Writing Prompt: Hope And Island

Hope woke up to a painful heat on her face. She slowly opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by white sand. It was hot, but not in an unbearable kind of way. The sun was beating down on her angrily. She had no idea where she was or how long she had been there.
She remembered being on the boat. She was fighting with Drew because he had walked in on her and Katherine. She remembered Drew telling her that she was throwing her life away. She told him she didn’t see it that way. Their argument was interrupted by a scream. She looked up in time to see something and then everything went black.
Water caressed her skin reviving her a bit. She took the opportunity to get up and look at her surroundings. She appeared to be on an island of sorts. She wasn’t sure how she knew from the little she could see. But the sounds of the ocean all around her made her feel like she was right.
Looking out onto the ocean, she couldn’t see the boat anywhere. What had happened? Where was she? Were there other people on the island with her from the boat? Was anybody hurt? She tried to remember what happened. Her brain throbbed fiercely every time she did. She wanted to scream in frustration.
Her mind wandered to Katherine. Her eyes teared up. She hoped more than anything that Katherine was safe. Katherine was her life. She didn’t realize that she wasn’t living her life fully until Katherine been placed in it. She closed her eyes and pictured the beautiful blue dress that Katherine was wearing when she last saw her. She had on her usual work apron. It reminded Hope of Alice from Alice in Wonderland.
She wished that she could say she loved Katherine from the very first moment, but that would be a lie. Her parents had hired Katherine as her own personal maid. They felt like it would keep Hope from doing anything that would embarrass them. Hope had always been the rebellious type. She found herself constantly pushing her boundaries. She was a disappointment to her parents every single day.
What frustrated Hope the most is that if Katherine was born into her world, nobody would have a problem with their relationship. Most of society accepted same-sex couples. What was frowned upon was dating somebody in a different social circle as you. Especially if they were hired on by your family.
Images of Katherine kept popping up rapidly. Their first kiss. The first argument they had when Katherine was hired. Their first argument after they started seeing each other. The time they almost got caught in the garden by Hope’s father. Her favorite memory was when they discovered the secret passage under the stairs. They met there every night after.
A world without Katherine in it would absolutely crush her. She didn’t know what to do. Tears were pouring down her cheeks. She couldn’t find a single clue about what had happened or why. She couldn’t find any clue that anybody else was with her.
Suddenly, she heard a rustling in some bushes nearby. She stopped to listen. There was more rustling. This time it was practically right next to her. She started to scream, but a hand was quickly placed over her mouth causing her heart to beat fast.
“Come on, Hope. We have to hide!”

Writing Prompt: Wolf And Tree

Thomas paced the room. He couldn’t stop himself. He felt anxiety in every bone. Tonight was the night that would change his life as he knew it forever. He knew it was coming, but it was different now. He thought he had more time. At least that’s what he tried to tell himself. He knew the day would have to come eventually.He finally felt like he had worked out some of his nervous energy and sat down. He picked up a book intent on reading to distract himself from the passing time. Each tick of the clock seemed to be going faster and faster. He knew that was in his head, but it didn’t stop him from feeling that way.
After reading the same paragraph for the fifth time, he gave up trying to read. He went to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. He downed the whole thing in one gulp. He found that he was growing increasingly thirsty as the days went on. He suspected that was a sign of the change that was going on inside of him.
He glanced at the clock. It was four in the afternoon. He didn’t have much longer to wait now. Things were going to happen as they did regardless of how he felt about it. He thought back to when it all happened.
He could barely remember anything from that night. He remembered waking up feeling fevered and in so much pain he couldn’t stand it. He remembered the beautiful woman who stayed by his side and mopped his face with a damp washcloth. Where was she now? Who was she?

He managed to calm himself down enough to read. After reading several chapters, he looked up at the time and realized that it was time to go. He didn’t bother putting on a coat as he knew he wouldn’t need it. He wouldn’t really need much of anything where clothes were concerned.
He walked to the tree where he was supposed to meet the man who would teach him how to live his new life. He was nervous and angry. He didn’t know what was going to happen from here.
As he started to get bored, he caught a movement in his eye. The man was walking toward him. What was more shocking is he had a beautiful woman with him. Not just any woman. Her. He had her with him. Thomas completely forgot how to breathe for a moment.
They got closer and the man shook out his hand.
“Hello, Thomas. I hope you are well. My name is Victor. I am sure you have many questions for me.”
“I do, but let’s start with what’s going to happen to me? What happened to me?”
“Well, that’s simple, Thomas. You were attacked by a wolf. One that infected you with their curse. You will become a wolf for the first time tonight. And many more nights hereafter.”

