CW: January Collection

“Today’s Thursday. Right? Is it?” I sounded like a crazy person.

“Yes, it’s Thursday. Otherwise, we have a problem,” my partner responded without flinching.

Phew, my cover still wasn’t blown. Or maybe people got so used to my crazy that they no longer even blink when in its presence.

“I never published my post for today,” I cried out.

There is a lot I juggle. Even though I keep eating, it’s as if whatever is on my plate keeps multiplying. No rest for the wicked. But, I know I’m not the only one. Most of you probably feel like you’re in the same boat. Let’s hope we won’t capsize because there probably aren’t enough life vests.

With all that said and done, I’d like to share with you some of my short pieces I penned this month that I have not posted on here.

***

TITLE: A way to a man’s heart.

Pete was Lucy’s summertime neighbor. Both of their families loved visiting Vallecito Lake to “unplug.” The kids rolled their eyes whenever they heard that term. There was no cable or Internet, so the only thing to do was to go outdoors.

Not wanting to act “like a girl”, Lucy ran through mud, hid behind bushes, and fought with sticks as swords.

After a couple of summers, she developed a crush on Pete.

—

“What pretty butterfly,” she mused, just before smashing it with a rock.

She read somewhere that butterfly dust was a key ingredient in a love potion.

***

TITLE: Life Reel

“Your whole life flashes before your eyes,” people say when describing near-death experiences.

It didn’t when that Ford rammed into my Nissan.

Instead, my brain focused on the auditory stimuli around me.

The sound of music on the radio disappeared, replaced by a bang from nowhere, and the crunching of metal.

“Fuck!” I just had my car fixed up.

“Are you bleeding?” one of the five people outside my window asked.

“Where did they come from?”

“No,” I answered without checking.

—

Today, I took my first step. It’s a long way to go, but I’m on the right path.

***

TITLE: When I grow up.

It was the night before Halloween when Stephanie realized Tommy needed a costume for school the next day.

“We need to create a costume. What do you want to be?” she asked, frantically rummaging through her arts and crafts bin.

“I want to be like Daddy!” Tommy buzzed excitedly.

Steve grinned with pride. Being a police officer had been a family tradition for generations.

Tommy disappeared from the kitchen to return wearing a black ski mask.

Stephanie and Steve froze, mortified.

“I saw you last night wearing this, telling Mom how much fun you had. I like having fun!”

***

“In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story using the contrasting prompts butterfly and stones.“
+
“In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story that rephrases “light at the end of the tunnel.”
+
“In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about dressing up.“
– prompts used for this CW piece.
[Source: Carrot Ranch 1, 2, and 3]

***

P.S. As always, you are more than welcome to use this prompt to inspire your post. If you decide to write something, be sure to pingback to this post so that I can get an alert and check out your piece. (A post on how to do pingbacks can be found here.) If pingbacks are not your thing, feel free to simply leave a link to your piece in the comment section below. The more, the merrier!

Stay golden,

***

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Stay golden,

***

Did you enjoy reading this post?
Hit LIKE.
Have some thoughts on the topic?
Share in the COMMENTS.
Do you regularly enjoy my blog?
Be sure to FOLLOW.
Are my posts getting lost in your busy Reader?
Try SUBSCRIBING.
Want to get to know me better?
Check me out on TWITTER @SamGoldieKirk.