They say dance like no one is watching. Well, what if you are in the middle of your own little music video, and someone is watching?
Prompt: She thought she was alone in the hotel gym so she decided to sing <insert song here> at the top of her lungs while exercising. He found it so entertaining he just had to meet her. The song that I have chosen for this prompt is So What by Pink. Sariah yawned deeply as she walked into the gym of the hotel. Working out after a long day of traveling was the perfect way to fight off the jetlag that made her want to just curl up in a little ball and sleep for a hundred years. Looking around, she found herself alone. Great! With the music blaring in her ears she began her workout routine. She was too absorbed in what she was doing that she didn’t realize when a young man entered the gym. Pumped up by her exercise, she had no difficulty belting out So What as it came blaring through her headphones. “So what? I’m still a rock star!” she sang, sounding more like a beached whale than a person singing. Not one to simply be satisfied just singing along to the music, she had to add props and a dance routine to it as well. The gym equipment became unwilling participants to her crazy, music video rendition of the song. Peter simply stood in the doorway and stared at her. A smile lit up his face. She was just so funny, using the gym equipment as dance partners, and other miscellaneous dancing props that she would need. He tried to repress a laugh. She may have been absorbed in her own little world, but he still didn’t want to take the chance that she would hear his laugh and stop doing what she was doing. In the end, it wasn’t his laughter that brought her to a stop, but his presence. She had been dancing, and thinking she was alone, hadn’t paid any attention to where she was going, and ended up slamming right into him, causing them both to fall backwards. “Are you alright?” Peter asked, getting to a sitting position where his arm could rest on the top of his knee. Sariah looked up at the man she had just bumped into. Her face turned beet red. How much had he seen and heard? How long had he been standing there watching her? She quickly pulled the headphones from her ears and shoved the whole thing into her pocket as quickly as she could. “You ok?” Peter asked again. “Yeah, yeah,” Sariah said in embarrassment, “I’m fine. Are you alright? I’m sorry for bumping into you. I was just so caught up in the music and my work out that I must have just drowned everything out and I didn’t realize what I was doing or anyone around me. I’m so sorry. I didn’t hurt you did I? Oh, I really hope you aren’t hurt. That would be bad, really bad,” Sariah rambled, causing further embarrassment, she was good at that. Instead of keeping quiet, she would ramble and make a bad situation even worse. “Hey, hey,” Peter said, trying to get her attention, “It’s ok. I’m fine. There was no harm done,” when her words finally came to a stop he said, “See… I’m perfectly fine. Nothing broken, cut, or bruised.” “Oh thank goodness,” Sariah breathed a sigh of relief. “That was some pretty impressive dancing going on there,” Peter said, thinking he was going to be so smooth. It went over like a ton of bricks. It caused Sariah to blush an even deeper red, which Peter hadn’t even thought possible. She looked like she was going to dig a hole right around her and crawl in and never come out again. “I’m not making fun of you,” Peter rushed in, trying to save his terrible flirt, “It was great. Really. I was really impressed by it. My name’s Peter,” he thrust his hand out to her and accidently hitting her in the face instead. “Ow,” Sariah said, holding the place that Peter’s hand had slapped. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you. I swear I didn’t. It was an accident,” he leaned in and tried to see if there was anything he could do to help, and ended up bonking heads with her, “You know what? Maybe I should to get you some ice. Yeah ice would be good. I’ll get ice. I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.” He scrambled to his feet and rushed out of the door and bolted for the ice machine. He was back in seconds flat. He tripped in the door way, causing his gift ice to land, quite literally, in Sariah’s lap. She screeched with the cold and jumped to her feet, trying to get the ice off of her. “You know what?” Peter said. “What?” Sariah asked, brushing her hair out of her face. “This is just a total mess, and not how things should have gone. Why don’t we go get ice cream instead?” Sariah hedged. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to trust herself to be in the presence of this man for very much longer. “I’ll pay,” Peter cajoled, rocking on his heels, and giving his best innocent child look, “After all, it’s the least I can do, seeing as this is mostly my fault.” “Okay,” Sariah said slowly, “Just let me change first. I don’t want to go out for ice cream in cold workout clothes.” “Deal.” They agreed to meet back at the gym in twenty minutes. They both walked away with a smile on their faces. Maybe their weirdness wasn’t so bad after all. Get on over to Torri's blog and see her take on today's prompt!
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Rain. I love the rain. I love how everything seems so clean afterwards. I love the smell it brings with it. It smells clean, happy; it smells of fresh starts. I love going the feel of it. It's pure joy.
