Alastair’s Photo Fiction – The Wave of the Future

July 29, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 25 Comments

A new photo from Alastair – a new photo prompt for Alastairs Photo Fiction. Write a short story or poem that his photo inspires you to write. The more creative, the better. approximately 150 words in length. Have fun! For more info, click on his link!

“I’m just so excited! Aren’t you honey?” The couple stared out at the monster crane lifting the contents over the place in the middle of the river.

“I don’t know, are you sure the river is deep enough?” She looked worried.

“Oh yeah, yeah, they did all the underwater survey stuff, and it’s plenty deep enough! The whole city decided this was the wave of the future, the way to go.”

“We’re the first aren’t we?” She asked him.

“Yes we won the lottery, and there will be a lot more to follow. But we’re the first!”

“Aren’t you even a little bit scared?” She asked.

“Of what? They have it all figured out. I think it’s a great idea. It will just take a little bit of time to get used to. And it’s very cost effective, a work in progress!”

“I suppose …” She said, hesitantly. “When will it be ready? Did they say?”

His smile was huge as he held her close and they watched the crane lowering the last section of the water proof building into the river. “Our home will be ready to move into tomorrow!”

“Cool, sweetie, I was wondering how we get down to our new home, you haven’t mentioned that to me yet? ……… Honey?”

Click on the link collection to read more stories prompted by Alastair’s photo!

Hope you enjoyed and that your weekend has started off well for you,

~ Penny

Alastairs Photo Fiction – The Princess and The Maid

July 15, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 25 Comments

When I saw Alastair’s photograph of a castle, I thought of all the fairytales I had read as a child. (many) and knew I would be writing a fairytale. This is a short story, not a flash fiction and it far exceeds the 150 word limit of this writing challenge.

His photograph this week was excellent inspiration for me and I encourage you to join in the fun of Alastair’s Photo Fiction writing challenge! Click here.

To read a brand new fairy tale read on:

The Princess and The Maid – A Fairytale

She was spoiled. It was well known in the kingdom. Since her birth the King and Queen had given her everything so she always got her way. As a result she grew up with complete disdain for just about everyone and everything; except for one person, the scullery maid. The lowest servant in the castle, Gwen was a sweet gentle girl who was always rescuing small animals and was kind to all.

From the time she was old enough to talk, Princess Catherine was pampered and surrounded by adults. They were everywhere. The only time she was allowed to be just a little girl began the day Gwen (only a few years older) felt sorry for her and snuck her into a hidden room, accidently discovered in a remote part of the castle.

Gwen the servant, playing a fairy

From then on the Princess and Gwen would sneak off whenever they could to giggle and play, pretending to be beautiful woodland fairies before going back to their respective positions in life. One very high and formal, the other a lowly servant. They grew to love one another as sisters. In their own secret world.

Princess Catherine playing as a fairy

They continued to meet as young adult ladies, although not as frequently. When Gwen would comment on the rude behavior of Catherine to others, Catherine dismissed her words saying, “they aren’t worthy of my bother!”

Gwen would insist that everyone had value and worth and then go about her business. Her words, as usual, ignored by the haughty Princess Catherine. This might have gone on forever, her selfish, spoiled behavior. Except that one day she noticed Gwen had been missing for awhile.

She asked her personal maid where Gwen was and was told she was very ill and would probably not survive. The princess rushed through the castle upsetting all until a carriage was arranged and the princess transported to a tiny little hovel at the end of the village, where the only true friend she had every had, the maid Gwen, lived.

The cottage, no more than a hovel, was sparsely furnished. In one corner, a bed where her friend lay, barely breathing. Upon seeing her friend, she hurried over, tears in her eyes. The princess knelt by the bedside, grasping Gwen’s frail and fragile hand. Gwen slowly opened her weary eyes and when she saw the princess she smiled. “You came, your highness” She said very faintly.

The princess knew the maid did not have long to live and in a sudden moment of realization she finally understood what her friend had been telling her for all the years of their friendship. “Oh Gwen you mustn’t die, you are too good to die. I should die instead, I am selfish and unworthy of life but you are so pure and good.” She sobbed not caring if her royal face was stained and puffy with tears.

Gwen coughed, her voice a soft whisper as she spoke her last gentle words to her noble friend. “Then you shall live for me, and you will be as good as you can be to all those you meet. And I shall live on, through you my friend. Promise me you will do this. And we will be sisters forever joined through the bonds of love.

On the day Princess Catherine made the promise to her dying friend, she changed and become the model of a loving caring individual. She went on to rule as Queen, and not for a single second, of a single day, did she ever forget her promise. The noble Queen had learned to become humble, with the death of her only friend. From that time on, she ruled with love and cared for all.

The End

Today we need fairytales more than ever. Fantasy for certain, but an engaging way to learn and remember a few of life’s, sometimes, harder lessons. I hope you enjoyed. Have a wonderful week!

