CHARISMA

FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER…..week #5 – 2016

Public Domain Images Vacation Palma Fruits Sun Apartments Black White Building Balcony

CHARISMA

“Well, it’s about time you answered the door, Lewy!”  Dawson blurted out when the door opened.

“Sorry,”  Dawson said sheepishly.

“I’m staying here in the condo for a while.  There will be no more traveling from town to town.”

“What do you mean?  What about Charisma?”

“I’m tired of her. She always steals the show and no one ever looks at me!”

“Why do you have a large duffle bag packed then?”

“Answer me!”

“I destroyed her,”  he said in a low voice.

Dawson looked at the large duffle bag and said, “Lewy!  You’re not telling me she’s in that bag are you?”

“Yes, I got really upset and I just wanted to get rid of her as fast as possible.”

Dawson carefully opened the duffle bag and gasped out loud.

He picked up the bag and shoved it into Lewy’s lap.

“Here! You better get busy and sew her back together. Afterall, you are the best ventriloquist in the world, and she is just a dummy!”

Words (167)

Copyright © 2016 Written by Jessie Cross ~ All rights reserved

THE GETAWAY

FRIDAY FICTIONEERS  …..January 29, 2016

The challenge is 100 WORDS OR LESS.

THE GETAWAY

Alena heard a tap on the window. It was Quinn!

She quickly packed a few things, threw them in a pillowcase and climbed down the ladder propped against the house.

They quickly  made their way through the gate and ran to his car.

She turned twenty-one that day and finally escaped from her parents.

Quinn and her boarded a cruise ship, married on board, and settled in Costa Rica.

The news reported her parents arrest for killing a young woman twenty-one years earlier and stealing her baby girl.

Words (88)

Copyright © 2016 Written by Jessie Cross ~ All rights reserved

 

JOSIE

FLASH FICTION FOR ASPIRING WRITERS….January 26, 2016

The photo prompt is from Sonya, owner of the blog, Only 100 Words. Thank you Sonya!

This is my story for the flash fiction challenge, Flash Fiction for the Aspiring Writer. We are given a photo prompt and approximately 75-175 words with which to creat our stories. It is fun and addicting and everyone interested is encouraged to participate. For more information, click HERE.

JOSIE

“Good morning Susie,” Alice said.

“Good morning!”

“It will be a beautiful day.  The sun feels so good and it just makes all the flowers look so pretty against the brick wall.”

“I know and the rain helped a lot.  Alice, do you know what happened to Josie?  She looked so good last week and then she just died overnight!”

“I know, I was completely taken by surprise.”

“What did they say caused it?”

“They figured she was poisoned, and just wasn’t strong enough to recover from it.”

“The lawn maintenance man sprayed the weeds and some of it got on her because the wind was blowing that day.”

“That’s so sad. She was the prettiest flower on our plant.”

Words  (125)

Copyright © 2016 Written by Jessie Cross ~ All rights reserved

 

ELEVATOR

SUNDAY PHOTO FINISH  …January 24, 2016

 ELEVATOR

“Nikki, have you been in The Shard yet?”  Kristin asked.

“No, I’ve been too busy.”

“Do you want to go this afternoon?”

“Alright, and maybe we can eat lunch there.”

Just as the elevator doors closed, Nikki regretted agreeing to go.  She wasn’t too fond of elevators.

After the elevator rose several floors it stopped.

“Why did it stop?  The doors  aren’t opening, ” Nikki said.

The elevator shook and Nikki quickly grabbed the elevator phone to call for help, but the phone was not working.

“Use your cell phone Nikki, I left mine in the car,” Kristin said.

“So did I!” Nikki screamed.

The elevator began to jerk, rose up a few floors then came back down.  It continued to go up and down, however, it rose higher each time then, came right back down.

Nikki and Kristin held on the railing, screamed, cried, and frantically pushed the alarm button, stop button, and door open button.

Once again, the elevator rose, but it rose up twenty floors before coming to a stop.  Then, the doors suddenly opened and Nikki and Kristin raced out.

They looked at each other and said, in unison, “where’s the stairs?”

Words ( 194)

 Copyright © 2016 Written by Jessie Cross ~ All rights reserved

 

BOX OF STUFF

SIX SENTENCE STORIES      ………..January 21, 2016

• six sentences, no more, no less
• any genre
• use the cue any way you choose
• the cue this week is TRIP
• LINK IT UP! The link is open until Tuesday!

BOX OF STUFF

“Jack, I have everything packed in the van now,” Wanda said.

“What is all that stuff in the box?” he inquired.

“Oh! Just extra food, water, blankets, battery heater, and a flashlight.”

“We are only traveling a few hundred miles, not making a trip to the moon!”

“Well, you know the old saying, ‘ it’s better safe, than sorry’ and I like to prepare for unknown circumstances.”

After traveling for two hundred miles in what turned out a blizzard, they had trouble with the van pulled over to the side of the road, called for service, told it would be several hours before anyone could come, and Jack said, “Wanda, you are a life-saver, we need the stuff in the box.”

 Copyright © 2016 Written by Jessie Cross ~ All rights reserved

MISCHIEF

Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie  and Tale Weaver

URL:http://wp.me/p4t2PZ-130

You may if you wish use this sentence as an opening:

“The day had started off so well.”

MISCHIEF

“The day had started off so well.  However, it did not last long,”  Croaker recalled.

