Trapped

A 55 word fictional thriller in the spirit of Halloween.

      The door stood ajar, so she pushed it open and entered inquiring if anyone was there.   The door slammed shut and locked itself.  

      Terrified, she whirled around wishing she had never come looking for help.  She heard a spine tingling laugh, he grabbed her, and she was imprisoned: an unsuspecting victim caught in his trap.

Tuesday Tunes: This is Halloween!

      I couldn’t possibly let Tuesday Tunes pass me by this week.  With Halloween around the corner, everyone needs a little Marilyn Manson in their lives!!  So in the spirit of the coming holiday filled with candy, witches, goblins, and ghouls I hope you will enjoy this little tribute!

The Search Haiku

Written for Haiku Heights #306 writing prompt

he rummaged deeper

until his favorite emerged

a shiny red truck

Fire

    A nonet poem written for the Write Tribe prompt.  It is my first ever attempt at this form of writing. A nonet is a poem which contains 9 lines. The first line contains 9 syllables, the second 8, the third 7, and so on in descending order.  The poem can be written on any subject and rhyming is optional and not required.  

Flames gain momentum consuming all

Heat grows intense as time passes

Billowing smoke climbs higher

Feathery fingers reach

Stretching to heaven

All engulfing

Sizzling

Embers

Burn

My Sanctuary

This piece of 55 fiction was inspired by the photo taken by Vidya Sury and written for Write Tribe's  55 on Friday writing prompt.

    There is a place filled with colorful books which offer thrilling adventures within their covers.  I am content to explore and be enthralled.  While there, I forget those who taunt me.  I forget how alone I feel.  In that wondrous place I escape and discover characters that welcome, love, and accept me every single time.

Goodbye to Summer Haiku

fading away fast

last glimpse of summer’s splendor

chilly breezes tease

The Bus

This is a fictional story that I wrote for the Write Tribe 100 Words on Saturday writing prompt.

       I stepped onto the bus bracing myself for the overwhelming noise and hurried to find a seat.  My head started to pound as I scooted closer to the window.  It was raining, so the window was closed trapping the stifling air inside. 









       Resting my head on the cool window pane, I watched the world pass by.  Finally, my house came into view and I stood making my way to the front and to my escape.  Happy, I knew it was my last day there.   Tomorrow I would have my ticket to sweet freedom: a car and my own driver’s license!

Silent Sunday: Owl Zentangle

Liquid Chalkers!

     I had the express privilege of reviewing an 8 pack of “Liquid Chalkers” and was excited to try them when they arrived in the mail.  In the set you receive green, purple, red, orange, pink, yellow, blue, and white.  I had never used liquid chalk before and was anxious to see how well they worked.  I read the directions which recommends staying far away from porous surfaces and decided almost immediately that my front living room window would make the perfect canvas to test them out on.

    With Halloween fast approaching, I envisioned pumpkins and ghosts.   With anything new, you should always follow the directions to get the best results.  To get started you shake them up, and then depress them on a piece of paper until the tip fills with ink.

 

    The chalkers have a chisel point which allows you to easily draw bold and thin lines.  The color goes on smoothly enough however, if you are planning on coloring in a large area you will discover soon enough that you are not going to get the smooth, opaque finish your mind envisions.  I attempted layering the colors for affect much as one would with water colors or markers.  I found out in a big hurry, liquid chalkers do not work that way.  When I tried to layer in a second color, I found the second layer more or less erased the first color off leaving only a small trace of the secondary color I was using for shading.  It was trial and error.

     In the end, I was pretty pleased with the results.  The Liquid Chalkers are as easy to use as any marker with the ability of being washed off if you are not happy with the effect you are getting.  When Halloween is over, a wet wash cloth or a Mr. Clean sponge quickly erases all.  With the Liquid Chalkers you are no longer confined to creating on paper.  You can create stunning displays on glass, windows, mirrors, some chalkboards, and whiteboards too!  If you would like to get your own set of Liquid Chalkers, visit their website and enter coupon code EXCLUSIVE15 to get 15% off your order.  This code is good until the end of October so hurry if you are interested!

Falling to Sleep

Written for the NaBloPoMo prompt "How long does it take you to fall asleep at night?"

      I fall asleep moments after hitting my pillow.  I say my prayers and I am off to la-la land.  When my kids were small I would be wide awake instantly after hearing them stir.  A mouse could fart in the next room and it would wake me up.  These days I wake up with the need to pee…NOW. 