~ Penny

Alastairs Photo Fiction – If Idols could cry

July 7, 2013July 7, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 31 Comments

The Idol

Lovingly carved by my human creator, I stand posed in quiet contemplation on a shelf, in a room, in a house. My permanently, etched eyes “wide open” watching life take place around me.

Removed from my birth home, from where my body originated, I am far from the natural elements of nature’s flow, and yet it still survives within me. So it is now, with great sadness, that I silent and helplessly watch the hardships humanity lay upon themselves; confronting each other and their own selves, but without the nourishing rhythm and balance of nature – that they now willfully deny, much as wayward children not wanting to learn life’s important lessons.

I watch as they try and fail to come to terms with their errors of judgement, losing their precious connections to one another and to mother nature herself, even as they (with sometimes innocent intent) tear down the very infrastructure that lead to their existence and survival as a species.

I can see so very clearly and there is a great sadness within me as I sit on this shelf in solitary confinement. If I could, I would cry. But my tears would not be seen, either.

Penny L Howe, 2013

Yes definitely way over the 150 word limit, But I am hopeful this short written piece is still one you will find an interesting read. To join Alastair’s Photo Fiction writing challenge, (who’s weekly prompt is one of his wonderful photographs), click here! Go for it – you’ll have fun!

~ Penny

Alastairs Photo Fiction: No time

June 30, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 46 Comments

Before we had clocks, we used the sun to monitor the passing of time during daylight hours. Makes sense! Depending on the time of day the sun is in a different place. Something to track. Same thing with nighttime hours, when the sky was clear. We kept track of time based on where the moon was in the sky. The thing here is – at some point in the evolution of our keeping track of time, we lost time.

We lost the valuable time being spent in close, interactive relationships with each other and nature. (So my story today has to do with the time of it all).

Vignettes of “No time”

“Daddy, would you help me fix my bicycle tire, it’s still flat and you said you’d fix it a few weeks ago?”

“Not right now son, I’ll take care of it but I have no time today, maybe tomorrow!”

*

“Mommy, can I help you cook dinner? I’d like to help you!”

“I’m sorry honey, mommy has too many things to do today, I just don’t have the time to show you what to do right now.”

*

“Hi John, can you come over and play in the yard with me?”

“I don’t have time right now, there’s a cool show on TV and after that I have a new video game I’m going to try.”

*

“Hi Janice, this is mom. I was wondering if you have time today to stop by and visit your dad and me at the retirement center. We’ve been missing you and the little ones. It’s been awhile.”

“Hi Mom! You know how much we all love you, and we’d love to be able to come visit, but there’s so many things going on right now.”

“That’s what you said a few weeks ago Janice, perhaps you have a little spare time on Sunday?”

“Mom, don’t go there. Don’t make me feel guilty. I have too many things on my plate, There is just no time right now. Sunday I’m just going to stay home and chill, but we love you and will be out to visit when we have more time.”

*

“Hello Henry I’m leaving this message on your answering machine. I was told you called in sick today. I hope it’s nothing serious. Remember we have a deadline on the project your working on. We really don’t have time for you not to be here. I hope you get better soon.”

*

How many “no times” do you have in your life?

“tempus fugit”

Join in the creativity. Write a short short story (Flash Fiction), based on Alastair’s photograph. Click here: Alastairs Photo Fiction Link – to get started. Good Luck!

Time is fleeting, I hope your time today was spent well for you!

~ Penny

Alastairs Photo Fiction – Froth

June 24, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 35 Comments

FROTH

“How could you do this? Look at all the froth!”

“What’s a froth?”

“The white foamy stuff on top, you moron!”

Oh yeah, right, the froth!” He smacked his lips, taking another big swig from his mug. “Yeah, I noticed the, what was it you called it, the froth, but man … all the beer you can drink … ?” He wore a goofy smile while he dipped his mug into the beer swirling all around them; up to their chests now.

“Are you crazy”, his friend yelled! “What good is all this beer? We’re going to drown, if it doesn’t stop!”

The level of the flooding beer continued to rise.

“So this weird person, whose life you saved, said you could have one wish and you wished for beer?”

“Of course not! I’m no dummy,” his friend, floating both literally and figuratively, answered. “I said I wanted a beer supply that would never run out!” He happily answered before his head bobbed and then disappeared beneath the frothy liquid!

There’s nothing like having a head on your beer, definitely frothy!

Join in the creating fun. Write a short short story (Flash Fiction) like the one above for Alastairs Photo Fiction – Just click on the link for details and to get started. Good Luck!

Hope I started your week off with a smile! Have a great day!

~ Penny

Alastairs Photo Fiction – The time portal!

June 16, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 32 Comments

Time for the delightful writing challenge of Alastairs Photo Fiction, Alastair shares with us one of his photographs to use as a prompt for writing a flash fiction (short-short) story of no more than 150 words. Writing from a photo prompt is fun, give this one a try! Click on his link for more details.

