Day 188 Writing Short Stories

Spice

The scent of the market was intoxicating. There were so many colors and scents she hadn’t felt before. Her caravan had traveled across the mountains, and here in the desert, they had found their trading post. She wondered if they had anything to give the people of the sand. Their spices burned her mouth and warmed her whole body. Their silk was the finest she had seen. With what they bought here, they would be rich back home. The colored patterns in their dresses and garments were like the stories from the fairy tales. She could see the rich fall for its exotic enchantments. They had nothing of the sort. They had iron, steel, all the hard things.

They had welcomed her and her people with open arms. She had left others to handle the haggling. They were better at it than she was. She was better at ending disputes with her sword hanging from her hip. She saw people glancing at her and darting their eyes when they looked at her sword against her black clothes. It was the finest thing that she owned. It had been her father’s. He had thought her to fight, saving her life and giving her a purpose other than rotting in the fields. She wasn’t made for hard work.

She took a spot under a small makeshift tent that sold local cakes and drinks. This was her third time today enjoying what the market had to offer. She bit into the savory cake the woman brought her, and felt as the thick, hot, burning spice spread in her mouth. She closed her eyes and imagined what kind of dreams enjoying such spices would bring forth.

Supermodel

A supermodel falls in love with a geeky agent. This makes me think of Chuck, the TV show. I think it did this kind of prompt best, so I’ll skip this one.

Camping Trip

The gush of air pushed against the tent, making the fabric flap in the wind. He looked up and saw dark clouds taking over the sky. The weather forecast had promised moderate weather, but the wind was picking up and the temperature had dropped. The hike back to the car would take three hours, and during that time, the storm would be over them. He watched his wife and kids as they tried to get everything inside the tent.

He rushed to help. The rain hit them hard before they got everything back inside. They huddled together, wet and tired, listening to every sound the storm was making. Every gust of wind against the tent felt like it would lift the whole thing. He hugged his kid tighter against his chest, looking meaningfully at his wife. She read his mind and kept their other kid close. This could be bad, but at least for now, the tent held, and the water wasn’t coming in.

They must have fallen asleep at some point. He woke to his leg jerking. The storm had blown over, and it was dead quiet outside. He untangled himself from his boy and scooted over to the tent’s door. He slowly opened it, glancing behind him. His family was sleeping.

The air outside felt crisp, smelling of rain. The lake next to their camp had rolled over the shore. There were fallen trees all around them. Then he saw it. His breath caught in his chest as he watched the enormous metallic disc that had taken the trees down and was now pinned to the ground. It looked like a spacecraft. Its surface was scorched black. There was a trail leading off the craft. He followed it. It went past the tent, stopping just outside the door, looking as if someone had stood there for a while. The trail moved on and disappeared back where their car was left. He felt panic rise. He needed to get his family out of there and soon.

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

I sometimes mourn things that don’t really need to be mourned. Today, I hunger for exotic lands and unknown spices. Our modern life has brought everything so close and normalized everything, taking away some of the excitement of traveling far. Of course, it is still there. Feeling and sensing things in person is different. But I still mourn for the lost worlds. Not the imperial things, but lost connections done.

Our world has become so big and small at the same time. Who knows whether traveling deep into space or under our oceans will bring the same excitement? Though I wonder if we humans are fit to travel anywhere. Our history shows how destructive we can be.

Have an adventurous day! Thank you for reading ❤