Breathless

Breathless

The storm bellowed on the other side of the glass. It was as if Mother Nature was on my side, her angst and anger lashing out on the world, as my body betrayed me. Screams vibrated against the walls until my throat seared.

“We cannot find a heartbeat…” The doctors earlier words replayed in my head as I lay mangled in the delivery room. My husband cried out. I hissed. I hated them all for the commotion down below.

The screaming continued, but it was no longer my own.

Faulty machines, they said.

My baby sighed, full of life.  

 

The July 15, 2015 prompt over at Carrot Ranch Communications: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about a breathless moment. Write about life.

 

Till next time,

~AJP

Man, it’s a hot one…

Summer has quickly brandished its fire breathing head. Though, I must admit, this summer has not been as excruciating as some June/July days in the past. Usually by this time we have started the count down to how many days in a row we reach the hundred degrees. It is not a fun game. Being fully immersed in summer time, the heat is on everyone’s mind. How to stay cool, how to avoid sunburns, how to avoid an extremely high electric bill with the AC running full blast…

Part of my summer goals are to get back into the swing of writing (and blogging) on a normal basis. So this week I participated in Charli’s flash fiction prompt.

The July 1, 2015 prompt over at the Carrot Ranch Communications: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includes the phrase, “Man, it’s a hot one.” You can choose a gender neutral replacement for the slang, “man” or any other general address. The phrase can lead, end or show up in the middle of the story. If the prompt leads you to a creative idea to alter the phrase, do it! And stay cool this week!

The Devil’s Contract

As his time grew near, I waited patiently. Nothing had changed in the last ten years; aside from his growing bank account and hairline.

Never did I receive a thank you, though I wasn’t in it for the gratitude. Hope that they would change, be better, that is what kept me in the game.

Soon enough his screams reverberated throughout the endless night. A flick of my wrist silenced him, recognition dawned bright. “Please!”

I muttered, “Man, it’s a hot one down here. You had your chance, you blew it.”

He wasn’t my first, he wouldn’t be the last.

 

Till next time,

~AJP

Furry Dreams

Nothing good happens at 2 a.m. in my household. By this time in the night/morning, everyone – whether you walk on two legs or four – should be snoozing peacefully.

My husband and I have bypassed the time in our lives to close out the bar scene. Our children are of the age that if they get sick in the night, they no longer cry at the shock of being sick, they just find a different bed to crawl in to finish out their night. (I am not sure which is worse – cleaning up a sick child and bed in the middle of the night, or waking up to find your sick covered child in bed with you.) The most excitement we get at 2 a.m. is if there happens to be a cat argument between our youngest and our oldest feline, and those don’t happen too often.

This leads me to today’s flash fiction. I know it has been a while since I have written one of these, and it is about time I get back into the habit of doing so. My writing muscle would greatly appreciate it.

January 21, 2015 prompt from over at the Carrot Ranch Communications: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a 2 a.m. story. Crazy things can happen after the bars close down, even if you never go to the bar! You might, drown in a pile of snow or wake up to find a black bear in your kitchen. Well, those are northern Idaho 2 a.m. stories. What’s yours?

 

Furry Dreams

The fur lined blanket pressed against my face, blocking air flow. My mouth opened to scream but it felt as if it were filled with cotton balls. I was gouged in the eye by a small clumsy moving object only to have my nose flattened once again.

The sadistic bastard was going to kill me while my husband was snoring beside me, ignoring the battle of my demise.

There was a reprieve of pressure and I gasped for air, finally knocking the fat cat free from its resting spot. The clock read 2a.m., tomorrow night I was sleeping alone.

 

How’d I do? Do you have any crazy 2 a.m. stories to share?

 

P.S. I really do have two cats who like to fight over the coveted spot of sleeping on my face at night. I wonder some times if it is because they love me, or if they are really trying to kill me because I put them on a diet last month.

~AJP

Said and done…

After all that has been said and done…

 

 

Now I am exhausted, I think I will take a nap. Please wake me in 2015…

~AJP

Make it so…

You know what, I may or may not win this thing, but today I have kicked major word butt and this quote summed it up perfectly for me.

Have a great weekend!

~AJP