100WW

Red Hot Hope – 100 Word Wednesday

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 18 Comments

Title:  Red Hot Hope
Source:  100 Word Wednesday: Week 129
Word count: 100 words

Image by Bikurgurl

Jamie collapsed against the steering wheel, letting the diesel engine idled. Sweat poured down his neck, pooling under his hatband. AC vents blew hot air. Removing the ball cap, he tossed it on the metal cashbox on the seat next to him.

Yesterday he had reached the end of the road. He spent his last dollar to set up at the street fair. A scorcher, wrapped in humidity, fanned by the flaming grill, it was his only chance.

Exhausted, he knew he had done his best. The take was enough for tomorrow and Jamie breathed as the AC kicked in.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Warned – 100 Word Wednesday

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 11 Comments

Title: Warned
Source:  100 Word Wednesday: Week 128
Word count: 100 words

Image by Bikurgurl

As they approached the gaping black hole at the mountain’s base, Chrissy grew nervous.

“Mom, I don’t want to go in,” she squeezed her mother’s waist hard.

Mom flinched, the handbrake squealed, and she stopped the bike next to the picnic tables.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Can we go home?” she pleaded as Mom lifted her from the bike’s kangaroo seat and set her on the graveled path.

“Why?”

“The tree people are watching,” she whispered, “and they’re telling us to leave.”

“They say you’ll die.”

The sky darkened and a cold wind raised goosebumps.

“Tell them we’re leaving. Now.”

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

 

Double Crossed – 100 Word Wednesday

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 8 Comments

Title: Double Crossed
Source:  100 Word Wednesday: Week 127
Word count: 100 words

I was a man on fire. I drew you, attracted you with promises of sweet protection from demons haunting the night. Flirting with danger, I wondered why you wanted to cross the line, but those thoughts are fleeting when the world isn’t real. Super slow motion we crafted an illusion. Young and naïve, I tried to warn you, protect you from the peril I didn’t see until it was too late.

Your love lingers, a desperate memory on my heart, you left me broken pieces, fading glimpses.  My flame released to the wind.  I am a man burnt by yearning.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Memory Lane – 100 Word Wednesday

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 2 Comments

Title: Memory Lane
Source:  100 Word Wednesday: Week 123
Word count: 100 words

Image by Bikurgurl

I hadn’t been here in years. Mom said it was parked behind the barn, and I walked the path I had taken countless times as a kid. It felt strange to be home, and my past seemed surreal.

The band bus held fuzzy memories of endless road trips as we traveled from one gig to another. If we were lucky, they paid enough for gas to the next town, eating was optional. I wouldn’t change the hard times that honed our band’s unique sound and created a family. Music shaped my whole life and forged the musician standing here today.
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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Ducky – 100 Word Wednesday

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 5 Comments

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

Adapting to Technology – 100 Word Wednesday

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

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

 

Tulipmania – 100 Word Wednesday

/ JoHawkTheWriter

Title: Tulipmania
Source:  100 Word Wednesday: Week 120
Word count: 100 words

Image by Bikurgurl

As they walked through the garden, Henry felt his grandmother’s hand. She recounted a crazy story, a fantastic tale of Tulipmania and the “Madness of Crowds”. They imported the first bulbs from Turkey to Europe in the 1590s. The tulip became a status symbol. A single bulb cost more than a craftsman’s annual income. In February 1637 the market crashed.

He carried her history lesson with him, visiting the botanic gardens annually to see them in bloom. He shut his eyes, transported to his first tulip field and Grandmother’s voice. He hoped to pass the tradition on to his boys.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

 

The Call – 100 Word Wednesday

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

Title: The Call
Source:  100 Word Wednesday: Week 114
Word count: 100 words

Image by Bikurgurl

The garage was where everyone found Dad. On frigid winter days, he lit the propane heater and cranked the radio. Elbow-deep in the chassis, oil, and grease covered, he was happier than a pig in—well, you know.

He purchased the dilapidated hunk of junk online, driving three hundred miles to trailer it home. Oddly shaped and sized packages appeared, and Dad’s face beamed. He wore his Christmas day smile as they disappeared into his lair.

One bright spring day, the garage stood empty. Now nobody knows where to find him as he speeds, top down, along the open road.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Our Special Way – 100 Word Wednesday

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 9 Comments

Title: Our Special Way
Source:  100 Word Wednesday: Week 113
Word count: 100 words

Image by Bikurgurl

Sandy was a special child. We didn’t realize how special she was until after she was born. In school, her light overshadowed the others, and they treated her differently. Children can be cruel to those they don’t understand.

Sandy wasn’t one of those children. Their taunts fell on deaf ears, and their hatred fell on a forgiving heart. Still, sometimes Sandy cried. Not for herself, no, never that. She cried for them.

At our special spot, the crashing waves drowned their words. The breeze kissed her heart, refilling it with love and compassion. And we spoke in our special way.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

 

Observing Rites – 100 Word Wednesday

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 6 Comments

Title: Observing Rites
Source:  100 Word Wednesday: Week 112
Word count: 100 words

Image by Bikurgurl

Conversation wasn’t Dad’s forte. Every Sunday he woke me. With fishing gear and a brown paper sack loaded with egg sandwiches, we headed to the sound. As dawn kissed the sky, our bobbers rode the waves.

The ritual had been absent for a month when he finally returned.

“Your mom -”

Dad’s voice drifted on the breeze and salt spray accumulated in his eyes. My throat tightened. Unable to speak, I wrapped my arm around his waist. His arm clung to my shoulder, pulling me close. We stood there in silence for what seemed like forever. We needed no words.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer