Prompt

Top of the World — FFfAW 171

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Title:  Top of the World
Source: Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers
Word count: 300 words

*** Ok, truth. This story is over the limit, but I couldn’t help it. It wrote itself and I didn’t have the heart to cut a story the muse handed to me. I hope you agree.

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

Edmund hung his head, his shoulders slumped, and his arms dangled, flopping at his side. He scuffed his feet sending stones bouncing along the trail.

“You ok, Edmund?”

Edmund snapped to attention spinning to face his father, a huge grin plastered across his face.

“Yeah. It’s just taking so long. How soon before we get there?”

“What does your altimeter say?”

Edmund studied his wrist, “Four thousand and thirty-nine feet.”

“And where is that on your map?”

Edmund pulled the map from his pocket. With his father’s guidance, he determined they were a mile from the summit. Stuffing the map back in his pocket, they continued along the trail. Thirty minutes later Edmund saw something flapping at the crest of the trail and ran. His father’s shout of “don’t run,” didn’t change his pace, and he was at the summit before coming to a full stop.

“Woo-hoo, we made it,” Edmund shouted jumping up and down at least a dozen times. He ran to the flagpole and planted a kissed the metal pipe. People at the summit smiled at the young boy’s expression of joy.

“Dad! Isn’t this great?”

“Sure is. Remember, we still have to climb down.”

“I know, but can’t we stay for a while? Look at it,” Edmund flung his arms wide and spun in a circle. He stopped face to face with his father. On an impulse, Edmund flung his arms around his waist squeezing as hard as he could.

“Thanks, Dad,” Edmund breathed into the soft flannel of his father’s shirt, before letting go to stand next to him. He didn’t notice his father’s huge smile or his hand brushing at moist eyes.

Father and son stood in silence surveying the view.

“So, still think you want to climb Everest someday?”

Edmund grinned and nodded.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Mirror, Mirror – Chapter Buzz Writing Prompt

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Now for something a bit different.

In the next few days, I will begin revising my first draft. It currently stands at approximately 50k words and is in desperate need of an ending. Thankfully, it is all in my head.

Searching for some guidance I stubbled upon Timothy Pike, his website Chapter Buzz and the Better Writers Club (which you have until July 15 to join).

His Daily Action Calendar has given me hope the finish line is in the not too distant future.

Check out his current post here for more information..

Today’s story is from a writing prompt posted on the Better Writers Club.

Photo credit: Seosaid on VisualHunt / CC BY-NC

I have watched her for years and yet she doesn’t know. Five a.m. and her alarm clock plays. Gaining volume, it waits for her response. I can tell the day of the week by how long she takes to silence it, throw back the covers and stumble, zombie style, to the shower.

It is a ritual she has practiced, and the steps are automatic. In a fluffy white robe and towel-wrapped head, she emerges from the bathroom and grabs her phone. She deletes cursory emails, saving the ones requiring a response until after her first cup of coffee. Checking the weather app confirms the sun shining through her window. Today will be a sunny, warm spring day.

She dresses, her clothes laid out last night, combs her long hair, letting it air dry and makes the bed. She plans everything, ensuring she forgets nothing. I stare as she checks the contents of her bag; an unnecessary step, but she feels compelled. She flings the bag over her shoulder headed to the door. At the doorway, she pauses, turns and surveys the room. She gives a quick nod and disappears down the stairs.

She won’t return for hours. After stopping for the essential cup of coffee, she has a full day of classes, study groups and individual study time. I have been to her favorite haunts; the hidden nook in the Chem building, the third-floor stacks and the tiny club lounge at the student union. The places she can hide.

I remember when she was younger. She hid in her bedroom reading book after book. While other children played, she created elaborate stories, fantastical worlds, and daring adventures. They transported her beyond this small space.

They are the same stories, worlds, and adventures beating at my brain, begging to be real. I put them off for years, bowing to conformity, to earning a living, and to walking, zombie style, though days on end. I almost believed them eradicated. But a small persistent voice held a precious ember. It ignited the truth I can no longer ignore.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

When She’s Gone – FFfPP Week #25

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Title: When She’s Gone
Source: FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER- 2018 WEEK #25
Word count: 200 words

Kai Pilger pixels-photo-462867 Taxi

It took Andrés months to get over her. They met at a charity event and talked the night away before finding a café for breakfast. She captivated him. Over the next year, they met whenever they could manage. Texts and emails and countless late-night phone calls filled the spaces in-between when they planned their perfect life.

One evening Andrés asked her to move in with him. She sat for long minutes before she whispered, “No,” and she gathered her things and left. Too late he realized this was not a girl who just lived with you. This was the girl for whom you got down on one knee.

He had been that guy. Drunken calls in the middle of the night after hooking up with nameless girls from forgettable bars. At first, she talked to him. Then his calls went to voicemail, and he begged her to come back. His texts and emails remained unanswered.

