Day 309 Writing Short Stories

Holy

She had been waiting for this the whole week. Her stomach was in knots, and she couldn’t wait for the festivities to start. Today was the holiest day of the year. The day the sun god was born and took the form of a mortal. She would walk among the people, and everyone was kind to everyone else. They gave gifts, sweets, sang songs, and danced the day away. It was a holy day, and her favorite day of the year. She loved the merriment. She loved the kindness. But more than anything, she loved when the sun goddess came to visit her, as she had done every day since her birth, which coincided with the same day as the festival.

Midday

Write three stories happening at the same time. This could have been fun, but I skipped it because it would have been too long and I’m pressed for time.

Crows

“One for sorrow,” she said, her white gown flapping in the early morning wind. The fields around her were wet and cold. Yet, she wore nothing but the white dress she had on.

“Two for joy,” she continued, watching the crows flock around her.

They swooped down from the nearby trees, flying across the half-frozen field with its rotten hay. More and more came. Six. Eight. Then. Twelve. And then the last one came down. Thirteen.

“Beware of the devil himself,” she said, and she gasped for breath and stood still.

The crows pulled together, forming a man made of crows. His coat was long and black. His hair was as dark as a raven. His eyes were darkness itself.

He offered his hand to her, and she gave hers to him. He pulled her close and whispered in her ear. “Bride?”

“A bride for yours to be.” Her heart was beating so fast. She knew what she was giving up, but it was better than the life waiting beyond the frozen fields. She was to marry her uncle. A man so violent that no woman lasted with him. Yet no one said or did anything. He owned the town.

But here, in the darkness, she could be free until her flesh gave away. She would be the devil’s wife, a witch. Something no one would or could touch. Her wedding dress was a promise of that. It was the last time she would wear white.

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

I loved writing the Crows story. Though I use the nursery rhyme when counting magpies and not crows. But some people use it with crows. It was a fun scene to write, and as I wrote it, I didn’t know where it would go. But the story took a life of its own and wrote itself. I knew she would give her life to the crows, but not why. Of course, it was for the devil himself.

As I wrote before, I love writing these short stories or scenes because they are like mini movies I get to watch and feel every morning. Both Holy and Crows gave me that delight today.

Also, I’m giving one last pass to my sci-fi novel after receiving some feedback. Then I contact an editor and publish it. I have prolonged the process long enough.

Thank you for reading ❤ Have a delightful day!