From Sonya’s 3LineTales at Only100Words.
You can find the original prompt here. Thank you, Sonya
Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen via Unsplash
Masters of illusion they transform black into white and hide in plain sight.
Skillful hunters, they roam a barren landscape, eking out an existence where they are kings of both land and sea.
With every need met, they amuse themselves and play.
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Title: Ducky
Source: 100 Word Wednesday: Week 122
Word count: 100 words
Image by Bikurgurl
A man entered the Valley House brewery carrying a wood duck and sat at the bar. The duck’s painted head and red glass eye glared at the bartender.
“What’s with the duck?” the bartender asked.
“Would you trade a few rounds of your Wood Duck Wee Heavy Ale for this decoy?”
The bartender poured his drink and set the decoy behind the bar.
A few days later the bartender stroked the decoy’s head and smiled. It was a good deal. A few more free drinks and the glaring duck’s head became the perfect tap pull for his Wood Duck Ale.
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Title: Second Childhood
Source: Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words
PHOTO PROMPT © J Hardy Carroll
Nina cringed. The other girls wrinkled their noses. No one played Pin the Tail on the Donkey.
Hands on her hips, Candace shook her head. “This is a lame ass game,” she said.
Candace’s mother stood a few feet away and heard every word. Faster than lightning, she grabbed Candace’s elbow jerking her aside. Candace yelped.
“You will not be disrespectful,” she spat as she dragged her off for a private lecture.
Blindfolded, Nina stuck the paper tail to the wall. The woman in the wheelchair clapped her hands and squealed. Nina smiled and went to kiss her grandmother’s cheek.
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Title: Restoring a Giant
Source: Flash Fiction Challenge
Prompt: Write a story that goes in search of trees.
Word count: 99 words
Photo by Daniel Hjalmarsson on Unsplash
The forest of Laurel’s childhood was gone. She remembered great stands of the mighty American Chestnut tree, which grew nearly one hundred feet tall with trunks ten feet in diameter. It was once the most common hardwood tree in the Northeastern United States. The tree’s wood was rot-resistant, straight-grained, and it produced nuts that fed cattle, hogs and other wildlife. Laurel remembered eating roasted chestnuts every fall.
A tree that had survived for 40 million years, disappeared in 40, destroyed by the chestnut blight. Her children worked to restore a forest they had never seen and could only imagine.
*** To learn more about restoration efforts, check out The American Chestnut Foundation (here).
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Title: Seeking Signs
Source: Weekend Writing Prompt #106 – Zodiac
Objective: Write a poem or piece of prose in exactly 43 words.
Photo by Mark Duffel on Unsplash
Lost and confused, Diedre lacked direction. She consulted her astrologer, who looked to the zodiac and her natal chart. Her numerologist, her psychic, and the street-side soothsayers offered her conflicting opinions.
She finally discovered she possessed the courage to follow her own path.
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Dodd stared at the slashed canvas. He still couldn’t believe Professor Addison had destroyed his work in front of the entire class.
“Cliched,” he said with the first cut.
“Uninspired,” he branded the second slice.
“Laughable,” his final slash of the utility knife toppled work onto the floor.
No one breathed, waiting for Dodd’s reaction. He stepped forward, retrieved his painting and left. When he arrived home, he threw it in the corner where it remained.
“You should know, Professor Addison is embarrassed,” Katie said smoothing the canvas pieces together.
“As he should be.”
“Aren’t you’re being a little harsh?” Katie glanced at Dodd before returning her attention to the canvas.
“Me? Harsh? What if this was your work? How would you feel?” Dodd turned and strode to the loft’s windows.
“He regrets his actions.”
“No. He regrets my canceled payments.”
“He says he understands. He doesn’t expect you to pay his fee, he just wants you back.”
Dodd laughed as he faced Katie.
“So, tell me, Katie, how many others have left his class? I wonder why? Perhaps they worry the tyrant will mutilate their work?” Dodd gestured to his painting.
Katie hung her head, and a ping of sorrow coursed through Dodd’s heart.
“Is there any way I can convince you to return? Consider your future,” she begged.
“Your husband is a brilliant artist and jealous of anyone who might surpass him. His actions tell me, my time has come. I promise you — The future will be different.”
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
From Sonya’s 3LineTales at Only100Words.
You can find the original prompt here. Thank you, Sonya
photo by Form via Unsplash
Mira’s world was a cacophony of clicks, clacks, and buzzing to alert her of notifications which needed her immediate attention.
Distracted, bewildered, and unsure of her purpose she escaped to the roof.
On her yoga mat, Mira lifted her heart, found her breath, and as she connected with the ground, she let it all go.
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Title: Adapting to Technology
Source: 100 Word Wednesday: Week 121
Word count: 100 words
Image by Adriana Velásquez
Virginia focused her concentration and knocked the bookshelves’ contents onto the floor. They crashed, thumping as they landed. The sound reverberated through the quiet library.
Megan jumped from her chair, investigating each row until she found the pile.
“Not again,” Megan looked, but she knew she was alone.
“I need more books,” Virginia screeched.
Megan replaced them on their shelf.
Virginia had seen the magical black slates the patrons carried. Peaking over shoulders revealed enough words and stories to quell her boredom. It only took a finger swipe to turn the pages.
It was a trick she hadn’t mastered. Yet.
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Title: The Contender’s Heat
Source: Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words
PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Jenny froze. On the starting block, her uncomfortable swimsuit grabbed her in places she would rather not be grabbed. Her goggles threatened to suck her eyes from their sockets and the swim cap distorted every sound in the echoing natatorium.
Terrifying memories surfaced warning her of imminent danger. She held her breath. Brackish water swirled and silt obscured her vision. The current tugged, pulling her deeper. Struggling, she fought, reaching for the light. Her life flashed by, and she screamed, as her world turned dark.
Today the master would win. The starter’s pistol fired and launched Jenny into the unknown.
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Title: Wisdom of the Ages
Source: Flash Fiction Challenge
Prompt: Write a story about growing older
Word count: 99 words
Photo by Alberto Bigoni on Unsplash
It was the time of Antiquity. The temple rose, constructed with care to mark a sacred spot. Tested by fire, its original purpose faded from consciences. Each day, the sun painted the walls in a soft luminous glow, recording the years, decades and millenniums. The Oculus recorded the words of countless stories and etched them on the dome’s geometric perfection.
Time evolved, morphing into something different. It became elastic and unimportant. Wisdom replaced foolish desires and meaningless acquisitions of petty trinkets. It distilled the truth, divulging the secret 0simplicity of being, seeing and feeling with no reservations, without judgment.
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Jo Hawk 