Saturday 27 February 2016

100 Words: Inspired by a story told by our guide during a walking tour of Cambridge

Silence.


All he knew was silence.


Long,


hard;

though not cold.


He did not regret his vow, indeed he believed in its importance; but sometimes he felt a bitterness while remembering speech; or song.


That is why when the choir came, everything changed.

As he sat listening, the sounds filled the air around him, embracing him as an old friend.  Tears streamed from his eyes and left his cheeks sodden.  

Without ever having been unhappy he was the happiest he had been since his vow.


A week later he left all habits and vows behind to serve God through song.


Written for the 100 Word Challenge on Thin Spiral Notebook; the prompt was the word Habit.

Wednesday 17 February 2016

100 Words: While you are alive, you are never out of time

The hourglass drained away to nothing and I ran out of time.

Having been found in the master’s daughter’s bed, offering an explanation could have meant death.  I kept silent and was banished.  

Initially I wandered aimlessly, wishing we’d been caught the first time... until I learned she was sticking by me and had been locked away.  

I got it together, spent my time selling hourglasses and learning swordplay.  

Our legend grew and people started to gather.  

Soon, with the hourglass as our sigil, we will move on the castle.  

While you are alive, you are never out of time.


Written for Friday Fictioneers from the following picture prompt:

PHOTO PROMPT - © Sandra Crook

PHOTO PROMPT – © Sandra Crook



100 Words: Ghost Writer

The report was due before the weekend and I sat at my desk, an empty piece of paper in front of me, trying to summon words from within.  

Nothing would come, though, and I started to get frustrated at the thought of working late or, worse, through the weekend.  

In trying to calm myself down and gain focus I said out loud, “Come on, James, this report won’t write itself!”  

When, lo and behold, writing began to appear on the paper.  

I have done no work since.  

Really, I couldn’t recommend them more.  Everyone should have a benevolent helper ghost.


Written for the 100 Word Challenge on Thin Spiral Notebook; the prompt was the word Luck.

Tuesday 16 February 2016

100 Words: On Luck

Luck’s all in the mind, of course.  As anyone who’s narrowly avoided death will confirm.   “I wasn't lucky to have been in the accident,”  they might say.  

Yet, if you win the lottery, you will be also be considered lucky; for luck has nothing to do with action.

Even if it was manufactured, luck would not be guaranteed; it would only increase your chances, surely- a hipflask in your breast pocket will only save your life if you are shot there.  
So, really, when you look at, all you can say is I couldn’t think of a story this week.


Written for the 100 Word Challenge on Thin Spiral Notebook; the prompt was the word Luck.

My lack of a proper story shall be blamed on my having already written something that would have worked for the old 100 Word Challenge when the prompt was Clover ;)

Tuesday 9 February 2016

100 Words: Idea

An idea is a seed planted in the earth of the mind, whose waters and light help it to germinate, take root and grow.  Sometimes that earth, and those roots, may be spread through many heads before birthing plants, flowers and fruit.


Love is not an idea, it is much more than that.  An intricate structure built together by individuals to stand against earthquakes, storms and, most of all, the greatest eroder: time.


Ideas and love can join and they can divide- cause war and destruction as much as evolution, marriage and children.  For nothing in this world is perfect.


Written for the 100 Word Challenge on Thin Spiral Notebook; the prompt was the word Idea.

Tuesday 2 February 2016

100 Words: Once peculiar scenes after the end of the world

Trafalgar Square empty of humans and pigeons alike.

Disneyland lawns overgrown and irregular, weeds dotted here and there.

The Eiffel Tower invisible against the night sky.

Motorways and freeways, junctions and turnpikes, clear from beginning to end.

Church and tower bells ring for no one, bring nothing at all to congregate.

The Sphinx once more buried in sand.

A single flower sprouts from the centre of a pathway on the Great Wall of China.


CCTV cameras stare blindly across these once peculiar scenes; and all that remains waits for evolution to start up once more. 

Until then, their world crumbles.


Written for 100 Word Challenge on Thin Spiral Notebookhttp://thinspiralnotebook.com/; the prompt was the word Peculiar.