Short Story, Word Challenge, Wordle, Writing Prompts

The Vow

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for MLMM Monday Wordle.
Here’s where the prompt words took me.

baby, shampoo, innocence, engulfed, deep, total,
sleeping, gently, protect, promise, sunshine, and bond

Image by Me & Copilot

The old lighthouse had been sleeping for decades, its light long extinguished, its promise to sailors forgotten. Jedediah climbed its spiral stairs gently, careful not to disturb the stillness that had engulfed the tower like something sacred.

At the top, he found her …. a barn owl, pure white, nesting in the corner. Beside her, three chicks no bigger than his fist, their downy feathers soft as the creamy foam of baby shampoo, their innocence so complete it stopped his breath.

He stood in total silence, afraid even his heartbeat might intrude. Outside, deep storm clouds had swallowed the sunshine that had guided him here, and wind began rattling the glass.

The mother owl fixed him with amber eyes, unafraid. There was a bond between wild things and the humans who sought only to witness …. not to take. Jedediah understood his role without being told.

He descended slowly, pulled the tower door shut, and slid the old bolt home. He would protect this secret. That was his vow.

NAR©2026
#MLMM
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This is “The Crow, The Owl, and The Dove” by Nightwish

MLMM Monday Wordle #465

Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. If there’s something you’d like to use, ask me; if I think it’s appropriate, I will usually agree. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.

18 thoughts on “The Vow”

  8. Pure and simple, such a lovely story, and such a lovely soundtrack, from Nightwish; I flicked it over to YouTube and read all the lovely lyrics, the whole article resonated together perfectly, Nancy 🎵💙🌏🦅🥰

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