“I was relaxing on my favorite Lily pad when my wife, Al-Gea, called me. “

“Croaker, I need you to go get some crickets for dinner.”

“I didn’t mind going, but she insisted I take our son’s Ribbit and Hopper with me because she needed to rest her bug eyes.”

“I reluctantly took them with me and as I suspected, they were full of mischief.”

“After I caught several large crickets, I looked around for Ribbit and Hopper and they were no where in sight.”

“I was so worried because there was a restaurant nearby that sold frog legs and would send an employee to pick up a basket of frogs from the pond shop.”

“I searched around the pond until exhausted, then suddenly, to my relief, I saw them playing by a huge patch of duckweed.”

 Copyright © 2016 Written by Jessie Cross ~ All rights reserved

 

THANKFULNESS

FLASH FICTION FOR ASPIRING WRITERS ….January 19, 2016

Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers. We are given a prompt photo and approximately 75-175 words with which to create our stories. The challenge is fun and addicting and everyone is invited to participate. For more information, click HERE.

Louise, with The Storyteller’s Abode has provided us our prompt photo. Thank you Louise!

THANKFULNESS

“Marla, why do you want to take a picture of that building complex?”  Troy asked.

“Because it will be torn down in a few months and it has a sentimental value to me.”

“For what?”

“I lived there my first year after coming to America.”

“Really!  What was so special about it?”

“It was the first place I really felt safe and I slept on a bed, not the ground.  I had a bathroom with running water.  I did not have to beg for food or steal it.  My clothes were plentiful and kept clean and I had medical care.”

“My mother and father adopted me and loved me very much.  They sent me to school and I learned how to read, write, and speak English.”

“I have my freedom and I can do anything I want, as long as it’s  lawful. “

“This is an exceptional country and it’s a privilege to live here.  I wish everyone living here would realize that!”

Words (162)

Copyright © 2016 Written by Jessie Cross ~ All rights reserved

Thankfulness Quotes

“Thankfulness creates gratitude which generates contentment that causes peace.”   …..Todd Stocker

“Have the wisdom to perceive all there is to be thankful for, and then be thankful for the wisdom to perceive things so clearly.” …..Richelle Goodrich

“Thanksgiving is not only being aware of the abundance of good in the world , but embracing it.” …Richelle Goodrich

NEVER LOSE HOPE

SUNDAY PHOTO FICTION…January 17, 2016

Never Lose Hope

Lexy noticed how Emma was looking at the brick building.

“I’m sorry I drove down this street,” Emma.

“That’s alright, can we stop at the drugstore on the next corner?”

“Sure.”

“Jen, are you coming in with me?” Emma asked.

“No.”

“Jen, remember the child they found in that brick apartment building we drove by on this street?” Lexy said.

“Yes, and found alive! They think he is about six years old.”

“Well, Emma’s ex-husband took their baby and she still has hopes of finding him, but he is about eight now.”

“I didn’t know that. That’s awful!”

Lexy turned the television on.

“Lexy! That child reminds me so much of Eric, but he’s the wrong age,” Emma said sadly.”

The news reporter said, “If anyone knows Sunny Harris, call your local police. They believe she is this child’s mother.”

Lexy shouted, “that’s you, Emma! They don’t know you changed your name and Eric is eight, not six.”

Emma got her son back.

The newspaper article stated Eric as being small for his age and is eight years old, not six.  The child’s father was found dead outside his apartment door.

Words (190)

Copyright © 2016 Written by Jessie Cross ~ All rights reserved

2099

Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner is a weekly writing challenge designed for both the flash fiction newbie and the more experienced writer. It is the desire of this challenge to allow writers the opportunity to clear the cobwebs from a more tedious and involved project. Becoming a part of a new and growing writer’s community might be just what the doctor ordered to rejuvenate your writing juices.

The opening sentence for the January 15^th Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner:  ” We were within a mile-and-a-half of the service roads when we found it.”

2099

“We were within a mile-and-a-half of the service roads when we found it.”

It was totally awesome!  We saw a huge building that appeared void of color.

Tony had her camera ready to get a picture of it, but was immediately stopped from taking it by an armed security guard.  He immediately confiscated her camera, but said she could have it back when we came out of the building.

After entering the building we had to walk through a scanner, given a pair of hi-tech glasses, then ushered into the main room.

The room was empty!  However, after putting on the glasses everything in the room became visible.

We were standing in the year, 2099 room.

Copyright © 2016 Written by Jessie Cross ~ All rights reserved

WELCOME

Miniature Writing Challenge

This post is for the Miniature Writing Challenge run by An Artist At Heart. This challenge gives a picture and  a short story prompt and asks that you write either a mini short story (50 – 150 words), a tiny poem or a haiku (3 lines, 17 syllables). To read the full rules, go here. The short story prompt is given at the beginning of my story in italics.

 WELCOME

He woke up alone on the shore of an unfamiliar beach…

The waves were rolling in gently splashing on the sand that covered his feet.

Looking down, he saw something moving and bent down to pick it up.  It glowed, felt smooth, and began to move in his hands.

He heard a voice that said, “welcome, we are happy to see you arrive.”

It startled him and he almost dropped it, but recovered from his surprise when he suddenly realized where he was.

He could see his spaceship in the distance and remembered landing, stumbling out the door and collapsing  on the surface of Mars.

Words (106)

 Copyright © 2016 Written by Jessie Cross ~ All rights reserved