Cowardice

Write a response to today’s WordPress writing prompt: Cowardice

Scaredy -Cat: Short  Sweet Story

Every morning Dina and Joanne walked past the old run down  house that belongs to Mrs Drew her husband had died a year ago and  rumours around Mrs Drew’s sanity started to fly around the small town. Everyone knew everyone and each other’s business rumours spread fast.

The house was sat set back from the main road, on its own with a creaky gate and large oak tree in the yard. Joanne at 10 years old thought she was the brave responsible one, she’d always pull her 6 year old mischievous  little sister Dina away from the gates, as she  tried to peer over into the garden of the old run down house on her tip toes.

” Come on Dina! What are you doing ? We’ll be late for school.”

” Don’t you want to see her, to know what old hag lady looks like now?”

” No way, leave her be she’s an old women grieving mama said now come on.’‘ Joanne  pulled her sister away from the gates by the scruff of her neck; her flimsy school  dress threatened to rip from her grip. Mama would be mad so she let go and grabbed Dina’s hand instead.

” I wanna see! I wanna see old hag lady at the window everyone says she’s scary and eats children for lunch.”

”I don’t believe that humans don’t eat each other it’s just rumours and people being nasty towards the old women, now come on.”

Joanne gave Dina’s hand a sharp tug. The pair walked off and left the old run down house  behind them. Skipping along ahead of her sister Dina  looked back at the house and became excited.

” I dare you Joanne, to go up to the house and knock on the door after school today!” 

” No way! Why would I do that and disturb her, mama said she is grieving whatever that means but I guess it means don’t disturb an adult.”

” To prove you don’t believe the rumours you got to do it!”

”What do you mean?”

”Well if you don’t believe that she’s  a real witch  and that humans really eat each other then you’ll go right up to that house and knock on the door.”

” Yeah right Dina, and then do what when old hag lady opens up?”

”Ask her if she wants to buy some cookies.”  

Dina fell in step with her older sister and grabbed her hand. Joanna looked down at her little sister, so fierce so bold and full of life at 6 years old. Her piercing blue eyes the colour of the ocean and fair blond hair in pig tails made her smile.

”No Dina, don’t be silly  it is not nice to believe rumours like I said she’s an old lady and that’s not how you prove that you’re not scared of something.”

”Scaredy-cat Scaredy-cat!”

” No I’m not!”

” Yes you are!”

” No I’m not!

” Prove it then…”

Dina let go of her older sister’s hand and skipped along the path ahead her pig tails bobbing behind her singing to herself.

” Humm I’ll show you whose a scaredy- cat” Joanne said to herself quietly.

After school the 2 girls walked along their familiar path on their way home, the sun beat down on them as the stood outside ”old hag lady’s” gate. Joanne peeked over and saw un –kept grass, rubbish and old furniture in the yard.

” Go on then.”

” Alright, alright hold on”

Joanne had a plan she opened the gate and walked up the path. As Joanne disappeared up the path she ducked into the un-kept bushes and opened the side gate leading back out on to the main road, she walked around the fence back towards Dina. Once at the corner she peeked around and saw her little sister tip toeing over the gate and heard her calling her name.

” Joanne, Joanne! Hurry I can’t see you, oh no what’s happened hag lady got her!”

Joanne crept around the corner behind her little sister as soon as she was close enough she swept Dina up in her arms.

” Mmmwaaah ha ha hag lady has come to get you, I want to eat you up!”

”No, no put me down!!”

Reduced to tears Dina screamed at the top of her lungs before she realised it was her sister.

” Now whose the scaredy -cat Dina!?”

” That’s not funny! That’s not nice! YOU SCARED ME”

” Neither is believing rumours that people in this town make up about others that’s not NICE or FUNNY. It could come back and bite you on the you know what as mama would say!”

”Told you I’m no scaredy -cat Dina”

Joanne skipped off happy with herself, Dina dried her tears and promised never to call her sister a scaredy-cat again she didn’t like being bitten on the you know what, that was no fun  her older sister’s jokes were scary not fun.

” A storm destroys your uncle’s shed and kills his 6 year old son. Describe the colour of the sky right before the storm hit”.

Following on from my short piece I wrote on an envelope to this prompt while sat on the top deck of the bus today, I blogged about that here.  Here is what I actually wrote on the back of the envelope!

The storm had been brewing for days before  it came; that furious storm  destroyed everything in its path. Including my uncle’s shed killing my 6 year old cousin.

I could feel it mounting, the air had been thick, muggy and humid. It felt dense. Just from this I knew it  had to rain sometime soon to reduce the humidity.

That  afternoon (of the storm) I looked out at the sky from the attic window, I was upstairs organising and sorting out old clothing,  I heard it the loud crack of thunder rumbled across the sky. The sky was  patchy with grey/black clouds in some areas like the colour of  grey granite stone. The patches merged with the lighter dove grey/blue clouds. Strangely there was a crack of light in middle the sky, it looked almost like someone up there behind the clouds was shining  a flashlight down on earth… God may be? As I squinted my eyes straining to look at the small crack of light between the granite and grey/blue coloured sky, a zig zag of lightening broke out and lit up the heavens. The whole sky went from patchy shades pf granite and grey/blue to a dull yellow shade , just for a split second. A second later there was another loud rumble of thunder.One more zig zag of dull yellow lightening broke out across the sky,  then heavens opened with heavy  rain.

Before my eyes, I witnessed the dark granite grey clouds swallow up the light dove grey/blue clouds, the sky shifted to a new shade of onyx black.  It was like god had switched off his flash light on us. The clouds looked like peaks of coal, bunched up together in small onyx black patches.

The heavy rain beat down on the window drowning out my view, all I could see was darkness,  and hear  the loud  rumble of thunder, the wind howled and violently rocked the window pain.  God, had lost his temper up there I could tell.

Glass

I can see through you and the bravado, just like Alice could see through her looking glass

Your walk, your stance and all your cheap talk,   like a sheep in wolf’s clothing really you’re made of cheap glass,

 I know you  thought you had me under some kind of trance, rooted to you, dependent on you ; have you reflected on how little you actually knew?

You think you’re hard, tough and titanium, really you’re just like glass

You  shatter under  pressure into a million pieces you’re full of cracks

Where we are , in this very here and now  you probably thought I’d be the one to crack maybe I’d even come running back?

Beautiful man I’m the survivor, beautiful man I’m the titanium

I won’t ever crack,  because I can’t crack , I’m made of stronger stuff than glass

That is why you’re  now firmly a thing of the past.

Write a short poem or story using the above picture maximum 5 sentences. This is a writing prompt response to #5 of week 3’s challenge by the wonderful blogger MiracleGirl.

“MiracleChallenge Week – 3” dated 28th June, 2016

The time is now,  it’s my  creative hour;

It’s at 12 midnight every night that’s the hour;

My brain is working at full power; the time is now, this is my hour;

Some call it the witching hour;

I call it my creative writing hour!

Write a story or poem using the above picture: 5 sentences max.

Have you forgot??:

This is our spot, where we met all those years ago oh how time flys it’s been a rocky road not always smooth and straight forward.

 Has time apart shown us that we belong together?,We’re meant to be? Today we shall see.

We agreed, to meet here, at 1pm on Sunday  afternoon. If there’s still a chance, still some hope that all has not been lost between us we should meet here.

Here I am, at our spot with this empty space beside me. Where are you? Why are you not here? 

All I have is this empty chair, I am here in our spot I’m sitting here hoping that you have not forgot.