Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, usually less than a few hundred words
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: He had an hour to get home
The firelight illuminated the hands on his watch. He had an hour to get home. The beer bottle slipped through his fingers and shattered on the rocks. He climbed behind the wheel and stomped on the clutch. The truck rolled over the knoll and bounced down the hill. Branches scraped the new paint while debris threatened to rip apart the undercarriage. His knuckles turned white on the steering wheel as his eyes bulged from their sockets. Water splashed over the cab and the truck lurched as it came to a stop in the driveway.
“What happened to my new truck?”
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Flash Fiction - Home
Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, usually less than a few hundred words
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: He was going back
Devin Howlernell shook his head as he surveyed the monitors. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. The revolution will cause enough of a distraction for you to get away.”
“And everything is ready?”
The green tinged man nodded. “You’ve made all the preparations yourself.”
“Add enough for three other people.”
The man lifted his forehead where his eyebrows should have been. “You’re sure?”
“As sure as I can be.”
“As you wish, sir.” The man shuffled from the room, making notes on the device he held in his hands.
The grin spread across Devin’s face. He was going back. Home. To Earth.
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: He was going back
Devin Howlernell shook his head as he surveyed the monitors. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. The revolution will cause enough of a distraction for you to get away.”
“And everything is ready?”
The green tinged man nodded. “You’ve made all the preparations yourself.”
“Add enough for three other people.”
The man lifted his forehead where his eyebrows should have been. “You’re sure?”
“As sure as I can be.”
“As you wish, sir.” The man shuffled from the room, making notes on the device he held in his hands.
The grin spread across Devin’s face. He was going back. Home. To Earth.
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Flash Fiction - The Window
Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, usually less than a few hundred words
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: The window slammed shut
“Shhh! We’ve got to be quiet!” The black-clad men slipped silently into the yard. Harry picked up several small pebbles and flicked them at the dark window. The tiny pings barely registered in the still night air. “Come on…” He flicked another stone and winced when it hit the glass.
Lights blazed through the curtains just before the window opened. “What! Harry? This’d better be good!”
The mariachi band appeared on the grass and started their set. Harry smiled up at her, a single rose in his hands. His heart shattered as the window slammed shut. His shoulders slumped.
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: The window slammed shut
“Shhh! We’ve got to be quiet!” The black-clad men slipped silently into the yard. Harry picked up several small pebbles and flicked them at the dark window. The tiny pings barely registered in the still night air. “Come on…” He flicked another stone and winced when it hit the glass.
Lights blazed through the curtains just before the window opened. “What! Harry? This’d better be good!”
The mariachi band appeared on the grass and started their set. Harry smiled up at her, a single rose in his hands. His heart shattered as the window slammed shut. His shoulders slumped.
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Medical Marathon
It's almost unheard of to have this many appointments scheduled on the same day, stacked so well - but it happened.
The Medical Marathon actually began the night before as we made plans and got everything ready to go. We drove through the thinning darkness toward Salt Lake City. Amazingly, the lab had the order. Usually, I’m on the phone for at least 30 minutes trying to get the order faxed. But today, it was there. They called Jaydon back quickly and within 5 minutes, it was done. We ambled across the bridge to the main hospital. My 4yo ran ahead, laughing. We got checked in - after a minor computer glitch - and they said, hey! We can take you back now. Do you want to wait? Um, NO! We’ll take the NOW appointment! Everything went quickly and the fuzzy images on the screen looked good - at least to me.
We checked in at Urology and they were running behind so we went to the cafeteria and hung out for a while. The 4yo was so full of energy and life. There was so much laughter. Jay even got some of the cute custodial staff to give him some tamales by laughing and joking with them. They were SO good!
In Urology, I was almost afraid for that appointment because for some unknown reason, we missed scheduling an appointment. They didn’t have the schedule up at our last appointment and I didn’t get a phone call to schedule it and I forgot to make said phone call. But, nothing was said about that. The ultrasound looks so much better than it did a year ago. He’s doing better with the regular day to day maintenance. They questioned whether to change up a couple of his meds but decided against it - pending what Transplant would tell us.
We had to hustle back across the bridge for the remainder of the appointments. Jay told me I didn’t need to run, but since the 4yo was running, I was power walking. We checked in for the appointment where I discovered an exploded fry sauce packet in my laptop bag. Thankfully, it was in a different pocket than my laptop was in. All the patients and staff and I had a really good laugh over it. “Oh! Thanks so much for the fry sauce in my laptop bag. I love you SO much, honey!” Jay was cracking up - especially when they brought me a package of wet wipes and some washcloths.
Dietary told us that Jaydon had grown taller. He’s 5 ft 6 inches tall - well over a foot of growth in just over a year. But, he’s down 3 lbs. That puts him in the 10th percentile for growth - down from the 20th percentile that he has been in. He needs to focus on eating ALL the fatty things and we might need to start on supplements again. We’re almost positive that the loss was due to the gastroenteritis (stomach flu) we all got a few weeks ago. It’s wicked stuff.
Nephrology came in next. Jaydon’s kidney is at 22% function, down from 24%. His creatnine is at 3.1 up from 2.8 last time. We took his blood pressure several times. It’s high. Not like high high. But high for a kidney-kid. High blood pressure affects the kidney in an adverse way. We adjusted his meds and were asked to get his BP checked at least every other week. I’m hoping the EMTs want some practice and will help me out with this.
And then, THE appointment… The one with the Transplant Coordinator. All the feels hit. Disbelief that this is really happening. Fear, unsurity, and then peace. We started by me giving a brief history of his medical issues so the coordinator knows how much I/We understand. I think I passed, probably. Ugh, this appointment was hard for me. Jaydon “slept” through it. Jay asked loads of questions. Me? I took notes.
Here’s the brunt of it…
We’ll be starting all the transplant paperwork before September because if we get Jaydon on the transplant list before his 18th birthday, he gets pediatric preference. We’ll be deciding whether to go with a living donor or a deceased donor. Living donors tend to do better overall and no one has to die for his to happen. So, we’re leaning that direction. This is what we know about the donors for Jaydon. They need to be between 18-50 years old. Older donors COULD be taken if we’re willing to do a “donor swap” “Chain Donation” situation. Basically, our donor donates to an older recipient while that patient’s younger donor donates to Jaydon.
It’s really a hurry-up-and-wait type of a situation. It can take 3-4 months for him to get on the list. It can take 8-12 weeks for a donor to be matched. And then the whole donation process.
Part of me wants to get it going NOW and part of me wants to wait til September - to put off the inevitable. There are a LOT of breathing moments. Moments taken to soak it all in. Moments where I just break down. And it’s okay. It’ll all be okay. We’re adjusting to the new normal. I’ve been doing a lot of praying. God’s love is surrounding me. It’s hard and we’ll get through it. God has never given me a trial that HE can’t help me through. I’ve got a 100% track record of getting through the hard things. It might not have been a pretty path, but it’s a through-path.
The event that was just over the horizon has now become the mountain in the distance. We can see it and it’s getting closer. And we’re right back to what I’ve been telling people for quite a while. He needs a transplant BUT it’s not today and it’s not tomorrow. And for that, I’m thankful!
The Medical Marathon actually began the night before as we made plans and got everything ready to go. We drove through the thinning darkness toward Salt Lake City. Amazingly, the lab had the order. Usually, I’m on the phone for at least 30 minutes trying to get the order faxed. But today, it was there. They called Jaydon back quickly and within 5 minutes, it was done. We ambled across the bridge to the main hospital. My 4yo ran ahead, laughing. We got checked in - after a minor computer glitch - and they said, hey! We can take you back now. Do you want to wait? Um, NO! We’ll take the NOW appointment! Everything went quickly and the fuzzy images on the screen looked good - at least to me.
We checked in at Urology and they were running behind so we went to the cafeteria and hung out for a while. The 4yo was so full of energy and life. There was so much laughter. Jay even got some of the cute custodial staff to give him some tamales by laughing and joking with them. They were SO good!
In Urology, I was almost afraid for that appointment because for some unknown reason, we missed scheduling an appointment. They didn’t have the schedule up at our last appointment and I didn’t get a phone call to schedule it and I forgot to make said phone call. But, nothing was said about that. The ultrasound looks so much better than it did a year ago. He’s doing better with the regular day to day maintenance. They questioned whether to change up a couple of his meds but decided against it - pending what Transplant would tell us.
We had to hustle back across the bridge for the remainder of the appointments. Jay told me I didn’t need to run, but since the 4yo was running, I was power walking. We checked in for the appointment where I discovered an exploded fry sauce packet in my laptop bag. Thankfully, it was in a different pocket than my laptop was in. All the patients and staff and I had a really good laugh over it. “Oh! Thanks so much for the fry sauce in my laptop bag. I love you SO much, honey!” Jay was cracking up - especially when they brought me a package of wet wipes and some washcloths.
Dietary told us that Jaydon had grown taller. He’s 5 ft 6 inches tall - well over a foot of growth in just over a year. But, he’s down 3 lbs. That puts him in the 10th percentile for growth - down from the 20th percentile that he has been in. He needs to focus on eating ALL the fatty things and we might need to start on supplements again. We’re almost positive that the loss was due to the gastroenteritis (stomach flu) we all got a few weeks ago. It’s wicked stuff.
Nephrology came in next. Jaydon’s kidney is at 22% function, down from 24%. His creatnine is at 3.1 up from 2.8 last time. We took his blood pressure several times. It’s high. Not like high high. But high for a kidney-kid. High blood pressure affects the kidney in an adverse way. We adjusted his meds and were asked to get his BP checked at least every other week. I’m hoping the EMTs want some practice and will help me out with this.
And then, THE appointment… The one with the Transplant Coordinator. All the feels hit. Disbelief that this is really happening. Fear, unsurity, and then peace. We started by me giving a brief history of his medical issues so the coordinator knows how much I/We understand. I think I passed, probably. Ugh, this appointment was hard for me. Jaydon “slept” through it. Jay asked loads of questions. Me? I took notes.
Here’s the brunt of it…
We’ll be starting all the transplant paperwork before September because if we get Jaydon on the transplant list before his 18th birthday, he gets pediatric preference. We’ll be deciding whether to go with a living donor or a deceased donor. Living donors tend to do better overall and no one has to die for his to happen. So, we’re leaning that direction. This is what we know about the donors for Jaydon. They need to be between 18-50 years old. Older donors COULD be taken if we’re willing to do a “donor swap” “Chain Donation” situation. Basically, our donor donates to an older recipient while that patient’s younger donor donates to Jaydon.
It’s really a hurry-up-and-wait type of a situation. It can take 3-4 months for him to get on the list. It can take 8-12 weeks for a donor to be matched. And then the whole donation process.
Part of me wants to get it going NOW and part of me wants to wait til September - to put off the inevitable. There are a LOT of breathing moments. Moments taken to soak it all in. Moments where I just break down. And it’s okay. It’ll all be okay. We’re adjusting to the new normal. I’ve been doing a lot of praying. God’s love is surrounding me. It’s hard and we’ll get through it. God has never given me a trial that HE can’t help me through. I’ve got a 100% track record of getting through the hard things. It might not have been a pretty path, but it’s a through-path.
The event that was just over the horizon has now become the mountain in the distance. We can see it and it’s getting closer. And we’re right back to what I’ve been telling people for quite a while. He needs a transplant BUT it’s not today and it’s not tomorrow. And for that, I’m thankful!
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Flash Fiction - GONE!
Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, usually less than a few hundred words
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: She chased it, forlorn
Sherry looked through her bags. Her fingers flew, each moment becoming more and more desperate. “Where is it? Please don’t say I left it home.” She glanced up, seeing the cab pull away from the curb. A glimmer of pink waved at her from the window - mocking her.
“No!” She jumped to her feet, waving her arms as she chased after it. Desperation etched across her face.
“Honey, it’s gone.”
Sherry shook her head. “No. How are we going to survive without it?”
“It’s just a binky. We’ll get another one.”
Her crazed gaze landed on him. “You don’t understand!”
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: She chased it, forlorn
Sherry looked through her bags. Her fingers flew, each moment becoming more and more desperate. “Where is it? Please don’t say I left it home.” She glanced up, seeing the cab pull away from the curb. A glimmer of pink waved at her from the window - mocking her.
“No!” She jumped to her feet, waving her arms as she chased after it. Desperation etched across her face.
“Honey, it’s gone.”
Sherry shook her head. “No. How are we going to survive without it?”
“It’s just a binky. We’ll get another one.”
Her crazed gaze landed on him. “You don’t understand!”
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Flash Fiction - Dolls
Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, usually less than a few hundred words
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: He’d been told dolls were for girls
“Playing with dolls again?” Luis chortled.
Gabe turned away, squaring his shoulders. He took a deep breath and started chanting again. The rhythmic melody rose in pitch. His attention focused on the marionettes. The wood twitched at his feet.
“There you go again. Just because you chant doesn’t mean…”
The puppets rose to their feet, their strings dangling around them.
