Back In Time

With my daughters teenage years upon us I look at her and can’t help but wish I could spare her the hurt that comes from being a teenage girl.  But I can’t, she has to be 13 and 14 and so on, she has to get through this awkward and difficult time just like everyone else.  I can however do my best to help her along the path.

In light of that I began to think of what I would have liked to have told my teenage self if I somehow got the opportunity to send a letter back in time to my 13 year old self at the beginning of high school.  This is the results.  

Dear younger me,

So you are now 13 almost 14 years old having just begun your first year of high school.  I remember that girl and so the first thing I’m going to say to you is take that cigarette out of your mouth and wipe that smart-ass tough-chick look off your face, this is the older and wiser you talking here.  I KNOW that this is just an act I am after all the one who perfected it. 

I know that you are going through a very hard time in your life right now and that it feels like everything is changing at once and that’s because it is.  You feel lost and lonely, scared, unsure of yourself and your abilities and desperately unhappy at times.

All I really want to tell you is that it does get better; I promise you that no other period in your life will ever be quite as hard in quite this way again.  As it turns out these years really are the hardest to survive.  Even becoming a parent was not as scary as what you are living through right now.  

And yes you have children, a little earlier then intended perhaps but it is the greatest joy in your life and you do have someone to share it with, you are not alone. Actually it’s not too long from now that you will first meet your husband.  When you do you won’t even give him a second thought and you will forget about him entirely as your lives head in different directions. That’s OK he’ll be back.

I think now of all the crazy things you will wear and try out over the next few years and all I have to say about that is have fun.  Eventually you will find what works and what doesn’t but getting there is an absolute blast.  It also teaches us a lot about ourselves and having to defend your decision to dye your hair green or blue ends up giving us a lot of self-confidence.       

I know I’m not offering you a lot of advice here or even telling you how to avoid the mistakes you eventually make but there is a reason for that.  I know now standing on the other side that you somehow get through these years relatively unscathed (although there was that one very close call that ended up being seated across from a very unhappy RCMP officer)and what I’ve come to realize is that each mistake you will make also ends up teaching you a valuable lesson.

So all that I really want to tell you is that while you won’t always make the best decisions, you will get in trouble, and you will live to regret some of those things everything turns out OK.  You will get through to the other side. All the years of bullying and the pain and hurt and feelings you are dealing with in these difficult years will not last forever.

I leave you with this last thought; be happy!

See you later,

You in about 20 years

The Longest Morning

Dorothy opened her eyes and saw the first morning rays of sun glimmering against the freshly fallen snow just outside her window. Excitedly she reached for the clock on her bedside table, 7:48 shone back at her and her heart sank just a little.  She had promised to let Mommy and Daddy sleep in until 8.

She crawled to the edge of her bed and hung her head over the edge where if she lay just right she could see the glow from the Christmas tree and trained her eyes on that slightly brighter spot. The glow looked the same as it had last night before bed but it felt different, it felt like an extra special glow now.

She pulled herself back up onto the bed and crawled over to the foot board where her robe lay folded over top and reached all the way to the floor to snag her slippers.  She slipped her arms into the warmth of her robe and her feet into the fuzzy bunnies their round little eyes staring up at her.  “Just a few more minutes” she whispered to them and lay back against her pillow to look at the clock. 7:49.

She sat back up and slid to the floor creeping as softly as she could over to the window sill. She stared out at the dawning morning looking for rabbit tracks and was not disappointed to see a rabbit sitting amongst the row of spruce trees nearby.  Dorothy took off her slippers and held them up to the window.  “See some bunnies live outside, you live on my feet”

She dropped her slippers back to the floor and stepped back into them before turning back to her bedside table again. 7:50.

Dorothy sighed and looking down she noticed her clothes from the night before and her stuffed animals all over the place.  She picked up her clothes balled them up and threw them from where she stood into the open hamper beside her closet. “shoots and scores” she whispered. 

She pulled her sheet up and then her blanket folding the top edge down and then the sheet over top just like Mommy had shown her how to do and set about collecting all the stuffies around her feet.  She arranged them just right along the headboard before looking at the clock again 7:52.

 “Arghh” Dorothy growled, why wouldn’t her silly clock hurry up. She softly tiptoed over to her door pulling it open just a little bit further and peeked out into the hall before edging her way out and down to the next door. Dorothy walked over to the crib where she was greeted with a happy gurgle. “Hi Tommy” she said.

Dorothy looked over at Tommy’s bedside clock 7:54. “Do you want to get up Tommy? It’s Christmas morning?” His only response was to blow a bubble. “Really Tommy you could at least answer your big sister” She teased poking her fingers through the bars. Tommy babbled solemnly in response and grasped her fingers.

