challenge

Rescue at Sea — FFfPP Week 30

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 6 Comments

Title:  Rescue at Sea
Source:  FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER
Word count:  170 words

MorgueFile May 2018 1365256807kyjpp

Shelly refused to address the situation. It was easier to sleep late, swim in the sea and toast the day with an entire bottle of chardonnay. Today reality hit, she was out of time, money and even excuses.  She needed a plan, one she didn’t hate.

She didn’t swim today. The sand was warm where she sat contemplating the horizon. It was a perfect illusion.  Her mind in turmoil, dark clouds filled the sky and mountains of waves swept over her, tossing her to a rip current she could not escape. Shelly fought, and as her strength drained, she realized she would drown.

Drown? The thought shocked her, yanking her from the self-pity tidal pool. She was a strong swimmer, a lifeguard and knew you didn’t fight a rip current.  You remained calm, swimming parallel to the beach until the current ebbed, and you could swim diagonally towards the beach. Shelly stood and dusted the sand from her pants. She had the answer and everything she needed to rescue herself.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The Delivery — 100WW Week 81

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Title:  The Delivery
Source:  100 Word Wednesday: Week 81
Word count: 100 words

Image by Bikurgurl

A black panel van parked on the street. Marcus and Ari checked the mirrors before unloading the six cartons. Ari carried his load down the walkway to where a dumpster obscured a side door. They stacked the cartons next to the door. Ari adjusted the top carton, nodded, and they returned to the van. No one noticed as they drove away.

It was two a.m. when the bar emptied. The hometown team won putting them in the playoffs and cash in Pete’s till. Tired but happy, he was locking the door ready to head home when the entire block exploded.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Fifteen-Minute Road Trip — FFfAW Challenge – 175

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 9 Comments

Title:  Fifteen-Minute Road Trip
Source: Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers
Word count: 170 words

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

It was a game, a stupid childish game that saved my life. My earliest memory is of me, my three sisters and Dad playing Red Light, Green Light. We always played games. The year I turned six, Dad introduced a new game. He called it “Fifteen-Minute Road Trip”. My sisters and I listened to the rules. Dad would set a timer and we had fifteen minutes to pack a bag with everything we needed for a weekend road trip. Our first attempts caused peals of laughter when we discovered missing clothes, or shoes or toothpaste. Gradually our packing improved, and one day Dad told us to get in the car. We left for the weekend and had to live with only what we packed.

Yesterday, the evacuation team knocked at the door saying the winds had shifted, and the wildfires were upon us. They gave us fifteen minutes to gather the lifetime of possessions from our homes, pack our cars and leave. Today I live with only what I packed.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Small Town (The Rewrite) — Friday Fictioneers July 20

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 2 Comments

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

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

This is a story I posted a few days ago for Friday Fictioneers. One of the comments suggested it might have more impact if written in the present simple.  So here is both the original and the rewrite. Let me know which version you like better.

The Original Story
Moist sheets clung to my body. The sun beat on me trying to turn my bruises lobster red. The oscillating fan set on high evaporated the perspiration and raised goosebumps as the artificial breeze swept across my body. I closed my eyes, tired of the heat, tired of this small town and the smaller minds that lived here. Small townspeople talked about everyone’s business and buried their secrets deep. I hid my secret well, so they would never guess why I left. I pulled the drapes across the window. Neither the sun nor that man would beat on me again.

The Rewritten Story
Moist sheets cling to my body. The sun beats on me trying to turn my bruises lobster red. The oscillating fan set on high evaporates the perspiration and raises goosebumps as the artificial breeze sweeps across my body. I close my eyes, tired of the heat, tired of this small town and the smaller minds that live here. Small townspeople talk about everyone’s business and bury their secrets deep. I hide my secret well, so they will never guess why I left. I pull the drapes across the window. Neither the sun nor that man will beat on me again.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Simon Says — 3 Line Tales Week 129

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 7 Comments

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

photo by Alex Knight via Unsplash

Simon was super cute, highly efficient and he learned everything about me.
I didn’t have to worry about cleaning or cooking or a hundred other minor things.
My life was arranged, tidy, sterile and devoid of any spontaneity.

______________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Small Town — Friday Fictioneers July 20

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 20 Comments

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

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

Moist sheets clung to my body. The sun beat on me trying to turn my bruises lobster red. The oscillating fan set on high evaporated the perspiration and raised goosebumps as the artificial breeze swept across my body. I closed my eyes, tired of the heat, tired of this small town and the smaller minds that lived here. Small townspeople talked about everyone’s business and buried their secrets deep. I hid my secret well, so they would never guess why I left. I pulled the drapes across the window. Neither the sun nor that man would beat on me again.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Hoorah — 100 WW Week 80

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 2 Comments

Title:  Hoorah
Source:  100 Word Wednesday: Week 80
Word count: 100 words

Image by Bikurgurl

 

David wanted one thing in life.  Well, two if you counted Kerry. This weekend’s graduation ceremony was one step towards attaining his first desire. He hadn’t expected training to be easy, those lessons he learned early from his dad. Training had gotten harder when his dad died because he depended on his mentor. Becoming a Marine would have made his dad proud, and that was David’s main goal.  A small box burned a hole in his pocket and he thought of Kerry. He planned to propose today. If she agreed, they would marry in the small chapel before he deployed.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

High Seas – FFfPP Week 29

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 6 Comments

Title:  High Seas
Source:  FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER- 2018 WEEK #28
Word count:  176 words

white-ship-traveling-through-vast-body-of-water-with-white-birds-flying-beside-879479 Pixel Photo

The ferry scheduled two trips a day to the island. Today, reports showed a storm with the island in its direct path. Computer projections called for rough seas, so no ferry service would be possible for two days. Based on radar Logan expected six missed trips. He plotted and considered everything that might happen. Logan needed a window when everyone would be busy with the storm. He calculated how long the Islanders would be worried about their own safety.

He built his house at the island’s highest point and dug the foundations deep underground. It was hurricane proof and ran off the grid. But Logan didn’t plan to be at his house during the storm. It started six months ago with weird things happening. Signs showed they were getting close, and he realized he had waited too long.

The storm passed leaving the island in turmoil and people even more worried.  The island sheriff was busy and he called for help from the mainland. Three homicides and two missing persons were more than his office could handle.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Conspiracy — FFfAW Challenge – 174

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 12 Comments

Title:  Conspiracy
Source: Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers
Word count:   155 words

I tell no one how I became the mistress of the Marchese Di Felecia. Or rather, I never tell them the truth. The truth is a series of coincidences that when put together seem unbelievable. If I hadn’t lived it, I wouldn’t believe it either. Being the Marchese’s mistress is why I am on the street today. I am the keeper of secrets, both my own and others. They are my power base and one reason the Marchese loves me. I pull the coarse scarf closer around my face, hoping to remain invisible. I do not knock at the blue door, but enter and head upstairs where my mother waits.

“Is the Marchesa with us?” she asks.

“Yes, my half-sister received the messages.  When the Marchese’s forces attack, our father will die. With no male heir, his territory will pass to the Marchese.”

“Does she suspect?”

“No Mother, and we need her alive.”

“For now.”

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Eldorado –3 Line Tales, Week 128

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

photo by Sharon McCutcheon via Skillshare

The quest for Eldorado worn for all to see with destiny a foregone realization.
Hypnotized by lust for gold and glitter, desire soon became her master.
Weary worn the quest lead home to the dark wave Shadow Valley.

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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer