Amongst The Soft Green Stocks

I’ve definitely been slacking on posting some stuff. So, here’s one of my writing exercises. I don’t think I’ve ever done this before, but somehow I crammed all three words into the same sentence. I think it was the desperation of getting all of the required words in before the timer went off!

Spirit
Streak
Horse

The field glistened in the sun, the grass waving in the breeze and sprinkled amongst the soft green stocks were yellow sunflowers. Kai loved this place and stepping foot in the oasis drained away the stress of the day, but today he wasn’t alone. The spirit of a white horse streaked past him and then stopped right in his path. The horse stared at him intently. Kai knew that the peace he longed for was not going to be found today.

Offering

Honeypot
Dark
Exquisite

Rex rode up through the canyon and paused when the structure up ahead looked familiar. He pulled out the map from his saddle bag. This was it, where the dark shadow of the arched rocks will point the way and he made it just in time. The sun slowly moved to the right and the shadow stretched across the river past his horse and stopped on the red rock wall behind. Rex dismounted from his horse and walked over to the cave that moments ago wasn’t visible. Cautiously he entered, and the cavern was exquisite, with gems strewn across the floor, but nothing could be taken until he appeased the god of this place. Very carefully he placed the honeypot, filled with the golden liquid, on the pedestal in the center of the cavern and he held his breath while waiting for a sign to see if his offering was accepted.

Hellish Dimension

So here’s my writing exercise that relates to Nicole Dragonbeck’s. To reiterate, we didn’t know what each other were writing about. Yet, somehow in five minutes, we managed to write something that seemed to fit almot perfectly together. All I would have to do is change Paul to Daisy!

Cockroach
Cat
Thesaurus

Paul quickly thumbed through the thesaurus. He had to find the exact right word, but it had to be fast. The derelict library was crawling with cockroaches and it sent shivers down his spine. Twice now, he had to brush them off his pant legs. “Come on, come on, where are you?” He said to the red book in his hands as he flipped through the worn pages. Paul zeroed in on the page, “No, it can’t be”, he breathed. The page had been torn out. Without knowing the synonym for cat, he would never be able to free himself from this hellish dimension.

Completely Alone

Apparently, I was a fan of fires the night these exercises were done.  There’s something other worldly about fires, don’t you think?

• Stuffy
• Cold
• Perceive

Sam walked into the stuffy room and immediately removed the blue and black striped scarf that was wrapped around his neck. From the way it felt in this old rickety house, it would be hard to believe that it was blistering cold outside. Sam walked over to the roaring fire, its flames snapping and popping as if angered by his presence and warmed his hands. The ache in his bones was disappearing when he perceived movement coming from behind him, but that couldn’t be possible because the land lord assured him he’d be completely alone.

The Summoning Spell

Magic and a lost love in five minutes. What would you write?

• Feather
• Light
• Swirl

The red and orange leaves swirled in the air around Gabriella. She loved the autumn, it was her favorite season even if the light of the sun shined for less time. She looked down at the fire by her feet, the flames strong, and dropped the golden feather into its center. The feather turned to ash immediately and Gabriella waited with bated breath to see if the summoning spell worked.

“Hello,” she heard a strong voice say behind her. Turning around, Thomas stood before her, but something was wrong, because she could see through him.

Three Great Pyramids

I have to confess that I had recently watched Gods of Egypt before writing this story. It was entertaining and it left an impression. I love stories that bring ancient Egypt and its mythology to life.

• Avulsion
• Mug
• Eternity

Alric was walking down the sandy alleyway, entranced by the silhouettes of the three great pyramids in the distance. He was too enthralled by the scene before him to notice that he was being followed and taken by surprise when these men shoved him to the ground and mugged him. They were covered in black tattoos that honored the destructive god of Set and with no explanation, they tore his heart from his chest with their bare hands, as if through avulsion. Alric lived just long enough to see his still heart in the hand of his murderer.

He thought that was going to be the end, until he found himself at the silver scale ready to weigh his soul to see if he was worthy to enter the afterlife, where he’d live out his eternity. Alric, didn’t think it was possible to feel this nervous when he was dead, but the white feather on the left side of the scale suddenly looked very heavy.