Prompt: Write a scene/story where a character's last words are: "I find peace in the rain." The rain pattered down on the roof. Samantha groaned and pushed herself out of bed. Rain was the last thing she needed right now. “Morning sunshine,” Carla smiled, handing Samantha a steaming cup of coffee as she came grumbling down the stairs. Samantha gave an incoherent mumble as she carried her coffee to the table. She had no idea how Carla could be so upbeat all the time, it was exhausting and this morning was seriously grating on her nerves. There simply was no reason for anyone to be that happy, let alone before 7:00 on a rainy Monday morning. It was unnatural. “Oh come on, stop being such a grouchy puss,” Carla said, sliding into the chair next to her. “Why?” Samantha took a sip of her coffee. She was too exhausted to be happy. Their third roommate had just decided to up and move out on them three weeks ago, leaving them to find some way to pay her share of the rent and other bills, which seemed like a momentous task at the moment. In order to save costs, the house Samantha worked at, had cut everyone’s hours back. It was going great for them, but it was putting a serious financial strain on the employees that worked there. Her car was on its last legs, it was Monday, and too top it all off, it was raining. “Rain is a beautiful thing,” Carla gushed, “I mean just look at that, feel that, smell that. It is happiness in a weather pattern.” “Yeah, well, you sit and enjoy the rain,” Samantha said, checking the clock, “I have to get to work.” She bolted from the door. Luck seemed to be on her side today, and her car started without so much as a hiccup. “Yes,” she shouted, punching the air with her fists. She pulled into her designated parking spot and rushed inside to get into her uniform. She nodded at the greetings that were sent her way. “Hello, Mr. Montgomery,” Samantha smiled, wheeling the breakfast tray into his room, “How are you feeling this morning?” “Oh, I’m doing fine,” he said, before nearly coughing up a lung. I rush to his side in order to help him sit up straighter so that he can get a decent breath. Once he finishes, I lay him gently back on the pillows and fill a water glass for him. He is by far my favorite patient. He has the greatest stories to tell, and there are plenty of times that I got reprimanded for taking too much time with him when I should have been with other patients. Still, he was like a grandfather I never had, and I more often than not I found myself coming to visit him even on my days off, just so I could have a few more minutes with him. “Is there anything else I can do for you?” I ask, once I get him settled into his wheelchair and get his breakfast settled on his lap. “Yes. If it wouldn’t be an inconvenience that is.” “What is it?” “Could you walk me around the gardens?” “Oh….” I hedge, “Normally I would love to, but you see, it’s raining, and the house has a policy that we aren’t allowed to take people out in weather like this.” “Oh,” his face looked almost crestfallen and it broke my heart. “But… I think maybe I can make an exception,” I found myself saying. “Oh, no dearie. I wouldn’t want you getting in trouble for my sake. Why don’t you just roll me over to the window so that I can see the rain come down? You see, I find peace in the rain.” I nodded and positioned his wheelchair in front of the window, giving him the best view that his room could afford and repositioned a blanket over his legs so that he wouldn’t get cold. I grabbed a book and some word puzzles he was so fond of and placed them on a nearby table so that he could use them if he wanted something else to do but stare out the window. It was a busy day, and I didn’t have a chance to breathe, let alone go see him again until it was time for me to head out. I wanted to make sure he was still doing ok before I headed out for the day. I knocked lightly on the door, as was customary, before I entered the room. He was still sitting by the window. “Hey Mr. Montgomery,” I said, walking in, “I just came to check up on you, see if there is anything I can do before I head out.” There was no response. That never happened. He always responded. I hurried to his side. That’s when I saw the horrible truth. His hands laid limply on his lap, a smile on his face as he gazed blankly out the window. He was gone. I thought I was used to death. In my profession you just got used to it. It surrounded you. I thought I dealt with death really well, but not Mr. Montgomery’s. I couldn’t handle that. I ran out of the room, sobbing my eyes out. With my eyes misted with tears I ran into my boss, who someone managed to understand my blubbering and hurried into his room; ever the professional. His body was taken care of with cool, distant professionalism, while I stood there, a sobbing maniac. “Go home,” my boss said softly, “Get some rest.” I nodded, and walked blindly to my car. I turned the key, and my car simply sputtered before dying. I tried again, the same thing happened. In frustration I slammed my hand against the steering wheel and an animalistic scream escaped from my throat. I couldn’t stand being in my car, with the sound of rain pounding on metal ringing in my ears. I jumped out, leaving my door wide open and began to run. I didn’t know where I was going. I didn’t care. All I knew was that I had to get away. I made it to the middle of the empty lot near the parking lot before I came to a stop. My strength deserted me, and I crumbled to my knees, my tears mixing with the rain that was soaking the ground. The rain. The rain so loved by Mr. Montgomery. The rain that brought so much misery. I screamed. There was no peace in the rain. How do you feel about rain? Are you like Mr. Montgomery or more like Samantha? Tell me your thoughts. Don't forget to go over to Torri's blog and check out how she took today's prompt. Thanks for reading. We have a great prompt for you today! I'm really excited about this one! I personally think it's my best so far. Tell me what you think. Don't forget to go to Torri's sight and see what she came up with!!!
