Gentle

/ Liz H-H
Grey kitten meowing loudly

The challenge? Write a story in exactly 6 sentences based on Denise’s one word prompt: CARD. Visit, comment, and write & post your own on SIX SENTENCE STORIES. The Café is open. Come as you are!

I winced as Hjordis raked the carding paddles, one against the other, demolishing yet another ball of wool, fibers snapping and tangling in self-defense against her rough hands. At this rate, the worked wool would be too hard and lumpy to be used for much of anything; her pile of discards was growing exponentially.

“Patience, Lili,” I muttered under my breath, thinking, “You did promise her father that you would try to teach this troll girl about human craft, though this one may never be calm enough to do fine, fussy work.”

Tail snapping and snub nose quivering, shoulders hunched around her ears, tears shining and ready to spill from glacier-blue eyes, Hjordis shrieked, hurling the paddles at her pile of discards and nearly hitting the kindle of kittens in their nearby basket, who rolled and scattered, mewing.

“Perhaps we should take a break,” I said, smoothly retrieving a fat-bellied orange kitten and hugging it to my chest, adding, “This kitten could use some soothing, if you can make a calm and safe place for him.”

Hjordis wiped her eyes and snotty nose, slowing her breaths, relaxing her shoulders, and holding out her hands, smiling as the light went on at my suggestion that “Maybe carding wool can be as nice as cuddling kittens if you think about it that way.”    

© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2025)

24 thoughts on “Gentle”

  1. Pingback: TToT -the Wakefield Doctrine- | the Wakefield Doctrine

  7. allow me, from the sublime towers and rugged outcropping which my land, Y-Chromia is most associated with,
    “aww”*

    *translation: Damn! knocked that fu&*er write outa the fricken park is all you did!!

    Liked by 1 person

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