Written for Sammiβs Weekend Writing Prompt #394
incorporating the word βberateβ in exactly 90 words.
I have also used one of the awesome images by Kevin
at No Theme Thursday. In 90 words, this is my story.
Tag: Drama
Want To Watch A Movie?
Bill and I have agreed (for research purposes) to watch more movies with a holiday theme. This is our first one and, boy, it’s an oldie but a goodie …. a true classic with one of my favorite actors …. Jack Lemmon. Itβs not exactly a holiday movie, but most of the drama unfolds during the Christmas season, which earns it a spot on my list. The Apartment, which won five Oscars (including Best Picture), follows a lonely insurance worker named C.C. Baxter (Lemmon). To climb up the corporate ladder, he starts to lend his Upper West Side apartment to company bosses who are having romantic affairs. However, things get complicated when Baxter learns that his own manager is hooking up with the woman he has feelings for. They don’t make them like this anymore. Here’s the trailer:
Iβll save you a seat. Enjoy the movie! π₯ πΏ π₯€
NARΒ©2024
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy ~ The Sicilian Storyteller, Nancy (The Sicilian Storyteller), The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephantβs Trunk, and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NARΒ©2017-present.
WordPress Daily Prompt
Another World
Written for Friday Fictioneers. Our host Rochelle
asks us to use the photo below as inspiration
to write creatively in 100 words or less while
making every word count. This is my flash.
Things were easier then, life was different. Kids felt safe in their little bubbles. Iβd cycle to my piano lessons, cutting through the empty lot without a shred of fear.
Iβd ring the bell for my lesson; if my teacher didnβt answer immediately, Iβd wait on the bench. One time I waited so long, I was about to leave when the door flew open and a girl came running out, sobbing, her clothes a disheveled mess. My teacher called out after her. Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β
My only reason for ever feeling fear was the way my piano teacher looked at me that day.
NARΒ©2024
100 Words
This is βWash Away Those Yearsβ by Creed
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy ~ The Sicilian Storyteller, Nancy (The Sicilian Storyteller), The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephantβs Trunk, and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NARΒ©2017-present.
A Dangerous Profession: Part 1
Written for OLWG #395 where this week the three
prompts are 1) carving out a niche; 2) I suppose;
3) no doubt about it, as well as Melissa’s Fandango
Flash Fiction Challenge #298, FOWC βsunriseβ, FOWC βbotherβ,
FOWC βauntβ, FOWC βfascinatingβ, FOWC βfolksβ, FOWC
βdecisionβ and FOWC βinfiniteβ. This is my story.
Yo Ho
Written for Sammiβs Weekend Writing Prompt #393
incorporating the word βoccidentβ in exactly 23 words.
Also for Sue & Gerryβs Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge
(red) and FOWC (vague). In exactly 23 words, this is my flash.
The Eighth Of December
A tribute to John Lennon who was taken from us on this date in 1980. Many of you have read this; many of you who are new to my site have not. Please indulge me one more time. Roughly four years ago I had the great pleasure and honor of narrating a few of my stories on the BBC Radio program called βUploadβ. I also submitted my story, βThe Eighth of Decemberβ, never expecting to receive an email from the program manager of the radio station asking me if Iβd like to read my story and do a live interview. To us here in The States, The BBC is a pretty big deal so I was rather blown away and, despite my nerves, I agreed to the interview. The format of the radio station has since changed and βUploadβ was replaced by another show; itβs now impossible to find my interview. All I have is my story; every word is true. This is βThe Eighth of Decemberβ.
Continue reading “The Eighth Of December”Shapeshifter
Written for The Unicorn Challenge where we are
asked to get creative in 250 words or less using
the photo below as inspiration. This is my story.
Obsolete
Written for Friday Fictioneers where our host
Rochelle asks us to use the photo below as inspiration
to write creatively in 100 words or less while
making every word count. This is my flash.
On The Rocks – Part 4: A Table In The Corner
Written for The Unicorn Challenge where we are
asked to get creative in 250 words or less using
the photo below as inspiration. This is my story.
On The Other Side
Written for The New, Unofficial, On-Line Writerβs Guild.
