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 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?
by Mayumi-H | Jun 20, 2012 | Short Stories, Songbirds
Welcome to another submission for the 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups (week 46)!
I didn’t submit to last week’s article prompt (though I did use it as inspiration for another vignette), but this week, we’re back to my bread and butter of flash fiction writing. Prompt as follows, per Julia:
… in the dark recess of my mind …
As usual you have 100 words to add to these 7 making 107 altogether. Make sure you keep the prompt as it is….
Here’s my take:
“A Wild Ride”
“…Are you scared?”
“No. Now, stop talking. You’re shaking the plane.”
“Would you relax? Nothing’s going to happen. We’re perfectly safe.”
“Look, logically, historically, empirically, I know that. But, in the dark recess of my mind, I can’t help but think this is impossible! Man simply was not meant to scream through the air in a giant sardine tin!”
“The only one screaming, here, is you.”
“Your compassion is overwhelming.”
“Listen. Whenever you feel nervous, just squeeze my hand. Just like that. There. Better?”
“…Yeah. Thanks.”
“I love you, you know.”
“I love you, too.”
“Oh, I can’t wait for you to meet my parents- ow!”
I’ve been up and down on planes so many times in the last week-and-a-half, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take that somewhat cryptic, almost foreboding prompt of words and make it into something light-hearted…and close to my own experiences.
I don’t usually do straight dialogue-only pieces, but I don’t think any description is really needed, here. Plus, my Songbirds stories are built around simplicity.
How did you interpret the prompt? Did you go dark, or light?
by Mayumi-H | May 23, 2012 | Short Stories, Songbirds
It’s week 43 for the 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups (100WCGU)! The prompt this week is:
“…The flame flickered before…”
I wrote this one quickly – on my 20-minute morning train – but I quite like it. Usually, I fret over the words much more than I did with this one. I don’t know if that means I’m getting better at writing these, or if I “hear” the voices of my Songbirds so much more clearly than the voices of other characters, or if the prompt just worked out right for me, this week. Whatever the reason, I hope you enjoy!
“That Unexpected Spark”
Flame Kiss, by Martin Eftimov
She didn’t know when it happened, only that it wouldn’t let her go.
Perhaps, it had begun in the old DVD store, when she’d first seen his lopsided smile. Or in the library, when he’d sat beside her, listening to a history of angels. Or in that moment of desperate terror, when she’d thought everything hopeless…and then felt his arms surround her.
Or, perhaps, it happened the first time she kissed him: an unexpected spark of feeling for a friend who could be something more.
The flame flickered before, but that kiss had made it flare.
Sally wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
Other writers I follow always seem to be able to do so much more with those 100 words than I can do. I suppose it’s just my style, that I tell things slowly? Regardless, I enjoy these challenges, and I look forward to more. (I just wish I could write like other people, sometimes.)
How did you interpret the idea of a flickering flame?
by Mayumi-H | May 2, 2012 | Short Stories
The prompt for this week’s 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups is “Ruby,” to celebrate the 40th week of this challenge.
We have 100 words to fulfill the prompt, and – while my idea is pretty cheesy – I hope that you enjoy my take. 🙂
“Precious Promises”
Amid riffling chiffon, she presses back against the door. It clicks, and she smiles.
He turns, tails flapping. “You shouldn’t be here-!”
Three strides, and she’s in his arms, silencing him with a kiss that makes him hum…and leaves a ruby smear across his lips.
“Sorry!” she laughs, and starts to thumb the smirch away.
He doesn’t laugh, though, but holds her tight. “Promise you’ll still kiss me like that after today?”
The question’s as important now as it will be in an hour. So is her answer. So she rises, seeking his smudged lips again, and whispers, “I do.”
“Precious Promises” by Mayumi-H
(I think I spent more time drawing this little doodle than I did writing this week’s prompt!)
I know that most of what I write with these 100-word challenges are fluff. But, I think, subconsciously, I need to be writing fluff, right now. I’m in the middle of a first draft novel that has a lot of heavy emotional drama in it, and I find these lighter-toned pieces of simple love and family life to be cathartic.
As for the doodle, I did a quick, small sketch in my pad during my train commute, and just had to flesh it out. It’s tiny, so there isn’t a tremendous amount of detail, which makes it quite cartoon-y. But I had much fun drawing and coloring something so simple with my Prismacolors.
So, how did you interpret this prompt? 🙂
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