“Yeah, I know just what you mean. C’mon Tommy lets go see if Mommy and Daddy are really sleeping?”Dorothy pulled the step stool nearby against the side of the crib and climbed up so that she could reach down and hoist Tommy first up to standing and then up over the rail.

“Dorry?” Tommy asked inquisitively.

“What did you say?” She asked him almost stumbling as she stepped off the stool “Dorty” Tommy answered.

“Tommy” she said smiling down at her brother. “Dorty” Tommy  cried again clapping his hands. Dorothy sat down sitting Tommy opposite her so she could see his face.  She pointed her finger at him and said “Tommy” then pointed back at herself “Dorothy”.

“Dorty” Tommy cried excitedly reaching out to grab her shoulders and pulling himself up to stand so that he leaned against her. “Dorty, Dorty, Dorty”

“Dorothy that’s right Tommy, you can say my name!” Dorothy exclaimed having forgotten all about Christmas morning.   

Ten minutes later the door swung open “There you are, I was wondering where you’d gotten off too” Said Dorothy’s Dad “Do you want to come see if Santa came?  Mommy is getting up now.”

“No look Dad, Tommy who am I?”She asked him

“DORTY!” He crowed loudly.

“He knows my name, I’m his first real word! Isn’t that amazing.” She said beaming up at her father as he smiled down at her.

“Yes it is, now do you want to go see if Santa came?”

“Mommy said not until 8”

“It’s quarter after 8 Dorothy.”

“Oh…..c’mon Tommy lets go see if Santa brought you a present!”

Part 3/3 - Lost

Part One

Part Two

She stared for long moments the fear and panic creating a painful burning sensation in the back of her throat. She could see the desert stretching out around her, feel the warm sun on her face, the cold packed earth beneath her feet, smell the dry dust everywhere around her and she dropped to the ground in relief.

A dream she thought nothing more than a dream. She had dreamt the world around her had suddenly blinked out of existence. It had just been a dream, a dream so realistic that it had quite nearly driven her insane.  She clapped her hands over her mouth to stop the laughter that threatened to bubble up at the thought.  She was quite sure if she began to laugh right now that she would never stop.

“A dream” she repeated aloud as if hearing it would make it seem more truthful and yet it did not.  Everything still felt wrong but she was so grateful at being able to feel anything at all that it didn’t matter. 

She stared at the horizon and at that great big beautiful ridge which would lead her into town.  Slowly she walked towards it and as she did she felt the dream slipping away. She could only remember the joy she had felt when she had opened her eyes, not remembering having shut them in the first place, and the terror which had gripped her but the details were fading away.

Now the sun was rising and the world looked even better with the sun just above the ridge which would lead her, while not home, to safety.  She would be fine she would just keep walking, she was bound to reach town before another night fell. She would spend tonight safely locked in her hotel room with the TV and every light on, wrapped up in all the blankets she could find.

She paused for a moment sitting down to rest her feet the thought of the warm and comfortable hotel soothing her mind like a balm.  She took out one of the water bottles from her backpack and drank half of it down before climbing back to her feet and beginning to walk again.  

The ridge looked different somehow, Joelle shook her head, no it was just the after effects of that terrible dream playing tricks on her mind she thought and continued to walk forward the ridge becoming clearer with each step.

The closer she got to the ridge the more convinced she became that something wasn’t quite right and as she walked to the top of a small hill leading ever closer to the edge of the ridge she looked up from her feet to the sky and stopped dead.

Hanging above her head was not one sun but two.  Both blazed their heat down upon her and as she stood staring into the sky she heard a wet squelchy sort of noise from behind her. 

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and she remembered that warm and wet, somehow alien feeling, she had experienced in her dream. She refused to look behind her and indulge herself in this new paranoia, and yet the two suns hanging in front of her was just as insane to contemplate as considering what in the middle of the desert could have made that wet noise. 

She gave her head a little shake instead and stared at the ridge over which the second sun had just risen. It must be a mirage, or a hallucination she thought. Maybe something had gotten into the water bottles she had been drinking. With determination she set her mind against her imagination and set off towards where she knew the town lay in wait. 

Once she got there she would instead of heading straight for her hotel room head for the nearest Doctors office instead.  They would be able to figure out what had suddenly gone so wrong with all of her senses. They would fix it. 

The ridge she now realized wasn’t that far off anymore and she probably could have made it the night before if she had just kept going. She would have seen the lights from town before long and could have followed them to safety.