The three prompts this week from TN at OLWG #393 are
1) night will end; 2) look, over there, did you see that?; and
3) sittinβ on a rainbow. This is my story, based on true events
experienced by my son and his wife. Believe or not; itβs all true.
Becoming Strangers: A Dectina Refrain
Written for Sue & Gerryβs Weekly Prompts Weekend
Challenge β βdamagedβ. This is my Dectina Refrain.
The Audition
Written for last Sunday’s Wordle #399.
Using the 12 prompts below, this is my story.
I believe I may have missed the deadline; my bad!
beyond γ» company γ» disappointed γ» heart γ»
luck γ» music γ»passed γ» six γ»
socialize γ» thrilled γ» variety γ» week
Till Death
Written for The Unicorn Challenge where we are
asked to get creative in 250 words or less using
the photo below as inspiration. This is my story.
Sticky Fingers
Written for Friday Fictioneers where our host Rochelle
asks us to use the photo below as inspiration
to write creatively in 100 words or less while
making every word count. This is my flash.
Top Secret
Written for Fandangoβs Story Starter #176.
Our prompt is βMeet me behind the water tower
at midnight. Come alone and donβt tell anyone.β
This is my highly confidential story!
L’enfant aux Cymbales: The Concluding Story of Harvey and Fiona
Written for The Unicorn Challenge where we are
asked to get creative in 250 words or less using
the photo below as inspiration. This is my story.
In Prescious Moments Of Lucidity: A Haibun
Written for dβVerse Poets where our inspiration
today is βreflectionβ. Here is my haibun.
Shot At Dawn
Today is November 11th, Veteranβs Day in the United States. For much of the rest of the world and especially in Europe, it is Armistice Day, the day that marks the end of World War I. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month inΒ 1918Β when the armistice was signed, over 20Β million people hadΒ lost their lives.
I am honored to present to you a guest post by my friend, Paul Griffiths β The Birkenhead Poet. Dedicated to the young boys who lost their lives, Paul calls it βShot At Dawnβ; I call it perfection.
Golden Boy
Last week the three prompts from aooga at OLWG #390 were
1) I canβt touch the ground; 2) a bar thatβll give me credit and
3) haunted wind chimes. Using two of Kevinβs fabulous images
from No Theme Thursday for further inspiration, this is my story.
Beautiful Boy
Written for dβVerse Prosery where the challenge is to write
a piece of flash fiction of no more than 144 words that includes
the following quotation from βOut Of The Cradleβ by Walt Whitman:
βOut of the Ninth-month midnightβ. This is my flash.
Desperate Times
Written for Kevinβs No Theme Thursday 10.31.24.
Weβre offered incredibly creative images to inspire
and get our writing juices flowing. This is my story.
When The Vow Breaks ~ A Quadrille
Written for dVerse Poets Quadrille Monday
where we are asked to write a 44 word poem in
the format of our choice incorporating the word
‘promise’. Here is my promise quadrille.
The Letter
Written for Kevinβs No Theme Thursday 10.24.24,
Fandangoβs Story Starter #172 (#FSS), Eugiβs
Moonwashed Weekly Prompt (pretend), and
Gerry C & Sue Wβs Weekly Prompts Wednesday
Challenge (fascination). This is my story.
Bar Kathmandu
Written for No Theme Thursday where Kevin
has offered us some incredible images to
inspire and get our creative juices flowing.
Revamping of a 2020 tale, this is my story.
Heads Up
Written for Kevinβs No Theme Thursday 10.24.24.
Weβre offered incredibly creative images to inspire
and get our writing juices flowing. This is my story.
The Prayer
Written for The Unicorn Challenge where we are
asked to get creative in 250 words or less using
the photo below as inspiration. This is my story.
Luca’s
Written for The Unicorn Challenge where we are
asked to get creative in 250 words or less using
the photo below as inspiration. This is my story.
I was waiting outside Lucaβs Restaurant for my guy to show up with that lovely little glassine envelope of blow. He was running late and I was freezing my ass off, chainsmoking. Even at this hour the place was busy.
A cozy-looking niche in the wall beckoned me; I scooted over and huddled there to keep warm. I was agitated, my toes tap-dancing inside my boots. It had been several hours since my last hit and I couldnβt collect my scattered thoughts.
