She heard the thick slide and click of the deadbolt being twisted open. Her arms full of groceries, Julie turned her back to the door and pushed with her shoulders, but it would not give.
“Lydia, I need you to turn the doorknob, and then lean back and pull on the count of three. One, two, th…”
A scrabbling sound, like mice in the walls of this elderly woman’s house, and the door unlatched its tongue.
Julie butted the door and tipped backward, and now the floor was full of groceries.
© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2021)
*The challenge? Write a story in 6 sentences, no more & no less, and if you’d like, share your creation or just visit and comment on others’ ideas, with GirlieOnTheEdge, Denise. The prompt is “HOME”, and here’s where you join the party: Six Sentence Stories
*Additional prompt from Minneapolis Midtown Writer’s Group: 3 minutes on “Her arms full of groceries.”
Valley of the Trolls 
I have known deadbolts and doors like this… and can easily imagine that tumble with the groceries. Cool.
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Let’s hope no personal experience with the tumble. Yowch!
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I liked this! And not just because I’m a klutz….
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Those older homes…their doors tend to stick, even for the most graceful of souls.
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I bet our elderly Ms. Julie will go back to the drawing board training her little minions on unlocking the door! 😀
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I can picture the scene perfectly. Oh dear, what a mess!
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I like the sounds the deadbolt made, and the mice in the walls. Good one, Liz 😎
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Thank you! 🐀🐀🐀
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Squeak, squeak, scratch! 🐁🐭 😀
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“A scrambling sound like mice in the walls” got my attention. I have so many questions and want to read the next episode to this. Well done.
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Thanks, Pat.
Sorry, that’s all she wrote!
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Very well described. I can see her falling against the unlocked door. I hope she is OK (except for the groceries).
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Looks like they’re having scrambled eggs for dinner….
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Brilliant – love that reply! 😊
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