Of course she was still going to get there safely. There weren’t two suns she told herself sternly and she certainly hadn’t heard the sound she thought she had, there was nothing here. She had just gotten stuck a little ways outside of town and had to walk back that’s it nothing more.  

Sometime later just as the ridge began to rise up to meet her she heard that same wet sound behind her. This one was followed by another and another wet sound and she began to run towards the ridge, towards the light of the two suns.  Faster and faster she went as the sounds behind her seemed to get louder and closer and somehow more excited.

She was scrambling up the hill leading to the top of the ridge in front of her when she felt the first brush of warm wetness against her ankle and she screamed just as the view beyond the ridge came into sight.

She found her footing and stood on the edge of a great chasm. Where was the town, where were the people, the buildings, anything.  There was nothing just those two suns high up in the sky and the noises behind her.

Panting she shaded her eyes and searched the horizon for some sign of life but there was none. An alien landscape spread out in all directions before her, the noise from behind came again followed by a sensation of that sickening warm wet thing against her leg.  The sound became a happy gurgle and Joelle shuddered.

She took a deep breath and finally turned to look down and back the way she had come.  She finally had an image to put together with that noise and that warm wet feeling. It was worse, much worse than she could ever have imagined.

She had apparently driven much further away from town than she had thought, or perhaps she had walked further. All she knew was that the wrong turn she had taken had been more wrong than she could ever have imagined. 

With a final scream of terror she threw herself from the top of the ridge into what she hoped would truly be nothing.         

Part 2/3 - Lost

Part one

Hours later she woke freezing cold and feeling as if the world was tipping on its axis.  Jumping up she’d fallen back to the ground the stars above her head spinning madly.  Then without warning all of the stars winked out of sight.

Suddenly there was nothing, not even the feeling of the hard pan beneath her nothing other than the inky blackness which seemed to press upon her from all sides. It felt as if she had suddenly gone blind deaf and dumb in an instant.

She groped about with her hands and for a moment she felt something, but pulled back with a cry….it had been slimy and hot, something completely alien to her and somehow dangerous. 

Just as quickly as she’d withdrawn her hand she reached out again, even that strange feeling had been better than this….this nothing…..

Groping wildly she began to flail as panic took over, how could there be nothing, nothing to see, to feel, to hear, to even smell.  She screamed into the darkness realizing even as she screamed that she could not hear herself that the sound was only from inside her own head.

She continued screaming silently for what may have been only minutes but felt like hours before she was able to force herself to stop, realizing that if she didn’t do it soon she would never be able to.

She was breathing hard and yet even straining as hard as she could she could not hear the noise of her own breath, but she could feel it.

She focused on that feeling the only feeling she had left, counting slowly with her eyes closed. She reached one hundred and slowly opened her eyes and yet she still saw nothing. She felt a sudden itch on her nose and realized with a start that she couldn’t reach up and scratch her nose because she had no hands. Did she have a nose?

She felt panic rising again and fought it trying to stay calm and think after all it seemed to be the only option open to her.  Think or go crazy.  Her thoughts swirled madly searching desperately through her life’s knowledge for some point of reference which would help her get out of this mess. 

Her mind suddenly grasped upon an old lesson from Sunday school when they had been taught about purgatory.  She seemed to recall it had been described as being trapped in nothingness.  Was this the afterlife then? Had something killed her without her sensing it and now she was doomed to spend the rest of her life (existence?) as whatever this was?

She floated in the blackness considering the possibility arguing with herself, praying to the god she hadn’t spoken to since those childhood days of Sunday school.  Desperate to stay calm she began singing old songs in her head to distract herself from the growing sense of unease and terror griping her mind. Why hadn’t she stayed with the car!

An image of her body lying in the desert came to her mind unbidden. She saw the sun rising and the vultures circling over head.  She saw small coyotes and other desert creatures inching slowly to where she lay and begin to pick at her body.  She saw a vulture dip its head over her own and rise up with an eyeball, her eyeball, swinging from a long piece of sinew in its beak.

Great waves of disgust and despair coursed across her mind wiping away all other thought and panic once again took over. Before long she was again silently screaming into the void surrounding her.    

Without warning she felt a soft thump against her back and her eyes flew open. She was laying on the hard desert surface the stars above her head.  She jumped up staring around in confusion as the first hint of the sun reached the horizon.

Part 1/3 - Lost

The sun began to rise and Joelle heaved a sigh of relief.  Although far from out of danger with the sun coming up over the horizon her situation suddenly felt much better than it had in the darkness.

After all she wasn’t really lost she’d had a bit of bad luck is all. She had set out from her hotel to meet up with an old friend and had barely driven out of town before realizing she had made a wrong turn.

