Day 178 Writing Short Stories

Sly

A blink, a tilt of a head, a yawn, and then a roll over. A sly move on his part. I can’t resist. The exposed soft belly welcomes me in, and as I touch it, there come teeth and kicks. He jumps up and dashes past me. I give chase, and we end up in bed. He pressed against me, purring loudly, and my face pressed against his fur, feeling his body vibrating—my own sly, perfect creature.

Unmarried

Husband imagines his life without kids and marriage. I understand such fantasy. I really do. But I don’t want to write about it.

Monk

You could call it one of those perfect days. There were no clouds across the sky, the temperature was just right, and the intoxicating scent of the late summer garden’s bloom was residing in the air. It was the Lord’s work.

The monk was making his usual rounds around the garden to take stock of what needed to be mended. The garden was full of the usual tourists, marveling at the monastery’s grounds. They came in herds this time of year in search of spiritual awakening or just to find the awe to make the other days of the year more bearable. The monks welcomed them with open arms. Their money and attention kept them running.

The monk stopped at every turn he was asked to take a picture with. He smiled a polite smile and let them add him on their social media. Such was the world, the abbot said. Such was the world, he would repeat.

The garden was as it should be. He took a turn at the end of the small aisle of flowers, walking down the path to the orchard. The apples were in season, and the tourists could soon pick them.

—

I can’t seem to find the right words to finish this one. I’m struggling with every sentence. The monk is supposed to fall in love with a woman, eating an apple. But the woman is not what she appears to be. At first, I was sure I could get excited about the prompt, but as I tried to guide the monk to the woman, I wanted to take him on a different path. He doesn’t want to go there. He doesn’t feel like someone who would fall in love with the Devil just like that, for appearances’ sake. Not without some heavy spells, and as I come to see the Devil’s methods, he is all about the temptation within rather than casting some spells to make people fall from grace.

I would rather have the monk appear as it is on the cover image. There would be a story to tell. He could be a protector of knowledge or guardian of the rains or why not the rebel against the tyrants.

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

I wanted to write today, but the words elude me. My head feels thick and heavy, and the words inside my mouth are sluggish.

Thank you for reading ❤ Have a day full of words!