Prompt: She showed up at his door soaking wet, bruised, and covered in glitter. Bam! Bam! Bam! Came a sound from downstairs. Michael groaned and rolled over, covering his head with his pillow in an attempt to drown out the sound. Bam! Bam! Bam! Came the sound again. Whoever was at his door was insistent, and didn’t seem to be going anywhere until he answered the door. With an even louder groan, he pushed himself off of his bed and trudged down the stairs to answer the door. ‘Who on earth could be out at this hour of the night in a blinding rainstorm? They must be absolutely insane,’ he thought to himself, ‘But then again, I must be just as insane if I’m thinking of opening the door to this maniac.’ “Ava?” he asked uncertainly as he opened the door, staring at the figure in front of him. She was drenched from being in the rain for so long. Her usually feathery light hair was now plastered to her head, and clinging to her face for dear life, nearly covering a purple bruise that was beginning to appear on her cheekbone. Her arms were covered with cuts, as if she had been fending off an attack of a knife, and bruised in places where her assailant must have grabbed her. Yet in all of that, there were spots that seemed almost to shimmer. It was as if she had been sprinkled with glitter. “Michael!” Ava cried in relief and exhaustion. As Michael held open the door in invitation, Ava stumbled into his arms, forcing him to catch her before she collapsed to the ground. “Ava?” he called, dragging her body into his living room, forgetting all about the open front door, “Ava? Ava?” He brushed the hair out of her face and gently ran his fingers on her cuts, his fingers coming away filled with glitter, “Ava, come on, wake up, please.” She was dressed in sweatpants that had seen better days. They were nearly threadbare and covered in all sort of stains from where she had dropped paint or clay. His overlarge hoodie covered the tank top that she always wore when she was working. She often worked late at night, saying that’s when the inspiration struck and she needed to get it out while it was still fresh in her mind, but what had caused her to flee her studio? “Ava, please… Talk to me….what’s going on?” Michael cried. “Michael,” Ava breathed. Her voice was so weak. She was fading away from him and fading fast. “Ava,” Michael said, “Ava, oh Ava. What happened?” “Studio,” Ava gasped out, “I was at the studio.” “I know, I know….what happened at the studio?” Michael asked impatiently. “She appeared…your ex..... out of nowhere….I asked…. I asked her what she wanted…..,” Ava stopped to breathe, “She came at me…..there was a knife….it was terrible,” Ava shuddered from the memory, “I ran….didn’t know where else to go….” “It’s okay,” Michael said, tears streaming down his face, “It’s going to be okay,” he took her into his arms and held her, letting her head loll onto his shoulder as he rocked back and forth, “I’m here. You’re safe now. It’s all going to be ok.” She pulled away from him and looked glazy eyed up at him as she gathered her strength, “If I can’t have him…no one can….that’s, that’s….” She never got to finish her sentence. Her breath faded away with her words and she was gone. “Ava! Ava no! Please!” Michael howled, a sword stabbed him through the heart and it shattered into a million pieces. The love of his life was gone, “No please don’t go. There’s so much…” his voice caught, “There’s so much I wanted to do with you. I wanted to show you the world. I wanted to be with you. I wanted to marry you.” In a fit of insanity, he pulled the ring box out of the end table drawer by the couch and placed it on Ava’s finger and kissed the top of her forehead. “Ava, I wanted to marry you! I love you. Please don’t leave me.” He grabbed hold of Ava and hugged her lifeless body to his chest and rocked back and forth, the broken pieces of his heart stealing oxygen from his lungs, as his will to live drained from his body. So, for today's prompt, I decided to do something a little silly. I loved writing it and hope you enjoy reading it. When you're done here, don't forget to go to Torri's blog: romanticfreak4life.weebly.com to see her take on today's prompt.