Shoving my hands into my pockets to stay warm, I immediately came in contact with a stubby vial; a little spoon dangled from a delicate chain β¦ a very clever design β¦ although I must admit the one with the miniature spoon neatly built into the inside bottom of the screw-on cap was pure genius. This was a nice surprise! I had changed jackets the other day and didnβt remember it was there.
Elated, I wrapped my fingers around the bottle, smiling at the feel of the all-too-familiar smooth glass. I removed the vial from my pocket; it was difficult to see but even in the darkness I knew it was empty. Crap!
Where the hell was my guy?
As if summoning a genie, he appeared in the glow emanating from the light above Lucaβs doorway. I began to stand when piercing sounds of squealing tires stopped me. Three unmarked cars pulled up and the feds jumped out, surrounding my guy. Busted!
Dammit! I receded into the bushes.
NARΒ©2024
250 Words
This is βSnowblindβ by Styx
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephantβs Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NARΒ©2017-present.
Let It Out
Written for Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge
and Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge incorporating
the words ‘leaves’ and ‘judge’. This is my story.
Itβs been 16 years but I can remember everything about that night.
We were out to dinner with our friends Lily & Mac and Karen & Rob. I had been feeling a little anxious the whole day but figured Iβd be fine at dinner β after all, these were people I knew and loved and who knew and loved me. Sitting at the table I was uneasy but hoped the feeling would subside.
It didnβt. It continued to build as I sat surrounded by a room full of seemingly stress-free people laughing and enjoying themselves while I was ready to bolt. I was with friends Iβve known for years and I was freaking out, convinced everyone knew something was wrong.
There I was, not only stressing over life in general but stressing over the fact that I was stressing and everyone knew it and they were just waiting for me to explode. I figured I had four choices: I could fake it and try to pretend everything was ok; have a meltdown, which would make us all uncomfortable and solve nothing; I could say I had a headache and go home β after all, everyone leaves their table for one reason or another; or I could face the truth and tell my friends how I was feeling. I chose the last approach. Apprehensively, not knowing how anyone would react, I told my friends I was having a panic attack.
No one had a clue.
What happened next was incredible. By admitting the truth, revealing my fear and vulnerability, everyone embraced me (not physically, of course β that would have been weird) but they all let me know it was ok. Whatever I wanted to do was ok. And more important than anything else, they did not judge me.
I chose to stay. Immediately, Karen reached into her purse, handed me the business card of her psychologist and said βCall herβ. Lily then told me she also went to the same psychologist and quietly poured out her heart to me, unburdening herself while simultaneously letting me know I wasnβt alone. I was so engrossed in what Lily was telling me, I didnβt even realize my anxiety had passed. I had eaten my dinner and people were ordering dessert. The evening actually wasnβt a disaster.
The next day Lily called to check on me. Iβll never forget what she said: βYou know, I was sitting next to you and I didnβt notice anything wrong. You looked perfectly fine and if you hadnβt said anything we never would have known.β
That was amazing to me! No one noticed the ticking time bomb at the table.
What a huge eye-opener that was. It made me realize that how I perceive myself is not necessarily how others perceive me. Being stoic and trying to hide my anxiety isnβt helpful; in fact, it could make things worse. Opening myself up and exposing my vulnerability showed me itβs ok to let others know βHey, Iβm freaking out right now and I need help.β
I learned a valuable life lesson that night: Let it out and let someone in.
NARΒ©2024
This is βUnder Pressureβ featuring Queen, Annie Lennox and David Bowie
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephantβs Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NARΒ©2017-present.
Love Lost
Written for Sadjeβs What Do You See # 257,
this is my free verse response.
In the 58 years since my birth, we were never close β¦ just one of those sadly unfulfilled relationships between mother and daughter.
If she ever loved me, she didnβt show it. And, God forgive me, I did not love her.
Yet here I was visiting her at the nursing home.
Why? Was I driven by misplaced guilt?
Was I still seeking her approval?
Invisible. Thatβs the only word that came to mind when my mother turned to look at me.
Her eyes were blank, her expression impassive.
And when she reached for my hand, I couldnβt stop my tears.
NARΒ©2024
#WDYS
This is βMotherβ by John Lennon
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephantβs Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NARΒ©2017-present.
The Elephant's Trunk 