She’d decided to turn around when the hunk of junk car she’d rented decided to lurch forward and stall.  Unfortunately it had lurched at the edge of the narrow roadway while she was turning and it had gone sliding nose first into the ditch. She probably would have been able to back the car out of the ditch but it had refused to start up again.

She tried for nearly an hour before deciding to give up and walk back.  She would have called a tow truck but ever since she’d arrived her phone had been acting erratically and now it didn’t even want to turn on. She’d only been driving for ten minutes anyways how far could she really have gone?    

She could see the ridge which marked the edge of the valley the town sat in and it hadn’t looked all that far away even if maybe she’d been driving 15 or 20 minutes rather than 10 before turning back.

She’d started out fine, better than fine really.  There had been a bunch of water bottles in the trunk and she had taken those as well as anything else that might be useful to her including the first aid kit. She’d even had her umbrella which she’d opened up to shade herself from the desert sun.

It hadn’t taken her long to realize how hard walking across the hot ground was going to be and several times she had turned back towards the car wondering if maybe she should just stay with it.  Even if no one passed by accident she’d spoken with her friend on the phone just before leaving and her friend was bound to get people looking for her when she didn’t show up after a few hours.

Eventually she walked just a little bit too far to change her mind.  Just as she’d decided that walking really had been the wrong choice the sun started going down and without it glinting off the roof of the car she couldn’t quite make out where it had been. She thought she saw it for a moment but without any footprints on the hard pan and each bit of brush and cactus looking exactly the same as the next she couldn’t be sure. 

She could be sure where the ridge was though and so she decided to keep going.

As it had gotten darker she’d begun to stumble. What from a distance looked like a solid flat expanse was actually rather uneven sometimes even dropping off several feet at a time.  After falling headlong off of one of these drops Joelle realized trying to walk in the dark wasn’t only useless but dangerous.

So she’d scooted back until she rested against the mini cliff she’d just fallen over and leant back determining that it would be best to stay put for the night.  More tired from walking all day than she’d realized, she had pulled up the hood on her sweatshirt and fell asleep in just a few minutes.

Painting The Moon

Once upon a time there was a very special group of girls with a very special, very secret job to do.  This job was so secret that they didn’t even tell their mommies and daddies.  There job was to paint the moon.

These very special girls would one night wake up shortly before the moon rose to find a mysterious bucket of silvery shimmery paint set beside them.

Somehow they always knew just what to do and never once did a little girl find her bucket of paint and not do her job just right.

Out of their beds they would climb, pick up their bucket of paint, sneak from their houses and run to the moon just as it reached the horizon.

They would dip both hands into their bucket of silvery shimmery paint and smear two great big handfuls all over the moon.

Day after day more and more little girls would smear their share of silvery shimmery paint onto the moon and each night as it rose higher into the sky it was a little bit more shimmery, a little bit more silvery.

Soon the whole of the moon would be covered in silvery shimmery paint and it would glow it’s very brightest of all.

Then little by little, the work of the little girls would fade, each day more and more paint would fade away until the moon couldn’t be seen in the night sky at all.

Every time the moon would disappear from the night sky the little girls would set to work once more, painting the moon in silvery shimmery paint handful by handful.

Across the bridge - 100 word Picture Prompt

Deep in the mountains a small village lays hidden in a deep and lush valley.  It is a prosperous village its fields full of life, its river teaming with fish.  Its people lead simple but content lives. 

Only one path leads out, a bridge of rough hewn stone which disappears across the river into a crevice as deep as the mystery which is the bridge itself.  It has existed since before memory, its arch a feat beyond the imagination of these people.  How or why it was built is unknown.  

Today is the day the path is to be taken.

A Story Begun

Mary grumbled to herself as she walked over the frozen snow sinking every few feet despite the sturdy snowshoes strapped to her feet.  Whatever had possessed her to believe she could get through an entire writing session on a single cord of wood was beyond her.

She had known of course that if her estimates were off at all that she would run out of wood but at the time it hadn’t really seemed to matter.  The only thing that had mattered then was the book, but now the book was done and so was her wood supply.  

She had finished late at night and gone to bed expecting to leave the cabin the next morning.  She had been so busy congratulating herself on her perfect estimates when she’d brought that last armful of logs into the house that she hadn’t even noticed the swirling skies.

Perhaps if she had she would have had the sense to at least get into town before the storm hit. While she knew now that the storm which had been coming would have prevented her from getting all the way home she could at least have found space in the McKintey’s motel.   

It wasn’t a particularly appealing option but even that disgusting motel would be preferable to freezing to death in her own cabin.

