Scrubbing her hands over her face, she replayed the voicemail. Listening for clues that said otherwise, she accepted that nothing had changed. She was to comply, absolutely.
freedom
New World In the Morning
Hunched over the bar rail, leaning into the bowl of free peanuts, having made his way from the bright morning, across a treacherous savannah of broken shells, pull-tabs and a number of suspicious sticky spots, Artie noted he was out of money and therefore, on his final drink. Continue reading
Sunday Morning
I lift my paddle for a moment, hearing but not noting the drip of water that slides off its smooth, blond curve. My canoe slices through the morning cool, bisecting and self-healing the waters as I pass. Below the dark water, silent lake grass caresses sand and small, secret pebbles. Continue reading
Light At the End of the Tunnel
Source: Cypress swamp near Caddo Lake, NE TX. Erich Schlegel (08/08/2009)
Dipping her paddle expertly, Sara struggled against the increasingly muscular pull of the current. The sun rose, set, and rose again, unnoticed under the moss-choked cypress trees that canopied the dark creek. Continue reading
The Romance of the Rails
(Photo by Otto C. Perry, courtesy of Denver Public Library, Western History and Genealogy Dept.)
In TUFF Love, Carrot Ranch’s Charli Mills asked participants to revise an original western romance through a 99-59-9-99 word process with each step requiring a different craft twist. This event is an exercise of inspiration through to editing. I didn’t enter this one because it turned out to be more about discovering heart’s desire of Self, than traditional Romance. But I still like it, so I share with you all.
Original 99-word Draft: Molly Rides the Rails
Molly rode the rails these days. Cities had sprung up, like oozing boils, over the open prairie she loved. With the spread of progress came the spread of stifling rules.
Forced by her father to shed her buckskin, don heavy skirts with tight collars, binding her hair from the wind’s caressing fingers, she appeared the perfect little miss. Continue reading
Bright Future
The task is to write a story in 6 sentences, no more no less, and if you’d like, share your creation or just visit and comment, with GirlieOnTheEdge, Diana. The prompt is ‘’Wax”, and here’s where you join the party:
https://girlieontheedge1.wordpress.com/2020/11/18/its-six-sentence-story-thursday-link-up-134/
He was proud of his quarantine ‘stache; his teeth shone handsomely behind the luxuriant brush of hair.
Like many of his old-school buddies, he’d watched with great amusement as hair went long, then short, then business up front and party in the back, then shaved and polished, Continue reading
Still Waters
“Okay, you can uncover your eyes now.”
“Wow! That’s beautiful…and heartbreaking. Who made this mural?”
“Trevor made this one. And take a few steps around this corner. This is one by Teresa. Yeah…it makes me tremble, too.”
“Wait! Those quiet kids who never join in on anything?” Continue reading
Valley of the Trolls 