Week 6 winner @darlingveruca has selected this week's prompt, and it's gorgeous.
I'm excited to see what it inspires you to write.
Have your 100 - 200 words submitted by 1:00am Friday, US EDST.
We want anything and everything: poetry, prose, fanfic, OF.
JUST GET WRITING!
Leave your entry as a comment - include your word count, and your twitter handle if you have one.
FYI - entries that exceed (or are under) the word limits will not be considered by the judge.
Word count: 200
ReplyDeleteTwitter handle: @AnnaLund2011
Hundreds of light bulbs, and I squint my eyes—as you showed me twenty-three years ago. The lights in the huge tree in the park transform and shift into a magic universe all of its own, brilliant shining stars going at light-speed.
“What does ‘squint’ mean?” I asked, and you showed me what and how and why.
“That is how I see you,” you said, “a million shining lights before my eyes. That is you.”
I loved you then. The explosion of emotions that you woke up within me, that shook to life with your cracking jokes and that smile that simply leveled me. The twinkle in your eyes as you gave me your sweetest smile.
The next day you were gone, and we never met again. Twenty-three years later, I still squint my eyes when I see dangling lights on a string or in a tree. And I think of you, Mark, and tell the universe that your words made me strong. Your words made me dare.
I still squint my eyes to see your universe. And even if I will never see you again, I will always see your stars.
I promise, Mark. I still squint my eyes.
Word Count: 198
ReplyDeleteTwitter: @katiewinkles
Theirs was a stolen moment beneath twinkling lights; eyes that met across the room for half a heartbeat.
Her brain said wait. His heart said look again.
A look was all it took.
The tiny space inside her chest could barely contain her heart as it took flight, a hand fluttering to her chest, her fingers meeting flushed skin and a trembling pulse between her collar bones.
Her lips parted, the corners lifting, and across the room the curve of his mouth answered; I know. I feel it too.
Nobody turned to look at them; no one even noticed a thing. But for them – time stopped. And in that moment it was like the world fell away, and all that was left was the burn of his gaze and the thunder of her heart.
Her feet said go, move, every cell of her body reaching for him.
But it was he who moved first, unable to stop his legs from carrying him to her.
It wasn’t epic. They would never write books about it. In years to come they would forget exactly how it happened.
In the end, a dozen heartbeats and two smiles was all it took.
@mrssiobhanmasen(200 words, if you given them to me, I'll use them!)
ReplyDeleteIt was the last day of a fairly boring two week vacation with my parents. That night was different thought, I was excited that night, I was allowed to go out alone, only around the tiny villa we stayed in, but it was enough.
People danced and sang in the streets to celebrate an important Italian holiday.
I had watched his movements around the festivities. My heart stuttered and my cheeks heated with the sly glances we exchanged.
When we finally touched, it brought to mind the explosive feeling of pop rocks and coke as they mixed in your mouth; the reaction in my stomach was similar on a much larger scale. His simple touches were heady and potent, and I wanted more!
I remember it all… the warmth of his lips, the feel of his hands on my heated skin, how the lights seemed out of focus through my passion filled eyes, the push and pull of our bodies, and the rough feel of the bricks against my back as I gave myself to him in that secluded alley.
The night was perfect. I long for the feelings of that night, long for him, even after all this time.
Word count, 141
ReplyDelete2old4fanfic
She opened her eyes.
He’d transformed the dirty roof of their Brooklyn apartment building into a fairyland. Tiny lights hung everywhere. In the center a round table was covered with a blue sheet, candles, a bunch of sunflowers and a single cupcake on a glass plate. Pulling out the folding lawn chair that was usually in their living room, he indicated that she should sit.
She did, smiling at him remembering the anniversary of the day they’d met, her going in and him leaving the quirky cupcake shop in Soho.
In the middle of the swirls of her favorite chocolate explosion cupcake, sat a ring. Startled, she turned to see him at her feet. “My greatest dream used to be painting in a field of sunflowers in Tuscany, until I found you. Make my dream come true, Bella Swan. Marry me.”