She had set aside a small store of wood in the garden shed which she’d managed to stretch out through the first days of the storm but the last log was now on the fire.  She was pretty confident a stand of dead wood wasn’t that far from the cabin and so she had resigned herself to dragging the sledge out to bring it in.

Lucy

Lucy sent her driver off enjoying the fog which rather than burn off with the morning sun had become thicker as the day progressed.  She preferred to walk and rarely used a driver at home, certainly her father would rather she use one while they were in London but she couldn’t resist today. The fog would hide her well and give her a few moments in which to clear the fog from her own head.

Oh how she hated London and how she longed for the quaint and quiet life of their country home, she never felt at piece here her mind always in turmoil.  Her father’s days were filled with business to attend and he could at least feel useful here which may have made a difference, but her days in London were nothing more than endless rounds of tea and gossip. At least during the season there was a fair bit of entertainment watching the young debutantes make fools of themselves. The only problem was that she also had to be so much more careful when London was crawling with societies finest.  

That spectacle at the Dorchester had quite nearly pushed Lucy over the edge today.  That daft girl Maribel had caused quite the scene although Lucy did suppose she should not have laughed at her hat. There was a point Lucy thought however when the idea of being fashion forward became ridiculous attention seeking.  The poor girl had had no idea who she was dealing with. Never mind who her father was if the girl had any inkling of what Lucy’s nighttime activities involved, well she wouldn’t dare to speak against her.  

Lucy laughed to herself imagining what society indeed what Scotland Yard would say if they knew the truth.  Oh but Lucy knew that was just fanciful thinking, regardless of how amusing it might be to reveal what she had done she couldn’t do that.  She certainly had no desire to spend time behind bars nor to meet the end of her days dangling from a rope and she knew lady or not that is certainly what the end results would be.

Perhaps she couldn’t share the truth but perhaps some fun could be had on a night with such a deep fog rolling through the streets. If she were to say she felt ill and sent her father along to that evening’s ball without her she would have plenty of time.  Oh how lovely that would be. Imagine the headlines if she introduced “Jack” to high society.  She thought as she had before how nice it would be if she could thank the silly bloke who had written the letters giving her alter ego such a memorable name.        

Picture prompt - Tea Tree

Deep in the woods grows a magnificent tree unlike any others which grow here. It is a tree which has lived for thousands of years and legend has it that it is a lucky tree.  It is said that a tea made from its leaves offers the drinker a long life filled with prosperity, success and happiness at every turn for the rest of their days.  That is if the tea does not kill them. 

Only those who seek out this tree with the most honorable of intentions can drink the tea without suffering a most painful death.  Many people have gone searching for this tree and while most return empty handed in defeat a few don’t return at all.  

In order to drink the tea from its leaves you must be many things not the least of which is brave.  Brave enough to face the many dangers hidden in the woods and brave enough and sure enough of your own intentions to drink its tea.  There have been a few people who claim to have found the tree and been unable to bring themselves to drink the tea once it has been brewed.

I have every intention of drinking it.

The Maple

Abigail sat in the swing hung under the leaves of the great maple tree at the centre of her garden.  A small breeze lifted strands of silver hair gently across her face.  The scent of lavender and roses drifted along and she sighed as the great maples leaves shifted and the swing swayed gently.

She watched as the sun filtered through its many tiers of leaves shining down amongst the countless flowers. She recalled how as newlyweds they had bought this house and how the somewhat crooked and spindly Maple with its knobbly trunk had been the only living thing in the yard. 

She recalled how Jake, her husband, had said it would shade the garden too much, drink all the water and sap the nutrients from the soil.  She smiled recalling his indulgent look when she had insisted the tree should remain despite all his objections.

She looked around at each of the plants and recalled how the garden had first begun to evolve with the maple always at its centre.  Each plant had its very own story, the raspberry cuttings from her mother, the Saskatoon bush from a friend, the lilies from her grandmother’s garden, the cousin who had brought the first few herbs.

She remembered the years that vegetables had outnumbered the flowers and the countless hours spent tending and harvesting them.  Some years the fruit and vegetables which had grown here had meant the difference between a full cupboard and one mostly bare.  

She remembered how she had rejoiced under its branches when Jake had planted the first rose bush to mark the birth of their first born. Cried when he planted the second and again rejoiced when he planted the third and forth.

As Abigail gently swayed she recalled the countless days and evenings spent with family and friends gathered under its cooling shade.  It seemed that nearly every important day over the years had happened here or had been ended sitting in this swing. The good and the bad had been celebrated and grieved. 