Writing Prompt: Warrior And Sandwich

Anna walked into her living room fuming. She walked home specifically to take the time to cool off. Clearly, it didn’t work. She was thankful that she had an extra session tonight. She had a lot of pent-up anger to work out and that would be the perfect time to do it. The thought of possibly kicking Jett’s ass tonight cheered her a little. She looked up to see Michelle looking up at her. She hadn’t even noticed that Michelle was sitting there on the couch. She sat down next to her and took a few deep calming breaths. Before she could open her mouth to speak, Michelle beat her to it.
“Is everything okay?”
“No. It’s not. Also, what are you doing here?”
“That matter is not important right now! Right now, it’s operation cheer Anna up! Don’t tell me they didn’t let you apply!”
“Oh, they let me apply all right. There were these guys there who were taunting me. They said I was wasting my time. They said I needed to be focused on finding a good husband who I can make sandwiches to send him for work.”
“They didn’t! Don’t they realize that women have been training to become warriors for over a decade now?”
“I guess not! They just kept making comments about how women shouldn’t be allowed to do anything and how we are ruining the way the world works. You should have been there!”
“I think it’s a good thing that I wasn’t there. I would have not been able to control my power, and we don’t want people to know about that.”
“You’re right. We need to keep that between us until we can find out more about it. Have you been able to contact any of your family?”
“Not yet. They still refuse to speak to me after I told them that I wouldn’t marry Chad. They have had our wedding planned since we were both born. They don’t seem to care that Chad is gay and completely in love with my brother!”
“They are still playing ignorant about that, huh?”
“Sadly, yes.”
“I’m sorry, Michelle. I can understand how hard that must be for you both. I know how much you care about Chad. Does your brother know that Chad has feelings for him.”
“I think he does, but I can never be too sure.”
They both sat in silence for a moment contemplating the craziness of the world. Michelle put her arms around Anna and Anna let her cuddling into her. She always felt so content that way. She felt power being pushed into her body and the last thought she had before she went to sleep was of a meadow of daisies.

Writing Prompt: Burial and Hammock

Jane ignored the clamoring of voices around her as she sat in the hammock. She was completely devastated. Her world as she knew it was over forever. After just three months, the love of her life had passed away. She knew it was coming. Scarlett had been sick for a long time. That didn’t take the pain away.What made things worse is that nobody knew just how much Scarlett meant to her. Nobody could ever know the truth. It wasn’t because of the scandal behind women loving women. People were slowly starting to accept that as a natural part of life. It was that Scarlett was Jane’s servant.
She wasn’t ashamed of Scarlett at all. In fact, she wanted to tell everybody the truth of their love. Scarlett was terrified. She was worried about the way that people would talk. The speculations people would make about her. Jane had finally convinced her into letting everybody know when Scarlett found out that she was sick.
Jane heard a throat clear beside her. She contemplated ignoring it hoping that the person would go away. Instead, they came closer and rubbed her back. The contact made her want to burst out in tears.
“Love, I know it hurts. I know what she meant to you. You have to be strong though. She would want you to be. The burial is tonight. Don’t you want to say goodbye one last time.”
“What I want is to have her here with me. To tell her every day that I will love her for the rest of my life. To marry her.”
“I know that more than anybody, my child. I was hurt that you never told me, but I understood. I knew you would come to me eventually.”
“I still don’t understand how you even knew. We did our best to keep everything so hidden.”
“I am your mother. I know these things.”
Jane barely managed to suppress a giggle. Her mother always knew how to make her feel important and to take the sadness away. She was so thankful for her. She stood up and hugged her mother tightly.
“I guess I should go dress appropriately. What time are we leaving?”
“Whenever you’re ready love. Take all the time you need. Take a nice bath with some lavender. It will help calm your nerves. It won’t heal your heart, but I’m afraid that’s a wound that will always be with you.”
Jane nodded and walked away. She made her way into the house and into her room. She decided to take her mother’s advice and get into the bath. They had a few hours before they had to go to the funeral. She would relax as much as she could until then. She undressed and got into the tub. She was asleep once she got comfortable.
Jane. My love! I am so glad to finally see you!

Writing Prompt: Three goals I have set for myself are… 

1. Finding a job to settle down with. I love the jobs I’ve had over the years, but the stress of not knowing if I will get fired and constantly being told that I am not doing good enough gets to me. I am not sure what I want to do. I have so many options and possibilities. Most of them require more training or schooling. I’m willing. I just don’t have the means currently.
2. Having a library and office that I can be proud of. It would have bookshelves on every wall. It would also have two cushy reading chairs. My desk would be an L Shaped desk. I’d have a gaming computer chair and a computer with two monitors. I’d like to have a desk elliptical machine too.
3. To start writing every day. I may even consider publishing one day. Right now, my goal is to write an hour or two every day. I’ll spend part of that time doing a writing prompt and the rest of the time working on some open stories I have so that they may be ready for publish one day.

Writing Prompt: Town and Broom

The town was full of life. People were hustling from one place to the next. Mark almost got plowed down many times just trying to make it form one side of the road to the other. He had a standing appointment that he absolutely could not be late for at all. He was meeting with one of the most strictest witches of the town. Everybody feared her. Nobody would do anything for her. It worked out for him because she sought him out to hire him. He approached her home. She had a narrow yard and an amazingly spacious house. It was dark blue in color with black shutters. It was three stories high. Mark felt the house was a little too big for her since she lived on her own but to each their own. Taking a breath, he approached the door slowly.
He had barely raised his hand up to knock when the door swung open. He was greeted by somebody he didn’t know at all. She was perky looking with bubble gum pink hair and eyes so blue they were almost gray. She had a broom in her hand and freckles all over her round face. He half expected her to pop a bubble right in his face.
“May I help you?”
“I’m here to see Agitha.”
“Oh, you must be Mark. Please come in. Agitha is currently in her room. She should be down shortly. I am her niece, Brandi.”
“Nice to meet you. I didn’t know she had anybody coming to visit.”
“She didn’t either. I came by as a surprise. She’s the only family I have left and I was feeling lonely, so I thought I’d come by and see how she was doing.”
“Where do you live?”
“Oh, nowhere you know I’m sure. I live in a place called Smyrna, Ohio.”
“Wow! That’s quite a bit away from here. Did you fly out here?”
“Not at all. I drove.”
“You what?! By yourself? That must have taken days.”
Brandi surprised him by laughing loudly out of nowhere. He was taken aback. He didn’t remember saying anything funny at all. She kept laughing like she heard the funniest thing in the world. He waited until she was finished not wanting to cause a scene.
“I’m so sorry for my rudeness. I sometimes forget that people that don’t have the craft don’t really understand. It wasn’t a problem at all for me because I don’t really have to drive. I read all the way here.”
“I don’t understand. You traveled here by yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Then how could you have possibly read on the way here and drove.”
“That’s the beauty of magic. The car drove itself. I just enjoyed the ride.”
Mark didn’t know what to say. He was stunned by how freely she talked about magic. The only witch he knew was Agitha. She acted like anybody who didn’t have the talent should know nothing about it. Now here was her niece talking about it like it was just an everyday occurrence.
I guess it was in a way. Everybody knew that the paranormal things that they thought were fiction were real. Once one species of the paranormal community came out, they all slowly did. It wasn’t taken great at first, but people eventually got used to it. That’s how things work. First, there’s shock and then people just adapt in time.
Obviously there will always be people who never fully adapt, but they don’t cause too much of a fuss if they can help it. Most of them just write posts online trying to persuade others to join their cause. Some refuse to work with anybody who is classified as paranormal. Those don’t happen that often though.
Brandi cleared her throat and said something under her breath. The next thing Mark knew there was a tray with a teapot and mugs and cookies on it. He heard a rustling and looked over to see the broom sweeping away at the floor.

Writing Prompts: Garlic And Rose

Jane woke up from a horrible nightmare. She glanced at her surroundings. Everything was dark. She couldn’t see anything. She tasted an unfamiliar taste in her mouth that she couldn’t quite pinpoint. She knew that there was a very faint taste of garlic.
She went to move her legs and found there was something metal attached to her ankle. She sat up and felt her legs. It felt like her leg was chained to something. She started to panic. She tried to recall the last things she remembered before her world went dark.
She was at a party. Her and her friend had just gotten into an argument. She went outside to cool off and have a smoke. She barely registered a presense behind her when everything went black. Was she taken? How much danger was she in exactly?
She felt someone in the room with her. She felt her body tense. The presense grew closer and closer. She was on the verge of screaming when she felt a hand over her mouth. She grabbed at the arms and panicked further. The arms were nothing but a mass of muscle.
“Easy now, Rose. Everything will be okay. Sleep. Everything will be okay in the morning.”
She was on the verge of telling the person that her name wasn’t Rose when she felt a cloth being placed over her mouth and nose. Her mind became foggy and she lost conciousness. The last thing she remembered before everything went black again was hands stroking her hair and a song being sung softly to her.

Jane woke again with a panic. She had had a nightmare that somebody had taken her from the party that she was at and she was now being held captive. She sat up and felt a weight on her ankle. She looked down to see a metal shackle attached to a chain that went to the floor. It wasn’t a dream.
Just as she was about to scream, someone opened the door to the room. They wore a hoodie and a mask on their face that covered everything but their eyes. She was shocked by how kind the eyes looked. She was terrified, but she was also curious. They seemed to have food in their hands.
“Good morning, Rose. I brought you breakfast. It’s French toast with powdered sugar. I know it’s your favorite. I really hope that you enjoy it. I’ve missed you so much my darling. We have so much to catch up on. For now though, you need to keep up your strength.”

Writing Prompt: Cheese And Glasses

Shannon was deep in thought as she prepared for the party. She was trying to make sure that everything was taken care of. She had all the glasses for the party set out on the table. She only hoped she had enough. They only invited twenty people, but she gave them permission to bring other people if they wanted.
The front door shut as Shannon was cutting the cheese. Greg was home. Finally. He was supposed to have come home two hours ago. He promised he’d come home immediately after work to help her prepare for the party. Normally, she didn’t mind that he was always coming home late from work. She didn’t even ask him questions about it. She usually worked so much that the few hours to herself was a relief. Not today. She was furious.
“Hello, love. How’s everything going? Are we almost ready to party?”
“You would know if you came home when you promised to.”
“I know. I know. I’m sorry. Mark needed help with a project he was working on. I couldn’t just blow him off.”
“Whatever. I’m just not really in the mood to argue. Can you please check and make sure we have all the food we need. If we don’t, I hope you’re willing to go to the store. We have one hour before the guests show up.”
“I am willing to do whatever my love requires of me.”
Shannon moved aside as he came over to put his arms around her. It was his signature move when she was upset. She never said anything about it, but it always made her feel mocked. He would rather placate her than acknowledge her feelings. He was so confident that a simple cuddle would make everything okay again. She couldn’t do it. Not today.
“Why is Mark more important than the promises you made to me?
“Don’t be ridiculous. You know that’s not true. Why would you even say something so horrible?”
“You just blew off coming to help me prepare for the party to help Mark with whatever it is he needed to help with! I would say that’s a pretty good indicator.”
“Shannon. Enough. As you said, our guests will be here in one hour. This is our engagement party. Why don’t you get over this fit and cheer up? People will be here to celebrate our love for each other.”
“Fit? Did you really just say fit? I know I was hearing things. I know you did not just say that I was having a fit, Gregory Byron”
The look of horror on Greg’s face made it obvious that he knew he had made a mistake. He didn’t say anything. He just sat there looking at her with his mouth opening and shutting. Shannon fled to the bedroom and locked the door. She needed time to think and cool down before the party started. She couldn’t shake the feeling that things were starting to change between them. She was no longer able to shake the behaviors she used to before.

Prompt: Coffin And Pencil

Feeling her eyes cross after hours of work, Cindy finally set the pencil down. She was at a loss of what to further do with the project she had on hand. She couldn’t believe anybody would want something so extravagant, but they did. They also wanted Cindy to handle everything specifically. It was known to everybody in town that Cindy was one of the biggest event planners in town. She just never expected anybody to want an event planner for a funeral.
To be fair, Daria was a celebrity in the town’s eyes. She hadn’t made it big, but she starred as an extra in a handful of movies. That was good enough for us. Her passing was a blow to us all. We shut everything down for two days after she passed. She lived a very long and beautiful life, but her absence would be with us for a long time.
I looked down at my notes. I had the coffin picked out and taken care of already. I also made sure that her final outfit picked and the best makeup artist in the area to take care of her. I still needed to do many things to make sure everything ran smoothly. Especially the memorial service that will take place after the funeral. She knew that people would sneak in booze in some way or another and she had to make sure things didn’t get too out of control.
She stood up and made her way to the kitchen. Her stomach growling told her that it was time for a break. She took out the ingredients for a sandwich and fixed herself a cold glass of water. She drained the water in one go and fixed herself another glass. She didn’t realize she was so thirsty.
She sat down and started to eat her sandwich. She decided to go through her mail and her email while she was eating. She sorted through the mail quickly. Most of it was just bills and junk mail. A beautiful blue and purple envelope caught her eye. It was addressed to her by her sister. Curious, she opened the envelope. It was a wedding invitation. She was floored as she had no idea that her sister had gotten serious with anybody. The last she knew, her sister was still playing the field. She decided to call her sister when she was done eating.

What does your dream life look like?

My dream life involves being in a career that makes me completely happy. Something I’m passionate about. It also involves being with somebody who loves me for me. Who enjoys the little things in life. We will spend nights watching television, reading, or playing games together. Somebody who I can take care of and will take care of me in return. We’ll be happy because we have everything we need and want in life and we will have each other.