Day: November 19, 2019

Freedom Day

Fandango27 Comments

Bark manAfter having terrorized the village for decades, the monster had finally been subdued and caught. The villagers took the still living creature to the swamp, where they plunged it into the murky, algae-surfaced pond up to its waist, anchored its feet, and secured one arm to a petrified tree.

The monster struggled for days, going so far as to attempt to gnaw its own left arm off at the shoulder, in a vain attempt to free itself, but it was to no avail, as its strength had been depleted during its capture. The struggle ended when, in agony, the monster perished.

But instead of sinking beneath the slimy green, scum-covered surface of the pond, the monster remained fixed in the position in which it had died. Ultimately, it became petrified, just like the petrified tree to which it was tied.

Now every year, on the anniversary of the capture and demise of the monster who tormented them for decades, the villagers return to the pond to celebrate Freedom Day.

This post was written for Sadje’s What Do You See? prompt. Photo credit: Google.

Be Patient

Fandango10 Comments

A18E188B-D17A-419C-9BBE-3D9304CD4F85“Wait,” Sam said. “Are you daft or something? You want us to show up at the ballpark for the baseball game in a horse and carriage? Won’t that be a bit conspicuous?”

“Shh, don’t make a sound,” Adam said. “Close your eyes and open your mind. Think of the buzz it would create for us to show up in a horse and buggy? You’d be all over Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. It might even result in a feature article in People Magazine or get you on the cover of Sports Illustrated.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Sam said. “I’m a professional baseball player, Adam. And you’re my agent. You know that I want to be known for my prowess on the field and at home plate, and not for my prowess in the bedroom, especially with another man. That would be way too distracting.”

Sam could see the disappointed look on Adam’s face. He grabbed Adam’s hand, leaned in and kissed Adam on his cheek. “Be patient. I promise I’ll come out at the end of the season.”

Written for these daily prompts: The Daily Spur (wait), Word of the Day Challenge (daft), Daily Addictions (baseball), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (carriage), Your Daily Word Prompt (conspicuous), and Ragtag Daily Prompt (sound).

The Adventure

Fandango13 Comments

Man in train stationSally had been planning this trip for a while. She needed to get away from her boring, mundane, routine existence at least for a week. She needed have an adventure. Otherwise she would end up going crazy.

She booked a three day scenic train ride from Chicago that would take her across the Rocky Mountains on her journey to the west coast. Then, once there, she’d spend a few days exploring the California coast before catching a flight back to Indianapolis.

Sally took a bus from Indy to Chicago. When she arrived at Union station in Chicago, she went to the track on which her train would be departing. As she was about to board the train, she spotted a stranger who was pulling a valise and walking in her direction. It was hard to make out his features from that distance, but there was something intriguing about him and she couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

When he got closer, she could see that he was quite attractive in a mysterious sort of way. She continued to watch him until he was almost standing in front of her.

He nodded at her. He smiled. He asked if he could help her get her bags on board the train. She smiled, said yes, and thanked him. Once on board, they sat down together. She told him that she was going on an adventure. He told her he would be starting a new job in San Jose in a few weeks and also wanted a bit of an adventure before he started working.

Sally never made it back to Indianapolis. Her existence was no longer boring, mundane, routine. Her new life was an adventure she now shared with the stranger pulling a valise that she met as she was boarding a three day scenic train ride across the Rocky Mountains to the west coast.

It’s been a while since I responded to one of Di’s Three Things Challenges prompts, so I thought I’d give this one a go. The three things are “planning,” “stranger,” and “valise.”

FOWC with Fandango — Carriage

Fandango17 Comments

FOWCWelcome to November 19, 2019 and to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). It’s designed to fill the void after WordPress bailed on its daily one-word prompt.

I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (US).

Today’s word is “carriage.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Or you can simply include a link to your post in the comments.

The issue with pingbacks not showing up seems to have been resolved, but you might check to confirm that your pingback is there. If not, please manually add your link in the comments.

And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. You will marvel at their creativity.