challenge

Battle Above the Clouds — FFfAW Challenge

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 11 Comments

Title:  Battle Above the Clouds
Source: Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers
Word count: 160 words

Mist at dawn house rail fence

This week’s photo prompt is provided by Jodi McKinney. Thank you, Jodi!

We woke in darkness. General Geary ordered us to prepare to cross Lookout Creek at dawn. The November morning dawned chilly and damp in the valley. Our brigade massed as the fog swirled around us. The creek water ran high, and we waited. An hour and a half past dawn the water ebbed, and we received orders to move. Crossing the footbridge, we knew the objective was to meet near the Cravens house.

The mist and fog rose as we advanced up the mountain. We engaged in skirmishes with an enemy we could not see. The terrain proved rougher than any we had encountered. Rocks large and small had fallen from the mountain’s wall littered deep ravines. The forest claimed any space not occupied by rocks. Our force outnumbered the rebels, yet each step was a battle, and we fought to claim the inaccessible heights of Lookout Mountain.  The mountain was ours and the battle above the clouds became folklore.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Relics — Three Line Tales, Week 135

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 5 Comments

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

books library shelves

photo by Davide Cantelli via Unsplash

They came as they always had, speaking reverent words in hushed voices, paying homage to the masters.

But as time passed, and they no longer clutched us in their arms or caressed our patterned pages.

We became decorations, wallflowers longing for a dance.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The Cocktail Party — Story-A-Day Prompt

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Title:  The Cocktail Party
Source: [Writing Prompt] StoryADay September 2018 Day 1
Word count:   414 words

1958 style kitchen

Photo credit: SportSuburban on Visual hunt / CC BY

Pamela entered the kitchen thinking how exquisite it looked. It was her domain complete with state-of-the-art appliances, countertops, and flooring. The linoleum flooring was the newest product on the market, guaranteed to last a lifetime, it was easy to maintain, and it was easy to create custom designs. The other indulgence in the kitchen included a pair of refrigerators, large enough to store the items she needed for her well-attended cocktail parties. She negotiated with the builder to have everything as she designed them.

Tonight’s mission entailed ensuring she had forgotten nothing for tomorrow night’s party. Rodger admitted Pamela’s parties were the reason for his promotions at work. Everything hinged on the success of this party. A high-profile client was considering placing a substantial book of business with the firm.

Pamela stood in front of the refrigerators to check items off her list. One freezer contained bags of shaped ice cubes, a week’s work for the drinks. From the other freezer, she retrieved the Swedish meatballs she made earlier and moved them to the refrigerator to thaw.  Two lime jello party salads, one with coconut and one without, waited in their stylish ring molds. They had set nicely. Two more copper molds held prawns in aspic ready for their assigned places on the buffet table arranged in the dining room. Two dozen hard-boiled eggs sat on the next shelf. She had everything to transform them into piped deviled eggs with a pimento garnish. Next to the eggs were the large containers of deviled ham. A crowd favorite, Pamela hoped she wouldn’t run out.

Bags of celery washed and cut into bite-size pieces were also ready for the buffet. Along with the other cut veggies, their place was next to the cream cheese spread and the peanut butter. The popular cheese whiz she planned to place strategically along the buffet. Marge had confirmed her three o’clock arrival time to help finish setting the buffet and drink cart, allowing Pamela to change into her new blue cocktail dress.

She nodded to herself everything appeared to be in order. Tomorrow morning, she would prepare the pineapple upside down cake and her signature cherry angel food cake. With the cakes finished she would prep the pigs in a blanket and the canapes. Pamela patted the kerchief holding her curlers in place then flipped the page on her notebook. The next item was to review her latest changes to the client proposal with Roger before going to sleep.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Battle Lines — Friday Fictioneers

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 24 Comments

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

mirror reflecting old shed

PHOTO PROMPT © Nathan Sowers grandson of our own Dawn M. Miller

They said it reflected poorly on the neighborhood, devalued their property.  She explained they built the shed decades before they conceived of the neighborhood. They didn’t care they wanted it gone. Grandma prepared for battle.

They suggested a teardown, replaced with a new big box store shed. Grandma countered that those sheds were eyesores, uglier than her shed would ever be. She would not lose her family heirloom.

The city engineer confirmed the shed’s construction was sound and would last another hundred years.

Grandma played her ace, protecting it forever when she registered the shed with the Lancaster Historical Society.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

 

The Gift — FFfPP Week 35

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 2 Comments

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

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 7 Comments

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

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 12 Comments

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

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 15 Comments

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