Prompt: Classic comedy: To get the story straight, Dave, we think, has become a chicken. Just the worst of luck with that guy. Tom is claiming he married the futon that’s now covered in yogurt, Carl in on the chandelier with the dog and you just walked in after getting groceries. What on earth happened here? I was whistling a spry little tune as I turned the key in the lock that afternoon. I couldn’t believe it. I had managed to get a date with Mary Turner. She was perfect. Everyone and their dog wanted to go out with her, and I managed to snag one! She was coming over on her way home from some appointment and we would take her car to the movies. I was flying high, and nothing, not even my crazy roommates could bring me down. I pushed the door open and stopped dead in my tracks. What on earth? Carl, one of my roommates, had managed to climb onto the chandelier that hung above the kitchen table. He was curled up as best as he could, keeping both his feet on the chandelier so as not to dangle. He looked ready to pounce, or disappear, as necessary. He sat, stroking the black and white spotted dog that sat in his lap. We didn’t have a dog…. I shook my head to clear it and looked around for either Dave or Tom to see if they could explain Carl’s strange behavior. However, luck wasn’t with me today. Tom was sitting on our futon, stroking it lovingly, obviously ignoring the globs of yogurt that came away with each stroke. It “Hey baby,” Tom crooned, “You want some more yogurt?” he asked, as he sucked the excess yogurt off of his fingers. “What on earth is going on here?” I shout, dropping the groceries I had just bought. “Oh, Kevin! Hey,” Tom said, getting unsteadily to his feet, “While you were out, I got married. I’d like you to meet my wife Fuyon,” he wrapped his arm around me and dragged me over to the futon where he tried to get me to shake her hand. “Are you serious?” I ask, “This is a futon…. A piece of furniture….. An inanimate object,” I kept going as all I got were a series of non-computing blinks. “That’s a hurtful thing to say. I don’t say such horrible about the women you love!” Tom fell to his knees and wrapped his arms awkwardly around the futon, crooning and apologizing for my behavior. “Tom, really, it’s a piece of furniture. You can’t have gotten married. It’s impossible!” I shout. “What do you know about true love?” Tom snapped back, not once releasing his grip on the furniture, “You wouldn’t know what love was if it came over and bit you in the butt!” I stepped back. Obviously, I was getting nowhere with Tom. Leaving him in peace to fall in love with the rest of the furniture and I tried to find Carl, but to no avail. He simply wasn’t in the apartment. Where could he have gone? “Hey Carl,” I called up to him, “Why don’t you come down here?” “No!” Carl’s voice came out quick and sharp, “I’m not going down there. Are you kidding? The whole floor is covered with pumpkins!” Carl was deathly afraid of pumpkins. His brothers had played a cruel joke on him during Halloween when he was younger, forever scaring him. He was now hardly even able to look at a pumpkin, let alone be around one, carve one, or even eat one. “Ok,” I drew the word out, “Where’d you get the dog?” “He came bounding in while we were playing video games, right before the pumpkins attacked.” I nodded. I could use this. Maybe it could help me figure out what happened so that I would be able to straighten it out before Mary got here for our date. “Why don’t you explain everything that happened after I left?” Oh what a spell he had to weave. It was a normal Saturday afternoon. The three of them had been playing video games, and had hardly noticed when I had left. A little while later they heard a sound at the door, Dave had gotten up and opened it. That was the worst mistake of his life. As soon as the door opened there was a shot of light and Dave was gone. In his place was a big, white chicken. Carl and Tom were still in shock when the dog came bounding into the room and jumped into Carl’s arms, on his heels was a gang of possessed pumpkins. Carl was too busy trying to keep himself away from the pumpkins to see what was happening to Tom. By the time he had settled in the chandelier, Tom was already married to the futon and was spooning yogurt into her mouth. I plopped down heavily on a nearby kitchen chair and rubbed my aching head. That hadn’t helped at all. I had no idea what was going on or how to reverse whatever had happened. Dave was apparently a chicken, Carl was in a chandelier, terrified the pumpkins would get to him, and Tom was making out with our futon! To top it all off, Mary was going to be here for our date any minute now, and the apartment was a mess, my futon was covered in yogurt, and thanks to this fiasco, so was I. A timid knock on the door was the last thing I had wanted. “What?” I practically growled at whoever was intruding on my misery. “Um….I found this chicken outside my apartment,” it was a soft, feminine voice. I spun around. Sure enough, there was Jennifer, holding a big, white chicken in her arms. She lived across the hall with her sister’s family while she was going to school. “Um, thanks,” I said, getting to my feet, “Why do you think it’s ours?” “Well,” she rubbed a finger across her temple, “See…. I know this is going to sound crazy,” I glanced around my apartment. Nothing else could shock my anymore, “It told me. It said that he was Dave and asked if I’d bring him back.” “That’s Dave,” I nodded, sure I could accept that. “Yeah,” Jennifer glanced around my apartment, her amusement visible on her face, “So, what’s going on here?” “Um… it’s a long story,” I said. Jennifer looked at me expectantly, as she pursed her lips together to try not laugh at the spectacle that had become my apartment. I needed someone to talk to, and she seemed to be a willing, and available ear to bend, so I told her everything I knew. When I had finished she simply burst out laughing. She couldn’t hold it in any longer. “That’s hilarious!” she gasped, nearly letting go of our chicken, Dave. “No, it’s not! What am I going to do?” “You are going to go change out of that shirt and get ready for your date,” Jennifer ordered, “I’ll see if I can manage to convince Tom to give his new wife a bath.” Gratefully, I did what she asked. After a quick shower and a change I felt like a new man. Everything would be fine. I whistled my way down the stairs with a hop in my step. I nearly tumbled down the stairs at what greeted me. The dog and the chicken were now chasing each other on the yogurt filled futon, making an even bigger mess, while Tom wailed that they were hurting his wife, and Jennifer begged Carl to come down “What on earth is going on here?” My stomach dropped. I knew that voice. It was the voice of Mary Turner….. “Mary,” I said, putting on a false smile, “How are you? You ready to go?” “Um….no,” Mary said, taking her hand from my grasp, “First I want to know what on earth is going on here.” I glanced around uncertainly. How was I supposed to explain what was going on? I didn’t even fully understand what was going on. Mary waited expectantly. “I um, I have no idea. Really,” I finally said. “Well, too bad,” Mary said, “I’m very strict when it comes to my dating policy, and I’m sorry, but I just can’t be seen with a guy who lives like this, with people like this. It would ruin my reputation, you see? So I guess I’ll just leave.” “Wait!” I yelled, chasing after her as she stormed out of the apartment. She didn’t wait, didn’t listen, and I was left standing alone in the parking. I don’t know how long I stood there, but it was getting cold before I trudged back up the stairs. “Hurry,” Dave whispered, “We don’t know how much longer he’ll be down there.” “Sorry, but the dog and the chicken fighting wasn’t part of the plan,” Tom whispered back. “Guys! I’m stuck!” Carl said, jangling the chandelier to prove his point. “I’ll finish the futon, you guys help him,” Jennifer said. I didn’t wait. I had heard enough. I stormed into the apartment and stared accusingly at them. “How could you?” I asked. “We did it for your own good. Mary Turner is a stuck up snob,” Tom said. “You were being an idiot. We were simply helping you see your idiocy before it was too late,” Dave said. “You know it would have happened sooner or later. It’s who we are. We just made it sooner rather than later,” Carl put in his two cents. I stormed up to my room. Within a week, however, I realized they had been right. Mary Turner was a snob. She may have gotten a few meals out of the deal, but sooner or later she would have to have seen that my roommates were a weird and rambunctious mess and would have left anyway. They had done me a favor. I needed a woman who wouldn’t make me choose between my roommates and her. And I think I found her. I have a date with Jennifer this afternoon……. Thank you for reading. Please share it with your friends and family! Find me on Facebook! Torri chose our wonderful prompt today. I say she deserves a great big round of applause! It was a great prompt! I loved writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it.
Prompt: Identical twins, a party invitation, and a locked closet “I wish I didn’t have to go to this stupid meeting and could go with you to the party,” John said, coming up and putting his arms around Patricia’s waist as she zipped up her makeup bag. “I know, I’d like that too, but this is extremely important and I’ll not have you blow your big break on a silly party,” Patricia rotated in his arms so that she was able to put her arms around his neck and bring him close, planting his lips with a kiss. “Mmm,” John mumbled as they pulled away from the kiss, “It’ll be deadly dull without you.” “So will this party,” Patricia said, giving his lips another peck before extracting herself from his grasp and heading out the door. Blowing one last kiss John’s way, she headed in the direction of her great aunt’s house. She had been invited over a month ago to go visit her great aunt, who was getting old and wanted to have some company. A few weeks later, she decided to host a small little get-together with some friends of hers and she had invited Patricia. She couldn’t very well turn the old lady down, it would hurt her feelings. Still, John’s business meeting sounded far more exciting than spending an hour or so with five old and decrepit people in an equally old house. She pulled up to the house and let herself in just as she had every day for the past month. She walked into the parlor where to her surprise were three people around her age. She pulled to a startled stop just inside the doorway, her hand still on the handle. “Hi,” Patricia said awkwardly. “Oh, hello,” a blonde haired girl said, her voice holding a lilting quality to it, “You must be Patricia.” “Yes,” Patricia said, her eyes glancing between the three guests. There was the blonde haired girl. She was taller than Patricia by a good five inches, though that wasn’t hard, she knew of ten year olds