      For some reason all the dogs love to sleep beside me.  I sleep on my side, so I have one dog in a teddy bear hold, one lying snug against my back, one up against my legs, and the last snuggled up by my feet.  Snug as a bug in a rug, when the urge to pee wakes me I roll over dogs, kicking them out of the way as I go, and race to the bathroom in the dark of night with the hounds of hell barking all the way.    Once the dogs are awake they think they have to go too.  So I stumble out to the garage and let them out the back door.  By the time I have let them all out and back in, I am wide awake.

          I am thirsty.  I have to pee again.  I can’t sleep, so I read.  The book is good, so I read some more.  If I am not in the mood to read, I will fire up my laptop and check the obituaries to see if anyone I know died.   It is always a bit of a relief to realize I am still among the living.   I check my email.  I check my Face Book.  I check the front page of the local newspaper.   I might even leave a comment here or there.  Another hour before the alarm goes off, so I decide to pee again, and turn out the light and sleep.  Once again sleep finds me almost instantly.

          Buzz!  Buzz!  Buzz!  I bolt upright and turn off the alarm.  On my way to pee, I turn on the light in my daughter’s room and announce loudly “its morning!”  The dogs, sensing movement are hot on my heels biting at the bit to go out yet again.  I pee, and then let them out.  These days the cold wind wafts up my nightgown and says “Hello” to my vagina and if I wasn’t awake before I am now.  Leaving the dogs to do their duty, I rush back to my cozy bed and dive under the covers.  Oh sweet heavenly warmth!! 

           Once the kids are on the bus on their way to school I am free to return to bed or get busy.   Once again, it doesn’t take much and I am out for the count.  It wasn’t always this way but lately I fall to sleep quickly without a care in the world and all worries fleeing as I drift away.

Blog Action Day: We Are All the Same

    I am participating in Blog Action Day. Blog Action Day is a free annual event, which has been celebrated since 2007. Its aim is to unite bloggers from all over the world, by posting about the same issue, on the same day, in order to raise awareness and trigger a positive global discussion around an important issue that impacts us all.  Around 1,717 blogs from 124 countries, across 26 languages have registered to take part in Blog Action Day 2013.  This year, the focus is on Human Rights.

      We take a lot of the basic human rights for granted expecting to receive our due because that is how things should be done.  Common sense and basic decency accounts for most of them.  We may look different, some taller and some shorter.  Some people are skinny, while some are quite a bit bigger.  Some may have more money than others, while some people speak different languages, celebrate different customs, or even have a different color of skin.  Despite all the differences, we are all essentially the same in all the ways that truly matter.  We all are born and eventually we all die.  We all put our pants on the same way.  We all require love and understanding.  We all require and need food and shelter.  We all deserve an equal chance to follow our dreams and succeed in life.  It doesn’t matter what color we are whether white, black, brown, purple, or polka dot.  Our hearts beat as one.  When cut, we bleed.  We have the right to be treated fairly and choose who we wish to love without restrictions.

       Bottom line, we shouldn’t be discriminated against for being exactly who we are.  Strip away our outer layers and you will discover that everyone is the same.   No matter who we are, how we are raised, who we love, the color of our skin or our nationality, everyone should be given an equal chance to live a happy, productive life.  God made us all different, unique and special but at the same time essentially the same.  We laugh and we cry.  We rejoice and we mourn.  It is because of this that we can relate to each other and empathize with each other’s plights.  We celebrate the victories and console during the dark shadow of defeat and despair.  It is for this reason that basic human rights are essential and we are entitled to them.  Everyone deserves a chance and no one can take our essential human rights away from us.

Tuesday Tunes: Roar!!

         It’s time for Tuesday Tunes and today I am spotlighting Katy Perry’s smash hit “Roar”.  Written by the singer, the gist of the song is about standing up for you when faced with conflicts in life.  It is something each one of us need to do at one time or another.  It is important to have a backbone and not allow others to walk all over you.  There is a certain determination felt throughout the song.  The accompanying video promoting the song is creative genius and revolves around a Tarzan motif. 

         When I first heard “Roar” and seen the video I have to admit that I wasn’t immediately blown away by it like I had been by some of her past hits.  The song “Roar” had to grow on me.  It rose above the noise of the competition and finally stood out on its own merit.  It demanded my attention and because of that I am spotlighting it today.  Compared with the competition of other songs in the mainstream now, it is one of the best.  Enjoy!