Gabe turned and pointed at the boy, his gaze hard and hate filled.
Luis’ scream ended in a horrible gurgle.
Gabe’s lips curled into a sneer. He’d been told dolls were for girls. What did they know?
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: He’d been told dolls were for girls
“Playing with dolls again?” Luis chortled.
Gabe turned away, squaring his shoulders. He took a deep breath and started chanting again. The rhythmic melody rose in pitch. His attention focused on the marionettes. The wood twitched at his feet.
“There you go again. Just because you chant doesn’t mean…”
The puppets rose to their feet, their strings dangling around them.
Gabe turned and pointed at the boy, his gaze hard and hate filled.
Luis’ scream ended in a horrible gurgle.
Gabe’s lips curled into a sneer. He’d been told dolls were for girls. What did they know?
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Flash Fiction - Find it...
Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, usually less than a few hundred words
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: You must find it before the others do
Daisha crept through the darkness. Shadows loomed before her as the chanting outside the hut grew louder.
“My child, you came.” The drums echoed through the stillness, nearly drowning out the wheezy voice. “Come closer, child. I must tell you…”
Daisha knelt next to the bed and took the old woman’s claw-like hand in her own. “Gran, save your strength. You’ll get better. You must.”
The straw rustled as she shook her head. “Nay. The future lies with you, child. You must find it before the others do…”
“Find what, Gran?”
The rattling breaths tore through her chest.
“Gran?”
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: You must find it before the others do
Daisha crept through the darkness. Shadows loomed before her as the chanting outside the hut grew louder.
“My child, you came.” The drums echoed through the stillness, nearly drowning out the wheezy voice. “Come closer, child. I must tell you…”
Daisha knelt next to the bed and took the old woman’s claw-like hand in her own. “Gran, save your strength. You’ll get better. You must.”
The straw rustled as she shook her head. “Nay. The future lies with you, child. You must find it before the others do…”
“Find what, Gran?”
The rattling breaths tore through her chest.
“Gran?”
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Flash Fiction - The Stranger
Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, usually less than a few hundred words
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: A stranger was knocking on the door
Lightning flashed just beyond the blinds, lighting up the room. Ashley jumped in Tanner’s arms. His chuckle rumbled through his chest.
“It’s okay, baby. It’s just a storm.”
She sniffed slightly. “I read in the paper that some murderer escaped from prison today. Do you think he made it this far?”
He squeezed her shoulders. “Nah. The prison is miles from here. There’s no way.”
She sank against him and sighed.
Tapping against the glass caught their attention. A stranger was knocking on the door, his orange jumpsuit clearly visible in the porch light.
Ashley’s scream echoed through the night.
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: A stranger was knocking on the door
Lightning flashed just beyond the blinds, lighting up the room. Ashley jumped in Tanner’s arms. His chuckle rumbled through his chest.
“It’s okay, baby. It’s just a storm.”
She sniffed slightly. “I read in the paper that some murderer escaped from prison today. Do you think he made it this far?”
He squeezed her shoulders. “Nah. The prison is miles from here. There’s no way.”
She sank against him and sighed.
Tapping against the glass caught their attention. A stranger was knocking on the door, his orange jumpsuit clearly visible in the porch light.
Ashley’s scream echoed through the night.
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Flash Fiction - A dress?
Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, usually less than a few hundred words
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: Give me one good reason why I should wear a dress
Xander stood, slamming his beer down on the table. The liquid sloshed over the sides, spilling onto the scarred table. “I won’t do it!”
“Look, Xander. This is the only way.” The man across from him held up his hands as if surrendering.
Xander glared, his nostrils flaring. He shook his head slowly. “You’ll never convince me.”
The man shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “Your call, I guess.”
Xander stopped for a moment, his eyes narrowing. “Give me one good reason why I should wear a dress.”
“Susan.”
Xander closed his eyes, his head bowed. He swallowed. “When?”
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: Give me one good reason why I should wear a dress
Xander stood, slamming his beer down on the table. The liquid sloshed over the sides, spilling onto the scarred table. “I won’t do it!”
“Look, Xander. This is the only way.” The man across from him held up his hands as if surrendering.
Xander glared, his nostrils flaring. He shook his head slowly. “You’ll never convince me.”
The man shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “Your call, I guess.”
Xander stopped for a moment, his eyes narrowing. “Give me one good reason why I should wear a dress.”
“Susan.”
Xander closed his eyes, his head bowed. He swallowed. “When?”
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