challenge

The Gift — FFfPP Week 35

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Title:  The Gift
Source:  FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER
Word count:  200 words

MorgueFile May 2018 file1831341080767

Daddy said Mother’s Day was coming, and we needed a nice gift for Mommy.

“I know. Breakfast in bed,” I said. Daddy agreed. We decided pancakes, syrup, juice, coffee and a flower would make a pretty breakfast tray.

The big day arrived. Daddy woke us early and warned us to be quiet. We sneaked downstairs to create Mommy’s breakfast tray. She was surprised! When she ate, we raced downstairs to eat our pancakes.

The kitchen was messy, and I loaded the dishwasher and started it like Mommy does. I wanted to help, but I didn’t realize there was a difference. Soap is soap, isn’t it? The dishwasher spewed bubbles everywhere. They crept from the sides and leaked out the bottom. They cascaded over the top joining the ones on the floor.  The bubbles advanced filling the kitchen floor. I didn’t know what to do.

“Mommy,” I cried.

She raced into the room wading through bubbles to stop the dishwasher. I thought she would be mad, but Mommy laughed. She grabbed my hands, and we danced. As we danced, they swirled around us and bubbles floated into the air. Mommy said she loved bubbles. They were the best Mother’s Day gift.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Gulls – 100 Word Wednesday Week 86

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Title:  Gulls
Source:  100 Word Wednesday: Week 86
Word count: 100 words

Image by Bikurgurl

“Dad! Look. Seagulls,” Matt yelled as they rounded the corner.

“There is no such thing as Seagulls.”

“They’re right there,” Matt pointed at the birds perched on the pier.

“Son, those are Gulls. Most likely the Western Gull or perhaps a Glaucous-winged Gull, but I doubt we are in their territory.”

Matt’s eyebrows scrunched together as he looked at his father.

“Ornithologists and biologists identify them as gulls. A seagull is a misnomer, people use the name to describe black and white birds that live along the shore.”

“Gulls,” Matt repeated before he ran at the birds with outstretched arms.

 

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Precious Treasures — FFfAW Challenge – 180th

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Title:  Precious Treasures
Source: Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers
Word count:   175 words

This week’s photo prompt is provided by Yinglan. Thank you Yinglan!

“I don’t understand why she wants this thing,” Marie picked up the ceramic dog and wrinkled her nose. “But she told me not to come home without it.”

“Grandma sure kept a lot of junk. I mean, really. Did you see this Marie?”

Marie placed the bubble-wrapped dog in a box marked “Mom”.

“See what?” Marie asked.

Angie pulled a large pink elephant from the cabinet and placed it on the table. Marie chuckled when Angie added a slightly smaller teal elephant. The laughter increased as Angie added four more colored elephants to the lineup.  Tears blurred their vision when Angie added a tiny yellow elephant.

 

Cora dug in the box marked “Mom” and found the ceramic dog. She unwound the bubble wrap, turned the ceramic dog upside down and removed the rubber stopper. Gnarled fingers fished into the small opening and teased out a tissue-wrapped package.  Cora ripped open one end of the tissue and dumped the contents in her hand. She blinked back tears, and the diamonds sparkled and winked back at her.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Yuan Xiao Festival — Friday Fictioneers

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

PHOTO PROMPT © Carla Bicomong

Ying Yue and Liu Rushi ran arm in arm, dodging people and clutching their lanterns on their way to the lake. The full moon floated on the horizon.

“What is your wish?” Liu Rushi spoke into Ying Yue’s ear.

“A husband.” Ying Yue blushed and adjusted the candle.

Liu Rushi giggled and poked at her friend. “A husband?”

“Yes.” Ying Yue glared and returned the jab. “And you? You have no wish?”

“I want to be a courtesan,” Liu Rushi raised her lantern and spun around.

They lit the candles and softly prayed as their lanterns drifted into the night.