who were taller than she was. She had an air of confidence about her, and managed to catch everyone’s attention just by her being there. Next there was a tall brown haired man. His eyes were the color of the ocean, Patricia thought. He was toned, and had a fresh, ocean-y scent to him. Next to him was a blond haired young man. He was almost scrawny in comparison. “I’m Lucy,” the girl said, holding out her hand, “And this is Matthew,” she gestured to the blond haired man. “Pleasure,” he said simply, taking her hand in his and giving it a quick shake. “And I’m Parker,” the brown haired man spoke up. He took her hand in his and gave it a quick peck before releasing it. Patricia blinked. She didn’t know what to do with that. Nobody kissed people’s hands anymore. She didn’t have much time to think about the oddness of this gesture before her great aunt came into the room. “Oh Patricia, good you’re here!” she said breezily, her voice still light and flowing despite her age. “Hello Cora,” Patricia said politely, giving her a hug. Cora herded them all to the dining room to eat their meal. It was a lively event, Parker refused to have even a moment of silence. If there was a lull, Parker simply picked up the slack and carried them off onto another lively conversation. After dinner, Cora ushered them all into the parlor once again while she went off to clean up the kitchen, refusing all offers of help. “Your aunt certainly is something,” Matthew said, taking a seat on the sofa. “Yes she is,” Patricia agreed. The food had made them all drowsy and before too long the four of them had settled on the couch and were all beginning to drift off to sleep. A loud clanging sound sent Patricia jerking upright, breathing heavily. “What was that?” Lucy wailed. “I have no idea,” Parker said, wrapping his arm around Lucy’s shoulder to calm her down. Patricia let out a gasp of surprise when the lights flickered and the room was suddenly overwhelmed with darkness. Lucy’s screams of terror filled her ears, nearly causing her to go deaf. “It’s ok,” Cora said, floating into the room with a candlestick, “This old house is just temperamental sometimes.” More screams shattered the air. Only this time, they didn’t come from Lucy. They had come from a door on the other side of the parlor, and sounded more animalistic than human. “What was that?” Patricia asked, pointing toward the door. “Oh, nothing you need to worry about. It was probably just an animal that got stuck and wants out. I’ll go check,” she floated out the door. Not believing Cora’s explanation of the screams, Patricia stood up and walked over to the door. It wouldn’t budge. She jiggled the handle furiously, as if that could magically get it to open, but to no avail. “Does anyone have a bobby pin, or something I could use to pick a lock?” Patricia asked when her plan to ram herself against the door had failed, leaving behind a sore shoulder. “Isn’t that an invasion of privacy?” Lucy asked, handing Patricia a bobby pin as she did so. Patricia ignored the question. She was too busy recalling the talents of a misspent childhood. In no time the door unlocked with a resounding click. “Don’t,” Parker said as Patricia began to go down the stairs that had been hidden by the door. “I have to,” Patty began. “I know,” Matthew said, “But at least let either Matthew or I go down first.” Thankful not to have to do this alone, or have to go down into the darkness before anyone else, Patricia stepped aside and let the boys go down into the darkness first. At the bottom they found a light switch and flipped it on. It didn’t do much to illuminate the room, but at least they could see in front of their faces now. They were greeted with hisses and spits as they walked further into the room. Their faces dropped as they realized what was down there. The room was filled with cages, and each of the cages was filled, but these were no animals. The cages were filled with people. As if that weren’t creepy enough, these people held the same faces as the four people looking back at them. “It’s us,” Matthew breathed. “How?” Parker asked. “Why?” Lucy cried. “Unbelievable,” Patricia gasped. “You really shouldn’t have done that,” Cora tsked. “What is this? Why are they here? What’s going on? Why are you doing this?” the four of them asked in unison. “Who are they?” Patricia asked. “Why, they’re your twins of course,” Cora shrugged, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world, “Each of you was born with a twin that was taken from the hospital shortly after birth.” Their parents had been told that the other twin had died, while in reality they had been smuggled out of the hospital and into this basement prison. They were held there until they reached the age of 25, when their other twin was to be found and brought to the house, where they would then switch places. “No way,” Lucy said, backing up toward the stairs, “There is no way I’m going to switch places. No way I’m staying here.” “There can only be one twin loose in the world at a time, is it really fair for you to get to live all your life in the world?” Cora asked. “Why? Why can there only be one?” Patricia asked. “Because there is too much power. It’ll destroy the world if there were two of you running around,” Cora explained. “Well isn’t that too bad,” Parker said. While Cora had been talking, Parker had maneuvered himself around to the cages, and using a key he had found by the light switch, unlocked the cages. “Run,” he shouted. The twins didn’t have to be asked twice. All eight of them made a mad bolt for the door. They had only reached the top of the stairs before the world began to shake. Lucy’s twin, too weak to stand on her feet, fell at the sudden movement, crashing to the bottom of the stairs where she stayed, not moving. The rest of them rushed forward, trying to get off the stairs before anything else happened. However, it wasn’t only the basement stairs that were crumbling away. They soon realized that it was the entire house that was being torn apart, and not just the house either, outside they could see that even the trees were being uprooted. “We have to do something!” Patricia shouted! “What?” Parker shouted back. “I told you guys!” Cora shouted, “But you didn’t listen to me. The power of twins is too strong! It’ll tear the world apart!” “What can we do?” Lucy called back, “Send the twins back?” “It’s too late for that! What we need now is an energy circle! With your combined powers you should be able to stop it, but it requires a sacrifice!” “What kind of sacrifice?” Matthew asked. “A life.” They seven of them looked at each other and nodded. They had gotten into this mess in the first place, they would have to get out of this mess. “I’ll do it,” Parker said, “After all, I’m the one who released them.” They formed a circle as Cora chanted the incantation. The wind began to die down, and the trembling came to a stop. As suddenly as it had come, it had stopped. In the quiet, a sudden flash appeared, knocking all of them out of the circle. The blast encircled the entire house, taking all of it down. It eliminated it as if it had never been. None survived. Now, don't forget to hope on over to Torri's blog and read her take on this prompt! Thanks for reading. Hey guys! Welcome back! I'm pretty sure all of you know the nursery rhyme, "Hey Diddle Diddle," if you don't it's: Hey diddle, diddle, the cat and the fiddle. The cow jumped over the moon. The little dog laughed to see such a sport and the dish ran away with the spoon.
Have you ever wondered why the dish and spoon were running away? How did they even meet? Well you're in luck. Our prompt today was: Write a love story about the dish and the spoon. How did they meet? Why did they run away? So here is my take on the dish and the spoon's story. Love: Dish Style The dish shivered in anticipation. She could hear her new owner cutting away at the tape that bound her prison. It was only a matter of moments before she would be blinking up at….something. Long ago she had been made in a factory with her many brothers and sisters. She had been so proud, blinking in wonderment at the factory around her. Her amazement was short lived, however. She hadn’t even gotten the full scope of the factory before she was packed into a box with a few others and shipped to some other building where they were kept, hidden in a corner for so long that most people had simply forgotten that they were there at all. She had no idea what fate awaited her at the opening of the box, but surely it would have to be better than what she was used to. Suddenly a brightness that nearly blinded her began to shine down into the box. An old, wrinkled, but kind face shone down on her with a smile, causing whatever doubts and uncertainties she had been harboring to flee. This wasn’t a face of a monster, and it was certainly nicer than the face that grabbed her out of her box in the warehouse to be shipped to the unknown. “Oh good! I’ve been waiting a long time for you,” the old face crooned lovingly at the dish, stroking every inch of her, causing the dish to tingle, “Here you go,” the woman wiped off the dust and placed her gently on the shelf with the other dishes. “Hello,” the dish smiled brightly at the others. A few grumbles were her response. “Isn’t this so exciting?” the dish tried again, refusing to be disheartened. “Dearie, we’ve been here a long time and let me tell you, there isn’t much excitement going on around here,” an old grumpy dish grumbled. “Oh,” the dish’s heart dropped. “Don’t worry, they’re a nice enough couple. No snotty kids running around. It’s not a bad place to live, really,” another older dish comforted. The dish soon realized how truthful those dishes had been. Her days had begun to fall into a predictable routine, and one day simply faded into another without much thought. However, anything was better than being in the box in a warehouse. She had even managed to make friends with the other dishes. They became a big, happy family. She lived in a lazy, dream of near nothingness, until one day, all that changed. The little old couple’s eldest child and her family had come for a visit. Their appearance meant that it was all hands on deck for the meals. No one was allowed to be left in the cupboards or drawers. It was during one of these hectic meal times that she met him….the spoon. He was made of silver, with a simple, yet beautiful design playing around the edges of his handle. The upper part was slightly damaged, looking as if a cat had gotten to it and mauled it without mercy, but in her eyes, he was perfection itself. She nearly swooned when she found that they had been paired together for that meal. It must be her lucky day. “Hey,” the dish said, in what she hoped was a flirtatious voice. “Hey,” the spoon said awkwardly, he wasn’t used to the attention. He was usually kept in the drawer, he was surprised that he was still around. As the meal progressed, their awkward conversation became more natural, and flowed