Sarah's Prompt: Explain it to me.

“Explain it to me,” she said.

So thoughtfully and patiently he gave her all of the how’s, and why’s and what will happen if’s.

And she smiled and nodded in all the right places, not really listening at all, except to the timbre of his voice, as she studied the movements of his hands, and saw the pride in his eyes as he spoke about things that occupied his time.

“Explain it to me,” she said.

So passionately and excitedly he told her of his dreams, sharing his visions and desires so boldly and brilliantly that they practically filled the room.

And she leaned in closer to catch every bit of what his tomorrows might hold, where his paths would lead and what she could see he so desperately wanted.

“Explain it to me,” she said.

So drawing near to her he stared deeply into her eyes, revealing his heart.

And she, finally understanding the life and love he wanted to share with her, kissed him.

Sarah's prompt: This is what I smell

We walked into the candle shop and suddenly I am transported back to a time of Mary James and eyelet. Spring parties in grandmother’s backyard. The lilacs blooming all around the porch and the wonderful aroma of almond cake, lemon bars and vanilla sconesI makes me smile. The smell of her perfume, tea roses, makes my eyes fill with tears of longing for that time, for that place and most of all for her. It had been twelve years since she had been gone, twenty since the house on Elm had been sold but I missed it so.
“Let’s go get some coffee. I’m dying for something to drink.” Says my friend Mindy.
“That sounds good, I suddenly have a taste for a lemon bar.” I say as we leave the store behind us. But I know that I’ll be back so buy some of those memories and bring them home.

bubbles in the storm

She notices that the room has gotten darker and so she turns from the stove to look out of the dining room window. The blue sky and puffy clouds are gone, replaced by boiling dark ones. On the horizon the sky is black except for flashes of lightening. The wind has picked up considerably and she hears the metal bucket on the porch slam against the back door.
“Mama?” She looks down into the wary eyes of four year old Emily.
“Baby its fine, just a little wind. Should we get the bubbles?’ The little girl smiles at her as she goes into the pantry and pulls out a large yellow plastic bottle. She pours some of the liquid in a glass and they head out to the porch.
The dogs are pacing nervously but she ignores them. Pushing the fear down she opens the backdoor. There’s a blast of wind but she chatters to the little girl about fairies and flowers. Soon the two of them are engrossed in watching the bubbles dance around the yard. They dip the bubble wand into the liquid and hold it up for the wind to blow dozens of bubbles, big and small across the yard.
Lightening flashes and the thunder rumbles but they barely hear it. Soon the rain starts the they watch as the bubbles come to rest on the wet grass until the rain drops pop them or a gust of wind sends them off flying again.
She scans the horizon, pleased to see the boiling clouds have passed and the sky has lightened. It seems the worst of the storm is past. Her shoulders relax a bit and soon they head back into the house. She goes back into the kitchen to finish dinner. The two of them eat together then bath time and soon its time for bed. Once all the doors are locked and the lights are off she lays down, smiles as she recalls the bubbles, happy to have survived another storm in this lonely, isolated place. Before she falls asleep she wonders if anyone else knows the fear that she hides behind bubbles and smiles.

Prompt from twitterlit: "The bookstore had emptied, and we were nearly ready to close."

The bookstore had emptied, and we were nearly ready to close. I had gone out the backdoor to take the trash out when I heard the bell on the front door jingle. I tossed the two small bags into the dumpster and made my way back in. There was a young woman standing near the entry, soaking wet from the rain, pale and incredibly thin she reminded me of those pictures you see of scraggly kittens found in alleyways.
“Is there something I can help you with?” I asked. Her head snapped up, as if she hadn’t expected to be addressed. She looked at me, her pale grey eyes wide. Then she shook her head and started towards the further end of the row of books. “We’ll be closing in 10…” My voice trailed off as I watched her, almost in slow motion collapse onto the floor.
I went to her quickly. I thought she had fainted, but as I got closer I saw that she was not breathing. I called 911, the sent a police car that was right around the corner but they couldn’t revive her. There was a lot of commotion then, people in and out. The fire department, EMT’s, more police. It was several hours actually before the place was finally cleared out.
I locked the front door, weary and sad when I noticed a small brown sack sitting not far from the end of the first row of books. I assumed that it belonged to the police until I opened the bag. A small notebook filled with nothing but pencil sketches, a toothbrush, four foreign coins and a small velvet bag that contained 10 small red gemstones.

Prompt from Twitterlit:I loved him in that first moment.

I loved him in that first moment. I didn’t know his name but as he pushed the lawn mower across Mrs. Martin’s front lawn I loved him. Oh sure, I know what you’re thinking, how could I have? I don’t know but I loved him.
I sat at my bedroom window every Tuesday afternoon and watched him cut her grass all summer long. He wouldn’t have seen me if I had been standing right in front of him. He was a junior at Michelson High School and I was a silly 7th grader at John Raymond Middle School.
Four years later he was home from college and I was working at the tennis courts. He came everyday to practice with his friends. They barely acknowledged me but he always smiled, and looked at me when he was talking to me. Nothing of any great importance of course just weather talk but still it made my heart flutter a bit
It was the summer after graduation that we finally met, officially at a block party just down the street. He sat down next to me on the front steps and drank his pop. As we started to share a little about ourselves he told me he was going into the Air Force as an officer at the end of the summer. I was going to Texas A & M that fall. Funny coincidence that we would both be in Texas since we were living in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at the time.
I saw him again two weeks later at the lake just before the fireworks on Fourth of July. He came over and sat down on the hood of my car. The girls I was with made swooning faces behind his back and I could barely contain myself. That when he asked me if I would like to catch a movie or something.