The swing creaked as its sway slowed and Abigail smiled as she caught a read leaf as it fell to the ground knowing the tree would be here still come the next spring.

10x100 word count

Words required:Sedative concierge ballroom crystal varnish law spoon hand news laser

I felt like I’d just taken a sedative as the concierge greeted me and directing me to the ballroom.  Walking in I looked around; lasers played across the ceiling highlighting the crystal chandeliers, the table’s were set with literal silvers spoons and if I wasn’t mistaken all the wood had fresh varnish.  It should be against the law to flaunt your wealth so obscenely I thought as the man of the hour strode over immediately launching into a self-congratulatory speech on what wonderful news he was.   I plastered a smile on my face hoping to just get through the night.

Picture Prompt, Gazing Ball

“What is it Grandma?”Madelyn asked as she held the beautiful glass ball in front of the fireplace watching how it changed in the lights reflection.

“It is a gazing ball and you can see many wondrous things in a gazing ball.  You just have to look hard enough, you have to use all of your concentration and believe in it.” She replied

“Is it magic, like you?” Madelyn asked not looking up still captured by the light.

“Yes and like you” Madelyn’s eyes turned wide to her grandmother and she smiled back “Yes you’re magic; you have it in you just as I do. You still need to learn how to use it but I’ve known since you were just a wee one. Your mother bless her didn’t have the gifts we share and she was hesitant to let me teach you.”

Madelyn looked back down to the ball in her hand tears welling up once again.  For just a moment holding this beautiful ball in her hands she’d forgotten. 

When she and her mother had moved in with her Grandma about a year ago Madelyn hadn’t been told why but she’d known.  In fact she had known her mother was sick long before anyone else, except maybe her Grandma.  She had seen it, she couldn’t say exactly how but she did.

When her mother finally told her she had also told Madelyn that everything would be ok and that she would get better.  That still made Madelyn angry. By the time her mother told her she had known just as well as Madelyn had that she wasn’t going to get better, she had lied.  It was hard knowing that the last important thing her mother had told her had been a lie.

“What else could she have done my dear?” Madelyn’s grandma inquired softly as if hearing the thoughts running through Madelyn’s head. ”She didn’t know, not the way you and I do anyways.  She never stopped hoping that something would change and that she would get better.  To her it wasn’t a lie, besides I think she is ok now. I saw her in the ball.”

“You can do that?”Madelyn asked wide eyed, no matter how angry she was at her mother for lying she would give anything to see her again.

Her grandma nodded with a small smile “I can teach you if you want me to.”

“Ok” Madelyn responded moving closer to her grandma’s chair.

Life of Cat

The dog keeps pacing and the click of his toenails on the tile is driving me nuts. What an idiot, every sound he’s up and running to the window. If he is so excited for the people to come home you would think he’d at least know which sounds actually mean they’re back.

Meanwhile I’ve got this wonderfully warm sunbeam to enjoy and he keeps almost stepping on my head.  Maybe he needs a little reminder I’m here. Claws meet tail. Nope that didn’t help now the idiot is chasing his tail….ugh…..only a dog is stupid enough not to realize his tail is attached to his own ass.

 Oww, ok that’s it I’m leaving, warm sunbeam or not I’m not getting trampled by this big buffoon.  Ahh the beds made, the curtains open and it’s just as sunny in here.  There’s a really comfy spot right in the middle, just perfect for a little cat like me.  Time for a cat nap.

Oh come on now dog, I don’t want to wait with you.  He’s got his nose on the edge of the bed staring at me, he hates to be alone and all I want is a few moments of peace and quiet.  Well I’m not moving and he’s not allowed up here, too bad dog.

What is that noise, of great now he’s crying.  Sigh fine dog lets go back to the carpet just stay boy you hear nothing.   Well he’s not very graceful but at least he’s lying down. Ugh big baby, ok here we go a bit of sun right between his paws that’s my spot.

Hmmm actually he’s pretty soft, and warmer than even the sunbeam.  I could sleep here as long as he doesn’t start drooling on my head. That’s a good boy finally think he’s going to sleep which means I can.  Every time they leave for 5 minutes he thinks they aren’t coming back, as is they would abandon us. Doesn’t he realize it’s their job to take care of us, although I think I’m the more deserving and definitely cuter.   

Without fail when our whole family is away we come home to find the cat and dog sleeping together. They rarely ever do it when we are home and I can imagine it results from a chain of thought (if cats think) somewhat similar to this.  It’s always amusing to watch them scramble up and away from each other as if we’ve just caught them in a compromising position, they can’t let us know how much they actually like one another.

