Writing Prompt: Sacrifice and Painting

Aiden fought back the tears that kept trying to bubble to the surface. He knew that everybody would talk about how he couldn’t even hold it together at his mother’s funeral. He was expected to be the man that held the family together now. He was expected to keep his emotions to himself. He was never allowed to show weakness for any reason. Nevermind the fact that the woman who raised him was never going to be around again. 

After what seemed like an eternity, the funeral was over. He waited until every single guest had made it to their vehicles and left. He wasn’t about to hear how he didn’t play the host until the bitter end. His mother would roll in her grave at the thought of it. He kept himself from chuckling thinking of the lecture she would be bound to give him. 

His journey home was pretty uneventful. He lived alone and had nobody to talk to on the way home. He thought of all the things he would say to somebody if they were with him. He would probably talk about his mother. He would talk about her giving nature and her willingness to sacrifice anything if it meant another human being was taken care of. He would tell them stories about her. He would let them know that he was who he was because of her.

Once he got home, he immediately went to the painting he had been working on. He had been stuck on where to go with it for awhile, but tonight he seemed to know exactly where he was going. He decided to take advantage of the inspiration before it left him. Who knew when he would ever get inspired again. 

By the time he was finished with the painting, the sunlight was just beginning to to pour through the windows. He was ravenous with hunger. Before he made his way to the kitchen to eat, he took one last look at the photo. In his opinion, it was one of his best works. It was of a ballerina in a subway. The ballerina and the subway were captured beautifully. Everything looked to be normal. Until you got a closer look. There was a knife in the ballerina’s hand and the wall behind her was covered in blood.

He was shocked. He had never been known for adding anything violent in his paintings. He didn’t even remember adding the touches. He was known to go into a zone when he was painting, but he had never been in one so heavily that he didn’t remember what he was painting at all. Slowly he backed out of the room. He didn’t know what to think of the whole situation. He was terrified and intrigued all at the same time.

Writing Prompt: Star and Cottage

The stars were shining bright in the clear night sky. It was beautiful and peaceful. There were hardly any sounds to be heard throughout the fields. One star in particular shone over a beautiful cottage. The cottage itself seemed ordinary, but that was just an illusion. The cottage was a very important place. That wouldn’t be known for many years.

Right now, a child was being born in the cottage. This child would be the beginning of change in all the lands. She would lead the world to greatness. She would also be the ruin of her parents. She would become everything they despise despite trying to mold her into someone more like them. Someone whose soul was tainted and evil.

Her name was Harmony. Harmony grew up lovely. She was full of love and peace. She touched the lives of many who met her. She was kind to everyone. Her parents hated it and her for it. When she was old enough to fend for herself, they quickly threw her out. They told her she was a disgrace and they were ashamed to have given birth to her. 

Her heart was broken, but she was bound and determined not to let it get to her. She went to the closest village she could find for comfort and shelter. She found both. She was accepted by everybody there. She wound up living many years there comfortably and happily. She was accepted by everybody as family. She did what she could to help anybody in need. She was a joy to have around and people were happy to be near her.

One day, she was approached by a stranger. He informed her that her parents had passed away in an accident. As they had no other relatives, everything they had got left to her. At first, she refused. She didn’t want any part of it as she remembered how they were and what they did to her. In the end, she finally accepted. She realized she could turn the cottage into something good. 

It took many years to undo the dark taint that surrounded the cottage, but she managed to do it. She turned it into a lovely home for herself where she spent many moments of leisure painting or reading. She also turned the cottage into a sanctuary for anybody who needed it. She healed those who were sick or hurt and comforted those who were in pain. She became known for her compassion and dedication to others. The village that took her in were especially proud of her.

Writing Prompt: Sky and River

Sky shifted her position. She had been squatting behind the bushes for half the day. She was growing bored and restless. It didn’t seem anything was going to happen. She wanted to go back to the camp, but she had to wait until Rayne replaced her watch. She would then spend all of two seconds telling him of the nothingness that transpired during her watch. After which, she would promptly head to camp and sleep.

The time finally passed and Rayne relieved her of her duty. After casually flirting, she made her way back to the camp. The closer she got to the camp, the less tired she seemed to feel. She was hungry and starting to get a little grumpy. She didn’t understand why she was constantly being picked to do watches. It didn’t seem anybody else was being chosen as much as she was. Once she arrived at the camp, she found River waiting for her smiling. River had a bowl of Sky’s favorite soup. She was so happy she promptly kissed the woman without even thinking about the potential consequences of what would happen had anybody seen the kiss.

“Sky! You have to be more careful.”