@BedeliaJane
ReplyDelete199 words
I was ten years old before I realized no one else could see them.
As I wheeled my bike down Main Street with a boy who was maybe not as bad as the other boys my age, I tilted my head back and breathed in deep. My parents had ordered me to be home before dark, but I was in no hurry. The consequences could wait. Twinkling branches swayed back and forth overhead, beckoning like old friends. The air was at that perfect, crisp temperature—just cold enough to make cheeks rosy and cocoa seem warmer.
“I love how the lights look at this time of year,” I said.
Pausing, the boy frowned. “What are you talking about? That’s how they always look.”
“Nuh uh. In spring, they’re sort of pink, and in summer…”
I stopped. His gaze was focused on two emotionless lamps that stood guard on a brick wall.
“Don’t you see the lights in the trees?” I asked.
“Huh? Did you hit your head?”
It was like discovering what I saw as red was beige to the eyes of others. Shrugging it off, I rushed home.
To this day, I still don’t know.
What are they?
195 words, @lellabeth
ReplyDeleteMy eyes were closed but the twinkle of the lights was tattooed onto the backs of my eyelids anyway, the blackness there making them seem like stars. I felt a tell-tale tightening in my chest but refused to cry, instead clutching closer at strong arms and resting my head on the shoulder in front of me. I swayed to the gentle music and let him guide me, my constant North Star in the darkness. The silence of the room was almost enough to convince me we were the only two there, and we were in all the ways that mattered – the only two who mattered right now or ever.
“Open your eyes, sweetheart,” he whispered, a soft wisp of air hitting my cheek.
I did as he asked and blinked as the lights dazzled in full force. His hands were tight as they held on to the satin of my wedding dress, but his smile couldn’t have been softer. I looked at the lights again as they shone in the dim room, but their shimmer was nothing compared to the liquid-sunshine love of my new husband’s eyes when I turned my face back towards his.
198 words.
ReplyDelete@magtwi78
The cool breeze tickled her bare legs like the kisses that stole her sleep the night before. With her toes pressed into her party shoes and her shawl wrapped tighter, she stood, silent, under the artificial-starlit sky. In the open-ceilinged room full of people, she let the wall’s shadows hide her from the oppressive air of celebration that swam all around her—but never quite reaching her. She caught smiles from the party-goers, throwing an occasional one in return, and watched them tip bubbles down their throats.
Never had she felt so alone.
The fever in the air grew closer as the hour did. The twelfth chime and the falling of the sparkle-studded sphere this time would signify so much more than just a page turning on a calendar.
Twisting her own transparent stem between rose-tipped fingers, she held the glass aloft to see the shimmering lights distort through the golden liquid. The people around began to chant; the reverse mantra of a kindergarten class. She whispered a silent toast to herself.
When she lowered her glass, the cheer was rousing.
And there he was. Her next toast was lost in his kiss.
@crackedfic
ReplyDelete188 words
"They're fireflies."
"Fireflies?"
"Yup."
"Lined up like that? In perfect rows?"
"Yup."
"That's ridiculous."
"Yup."
"But how?"
"No one knows."
"No, I mean how do you know they're fireflies."
"It's obvious."
"Enlighten me."
"If you don't see it, you won't see it."
"You're infuriating."
"Yup."
"I'm staring at this thing and all I see are strings of Christmas lights."
"That's what you would see. You're you."
"Quit talking in riddles, dammit."
"I see a photograph taken on May 13, 2011, from a street in Melbourne, Australia. Look at the date imprinted on the back."
"OK. I'm looking. And?"
"Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury were aligned that day. It was visible only from the southern hemisphere."
"And?"
"You don't find it odd that these fireflies chose to align into ellipses nearly identical to those the planets travel in on the very day those planets were aligned?"
"You haven't proven this picture shows fireflies. It still looks like Christmas lights to me."
