Just for fun.
Join us for a weekly blog party in Six Sentence Stories, hosted by Denise and attended by some mighty fine, fun folk. Prompt word=SIGNAL. Read, write and come back for more SIX SENTENCE STORIES. (Link goes active Wed night).
The steel fence was chilly on the meat of her forearms, so she rolled down her sleeves, not bothering to button the cuffs; the sun would come out from behind the clouds any time now.
The right pocket of her light jacket bulged, listing to one side as if its contents wanted to escape and wander the zoo, and her mid-length salt and pepper locks swayed in a similar direction in the uneasy breeze, wanting to join in the adventure.
She hated to wait and especially hated to wait for a signal to move on.
Beyond the fence, a family of giraffes circled the confines of their enclosure, as if moving through water, stretching their lips toward shimmering leaves that were just beyond their reach, for the time ignoring the children shivering in their crocs, t-shirts, and shorts as they waited on the raised deck to feed the animals’ already-harvested fare.
And maybe that was the signal, the message for her to move on toward something fresher, more real than what populated her ever-ready imagination.
She turned away, pocket swaying, bumping her sharply in the thigh, full with a water bottle, a passport, her wallet, and the potential for a ticket—bus, train, plane—out of her current stagnant situation.
© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2026)
Valley 
It can be hard to know when, I hope she is right and it all works well.
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Wow, a lovely flow.
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Thanks, Cale!
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giraffes… i’ll never pass by them again without thinking of the movement of water… not that i do pass by them often… or photos of giraffes moving… great six
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Nice description of the movement of the giraffes as they “circled the confines of their enclosure, as if moving through water”.
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Thanks, Frank!
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I know that feeling well. It is time to move on; I am done here. Nicely done!
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damn!*
* a compliment on an engaging, and near-tactile Six. With a bonus of mystery with a touch of urgency. not bad, yo not bad at all
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TY! (Thumbs up!)
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It seems like she is going to a very distant place. Ooh – what about Africa… and all those interesting animals, and in the wild?
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Yes, she has nothing to lose by just going, returning is always an option.
Stagnation is the death of soul.
That was a good six!
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Thank you!
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Passport? Wallet? What does she have to lose?! She can always come back but if she doesn’t go, she’ll never know she’s OK with not returning. Except maybe to gather her belongings 😁
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You got it, Girlie!
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