Just a Prairie Girl

There is nothing to see in the prairie so it’s been said, nothing but an uninterrupted expanse of farmland. Often people question why anyone would want to live here, in the flat expanse where each season has its own bit of harshness.  

Winter is brutally cold, spring brings with it yearly floods, summer is burning hot and in autumn the conditions change from moment to moment impossible to predict.

What brought my ancestors here was the promise of a new life, a new beginning along with thousands of others. They put down roots, they worked the lands and many of these families found success and the new life they had been seeking.

They found friendships and communities that worked together. They saw beauty in this wide open space with its countless lakes, rivers and streams, in the trees scattered amongst the fields and the grain elevators which dot the sky.

I have grown to love the land in which I was born and live. I rejoice in the changing seasons knowing that each day will bring something new. Someday I may leave; the call to see more of the world is there but I know in the end I will always come back.

I’m grateful for those who came before me who taught me to work hard, to help my neighbors and to see the beauty in the nature that surrounds me for endless kilometers.

Because of them I am just a prairie girl and I wouldn’t be anything else.

Prompted Challenge - First lines

It is said that we have two instinctual responses, fight or flight, and that we cannot know which our instincts will guide us to until we find ourselves having to choose.  I for one think it’s much simpler.  It is not a matter of instinct or of courage or bravery that makes us fight rather than take flight, it is simply a lack of options. When fight or flight becomes fight or die. In the end we will all fight.

This prompt is from Sonia Medeiros at http://doingthewritething.wordpress.com/ and is as follows;

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write either the opening or closing lines of a story. Start us off with a bang or leave us begging for more. As usual, any genre will do and the word count limit is 100.

At the Beach - Flash Fiction

Emma kicked off her sandals and ran towards the incoming wave giggling as the first splashes of salt water swept around her ankles cool and refreshing on this sweltering hot day.

She turned back towards the beach to wave at her mother who was setting up a bright blue umbrella just out of the surfs reach.  As she lifted her hand another bigger wave came rushing past her pushing her off balance and making her stumble and fall into the turbulent water.

Suddenly the world was upside down the water stinging her startled eyes as she gasped not air but water and struggled to right herself. She fought against the receding water which was pulling her further out into the ocean.

Her sweeping hands suddenly came into contact with something smooth and silvery.  She screamed a line of bubbles and then suddenly felt her feet brush against the soft sand and she rolled upwards desperately trying to plant her feet against the waters rushing force.

Emma pushed her feet down against the smooth sand and suddenly found herself standing in water which barely reached the top of her knees.  She looked down and saw dozens of small silvery fish swimming around her ankles.

Emma looked towards her mother who was now standing facing the water’s edge a hand lifted to her creased brow a slightly worried frown on her face. Emma ran through the receding wave towards her mother laughing “Come and play with me Mommy the waters great!”  

The Rabbit Hole

On a slight rise in the middle of a wide farmers field was a small meadow of grass. In the centre of this little meadow grew a great oak tree, at the bottom of this great oak tree was a small hole that led to a wide little hollow, a rabbit hole.

It was a perfect little rabbit hole which was always warm and dark.  Leaves which had fallen in autumn lined the hollows floor and just a single hop beyond the little hole was lush green grass, and sweet yellow flowers to nibble.

It was spring time and from the hollow came a shuffling sound followed by the smallest of squeaks. Inside of the hollow were five baby bunnies born just a few days before. Their mother was sitting outside the hollow eating some of the sweet flowers.

A boy and a girl who were playing in the meadow saw the mother rabbit and sat down in the grass to watch her eat the flowers.  The little girl loved rabbits and so they sat and watched until the mother rabbit disappeared back into her hollow beneath the great oak tree.

The little girl came back as often as she could to watch the pretty rabbit and a short while later she began to see the little baby bunnies as they tried to discover where the warm glow of light came from each morning.

Each time the little bunnies would find their way to the hollows opening their mother would tumble them back down the hole to where they were safe.

One day when the little girl came to watch the bunnies she sat for hours and did not see the mother rabbit or her bunnies. Nor did she see them the next day or the day after that.

She knew she wasn’t supposed to bother the bunnies but she needed to know where they had gone and so she snuck up right next to the great oak tree and peeked down the rabbit hole.  She lay stretched out on her tummy face beside the hole and listened very carefully.

She could hear the baby bunnies moving around and hear the little squeaks they made. So she backed up and sat in the grass to watch for the mother rabbit just a little while longer. Hours passed and still she did not see the mother bunny. 

She crawled back over to the hollow and once again peeked down into the darkness of the hollow.  The baby bunnies were still making little noises but they had become quieter than they had been the first time she peeked.