"That, Scully, is because you have no imagination. Zoom in on the picture. Keep going. More. That's it. Now what do you see?"
"Fireflies, Mulder. I see fireflies.”
@shellisthimbles
ReplyDelete200 ineligible words.
---
The lights on their string burn bright and blurry as the alcohol races through my veins. My neck aches from craning to see them, but I’m entranced. I make my eyes wide and then narrow, watching the balls of light dim and flare with each movement of my heavy eyelids.
“Wow,” I say.
A heavy sigh brushes across my cheek, fingertips trace from my elbow to wrist and then tangle in mine.
I keep watching the lights. Keep watching them float on the sea in the sky like fiery little boats. I can almost feel the waves as I sway, my body overtaken by warmth and a fluidity that belongs not to me, but the bottle of Absolut in my hand.
He pulls me back against his chest. Mooring me. He’s my anchor, my safe harbour.
“Baby,” he says. His voice is just a murmur, but I can see it. It makes the lights glow brighter. “Was that bottle full?”
I lift it up to check. It’s heavier than it was before. “I don’t know.”
“Why, baby?”
I shrug, closing my eyes against the golden stars burning over my head. “I was nervous. I don’t think your mom likes me.”
@Aleeab4u
ReplyDelete200 words
. . . . . .
He fell in love with her the summer before sixth grade, running wild through days and sneaking out nights to wish on shooting stars.
When they hit eighteen he set a plan to keep her forever.
Three official dates before their first real kiss, under the stars and the spray of Fourth of July fireworks. Six more before they made their own fireworks, making love on a blanket in their meadow at midnight.
Now, wrapping strands of twinkling lights off the fire escape, he's grateful for the memories they've built, hopeful for more.
"There," he announces, turning to where she curls on the chair he dragged through the window. He surveys the effect against an overcast sky. "Not exactly stars."
She tilts her head, sighing softly. "It's perfect."
"Not yet," he whispers. Kneeling, he pulls out the diamond ring he's carried around all week. "This sparkle is a little brighter."
Cancer has stolen her breast and her hair, not yet her incandescent smile.
Time isn't infinite or certain; he means to never waste a moment.
He slides it over her trembling finger. "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight..."
Her laugh is the best sound in his universe.
@mslizabeth
ReplyDelete200 words
The ground was littered with flower petals and shards of glass. Unlit candles toppled haphazardly onto their sides.
In the middle of the room the head table stood proudly the only thing atop it a girl in a sweatshirt that dwarfed her, the only signs of life was an occasional twitch of her thumb.
Her fingers clutched the phone to her chest her voice mail playing as she stared at the twinkle lights overhead.
“I’m sorry I missed you, but just remember I’ll be home before you know it. In just a month we do that forever thing. And I can’t wait. Love you, baby.”
The sounds echoed hollowly off the empty walls of the reception that never was. Those seconds of voicemail full of love and promises were all she had left.
Today she was supposed to get her happily ever after and instead she’d received a condolence letter from the president.
Raging and screaming hadn't brought him back; neither had the tears she had shed. Instead she laid lifelessly on the table; allowing her mind played through a lifetime that should have been hers.
She was supposed to be happy. It was never supposed to end like this.
137 words of a poem.
ReplyDeleteHot, freshly-wet asphalt,
Rubber and dust.
Sweet summer rain.
A dance and a drink.
Twirl me about and twirl me ‘round.
We smile, you laugh,
And you lean in.
Lean in.
Lean in...
Our lips touch.
We’re the only two people in the world.
We stumble through the streets
Drunk on spiked sweet tea and new love.
Mardi Gras swirls around us
Revelers
Buzzing cacophony.
I can’t get you back to my apartment fast enough.
Your hand is clammy, solid in my own.
I pull you down the sidewalk,
under the year-round Christmas lights
in a part of town where it’s not tacky.
My tipsy cottony mental fuzz
The lights unfocus and
Blur.
They shine
Like sparks
Like the sparks that fly when your lips meet mine again in my doorway.
“I love you.”