challenge

Promises – Friday Fictioneers

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 38 Comments

Title: Promises
Source:  Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

It had been years. Almost forty to be exact. Daniel left on his eighteenth birthday and swore he would never return. He kept his promise until today.

In the beginning, life was difficult, but he couldn’t afford to fail. He wouldn’t crawl back and admit defeat. He crashed with friends, took odd jobs, worked from dawn until past midnight most days. Through sheer will, his situation improved. He started his own business, found a girl, and started a family. He had made something of himself.

The call came yesterday, and now he stood outside, wondering if it was too late.

________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The Beaver Moon – 3 Line Tales

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

From Sonya’s 3LineTales at Only100Words.
You can find the original prompt here. Thank you, Sonya

three line tales, week 196: blood moon rising over a dark meadow for Halloween

Photo by Never Krcmarek via Unsplash

November calls and the Beaver Full Moon answers, lighting the frosty air for last-minute preparations, as we stockpile, and store the items which will carry us through the lean times.

Mars races across the sun, while Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn guard the evening constellations and Orion battles with the Taurid meteor shower, who flings its final Halloween fireballs across the sky.

The cosmos is alive, telling us to hurry, don’t waste a moment, our fate lies in our hands.

______________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The Last Laugh – Flash Fiction Challenge

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 11 Comments

Title: The Last Laugh
Source:  Flash Fiction Challenge
Prompt: Write a story that includes Water Walkers.
Word count:  99 words

man resting legs on ice

Photo by Mariusz Pierog on Unsplash

They laughed and said I was off my rocker.

I smiled, content to bide my time. I would win the bet, earn the last laugh and gain some cold, hard cash. Summer turned to fall, and autumn succumbed to frigid winter. I set the date to prove them wrong.

“It’s the coldest day in a century,” they complained. I remained steadfast.

The polar vortex froze Lake Michigan’s shoreline, her beaches transformed from a liquid to a solid, firm enough to hold my weight. Warm vapor rose from her waves, and for a moment, I dared to walk on water.

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Moving Day – Friday Fictioneers

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 8 Comments

Title: Moving Day
Source:  Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words

PHOTO PROMPT © Ronda Del Boccio

Stacy leaned against the kitchen sink as memories washed over her. This place had been her sanctuary, her safe space, her hideout from the traumatic events which threatened to kill her. The small, cozy apartment granted her precious healing time.  Today, she could remember what happened, without fear, anxiety, or self-deprecating thoughts. It was, what it was.  She survived the ordeal to emerge stronger and more capable than she imagined might be possible.

The movers arrived to pack what remained, the lessons she would take with her. With a final farewell, Stacy stepped forward, prepared to embrace her limitless life.

________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Homecomings – Weekend Writing Prompt

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 8 Comments

Title: Homecomings
Source:  Weekend Writing Prompt #131 – Liminal
Objective: Write a poem or piece of prose in exactly 57 words

silhouette photo of woman sitting on rock during golden hour

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

As the golden hour approached, Dillan rushed towards the shore. He breathed easier when he spied the familiar liminal creatures as they slipped between the cosmos, the sea, and the isthmus. Selkies, mermaids, and undine greeted him.

“Hi, Mom,” he called.

Perched on jagged rocks, amid crashing waves, one mermaid turned. Seeing him, she smiled and waved.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The Boiler Room Cafe – Weekend Writing Prompt

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 23 Comments

Title: The Boiler Room Cafe
Source:  Weekend Writing Prompt #130 – Ineffable
Objective: Write a poem or piece of prose in exactly 70 words

photo of edison light bulbs hang on ceiling

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

Salinger’s heart thudded in anticipation as he entered the famous Boiler Room Cafe. Roman couldn’t have recommended the place more highly. Posing as an organic coffee bar serving farm to table tidbits by day, it morphed into a grungy, hipster gin joint after hours. The skinny-jean, hipper-than-thou crowd sported man buns and ironic facial hair. The place reeked of an ineffable and hopelessly unattainable coolness. Salinger knew he was home.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

All Hallow’s Eve

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 8 Comments

Lilith felt the blood moon calling her. She stretched, breaking the sixth seal and the chains binding her to the underworld.

The earth quaked and great men trembled in fear as she rose. She flung her head backward, her wild hair flying, it lassoed the blood-red satellite. Thrusting her hands behind her, she captured the orb and secured it on her back.

The prophecies of men held little sway with her, and she delighted in thwarting their oppressive desires. Lilith tugged and pulled the glowing ember from the sky, and smiled, knowing she had won once more.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Lunch Box – Friday Fictioneers

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 36 Comments

Title: Lunch Box
Source:  Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words

PHOTO PROMPT © Fatima Fakier Deria

Plastic containers remind me of school. Mom insisted on packing healthy food, and ample quantities. She always included a sandwich of homemade bread and last night’s leftovers. No one else brought salmon filet BLTs, or tomato, eggplant, and mozzarella on focaccia, neatly sliced and arranged next to weird snacks.

I was self-conscious, and embarrassed, as the kids gathered to investigate mom’s latest concoction. Most days they sneered, but sometimes, someone asked for a bite.

Years later, they said I was lucky to have a mom that loved me. Amid protests, I continue the tradition and pack my kid’s lunch box.

________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Running into the Sun – Weekend Writing Prompt

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 5 Comments

Title: Running into the Sun
Source:  Weekend Writing Prompt #129 – Twilight
Objective: Write a poem or piece of prose in exactly 44 words

asphalt way under cloudy sky during golden hour

Photo by VanveenJF on Unsplash

My train rushes the setting sun, intent on outrunning the impending twilight. Sorbet clouds swirl across the sky. Blood-orange and tangerine confections engaged in a futile battle with eternal night’s black velvet fist.

Icy tendrils clutch my heart and I swear to keep running.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Gales of November – 3 Line Tales

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 5 Comments

From Sonya’s 3LineTales at Only100Words.
You can find the original prompt here. Thank you, Sonya

three line tales, week 195: hands coming out of the ocean

Photo by Daniel Jensen on Unsplash

November’s Northwind witch is harsh as she blows across the big lake they call Gitche Gumee.

With sixteen-foot waves crashing the wheelhouse and freezing rain slashing the decks, the fate of the lake mariners seems certain.

Superior, they say, never gives up her dead, but one sailor has vowed to defy her.

______________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer