Every Tuesday I post a writing prompt and my response. It gives me a chance to exercise my writing muscles outside of my WIP, and hopefully inspire you to write. So enjoy my flash fiction piece and post your own in the comments!
Prompt
Source: The Writer's Idea Book: First prompt on page 77.
Put a character in a place where he doesn't speak the native language. Explore the problems this barrier creates.
Response
I breath. The air is thin and burns my lungs. But I breath. Light. There is light coming through my eyelids. I stir. Something soft and warm rests beneath me. I am cold.
Reaching out a single hand I search for the glass. For the encasement that has been my sleeping prison. My hand finds only air. I breath.
I open my eyes and squint against the sudden light. An odd looking face hovers above me. Its lips, if that is what they are, move and sound comes out. I do not understand the words.
My lungs are burning more now. I cannot breath.
The stranger staring down at me does not seem to be suffocating. It must be acclimated to a different atmosphere. The face changes, pinching and turning. I struggle for breath. Gasping I plead for the air that I need to survive. The creature does not respond.
It cannot understand me. Desperately I try to communicate with the face. But how do you tell someone the air is killing you? That you need different air. How do you say this when you share not common language.
The room begins to darken. My head hurts. I fade...
I usually grown when contemplating writing exercises - until I do one. :)
ReplyDeleteoops, groan is the correct spelling - though I do grow when I complete a writing exersize, exercise...can't spell today. :/
ReplyDeleteThat is okay -with I can never spell :)
DeleteFunny story: I used to spell 'enough' as 'enuff' - you know because it rhymes with 'stuff' :)
So true! I am terrible at learning other languages - I've tried, but my three years of Spanish only taught me to ask where's the bathroom, I'm hungry, I like cats, and a few other random sayings.
ReplyDelete