 

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Clean Water — FFfPP Week 34

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Title:  Clean Water
Source:  FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER- 2018 WEEK #34
Word count:   180 words

MorgueFile May 2018 1421077743edokn

Chipo didn’t like this, not one bit. Ma had always walked two kilometers to the river to collect their daily water. As Chipo grew, she helped to carry the heavy containers. They used the water to cook, bathe, wash their clothes and water the cows. She remembered the men digging the well. They spoke in loud voices and their loud machine made the earth shake. They located it in the middle of the village, a dozen steps from their front door. They told Ma and Chipo they wouldn’t need to walk to the river and Chipo thought it would be wonderful.

They left, and she and Ma no longer walked to the river. Then the water changed, it tasted funny and Chipo stopped drinking it. Ma said it was fine. Weeks passed, the water turned brown, and the well sputtered and sprayed. Then it ran dry and Chipo resumed her daily trips, but Ma stayed in bed too ill to walk the two kilometers.  A week later, Ma died.

Now they returned to fix the well. Chipo walked to the river.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The Thrill — 100 WW Week 85

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Title:  The Thrill
Source:  100 Word Wednesday: Week 85
Word count: 100 words

Image by Bikurgurl

Lizzy remembered the first picture she ever created.  Mother left her with a babysitter who was more interested in texting her boyfriend than watching Lizzy. She shushed Lizzy, shooing her away.  She made Lizzy mad, so Lizzy stomped to her room and opened her school supplies. New crayons, chalk, and markers, a kaleidoscope of colors, tumbled onto the floor.  Lizzy used the biggest canvas in her room, the wall.

Mother fired the babysitter and punished Lizzy. But Mother loved Lizzy’s picture and Lizzy was delighted to create something Mother loved. She never outgrew the rush of drawing in unconventional places.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Lately — Tuesday Writing Prompt

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Title:  Lately
Source:  Tuesday Writing Prompt — Go Dog Go Café
Prompt:  Use this phrase:  Lately, I’ve been feeling
Word count:   100 words

Photo credit: x1klima on Visualhunt / CC BY-ND

Maybe I’m just blind but lately, I’ve been feeling I really don’t understand. You started a fire in the darkness, taught me what it’s like to be alive. I shared my secrets, confessed I had been wrong.

I only ever wanted to be the man you wanted me to be. I will never let you down, I don’t even want to try, and I begged you to let me be your one. The secrets I revealed soon became your lies, and now my life seems overrated.

And lately, I’ve been feeling I’m a lonely man who will never really understand.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Duped — FFfAW Challenge – 179th

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 11 Comments

Title:  Duped
Source: Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers
Word count:   200 words

This week’s photo prompt is provided by Yarnspinnerr. Thank you Yarnspinnerr!

Jason, Alex, Nick and I discovered the museum’s exhibit of the terracotta warriors. We knew the story, researching each new archaeological discovery. Excited, we bought our tickets and stood in line expecting amazing things.

China’s First Emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, took the throne as King Zheng of Qin at thirteen.  By forty he conquered his enemies ending the period of the Warring States. Even before proclaiming himself Emperor, construction of a vast underground empire, the ultimate tomb began. To protect his tomb, he commissioned an army of terracotta warriors. Eight thousand figures each with distinct faces stood over six feet tall. Hand-crafted from clay, they were assembled, fired in a giant kiln, then hand painted.

When we left the exhibit, I threw my ticket and the brochures in the garbage.

“Hey, man? What’s up?” Jason asked.

“I expected to see real terracotta warriors. Actual artifacts.” I said tugging on my coat.

“What are you talking about?” Nick looked at me with raised eyebrows.

“Didn’t you read the tags? ‘Replica’ this, ‘Model’ that.  Maybe three pieces were true artifacts.” Pulling my phone from my pocket I flipped through photos proving my point.

“Bummer,” Alex said and tossed his brochures in the garbage.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Unintended Consequences — 3 Line Tales Week 134

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

photo by Maxim Leyssens via Unsplash

Unintended Consequences

Our instructions were to capture the predator killing the farmer’s livestock.

We hunted the hunter, captured her and prepared her for relocation.

We didn’t see her two cubs or hear their hungry cries.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer