Key Haiku

Courtesy of Morgue File

explore mysteries

unleash possibilities

keys reveal answers

 Written for the Write Tribe Wednesday picture writing prompt.

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The Drawing

      Nicholas could spend hours in his room playing.  His mommy thought it was wonderful when he finally became interested in playing imaginatively with toys like a little boy should.   Whenever she looked for him he was always playing under his bed, which she found odd…but who was she to complain?  He was quiet and happy and had left the video games alone in favor of his LEGOS.  That was a win in her book.

  

       One day while Nicholas was in his room he drew a picture with a big circle in the center coloring it in bold strokes with a black crayon.  Dragons danced around the hole shooting fire from their mouths and the sun shone down from the sky in his picture.  When he was done with it, he quickly lost interest tossing it aside.   

 

      Later he crawled under his bed to retrieve his Spiderman LEGO mini figure and noticed that it was lying on top of the crumpled dinosaur drawing broken in half!  His heart clenched in his chest and tears started to well in his eyes as he grabbed for his favorite.  To his shock when he pulled the mini figure away from the paper he discovered it was intact.  There were no missing parts after all, but how could that be? Perplexed he quickly pulled the crumpled drawing from under the bed.   Weird, he must have imagined it. 

      He retrieved his box filled with mini figures and decided to pretend the circle was a black hole in space sucking everything in proximity into its depths.  He dropped the soldier onto the black circle and freaked out when it disappeared before his very eyes.   He quickly turned the sheet of paper over and shook it, and miraculously the figure dropped out onto the floor.  At this point he was intrigued and ready to conduct some more experiments with his toys when all of a sudden the figure began to twitch.  At least he thought it moved!

    At that very moment Mommy called him to dinner.  He didn’t want to EAT at a time like this, but if he told anyone they would never believe him.  They would think he was lying.  Still he decided to drop a couple other figures into the circle and quickly hid it under the bed until after supper.   He was trying desperately to make sense of it all.  He was eager to finish supper and return to his room to see what other surprises awaited him there. 

      After supper he discovered when he retrieved his figures from the circle they had come to life.  They literally walked around and talked to him and to each other.  They seemed terrified of him at first because of his size, but then they realized that he was their friend and encouraged him to enter into the circle with them.  He was a bit afraid of what would happen if he tried it.  Certainly he couldn’t fit inside the circle.  It was small and he was big.  Instead he dipped his hand inside the circle and was terrified when something sharp grabbed it and wouldn’t let go.     “Mommy!” he screamed hysterically.  Mommy ran into the room horrified by the bizarre site that met her eyes.     Whatever was inside the drawing had ahold of his hand and wouldn’t let go!  

        Nicholas’s LEGO figures seemed to be jumping up and down and trying to tell her what to do to help.   Even though the whole situation was beyond bizarre, she rushed to do their bidding.  Quickly she gathered slices of cheese and placed them on the black circle on the piece of paper.   The cheese disappeared and released Nicholas’s hand.   She held him tightly as he sobbed in terror completely overwhelmed by the entire experience.    As she watched the LEGO mini figures transform back into plastic toys, “she waited for someone to tell her what to do next.”

Here are the rules:

Your post must be dated February 23, 2013, or later.

• Submissions must be 750 words or fewer. My story is 418 words.
• Submissions must be fiction or poetry.
• Your submission must use the following sentence as the LAST line: “She waited for someone to tell her what to do next.”
• The speakeasy is for submissions written specifically for the grid. Please don’t submit an entry if you intend to showcase it to another blog link-up. Such posts are deleted without notice and you Ll be sucked into a black hole of internet nothingness.
• Please don’t post long explanations before your post. We want your writing to be the star of the show. If you need to clarify anything, feel free to do so at the end.
• The badge for your speakeasy #150 post is found in the sidebar. Add the code to the html view of your post before publishing.

      

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The Lucky One

           He told everyone who had asked that he was in a relationship so they would back off.  He had even casually told her.   He talked to her every chance he got.  Women always threw themselves at him which irked the hell out of him.  Not her though, she was different. She had shot him a “well good for you” look when he bragged about his girlfriend as if she couldn’t care less which only made him want her more.  One day he would grow the balls needed to tell her she was the lucky one who had stolen his heart.

Written for the Write Tribe 100 Words on Saturday Writing Prompt.

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Truth or Dare

 
  

   One night we played “Truth or Dare”.  The drunker we got the more outrageous the dares became.  Dares included everything from running down the street naked to asking the neighbor to borrow a sex toy.  How I wished I hadn’t drank that bottle of vinegar! I have never been so sick in my entire life!

Written for the Write Tribe 55 on Friday writing prompt.

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A Little Confusion

    “I’m telling you Jon, if you want the lovely Clarice to notice you, you have to get in touch with your feminine side.”  Minutes later, he emerged wearing heels, makeup, and a dress. “That wasn’t what I meant!”

For the Trifextra challenge this week, I am to write 33 words in addition to and preceding the following:

That wasn't what I meant.

So, to clarify, you write 33 words and then you tag on the five that we've given you.  Our five come after your 33 for a grand total of 38.

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Heart Zentangle

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He Was Too Late

       With pain etched across his features Ben typed the letter, emptying all the pent up feelings he had kept guarded for so long.  He was tired of the lies and the duplicity.  He was tired of trying to be someone he was not.  He was tired of being ridiculed for who he was.  They didn’t want a son who was artistic and gay.  They wanted a perfect athlete and a home town hero everyone wanted to emulate.  They wanted someone worthy of their love that they could brag about at church.  Instead they had gotten him.

     As the sun set and the shadows fell he printed out his final letter.  He shut down the computer one last time and quickly reread his last plea for understanding and acceptance.  With a sad and determined resignation he loaded the gun he had bought last week, aimed, and fired extinguishing all the hurt and frustration he had experienced his whole life trying to live up to their ideal.

        An hour later Ben’s parents arrived home excited to see their only son.   His mother loved her baby no matter what direction he took with his life and encouraged her husband to accept Ben for who he was.  A hard pill to swallow, but he did love his son.  He just had to make a point of accepting him as he was and showing him that he loved him no matter what.  He planned to tell him as soon as he saw him setting things right and starting their relationship fresh with more love and understanding on his part.   The bottom line was that he loved his son, gay or not, and it was high time he told him and started acting like it.  To his horror, he was too late.

This is my entry for the Write Tribe Wednesday writing prompt:

 "He was too late."

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Catching Stars: The Conclusion

After having so much fun writing "Counting Stars" for the Speak Easy #148 writing challenge, I continued the story with "According to Stars".  Now I bring you the conclusion.  Hope you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it. ♥

        Katie’s breath caught as she took the envelope from Parsons School of Design out of the mailbox.  Ripping into the envelope with excitement she quickly scanned its contents.  She had been accepted into the art program in Paris!  Paris!  To study art in the city of lights a short walk away from the Louvre is more than she could have ever imagined in life!!  She was thrilled to her very core. 

       Her diamond engagement ring sparkled in the sunlight bringing her crashing back to reality.  Rob.  Oh dear God.  She was engaged to marry Rob!  She had accepted his proposal only because she never believed her dream of being an artist would become reality.    But now, her dream was coming true.  She could reach for the stars with both hands.  She could study art in Paris!  With that realization another quickly came on its heels.  She could never marry Rob.  That nagging doubt that had plagued her since she had said yes and accepted the ring seemed validated now.    She had to follow her dream.  It was her destiny.  He simply wasn’t.  This was the sign she needed.  She cared about Rob, but now she wasn’t sure if she even loved him if she could cast him aside so easily.  Breaking off the engagement was the right thing to do.  She hated to break his heart, but deep down she was sure he would understand.

       Rob and Katie had been growing apart since that night with Emily.  It seemed as if they were both going through the motions.   He had been entertaining serious doubts about going through with the marriage but had no idea how to break it off.   He didn’t want to hurt Katie, but deep down he couldn’t deny any longer how much he loved Emily, had always loved Emily.   When she had finally told him about Paris, it gave them both an easy out.    They parted as friends going their separate ways with no regrets.    He had to find Emily.  He had to tell her how he felt and see if she would have him.     He found her that evening sitting on the end of the pier dangling her feet in the water.     She had always been there for him but lately she had been avoiding him.    He missed her, really missed her and all of a sudden when he needed her most, there she was just where he knew she would be.  He walked to the end of the pier and sat down, took off his shoes, and splashed his feet in the water beside her.

   “I heard you were a free man now” she said with a small smile and a sideways glance. “Are you Okay?”

    “Yeah, guess so.   Things are as they should be.  Katie is living her dream.  She is happy.  She would have never been truly happy if she had settled for a life with me.”   He smiled back and gazed out over the water. “Remember the last time we were here Emily?”

    “Yeah, how could I possibly forget?  It was quite the memorable night.” She smiled feeling her cheeks grow warm.

     “Are you sorry?” He didn’t look at her but keep gazing out at the waves.  He waited, and when she didn’t answer immediately he looked her way.

        A lone tear made its way down her face.  She struggled with the words.  She didn’t know how she could tell him, but she knew she had too.  It was now or never.  She couldn’t keep it from him.  Oh how she loved him, had always loved him.  She dreaded telling him.  He would hate her, and she couldn’t bear it.

       “No, Rob.  I am not really sorry.  I have had days that I was, but I realize that I’m really not.  Everything happens for a reason, and I have accepted that.”  She looked at her hands and the tears flowed faster now.  She gazed into his eyes with determination.  “It was magical…I don’t regret it.  You gave me something precious that night that I don’t regret one bit and I am sorry if you choose to hate me, but I am pregnant.  I am keeping our baby whether you like it or not.  I have always loved you, and if I can’t have you I can at least have our baby.”

     “Seriously, you’re pregnant?” he looked deeply in her eyes and took her hands in his as she solemnly nodded.  He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her passionately.  The chemistry that sparked between them was electric just as it had been that star filled night.  “What would you say to counting stars together for the rest of our lives?”

 
      Her smile could have lit up the night.  “I think I would like that very much.  Are you sure?”

       Taking her hand, he looked deeply into her eyes.  “I can’t think of anything that I am surer of.  Katie will be following her dreams in Paris, and I have my dream here with you.  I’ll love you forever Em.”

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Free Once Again!

      She stared at the blank screen and started typing then immediately deleted the words she had written. That sounded completely stupid.  No one would want to read that!  Frustrated she tried again, knowing that hours were stretching into days and days would soon be a whole week since she last posted or wrote anything.  Time worked that way and often got away from her.  She quickly clicked over to the screen that held all those brilliant souls who had already posted their entries.  Over 20 people already with brilliant stories and perfect grammar that hadn’t been stripped of their words like she had.  Damn.  Clicking on one she was drawn into a journey into the writer’s imagination that awed her.  Back she went to the empty page in Microsoft Word.  Write something!  She started again and again until it was time to give up and go to work. 

         Depressed and forlorn, she wondered how long she would be in this wordless funk.  She went to work even though she really didn’t want to go.  She faced the onslaught of children descending the cafeteria with a smile, because they deserved a cheerful disposition.  How bright and happy they were!  Their mood was contagious!  For the first time in weeks they were bundled up to go outside for recess.    They had been doomed to endure indoor recess for weeks on end.  Damn the weather to hell.  What good was the snow if no one could frolic in it?  She welcomed their hugs, felt rewarded by their smiles, and felt happy when one took her hand as she led them to the nurse.

       
 
       She returned to her computer at the end of the workday to discover her addled brains had been freed from their shackles.  The words flowed freely through her fingertips once again as she typed her latest story, publishing it with a sense of satisfaction and glee that knew no bounds.  Her soul rejoiced once again. 

• Your response must be between 33 and 333 words.  Mine has 325  • You must use the 3rd definition of the given word in your post. • The word itself needs to be included in your response. • You may not use a variation of the word; it needs to be exactly as stated above. • Only one entry per writer. • Trifecta is open to everyone.  If you are inspired, please join us!

FUNK (noun)
1 a :  a state of paralyzing fear
   b :  a depressed state of mind
2 :  one that funks :  COWARD
3 :  SLUMP  <an economic funk>  <the team went into a funk>

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The Queen's War

       “Don’t blame the sinner.” the pastor said with reverence. “Every single being of the human race has sinned at one time or another.  We must learn to forgive and cultivate peace.  Only then will we truly find the joy our heavenly father wants for each of us.  Let us pray…”

       We sat in a middle pew between our parents playing with the chess pieces of our game from home as the adults around us bowed their heads in prayer.  With a sideways smile to my little brother we followed suit, bowing our heads as well, fixing our most pious expressions on our amused faces.  It would never do to make a disturbance in church so Mama allowed us to bring the chess pieces with us so we could occupy ourselves, keep quiet, and stay out of mischief.  Even Mama secretly admitted that church could be a boring place for kids while the pastor attempted to get his point across to the congregation.

  

    “Amen” we all said in unison.  No one realized in the surrounding pews the drama that was playing out between the chess queens and their subjects.  They wove between the labyrinths of prayer books and hymnals taking the pawns, bishops, and knights by surprise.  The kings overlooked the action from above as the war commenced.  Strange how the queens were once dear friends and their battalions friendly comrades only moments before and now that the war had come they fought viciously and with vigor planning secret strategies at every turn.

      Our imaginations took us on so many adventures into the world of the chess queens, where everything was not as it seemed!! Within the sanctuary, on the wooden pews, the chess pieces seemed to come alive.  One time a knight tried to assassinate the rebel queen and was met with resistance, caught, and punished severally with instant death.   Several times in our exuberance we were greeted with the stern sideways glances of others.  We turned angelic faces in the direction of all which cast disapproving nods in our direction knowing Mama would be embarrassed if anyone complained.  If she was embarrassed there would be hell to pay and a long lecture to be had when we got home.   At least we weren’t causing a real ruckus.  Finally it was time for the closing hymns.   Interrupted in our play, we stood each clutching a queen in one hand as we sang the hymn boisterously while Mama hurriedly gathered the other pieces in a plastic bag and deposited it in her purse, all without ever missing a beat.   Stowed away and forced to get along, the chess pieces ceased their war and proclaimed peace would reign until next time.  Each chess queen winked resolving their differences and was friends once more.

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This is my response for the Speakeasy weekly writing prompt. 

 This week, we were asked to write a response under 750 words (mine is 458) and: 

1. Use “Don’t blame the sinner” as the first line.

2. Make some kind of reference to the media prompt- a painting called 
The Chess Queens, by Muriel Streeter.

The challenge is open to everyone, so if you’re intrigued or inspired, write your response and link up!  Click the badge below to visit Speakeasy’s site.  

     

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