Day 72 Ruminating And Writing

Serenade

His heart was bursting open. Every time he saw her in the village, he wanted to sing to her how lovely she was. Her red lips, her hair, her eyes, her dark complexion made him want to serenade her beauty to the world.

Even now, he followed her with his gaze. He was sure that she barely knew of his existence. The mere thought made his heart ache. He needed to possess her. He needed her. Nothing made sense without her.

He gathered his courage and followed her down the village steps to the narrow streets that led away from the market square. Her hips swayed from side to side as she selected the path between the stone houses. He hurried behind her.

She leaned against the wall, waiting for him. He wanted to scream with joy. He stumbled forward and drew her from hips to close to him and kissed her. Her eyes sparkled yellow light, and he felt the most exuberant joy there ever could be. It felt like he was in her. Like they were twined together. He let out a gasp when she released him from the kiss. He dropped to the ground.

She looked down at the dead body on her feet curiously. It still felt baffling through all these years how men fell for her. How, by just merely existing in the same space, their hearts were hers. She shook her shoulders as the man’s soul nourished her, making her feel young and exuberant again. She wouldn’t have to eat for a year.

Dogs

Feeling sluggish again. I was surprised that I even got the serenade story right. Two dog owners are meant to fall in love because of their dogs here. Sorry, I seem to have trouble writing this one.

Grumpy Old Cat

The woman had died a few days ago, and she had promised to take care of her cat until her daughters got there. The old black cat hissed at her every time they saw each other. The encounters made her regret her generosity. But she was determined to gain its trust. Today, she was using a can of good quality chicken meat to win the cat over.

The black cat seemed to play its game as well. It was disinterested even how she pushed the plate with chicken towards it. It licked its fur. At least it wasn’t hissing. That was more than yesterday.

“You know, if we are stuck with each other, I like the little dried sardine fish you can get from a pet store,” the cat said.

She froze. Even a slight inhale would break the moment, and she wasn’t sure what had happened.

“Are you daft?” the cat continued.

“No?” she asked.

“No?” the cat repeated.

“How can I hear what you say?”

“You have ears,” the cat said and stopped licking itself. It looked at her curiously. “She always thought you had a spark that could be kindled, that I should choose you if she dies, but I don’t know. You seem kind of slow.”

“Choose? Sparkle? I don’t understand.”

The cat let out a long sigh that sounded a lot like a mix of purr and hiss. But she knew that she had somehow disappointed it, and she should do anything in her power to please it, to go to the store and get the sardines. It would like the sardines. Sardines would make things all better. “Hey!” she shouted, when she noticed what the cat was doing. “Stop that!”

“Good, not a complete moron then, but the brightest thing, either. We can work on that. We have a lot to do to get your powers to manifest.”

The Prompts are from the book A Year of Creative Writing Prompts.

When I saw the prompts, I was sure I couldn’t write any of them. I’m happy that I got two out of three written, putting them in a spin that makes me want to write them. That’s another thing I’ve learned from writing these prompts: I need to have some emotional connection with them to be able to write a compelling story. Otherwise, it feels forced, and I think the lack of spirit will be evident.

I started editing my sci-fi book yesterday. It has such a dark, sorrowful start that it even moved me, even though I had written it myself. I hope it has the same effect on the readers.

Thank you for reading again! You make me want to continue writing. Have a beautiful day ❤