Coming to an End

I had a lot fun creating such a dire situation in a short amount of time.

• Pensive
• Silver
• Tomorrow

“If we don’t figure this out now, tomorrow will never come,” Dorian said in a dire tone as he banged the table in frustration. The pages of the open book in front of him fluttered at the disturbance.

Lara looked pensive, “What about silver?” she blurted out.

“What?” Dorian asked. “What did you just say?”

“Silver,” Lara repeated.

A wide smile spread across Dorian’s face, “Perhaps, the world won’t be coming to an end after all.”

Slender and Red

Everyone had a lot of fun fitting the word “stapler” into their exercise. It seems like such a mundane word, but even the mundane can add richness to a scene.

• Stapler
• Pot
• Keen

Gavin slowly circled the wooden table and looked at the objects strewn across it. Carefully, he picked up the item that was slender and red, “What is this?” he asked.

“A stapler,” Sandra replied in an exasperated tone. She yanked it out of his hand and put it back on the table. “Look, I know you’re keen to learn all about Earth, but we don’t have time right now,” she pushed Gavin over to the pot that was on the stove. The water was just beginning to boil.

Gavin looked at the pot and its contents then back over at Sandra, “Are you sure you want to proceed? There is no reversing the spell once it’s begun.”

Sandra looked the elf directly in his big green eyes, “I’m sure.”

Feathers Within

Feathers floating to the floor always makes me think of magic, so I had no choice other than to put a magical bent on the exercise response below.

• Basket
• Spinning
• Feather

Malia accidentally dropped the wicker basket on the ground causing the feathers within to stir in the air. “Wonderful,” she said sarcastically as she watched the beautiful white plumes gracefully float to the floor. Slowly spinning around, she assessed whether anyone else was in view, but she was alone. Malia then closed her eyes and started to chant, her words quiet and invoking the power of the wind. The feathers began to rise and whirled around, gently settling back into their proper place. Malia straightened her skirts and picked the basket back up, whistling all the way back home.

Long Slow Blinks

Okay, I was getting tired by the time we got to this writing exercise, so I was happy that I managed to get all of the words into a coherent blurb.

• Trip
• Blink
• Coffee

Castile took long slow blinks as he let his eyes adjust to the darkness. He really wished he had had that last cup of coffee the barkeep offered. He stared at the golden idol sitting on a stone pedestal at least twenty feet across from him. The trip had taken much longer than he anticipated, two days to cross the Barren Valley, to the base of the Raven Mountains. Now he

Walkabout

With this story starter, I was lucky and  knew right a way that another realm would be discovered.

For Darla

3 Storied.

That’s what the business card read and on the back an address. Cali couldn’t even remember where the card came from or how it got in the pocket of her dark purple leather jacket with fur trim.  The strange part was that as soon as she held it in her hand, she felt compelled to go the address. Now she stood in front of a dilapidated building, whose two stories were marred by disuse, its windows broken and walls sprayed with colorful graffiti. Her mind screamed at her to turn around, but her heart told her to move forward, and Cali was never one to listen to reason. Cautiously, she moved through the foreboding entrance way, whose powder black steel and glass door hung precariously by one tarnished brass hinge. The inside of the building looked no better than the outside. Trash was piled in the corners and strewn across the floor, the once white walls speckled black and gray with layers of grime.

Why am I here? She thought, but something was pushing her onward until she came face to face with the gold mirrored door of the elevator. Its surface was caked with dirt, but not enough to completely obscure her reflection, which caught her off guard. In it, she saw her dark denim skinny jeans, black calf high boots, and white turtleneck sweater go out of focus. A floor length silver gown that set off her long dark hair, chocolate eyes, and hugged her curves in all of the right places, replaced them. She squinted in an effort to make the hazy image sharper, but the strain seemed to push it further away until it disappeared, revealing her familiar appearance once more.

Without warning, as if they had a mind of their own, the elevator doors slid apart, beckoning her inside. Once again, the thought of turning back occurred to her, but how could she? Cali always loved a good mystery and here one was begging for her exploration, so she stepped inside, the doors closing behind her immediately, which set her heart racing. The interior of the elevator was lit only by one dim light that was recessed in the ceiling of the car. It was enough to show her a panel of buttons, one of which was labeled with the number of a nonexistent floor. Her stomach tied in knots due to a mixture of nerves and excitement, so with a shaking slender finger, she pushed the button with the number “three” written next to it. The motor screeched to life above her, the long disused cables straining from the effort of pulling the car up the shaft.