“Oh shush. It’s not like anybody would think anything of it. I am merely a hungry woman who was so happy to see food I went mad for a moment.”

“You know that they will know better than that nonsense. They will start putting two and two together. You have to think sensibly. You will be married in three nights.”

“Fooey!”

“Sky! Be reasonable! This is a very well made match! You could do so much worse.”

“If you like the man so much, you marry him. I have no interest in men and I never will.”

“You know that I am not interested in men either. Even if I was, I am not permitted to marry. You know this. I am meant to serve you. That is my life’s purpose.”

“It’s a bunch of rubbish! That’s what it is. You’re an amazing woman. I’m so tired of certain members of our tribe being seen as better than others. Especially you.”

“We must accept things as they are. They can never be any other way.”

“Unless we fight it. Unless we make a new rule.”

“Sky! You mustn’t talk like that!”

Writing Prompt: Tree and Bookcase

Gretchen tapped her foot on the desk impatiently. There were fifteen minutes left of class. It may as well be fifteen years. The day seemed to be going by so slowly. It always seemed to on the days that she was allowed to go visit her special tree. It infuriated her. She didn’t even understand why she had to take these stupid classes anyway. What purpose were they going to serve? 

Time finally passed and the bell for the dreaded class finally rang. She was one of the first people out the door. She made her way to her locker and hastily packed all of the books she would need and practically ran to her car. She was just about to open the driver’s side door when a muscled body stepped in her way.

“Why the hurry, Gretch?”

“What does it matter to you?”

“It matters because three times a week you hastily leave school like there’s a fire. Nobody knows where you go or what you do.”

“And I intend to keep it that way. Please move.”

“No.”

“Todd! Stop. Look. Can we please just talk about this later? Please? I have to go.”

“I intend to find out your big secret, little Gretch. One way or the other. You’re not the only genius in the school.”

“I’m am not a genius. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. All I’m asking is that you let me leave. NOW!”

“Anything?”

“Yes!” 

Todd smirked. She knew with that look that she was doomed. If he found out where she really went, it would be all over the school. What she was and what she did weren’t exactly illegal, but she wouldn’t be seen highly. Witches tended to be more feared than praised where she was from. Even though they were the ones that kept the town running.

“As you wish. See you tomorrow, beautiful.”

He blew her a kiss and walked away. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Sometimes he was too much. She got in her car and hurried as fast as she could to her tree. She just hoped she hadn’t wasted too much time dealing with his nonsense. Her time with the book she needed was very limited. 

Once she got where she needed to go, she parked and ran as fast as she could to the tree. She spent a few minutes whispering the spell that kept everybody else out. Once the tree opened for her, she dashed inside. She was bound and determined to make every moment last. She ran to the bookcase and saw it there. The book she looked forward to reading three times a week. She grabbed the book and went to sit in her favorite spot. She opened the book and began to read.

Writing Prompt: Snowflake and Parade (In honor of Christmas)

Piper bit her lip to keep from groaning in frustration. She couldn’t understand why this happened every single year. Couldn’t they figure out a system that worked? Of course they couldn’t. They wanted everybody to stand in line for hours and be cranky in the end. Why should anybody be happy on special days? When she was old enough, she was running for a spot in the committee that was in charge of all of the events.

“Would you relax, Pipp? We aren’t going to miss it. This happens every year and every year we wind up still being early.”

“Easy for you to say, Lane. You’re a main star of the show. The moment they see you they will rush you to the front of the line.”

“And I will grab you and pull you to the front with me. I thought that’s why you always insist on standing in these lines with me in the first place?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Lane rolled her eyes at Piper just as a man came running towards them. He was struggling to get past the people in the line. Everybody seemed very reluctant to let him through. The girls shared a glance with each other making it a point not to laugh too loud and give themselves away.

“There you are Miss Lane! Must you do this every year? We need you out at the parade in ten minutes!”

“But I need to get my drinks before I go up. You don’t want me to dehydrate and faint, do you?”

“Oh very well. Come on. Move it! Both of you. Follow me.”

The groans that followed the girls as they made their way up the line to get to the front gave Piper an indulgent feel of satisfaction. It was rare that she was given any kind of special treatment. Not that she cared. Lane always got special treatment being the town prodigy and talent. It didn’t really look like anything to brag about quite frankly. People fussing over you and not giving you any space. No thank you.

Once up front, they immediately ordered. The cashier waved away their money. Another perk about being around Lane. Nobody wanted to charge her for anything. Apparently her performances were payment enough. They had just picked up their foods and drinks and were preparing to make their way to the parade when the first snowflake fell. Right on Lane’s nose of course. Piper resisted the urge to kiss the snowflake as it melted. 

“So are you ready to render the town speechless… again.”

“I guess. I’m kind of nervous.”

“Lane Dixon. Afraid of performing in front of the town. Get out of here. Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”

“Shush.”

“You’ll do great Lane. You’re always great. You’re smart and talented. This town seems to think they have a special gem in you. You’d think that everybody is going to strike it rich once you hit it big or something.”

“And yet I aim to be a teacher.”

“Hearts will break.”

“They’ll be fine. They have you to strike it big. Miss I am going to become a famous writer.”

“I can’t be a famous writer if you don’t make it big as a scientist or musician. Who will I follow and write about if you don’t?”

“Piper. You promised.”

“You’re right! Besides. I’m only joking. On a serious note, whatever we do, we do together.”

They made their way to the street where the parade was being held and parted ways. Lane had to get with people for any last minute set up for her float and Piper had to find a nice spot up front so she could get an up close and personal view of everything passing by. Another perk about being drug through the crowd early with Lane. As they were drifting apart, Piper grabbed Lane’s hand.

“Lane. I love you. You know that right?”

“Piper don’t be crazy.”

“Then don’t date Harvey.”

“How did you? Nevermind. We’ll talk about this after the parade ends.”

“Okay.”

Writing Prompt: Bravery and Watch

Nick took a look over the night’s schedule as he prepared his coffee before beginning his shift. He stifled a groan. He was in for a long night. There were two people on his shift and both of them were pretty much useless. They only signed up for the night shift because they thought it would be easier. Nick knew better. Just because it was quieter didn’t make it easier. He knew what lurked in the dark. He had seen some of the worst of it in his time overseas. 

He was loyal to his country. He served three tours. On the third tour he was wounded horribly. He managed to recover, but he knew he would never be able to serve again. The country gave him a medal of bravery and then promptly forgot he ever existed. It threw him in a depression that lasted over a year. 

He probably would have remained in his depression if he hadn’t stumbled upon the help wanted ad that landed him in his current job. The company was looking for guards to watch over their factory. They had three shifts that desperately needed openings. On a whim, he went in and applied. 

The owner was the one that took the application. He requested an interview with Nick on the spot and hired him immediately for night shift. Nick was beyond surprised. He had no experience with guard duty at all. He could only assume that the owner was impressed with his military background. Either way, he wasn’t going to argue. He was happy to finally have a purpose again.

He spent two weeks getting himself familiar with the blueprints of the factory and the books. He wanted to make sure he knew everything fully. By the time he started his first shift, he felt like he knew the entire policy and could walk the entire premises blindfolded. He was ready. He was more than ready. He was hopeful. 

He had been with the company for five years now. He was now in charge with hiring and training the guards. He was also in charge with setting the schedules. He could easily sit back and let everybody else do the actual watch duty, but he insisted on being out in the field with them. He did his best to make sure everybody was taken care of and had the schedules they desired. He was more than happy with the team he had assembled. 

Well, most of them anyway. The two new guys just weren’t holding their weight. He didn’t like doing it, but he knew he was going to have to let them go. Two different nights, he sent a person in to test their security. They failed both nights. He couldn’t risk that. Just because things were uneventful for the most part didn’t mean they would always be uneventful. 

Writing Prompt: Angel and Eagle

Evangaline looked down at the yard below the cloud she was on. The little puppy was running around playfully while her owner was sitting on the porch watching her. She knew how much the little girl loved that dog. She heard her telling her friend that it was the best gift she had ever been given. It made Evangaline’s heart sing to hear such praises of her gift. Not that the little girl knew that the gift was from her.

Soon, Evangaline would show herself to the little girl, but not now. Now was not the time. Soon the girl would face great tragedy and she would need Evangline. It would change her world forever. Evangaline wanted her to feel the happiness she felt now for as long as she possibly could. Her heart broke at what she knew was to come. 

An eagle flew up and perched on the cloud beside her. She looked over at the eagle. She knew exactly what it was and exactly why the bird was there. She refused to acknowledge the bird until he made contact with her first. Not because she was afraid of him, but because she wanted to annoy him just a little bit. He was always annoying her. It’s time for her to turn the tables on him for once. 

Dammit Eva. You know I’m here.  You could at least say hello.

Oh. I was daydreaming. I didn’t even see you come up Horace.

Eva…..

Whatever is the matter, Horace? Are you having issues with feeling ignored?

I don’t know what I expected from a damn angel. You all are just the same. You live to make all of us uncomfortable and cranky. 