The little girl ran home and told her brother what she had seen at the rabbit hole that day. They went and spoke to their father who told them if the mother hadn’t come back all day she probably never would.

The little girl was sad and didn’t want to leave the baby bunnies all alone.  The boy asked their father if they could save the little bunnies.  Their father said yes but told the boy and the girl that it would be a big job to take care of them until they were big enough to survive on their own and then they would have to let them go.

So the boy found a crate and lined it with hay and together the girl and boy carried the box over to the meadow.  They sat and watched for the Mother rabbit a little while longer and when another hour had passed and no sign of the mother rabbit was seen they crawled over to the hollow pulling the box behind and peered into the hole.

Only a very quiet sound could be heard from the rabbit hole as if the baby bunnies were sleepy and tired. The boy and girl knew they must save the bunnies now or not at all.
So they dug a bit more dirt away from the entrance and then they were just able to reach way deep down into the hollow and pull the baby bunnies from their home and one by one moved them to the crate.  

They were very small and very quiet.  The boy and girl took them home put them in the barn.  For the next few weeks the boy and girl took turns feeding the bunnies milk with a medicine dropper. Slowly the bunnies grew and in what seemed to be a very short time began to eat little bits of grass and flowers.

The boy and girl had worked very hard at taking care of the baby bunnies and had saved them all.  The mother rabbit had never come back. The bunnies were now little rabbits and the boy’s and girl’s father told them it was time to let them go.

So the boy and the girl carried the crate back up to the hollow and one by one sent the bunnies back down into the hollow. They sat nearby and watched each day until all of the rabbits had come out of the hollow and hopped off across the meadow to make new homes of their own.     

Rock of Iwa

As the cab came to a stop Rhea grinned this was what she’d been waiting for, time to shop.  After 4 days of being dragged around by Paul and their boys she certainly deserved it and shop she would.  

She walked into the market area with a smile and looked around at the dozens of brightly colored stalls lining the streets. Bits of silver jewelry, brightly colored skirts, gorgeous silk scarves and of course the mandatory junky souvenirs as far as the eye could see.

Rhea set about the market picking up the odd little item here and there enjoying haggling with the owners of the stalls and delighting in each small purchase.

After a few short hours Rhea was loaded down with goods and ecstatic about the many unique finds she’d collected. She was about ready to head back towards the hotel when she noticed a narrow alleyway with a few small stalls she hadn’t yet seen.

She glanced up as she walked into the narrow alley as the sun high above slipped behind the clouds bringing the already shaded area into near darkness. She jumped as a man shuffled by her mumbling to himself. 

Perhaps she should head back to the main area Rhea thought as she came up to the first stall. It appeared this place sold a variety of dried herbs and spices, baskets ranging around the stall held an odd assortment of materials one of which she was fairly sure included bits of bone.  

The man who had shuffled by her when she entered the smaller alleyway said something to her sweeping an arm across the stall. It had sounded to her like he had said something about serving the spirits.  

She backed away from the stall shaking her head and decided this was maybe a little too far off the beaten path for her liking. She turned towards the mouth of the alley and began to head towards the brighter light when a flash of colour caught her eye.

She stepped closer to the stall on the other side of the alley and picked up a flat palm sized piece of rock.  It was incredibly heavy for its size and streaked with the most spectacular of colours. As she ran her fingers across the remarkably smooth surface a shiver raced down her back.

She looked up at the shopkeeper “how much?”

“It is not for sale.” He responded

“Then why display it if you won’t sell it?” Rhea asked

“I sell but not to you” he answered

“A thousand Goud” She asked he shook his head”two?” He shook his head again”how much to sell it to me?” buying this rock was suddenly the most important thing in her life, she absolutely had to have it.

The shopkeeper looked at her with a sigh and said”Must you? It is said to have belonged to a lwa.  It is very powerful magic indeed. Magic that I’m not sure is hot or cool” He looked at the rock tightly gripped in her hand and back up to her face. 

He realized she had no intention of walking away without it. He sighed once more “I will sell to you for 5 thousand, but only if you promise to bring it back if it is as hot as I expect it to be. I will return your money if so”

“Yes ok” Rhea placed the rock in her purse and removed her wallet paying the man.  Sure it was a little much but Rhea knew she had to own it. She rushed back toward the main street before he could change his mind.  

When she reached the main street she pulled the rock back out of her purse examining it more closely.  It was amazing, it felt warm in her hand and the colour seemed to shift and move in the brighter light. She felt a burning need to keep it held in her hand as she left the market.

She didn’t believe in voodoo it would prove to just be a pretty little thing to look at.  A very pretty thing, she thought as she hailed a cab.