Cali’s heart pounded furiously until it was the only sound that filled her ears. That’s when the car abruptly came to a stop, causing her to stumble backward, and the dim light turned off, casting the car into darkness. The absence of light was oppressive and made it difficult for her to breathe. Keep calm, she chanted to herself while she felt around the walls for the buttons, hoping that pushing them would set her free. Cali had frantically pushed all of the buttons she could find when the doors opened of their own accord letting in a blinding light, as if they had opened onto the sun. Cali squinted and strained to see what lay beyond, but to no avail. She looked around, realizing that she couldn’t stay in the elevator and so, stepped forward. Crossing the threshold felt as if she were pushing through water, like crossing some kind of barrier.

Once through, Cali realized that she left behind the stale air of the elevator and breathed in deeply. The air here smelled as sweet as honey. She also found herself in a forest whose trees were as tall as skyscrapers and leaves so green they looked to have been painted. When her eyes adjusted to her new surroundings, a tall muscular man with cobalt blue hair and silver grey eyes stood in front of her. His full pink lips housed a smile that warmed Cali from head to toe.

“Calista,” he whispered, “thank the four winds that you found the beacon,” he said with relief as he pointed at the business card still clutched in her hand. Cali looked at it with surprise as it morphed into a smooth triangular wooden talisman. “You’ve been gone for so long, I was afraid it wasn’t strong enough to bring you back home.” Her lack of response caused the man’s smile to twist into an expression of worry. “Try to remember,” he urged. “You left one year ago for your walkabout among the humans.” Cali’s brow was still furrowed with confusion, so he continued. “You were gone longer than normal. Our memories begin to fade when we’re away from our world for extended periods of time.” Still, he saw no recognition on her face.  With a hint of desperation, he said, “Maybe a change of clothes will help,” and then snapped his fingers.

Her outfit was once again replaced by the silver dress she saw reflected in the elevator doors. It felt warm and familiar against her skin. She approached him, her heart pushing her forward, the soft grass cushioning her bare feet as she walked. Cali studied his every feature, the angles of his jaw, the endearingly crooked bend to his nose, and the beautiful way his dark eyelashes fanned out around his almond shaped eyes. He breathed in sharply as she ran her dainty hand through his thick hair revealing his pointed ears and then moved to caress his cheek. “Micah,” she said softly, recognition lighting her eyes.

Relief flashed across his features as he gently rested his forehead against hers. “Welcome home, my love.”

It Was Unlike Anything

• Shell
• Address
• Soap

Lucian eyed the shell casing of the bullet with great interest. It was unlike anything he’d ever seen. It was intricately carved with symbols that wrapped around it from top to bottom. The casing itself, appeared to be made of silver. He stood up from his crouching position and adjusted his badge as he looked over the crime scene. There were no bodies, only seven pools of blood, and the ground littered with casings just like the one in his hand. Only one person could help him, so he drove to the address. It was an apartment tucked down a dark alleyway, which smelled of soap thanks to a shop a few feet away. After climbing four flights of stairs, he came to an arched doorway decorated in similar symbols to those on the casings.

Tweed and Spectacles

Books are doorways to other worlds, sometimes literally…

• Absent-Minded
• Glare
• Brushing

The young man, wearing a tweed suit and spectacles, was absent-mindedly brushing the spines of the dusty books as he walked down the path between the bookcases. He was deep in thought, but a glare coming from his left pierced through the flurry of activity in his mind. Annoyed at the interruption, the young man came to an abrupt stop and turned to see the source of the problem. As soon as he did, he stood there transfixed. A fragile looking black leather bound book, entitled “Your Story”, which he’d never seen before, was glowing. Entranced, he picked it up causing the glow to become brighter. He opened the book, and the pages began to flutter in a sudden wind that grew to encompass him. He was gone, the book now occupying the spot on the floor where the young man was moments before.