Oh, you do compliment me so. What do I owe the honor of this wonderful visit, my dear?

I was just checking in. I know the time draws near. Have you made contact with Eliza yet?

No. Don’t you think she deserves a little more time in blessed innocence? 

Eva. No. She needs to know what she is and what she will become now. Before it’s all too late. She will lead the world to greatness. It has to be her.

Blah blah blah. Do you always have to be so repetitive. I can basically recite the entire thing verbatim at this point.

Why can’t you take anything seriously? Just for five minutes. Please. Why? 

I am taking it seriously. I watch over her every day. She’s safe. She’s happy. Isn’t that enough for now?

For now.

The time is coming. Soon. I’ll make contact with her when the time is right. I don’t plan on falling from the plan. This time.

Are you sure? 

Horace. Don’t be an ass. I get it. I messed up the first three or four times. But it turned out they weren’t the right ones anyway. So I did us all a favor in the end. Why can’t you just let it go?

Try having to keep records of every single event known to existence. Then tell me to let something go. These humans really could learn to read a history book now and then. It keeps repeating itself.

Then why don’t you go and force them to change?

Fat lot of good that would do. 

Horace!

What? It’s true. The intelligence level of the human population dwindles drastically every day. You should see half of these idiots hooked to their devices all day long.

I think it’s great they have something to be happy about. Something that makes them feel connected to the world. 

Devices that connect them to the world, but disconnected at the same time. Isn’t it funny how that works? People would rather send texts than have actual conversations these days. 

You’re right, Horace. I know. That’s not our job to correct. Our job is only to make sure that the world doesn’t destroy itself. We can’t let Evil win. Not again.

At least YOU see the importance of not letting history repeat itself. You remember the time of ultimate destruction, do you? 

I do. My heart still breaks just thinking about it. 

As it should, Eva. As it should. Soon, great horror will be upon us. I hope that you and Eliza can work together to put a stop to it. 

Me too.

Writing Prompt: Chaos and Bridge

Sun stood on the sidewalk and watched the cars drive by. She looked out at the long bridge and sighed. She was not ready to make the journey she was about to have to make. She had already traveled many miles. It was when she truly got to thinking about everything that was about to go down that the panic set in on her. It made driving absolutely impossible. She had no choice but to pull over and sit for a bit. 

The chaos which had consumed her life for the past several weeks was finally going to come to a close. She was both relieved and heartbroken over it. She had had an ordinary life. She had a wonderful husband and two beautiful twin girls that were about to start college in the fall. She thought that her husband and her were about to enjoy a very peaceful time getting to know each other again after their daughters had left. That was until she came home and found him getting to know their next door neighbor, Brad.. 

The next several days after that were consumed with yelling, tears, and long conversations. She learned that her husband had never really been interested in women. He married Sun because it was expected of him from his family. He and Brad had been together for many years. He had planned on telling her once the girls had moved to college, but he never dreamed of her finding out the way she had. Had her yoga class not been canceled, he and Brad had intended to talk to her that evening over dinner.

She could have accepted he was gay. They were best friends above anything else. What she couldn’t accept was the fact that he had gone behind her back for years. She couldn’t accept that he couldn’t trust her not to tell her something so important about himself. That, above anything else, is what hurt her the most. It shattered her heart to know that the man she poured her heart out all these years to couldn’t even bother to tell her something that meant more to him than anything else in the world. She had no idea how she was going to go forward from here. 

With a sigh, she got back in her car. She had no idea what her future held, but she knew that dwelling about the past wasn’t going to do her any good. All she could do is get back in her car and continue her journey from here. As she was crossing the bridge, she had to resist the urge to just swing to the right and plunge into the water below. Her world may be crushed right now, but she knew that she would rebuild. The pain would only be temporary.

Writing Prompt: Woman and Sun

Brad looked up at the sun. He was convinced it was shining brighter than normal today. He tried to voice his concern, but nobody would listen to him. A few of them even suggested that he may need to look into professional help. He was annoyed with their attitudes, but he let it go. He had bigger things to worry about. They may not be able to see the signs of something big coming, but he could. 

Feeling restless, he decided to go out and do his walk through a little early. The wall was secure for the most part, but anything was possible. Brad had been in the field long enough to know that everything has weak points and the enemies would always go out of their way to find them to bring people down faster. 

He was halfway through his walk through when he saw a woman wandering around the woods. He was confused. Nobody should be around this area but the soldiers. He made his way towards her so he could investigate further. The closer he got, the more he realized how wrong the situation actually was. She was hurt badly. His instincts screamed at them to help her.

