Day 103 Ruminating And Writing

Cerberus

It had been a mistake. It had to have been. He didn’t belong in the underworld. He wasn’t supposed to die yet. Not in his twenties. Not when he had so much to do and see. Not by tripping over his own feet. That was the worst part. He had explained several times to the other dead how he had died, and he couldn’t take the snickers any longer. Now he kept his mouth shut.

He had heard a rumor that you could escape the miserable landscape of the underworld, where nothing felt, tasted, or smelled anything. The place was void of life. There was only the silence of death. It was all the dullness that was gradually getting to him. He didn’t even have enough memories to fill the void like those who had lived longer than he had. He was as boring in his life as he had been in his death. Now, the safety and steadiness he had yearned for before had turned into a hunger to feel, experience, and take all the risks one could ever want. Hence, here he was chasing after rumors.

If you could get past the three-headed dog guarding the gates of the underworld, you had the chance for life. Cerberus napped in its usual place. He had circled the gates several times, the dead only knew how many centuries. It cracked open its eyes and glared at him like it had done so many times before. There was nothing he could offer in payment for letting him pass. There was only trickery left, and he was clueless in that department. He was not made bright, that much he was willing to admit, but the hunger in him burned high.

The gate and the three-headed dog felt like temptation left there for all to see, to attempt, to test. Death was a sadistic existence. There was nothing to do but to listen to the laments of the dead. One story merged into another pretty soon, and he tripped to his death. And the escape from it was left for all to see. Underneath Cerberus, the bones of the previous attempt lay scattered to remind him of the fate, to remind him that no one had escaped thus far. He would escape this. He would rather let the dog devour him than be here for another century to come. The tales from the other dead had changed. There was a bright new existence out there with marvelous gadgets and a comfortable life. He wanted that.

Gloomy Swamp

He dragged his belongings with him to the swamp land he had bought with a big penny. It was supposed to be a perfect location for the wellness center he had wanted to open ever since he could remember. He had bought the place with all his savings, and there was nothing left in his bank account. This should have been a prime location. He had done all the research, yet here he was in the God forsaken place, where there were and would ever be more mosquitoes than humans.

Purchase

She played a note with her otamatone. It let out a high-pitched tone, making all the birds flee around her. She sighed and tried out the slide again, gliding her finger over it. The tone was still horrible. She wanted to throw out the otamatone and conclude that she wasn’t made for music, that her tone ear was deaf, but she didn’t. She had paid good money for the instrument, and she was going to learn to play it even if it meant she would scare all the birds out of her neighborhood.

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

The heat is bearable today. I have more energy to think. I had to cut short all the prompts due to time constraints, and I also want to edit my book. It feels silly somehow to stop writing, but there is a delicate balance with how much stamina, time, and effort I have left in me. I have learned that I’m good at short spurts of stamina when the mood is right. If I push myself too hard and for too long, then what comes out is garbage. Sometimes I know I could make myself further, but sometimes I push myself too much and nothing worthwhile comes out. Writing these prompts had taught me a great deal about writing and myself: when, how much, and how to write effectively. Now I will switch to editing my book. Thank you once again for reading my blog! I wish you all the creativity for all your endeavors today ❤