The years passed, and he sometimes saw her on the street or in a cab. He had moved on and work filled his days. Happy now he walked the city streets.  A big yellow taxi rushed by and he turned, hoping to glimpse her face.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Up in Smoke — 3 Line Tales # 125

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

photo by Erik Witsoe via Unsplash

Suki adored the idea behind the “One True Love” Lantern Festival.

Your lantern’s flight will reveal the fate of the relationship between you and your heart’s desire.

Her lantern launched, she watched as another lantern jostled her own; tipping on its side her lantern burst into flames and turn to ash before hitting the ground.

______________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Atonement — Friday Fictioneers June 22

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 6 Comments

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

PHOTO PROMPT © Fatima Fakier Deria

Chiara wasn’t a tourist; this was a pilgrimage. Her friends called her “crazy” and her mother cried. Her quest entailed visiting each of the 139 churches in Venice plus a handful of synagogues.

She was lost. The canal filled with cargo-laden boats offered her a little help.

“Si, signorina, la chiesa di San Martino è lì,” the man on the boat gestured to a building right in front of her.

In the dimly lit church, it took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust and find a seat in a pew. She prayed, hoping God would grant her forgiveness.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Steel Bridge – 100WW 76

/ JoHawkTheWriter

Title: Steel Bridge
Source: 100 Word Wednesday: Week 76
Word count: 100 words

Image by Bikurgurl

It dominated the crystal blue skyline. The Steel Bridge made her heart race, excitement pulsed through her as she clutched the wheel with both hands. Beneath the car tires, the Little Calumet River raced below the grated steel deck. The river lay far below the 420 feet of the main span. Cars rumbled, and the steel sang with the passing traffic. The steel grid pulled at the tires and forced her to steer. She liked the danger of speeding along at 70 miles an hour, suspended over the potential of a watery end. It would only take one wrong move.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Out of Time — FFfAW Challenge – 170

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

Title: Out of Time
Source: Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers – Week of 06-19 through 06-25-2018
Word count: 174 words

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

Detective Walsh ran his fingers through his thick dark hair and sighed with exasperation. He had done everything short of begging the judge for the search warrant. Now his team was finding nothing.

“Boss, can we wrap this up?”

Walsh realized time and luck had run out.

“Boss? I found a box of photos in a heat return,” Probie Kennedy interrupted.

Walsh grabbed the box and riffled the contents finding an odd assortment of amateurish snaps. Why would anyone hide these?

Gazing at the photo of a candlestick, he flipped it over. Printed on the back was the date, “January 5.” A murder happened on that date. He knew the details. The medical examiner’s report described the murder weapon as a circular object with a flat base, consistent with the bottom or a vase or lamp.

“Or a candlestick,” he muttered.

The photos were all dated, and he bet the dates coincided with a murder and the objects with the medical examiner’s description of the murder weapon.

Perhaps luck was still on his side.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

California Quail — Friday Fictioneers June 15

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 2 Comments

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

PHOTO PROMPT © Jean L. Hays

Rose sat at the kitchen table hands wrapped around a cup of coffee. She rubbed the once-hot ceramic and stared at the computer screen. The video consumed her attention and kept her from her morning routine.  She didn’t notice the escapee as he slinked in front of the window screen, hoping to avoid detection. As the video ended Rose rubbed her eyes as she reentered the present. She headed to the sink to dump the coffee before turning to pour a fresh hot cup.

That is when she saw him.

“Frank, your quail is out again,” she yelled.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Going Home – FFfPP 24

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Title: Going Home
Source: FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER- 2018 WEEK #24
Word count: 200 words

Kaique Rocha pexels-photo-125532 escalator

How many times have I ridden these escalators up and down, Monday thru Friday and sometimes even on the weekends? I’m not sure of the exact count but Deb in Human Resource said my length of service was five years and six months. You do the math; I know it is more than I want to contemplate.

Now, here I stand, staring at my final descent. The box I carry holds the few personal items on my desk: a calendar, a few photos of my family, my collection of coffee cups – one for each day of the week, and wacky and funny gifts from my co-workers. The tangible results of my waking hours for the last five years and six months nestled in one banker’s box. One small box was all I had to show for my hours of dedication, hard work, and determination.

The people I passed eyed me with pity, imagining the worst, imagining I had been “let go.” It left me with a hollow feeling in my chest and a tear threatened to cascade down my cheek. But I wasn’t crying for the obvious reasons. They were tears of joy for I had won my freedom.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Alone – 100WW: Week 75

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

Title: Alone
Source: 100 Word Wednesday: Week 75
Word count: 100 words

Image by Bikurgurl

Lily glared at the people between her and the exit and swatted at the gold tassel tickling her cheek.

“Do you want pictures with your friends?”

“Mom, I don’t have any friends.”

Lily pushed forward not caring if her mother followed. What on earth did she imagine they had in common with an eleven-year-old “genius”? The valedictorian cords further alienated her from the rest of her class. Today was another hurdle to endure before she could begin the next phase of her plan; a degree in astrophysics from MIT. Today she was one step closer to finding her real family.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer