He is known for his insatiable
Need
For drama.
Histrionics
Are his drug.
He requires frequent dosing
Of idolizing
Chants by crowds.
He does not believe in
Science
Or in reason
Or in truth,
Which to him detract from
The ardent fervor
He craves as complete
Fealty
Proof.
For Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt: Histrionics in 48 words
“This is all that’s left.”
Marshall nodded and surveyed the area, hands clasped behind his back in a show of control that did not quite hide his devastation.
Danielle caught Sandy’s eye and the latter blinked acknowledgement. Marshall’s white-knuckled grip and the way he rocked ever so slightly on the balls of his feet communicated volumes. Danielle didn’t think he trusted his voice.
The moment stretched.
“We did find some items scattered farther on,” Danielle pressed, distressed by his unnamed grief.
“Mostly parts of items,” Sandy clarified. Won’t do to raise hopes when they already knew nothing was salvageable.
Marshall lifted his head and gazed at the path of destruction the freak storm had left on the barrier island. A quietude spread inside him. An ebb and flow of sorrow and release.
“Thank you ladies,” he told the county’s disaster inspectors. “Mother Nature had spoken. I will not rebuild.”
For Crispina’s Crimson’s Creative Challenge
He crouched by the lockers.
Feet swarmed by. Sneakers, sandals, loafers, tennis-shoes. The hallways rang with voices and a smell wafted from the floor. A mix of sweat, old puke, and industrial cleaner. The smell of school.
It was odd. To be invisible.
Not literally, but still. A new kid in a city with more kids in this one building than in the whole town he’d come from.
“Hey, you,” a foot in a shiny Mary Jane nudged the edge of his bag.
He looked up.
“You Mark?”
He nodded.
“Cool. Come with. I’m Clara. Welcoming committee. Show you around.”
For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers
(Photo credit: J Hardy Carroll)
(Photo: Tim Mossholder on Unsplash)
Rise to seek the freedom
In the air above the
Obstacle.
Find clearing that will give you
Path to pass
Beyond
The fence.
Learn the code that holds
The keys to better
Places.
Then you can let worries of
Shattered spaces
Lift,
And release the latch from fear
To what will let you
Step openly
Away.
For Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt: Vault in 56 words
“No way Jose!” Jessie’s arms were folded in what was half stubborn refusal, half terrified self-preservation.
Derek laughed and wiggled his toes, which were caked with mud and muck and unidentifiable stuff that was best left well outside of sniffing range.
His sister groaned. “Do you have to be so gross?”
“What’s wrong with a little bit of nature, eh?” he teased. He took a step and bent to touch the carpet of green algae that covered the pond. It looked like velvet.
“Are you nuts?!” Jessie looked ready to lunge and probably would’ve pulled him back if it weren’t for the fact that it would require getting closer to the pond’s edge.
“Chill, Sis,” Derek shook his head. “It’s not like I’m gonna be eaten by Nessie.”
“Imaginary monsters don’t worry me,” Jessie’s lip curled in disgust. “Salmonella from those mallards and whatever else in this water sure does.”
For Crispina’s Crimson’s Creative Challenge
“Remember when we used to come here all the time?” Lisa rested her chin on her palm, elbow propped onto the tablecloth, and dreamy eyes gazing out the diner’s window.
Her mother nodded, throat too full of ache to speak. She signaled for the check. Lisa looked so much like Gloria in that posture. The two had the same mannerisms, the same coloring and freckled cheeks, even the same tone. The niece’s resemblance to her aunt had been a source of joy. Still was. Always will be. But there was loss there, too.
Now that Gloria was gone.
For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers
(photo prompt – © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields)
(Photo: Al Battison on Unsplash)
She could not help the pull of lore
And hopes that drew on her
Heart like a magnet right into
The polar
Opposite of what
She had been raised to
Know and
Want.
For how could she possibly
Be anything but
What she
Was?
For the dVerse quadrille poetry challenge
(Photo Michal Balog on Unsplash)
She couldn’t have been clearer.
She couldn’t have been more firm.
Still he chose to disregard and
Pretend it wasn’t him.
She told him to pack his stuff.
She told him he must leave.
Still he chose to linger and
Refused to cleave.
For Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt: Lucid in 43 words
“What is this place?”
“An outhouse?” Marti sniffed, perhaps for clues.
Barbara wrinkled her nose. Marti always did have a potty brain. “It would not make sense without a door, now, would it?”
“Ventilation?” Marti doubled down. “And anyway, a door could be removed.”
“No hole in the ground,” Barbara pointed out.
“Could have been filled in or covered.”
Barbara shook her head. Even covered in leaves and mud, the floor of the small structure looked too evenly tiled for that.
“So, if you such a genius,” Marti sneered at his know-it-all cousin, “what do you think it is?”
Barbara inspected the arched entrance, the partially enclosed back wall, the proximity to the ancient manor’s fence. A guard post, she thought, but did not say. There would be no fun in that.
“A portal to Avalon,” she stated loftily.
“Ah,” Marti retorted. “As I said, it is an outhouse, then.”
For Crispina’s Crimson’s Creative Challenge
“What’s with the basket?”
Sharlynn’s lip curled up. “For the catch.”
Robert raised an eyebrow. “Thought you went vegan.”
“I did,” Sharlynn grinned. “But Bertrand resists, and I thought I’d shock him and prepare fish for his birthday dinner. It’s not every day that a man turns half centenarian.”
Robert groaned. At forty-nine, he was next in line.
“So,” Sharlynn’s eyebrow matched her brother’s. “May I come aboard?”
“Sure,” Robert waved in half-invitation, half-defeat.
“Don’t look so worried,” Sharlynn laughed. “I’m gonna clean’em up myself. Also, Bertie’s getting kale quiche. What I truly hope to ‘fish’ is some fresh seaweed.”
For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers (Photo prompt © C.E.Ayr)
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