Day 77 Ruminating And Writing

Card

The letterbox clanged—a small card settled on the floor. On the beige background, there was an image of a seaside scene. The ocean swayed on the card, feeling alive—more than the striped carpet underneath the card. The seagulls screamed loudly, and ice cream was dropped on the ground, accompanied by the cry of a child. All that for an empty house that didn’t hear the invitation the card promised. Behind was a text, “I miss you,” without a sender.

If the house were full, there would be a whisper, “I do too.”

There was only the emptiness of the hallway and the sound of the fleeting steps of the mail carrier.

The First Law

It had sneaked into the city. The streets were tired and old. They hungered for the good old days of punishment, where crime was met with a similar fate. The town had grown weary of the cries of its citizens. The pain of injustice left corrected. There were more and more people who couldn’t live a good life. The city knew it had to be done. It let the laws come. The old ones. The bloody ones. The ones that made people feel safe. It let justice be an eye for an eye.

It groaned and rumbled, and that night, people couldn’t sleep. They could feel the mood shifting in the city. They feared the worst. They had learned to expect the worst. Life hadn’t been for them for a long time. It was meant for the others.

Moon

He took hold of his friend’s hand and squeezed it hard. He let his best friend guide him outside to the starlit night. The moon was silver and huge in the sky. It was closer than it had been in a year. This was their best chance, and he was going to take it, even with how scared he was.

His best friend turned to look at him and let go of his hand. He let the alien circle his arms around his body as it had done so many times. Instantly, the air shifted around him as if his existence disturbed it.

The alien was more alien than it typically was. It usually was a small boy. Just like him. People thought of them as twins. But they were more a part than anyone could guess. Yet, they were joined and attached to each other more than any twin could be.

He was its lifeline to Earth, and it was for his existence. There were only two of them. The alien had saved him from the car crash that took his entire family. He sometimes felt so sad. And he wished he had gone with them, but then there were the nights like this when the alien would take him to the moon, and life felt marvelous.

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

It feels so good to be back and write. I enjoyed my four days off of not doing all my routines. It felt like I could relax and be without meaning for a few days. Now, I have more stamina to do things I love and enjoy. I had fun writing all the prompts.

I should take more days off more often. I noticed that even my body wasn’t as stiff as it normally is from overexertion from climbing and training. Yet, somehow, without a clear purpose, taking a few days off feels like slacking. Maybe if I planned them, I wouldn’t feel that way. Perhaps I should do what most people do and do an offload week after every three weeks. I think that might work with writing, too. Keep it fresh rather than feel the pressure to write every single day and feel lousy about it if I can’t. That might be a good idea.

Thank you for sticking with me and coming back after the hiatus! I wish you a great week. ❤