Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Three Words #8

Three Word is a game I like to play on Wednesday. Here is how it works:

  1. I post three words.
  2. You either:
    • Post a story using those three words, or
    • Post three words for me to use in next weeks post, or
    • Both :)

Enjoy!

Three Words

  • Stone
  • Branch
  • Cold

P.S. I am preparing my first submission packet. I have posted my first crack at a one paragraph synopsis of my novel, Shadowed Stones, on the "From my Pen" tab. I would welcome any feedback or suggestions you might have.

Flash Fiction

Using the Three Words: Bottle, Scroll, Axe (from last week)

We are lost at sea. The ship on which we were travelling to the new world is broken, and crumbling. The crew is gone - vanished over night while we slept.

In case we die here on the barren, endless expanse of blue we leave this for you to find. A map to an island full of untold wonders and riches. Left behind because each wanted to return on his or her own to claim it. It is for you to explore if you dare.

Be warned, the storm that was our down fall struck mere hours after leaving its shores.

Aunya took the scrap of parchment, placed the map on top of it. She rolled it carefully into a tight scroll and slipped it into the neck of the bottle. Then she held out her hand.

Marcus laid the prepared wax stick across her palm. Aunya used the red wax to seal the bottle. She passed the precious package over to her companion. Marcus tied a rope around the bottle and lowered it into the sea.

He turned to Aunya who held the axe out to him. Marcus took the axe, and with one long look at Aunya, swung it down. The blade severed the rope and released the bottle into the sea

For a while they watched it float away. Then turned to watch the sunset behind a growing mass of dark clouds.

3 comments:

  1. Hi Krista,
    Thanks for the writing prompt. I couldn't get to it until this morning. Is it too late to send you a flash fiction built on your three words?

    Are 359 words to many?
    Do I paste my piece in this box or email it to you?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Deborah, it is never too late to write. Paste your story onto the comment box. As long as it fits the longer the better! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unfair To Dogs

    I scramble up the tree as quiet as a possum. Only the cat down below knows I’m here, and he doesn’t care because he’s hunting moles or voles. Mom would be yelling mad if she knew, but she’s away this week and Dad’s working with his office door shut. Wasn’t so easy slipping out without my dog. I usually take Sassy everywhere, but today I gave her a rawhide chew before I slipped outside.

    Out on the edge of town is where I am. This house is so new; they don’t have a lawn or a fence. Their poor dog barks nearly nonstop. Being staked out is driving him crazy. Dad’s already asked animal control to investigate. The officer told us, “Yes, it’s cruel. But there’s no law against it. Not yet.”

    When we went to talk to the dog’s owners, they said, “Max is our first dog. We want him to be a guard dog.”

    I’m guessing their black and tan dog’s a mix of rottweiler and herding dog. He paces around the pole he’s roped to then flops on the edge of his chain, panting in the dirt, only to spring up and do it again. I’ve run over a few times, worried about Max. Yesterday afternoon he let me get close enough to lick my hand. He never growls, only wags, whines, and wiggles.

    Today, I lob a Milk Bone. Max rises, lets out a greeting bark then wolfs it down. Then he’s quiet while I unweave myself from the branch I’m wound on. I pitch another treat at his stake out circle. He gobbles it. I move slowly and real smooth. Tonight, I let him sniff the toe of my shoe before I pour kibble into the metal bowl I pulled from my backpack. He looks too skinny for his size.

    I hunker down, watching him eat, pressing my palm on the stone cold cement. Unfair. My view blurs as he chomps.

    Unfair, isn’t it? That this sweet dog has only a hard place to nap and lives on a chain with no one to keep him company. Before leaving, I promise Max, “When I grow up, I’ll change the laws.”

    ReplyDelete