said.
Sally smiled, too. “I was going to say the same thing.”
(image courtesy tscpl.org)
I’ve had such a good time reading new-mummy updates from jennybennyk on Twitter (you can also follow her blog at itsjennythewren), it reminded me of first moments like this, and how your perspective can change of an instant.
Husbands/fathers are especially susceptible to daughters, I think. I know when I met my husband, there was talk that I would always be foremost in his life.
Then our little girls came along.
I don’t mind, though. That loving bond is precious, and I wanted to see if I could capture it a little bit, here, with my Songbirds. (And, to itsjennythewren: Don’t worry if Daddy is starstruck by Baby right now. You’re still Mummy, and that’s a truly special person to be.)
Have you ever been struck by a memory from a Tweet or an update, and pushed to write about it?
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