Shifting Boundaries

/ Liz H
Bunch of carrots

Carrots. Original public domain image from Wikimedia Commons

Lois started awake, struggling with her sleeping bag, before recalling she’d agreed to camping with Kenny. Not too keen on the northern woods, wild animals, and biting flies, but fair was fair. He’d gone to that Writer’s Conference with her, and from all appearances had a great time.

So she’d agreed to camping, in separate tents because they weren’t quite THERE in the relationship. 

And again: the sound that’d awakened her before: snuffling around the tent’s perimeter, a low growl.

And more: the tent’s zipper, cutting through the night as it peeled across and up.

“Want company?” Kenny asked. 

© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2022)

Carrot Ranch Prompt (02/14/2022):  In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about zippers. What are the zippers for? What challenges do they present to the story? Go where the prompt leads!

11 thoughts on “Shifting Boundaries”

  4. Pingback: Zippers Collection « Carrot Ranch Literary Community

  5. For a moment, I was expecting a bear with a shovel and opposing thumbs to announce, “Only you can prevent forest fires.” Then I realized it was a different sort of bear and wondered at tent locks. Good storytelling, Liz.

    Liked by 1 person

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  6. Anyone who’s camped knows the sound of zippers, night sounds, rise and shine sounds. Thank you for taking me there.
    Bears don’t care about zippers. Zipped or unzipped, nylon is just annoying packaging between them and their snack.
    But maybe that was Kenny snuffling and growling.

    Liked by 1 person

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