Once he was almost upon her, she finally looked up and noticed him. With a shriek of terror, she ran and hid behind a tree. Her body was trembling so bad that he would have found her even if he hadn’t watched where she went. He decided to let his guard down and get a full feel of the situation.

The emotions hit him immediately. She was alone and terrified. Something horrible had obviously happened to her. The pain followed next. It seemed that somebody had badly battered her. He didn’t want to do what he knew he had to do to get the story, but he willed himself to do it anyway. He delved into her mind. What he found took his breath away. 

Many of his soldiers had found her cottage and broken in. They demanded she give them all of her valuable possessions. When she refused, they beat her until she submitted. He was fearing they may have done worse things after that, but he was relieved to find that she was not ruined in that way. 

“M’lady. Please. I will not hurt you. You are safe now.”

“I don’t have anything! Please. Just let me go!”

“I know what happened. Please. I just want to help you.”

“How…”

“I am a mage. One of the last of my kind. I am in charge of those who attacked you. For that I am deeply sorry. I will make sure that what they did doesn’t happen again. I will also see to it that you get your belongings back.”

“A… mage? But that’s not possible. There hasn’t been a mage in…”

“Twenty years. I know. At least not one that the public knows about anyway. My family has went through great lengths to keep our secret. I’m sure you know why.”

“Yes I do. My family has had to do the same thing. Many of the women in my family have the gift. We are terrified that he will find out and come for them.”

“That is a very valid concern. It’s the very reason I created this training ground. I want to prepare people to fight. To save our people that were taken away from us and return them home.”

Writing Prompt: Faith and Tiger

Faith double-checked her patient list for the day. She did a double take. Surely there was a mistake. She read through the list four more times. It remained the same. Samson Howell. It just couldn’t be possible that he would be somebody she would be doing a check up for. She made her way to the front desk to talk to the receptionist.

“Trudy, I think there’s a mistake with my patient list for today.”

“Are you saying that my booking skills aren’t meeting your standards today, Miss Briggs?”

“No need to be formal with me Tru. Even if you’re miffed with me. I would never question your skills. You know me better than that.”

“Then what is the meaning of your question?”

“Well, it would appear I have a Samson Howell on my list.”

“Oh yes. He got here about an hour ago. Specifically asked for you. Refused to have anybody else look at him.”

“Oh dear. I guess I better go check in on him right away. Thank you, Trudy.”

She heard Trudy’s sassy no problem as she hurried back to Samson’s room. Once there she knocked tentatively. His brisk tone telling her to come in sent a shiver down her spine. It was definitely him. Delicious and untouchable Samson Howell. The question was, what was he doing in her urgent care and why. She opened the door and quickly shut and locked it.

“Samson. What are you doing here?”

“I am in need of medical assistance. I thought that was obvious.”

“Don’t play with me. I know your kind has your own doctor. You don’t need to come see us human doctors.”

“You wound me. I am part tiger. I’m not a monster. Why do you hate me so?”

“I don’t hate you. I’m just confused as to why you’re here. If anybody else had looked at you, there’s no telling what would be going on right now.”

“Precisely why I had the forethought to request Dr. Faith Briggs specifically. I refused to see anybody else. I may have even given a certain Trudy a little special something to ensure I’m seen by nobody but you.”

“Damn that Trudy and the ability to pay her off. Okay fine. What can I assist you with Mr. Howell.”

“I need you to come to my home with me. There’s a sickness that’s spreading that nobody can figure out. Not even our doctor. You’re the best in the field. We know if anybody can find out what’s going on, it’s you.”

“I- What? I-”

“Please just say yes, Faith. You’re the only one I trust with this. Something bad is going on.”

“Fine. Tell me everything and leave nothing out.”

“Two weeks ago, a child became ill. Nothing was really thought of it at the time. We all get sick now and then. It’s part of life. It wasn’t until he changed into a tiger form years before he was supposed to that we realized something was wrong.”

“Is he….”

“He’s fine. He’s forever altered thanks to the early transition, but he’s fine. We think that somebody is poisoning our people so that they can speed the process up. We aren’t sure why or how.”

“You said nobody knew about your kind outside of your area.”

“I said not many people knew. Obviously we have to turn to outside sources now and then. We wouldn’t exist today if we didn’t.”

“That’s fair. What can I do though?”

“You can come and investigate our foods and waters to see if they have been tainted.”

“What’s in it for me?”

“We will pay you. Handsomely. You can also have your pick of any man or woman to have relations with that you wish.”

“What makes you think I would want to procreate with your kind.”

“To start with, I can read your thoughts. Also, I still remember our time together, my little vixen.”