around them like the soup that they were being used for. Day after day went like this. Somehow or another, they always managed to get themselves partnered together. By the time the child left, the dish and the spoon had fallen madly for each other. He was all she could think about when she was put away at night. “Are you kidding?” the grumpy dish practically shouted, “You can’t love a spoon! They are horrible creatures who simply take and take. He’ll ruin you.” “You don’t understand!” the dish cried, pleading for their understanding. “Honey,” the other dish tried to comfort, “You’re young and aren’t used to the way the world works. Spoons, forks, knives, they’re all evil creatures, and we can’t trust them. They may seem nice and wonderful, but in the end, they’ll only ruin you.” “He’s not like that!” The dishes argued back and forth. As it got more and more heated the grumpy dish shoved the dish, causing her to tumble off the shelf. Everyone stared down at the dish. She lay there, a crack running down one of her sides. “Oh dear,” the old lady twittered, coming into the kitchen, “Oh this is not good,” she picked the dish up gently, “It’ll never hold anything anymore,” she said sadly, “I guess I’ll just have to throw it away.” The dish felt herself falling, falling, falling before she landed with an odd thump on day old garbage. It stunk. It made her feel slimy. Dirty. Tears of pity filled her eyes. “Hey,” she heard a whisper. She glanced up. There was her spoon in shining armor. “We’re getting out of here,” he squeaked. “What?” “The animals are putting on a show tonight. Everyone is going to be too preoccupied with them to notice what we’re doing. We can get out of here. We can be together.” “You really mean that?” “Of course I do. Out there, we don’t have to worry about finding ways to be paired together for meals, or even wait for meals to see each other. We can do what we want, be together all the time. I mean, if that’s what you want,” the spoon said, hesitantly, looking down at his handle. “Of course that’s what I want. I love you, and I want to be with you.” The spoon’s face lit up and he reached down to help the dish out of the garbage can. By the time the cow jumped over the moon, the dish and the spoon were long gone. They traveled the countryside, being ignored by everyone around them. Until one late afternoon. They were found by a little boy. He picked them both up and headed deep into the forest where he began to use the spoon to dig a little hole, placing all the dirt in the waiting dish. They had found a new home, one where they could be together. They lived happily together for many years, until the young boy grew up and found different toys to play with. They were left, forgotten in the woods, sinking deeper and deeper into the soil with each passing day. Together they weathered the blistering heat and the freezing storms. They were left in peace, to live out their days, side by side. Welcome to my first writing prompt!!!
To kick off our blogs, my friend and I have chosen the prompt Eye Contact. We are to write about two people seeing each other for the first time. "What's this?" Laura asked, picking up the piece of paper that had fallen to the ground. Kyle turned and looked at what Laura was holding. As realization hit, his face turned the shade of crimson. No one was ever supposed to see that. It was too personal, and yet, here she was, just staring at his baby. His breath was coming in short gasps as he tried to bring his thudding heart back to normal and calm the raging storm swirling around in his stomach. Laura couldn't stop herself. All she could do was stare. As subtly as she could she sneaked a couple of glances in Kyle's direction and then back at his masterpiece. She shook her head slightly. This so wasn't like him. He was all lawyer, all the time. He was organized and poised. He wasn't one to fall into fits of fancy as this paper suggested. She glanced over at him once more, and held her gaze on him. Gone was the lawyer robot she had once known. The one that was all work and no play. In his place stood a child, one who lived in a world of make believe, a person who lived on dreams. A child yearning to be free, yet having to hide for the sake of society. She finally saw the person inside, the real him. She stood in amazement. She had worked with him for over two years and yet this was the first time she had truly seen him. Seen him, not as her boss, or a drone, bust as a human being with thoughts and feelings much like her own. Kyle couldn't stop looking at her. She kept staring at the paper, but he didn't see even the slightest hint of mockery or disgust on her face. In fact, she looked almost proud. He had never noticed how her nose would scrunch up when she was studying, or the way the stray wisps of hair would curve around her face. He watched as she examined his work with the same determination and admiration an art critic would examine a work of art. This wasn't what he had been expecting..... "It's good. Great, really," Laura finally said, passing back the piece of paper. "Thanks," Kyle mumbled. "Don't worry, you're secret's safe with me," she smiled and gave his hand an encouraging pat before she walked away. Their relationship would never be the same again. They had finally, after years of working together, seen the person hiding inside, and they could never go back. They had seen each other. |
Skye BallantyneI am very excited to welcome you to my blog! Hope you enjoy! Categories |