His photograph this week is the following:

Stepping Into The Future

“A picture of a time portal?” She shook her head handing the photo back to him. “I was expecting something – I don’t know – more exciting, a dark luminous tunnel, a pathway ending in a mist.”

He smiled, “I know, completely average looking. But this is it. The portal, between the first and second set of steps. By the time you reach the second set you’re in the future, when you turn and walk back down you’re in the past again.”

“Fascinating, but how do I know you’re not just making this up.”

His smile became broader. “I anticipated your question. So I took this picture before I came. Notice the date in the lower right hand corner.”

She looked at the date in the photograph and then at him.

“You’re from my future?”

“Yes,” he said, “But I couldn’t wait any longer to be with you,

so I came early!”

(150 words)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

To enter your own flash fiction from Alastair’s photo prompt, click here to get started!

Thanks for stopping by, have a great week ahead!

~ Penny

Setting the scene – Alastair’s Photo Fiction

May 26, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 21 Comments

Many of us have noticed that some scenes being viewed are classic when it comes to lending themselves to a mystery setting. The photograph is one of them. You can almost imagine this as a precursor to a Sherlock Holmes setting where something spellbinding is about to happen.

I can do no less:

“It was the second lamppost from the corner, sir … where we stopped.” An extremely nervous cabby stammered; blinking and swallowing, while shaky hands twisted together in agitated motion.

The cabby paused here and the inspector asked, “Then what happened?”

“Well, I had been driving slowly down Wisteria Street to the address he’d given me, 205 North Wisteria when I noticed this figure walking along side the road. My passenger must have seen her too because he tapped sharply on my shoulder and said, ‘Stop, stop right here!’ Then he leaped out of the cab and ran back towards her.”

Gulping, he cleared his throat and continued. “Well sir, it was very foggy, and although it was mostly light out, they both seemed strangely shadowy, so perhaps I … didn’t really see … what I thought … I saw.” His words faded away as he stared directly into the investigator’s eyes. The expression on the cabby’s face, abject fear and terror.

He glanced over the inspector’s shoulder and shook his head, not willing to believe the gruesome carnage near the lamppost.

“Just tell me what you saw!” A terse response from the investigator, intense curiosity as to what this man must have witnessed.

“You won’t believe me … you won’t!” The cabby shuddered, took a deep breath and continued “…but my passenger held out his hand, you know like an apology or something and then the other person raised her arm and pointed and then there was this bright blue light and then, he aimed his palm at her and this red beam shot out and then another figure appeared and then more came and then, oh my god …”

(whoops, sorry way too many words guys, gotta stop now, it would have been a good ending too, oh well maybe next time!) A most excellent photo prompt this week Alastair. For more details on how to be a part of this weekly writing challenge Click on this link Alastairs Photo Fiction .

Have a great day today,

~ Penny

Alastairs Photo Fiction: The Writer’s Box of Inspiration

May 19, 2013May 19, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 37 Comments

This weeks prompt for Alastair’s Photo Fiction presents many opportunities for interpretation and variety in the pursuit of crafting creative words. If you enjoy writing, do give Alastair’s writing challenge a try. Just click on the link to participate. With his photo prompt for this week, it seemed a natural thing to write about writers.

We are an interesting group of people aren’t we? The creative desire, no it’s stronger than that, the “need” to express ourselves through the use of the written word. But where does that muse come from anyway?

The box had arrived by mail from the law firm of Charles’ deceased great great grandfather. A hugely successful writer, his grandfather was known to have had an amazing gift with the written word. The accompanying letter said the box was to be passed on to the next true writer in the family.

“Ha,” Charles laughed. “Yeah, right”. He held the box in his hands. It seemed to vibrate. Well he did have quite a vivid imagination. Too bad his imagination wasn’t helping with his story. He laid his manuscript in the box and closed the lid. Perhaps he’d try again in a few days.

Meanwhile in another dimension and time,

“Look, look, more sheets with symbols have arrived in the box today, Gatto,” his assistant cried out.

Gatto peered into the sacred box of knowledge, located in the place of honor within the temple for longer than anyone knew. His job to care for, if not understand its purpose.

He pulled the sheets of paper out of the box and stared at the strange symbols that lay upon them. He knew there must be much meaning here.

He shook his head as to the mysteries of life. Time to deliver this magic to the elders. They would be very excited. It had been a long time since they had communicated with the Gods.

~ * ~

Yes, I did exceed 150 words. But the story line was so much fun to explore, I just couldn’t help myself here. Hoping you still enjoyed a slightly longer flash fiction! And thank you Alastair for providing such an excellent photo to work with this week. Okay so time to put my latest offerings into my own box of inspiration (my pc connecting me to other amazing bloggers)!

Have a great day today!

~ Penny

Alastairs Photo Fiction: The silver lining of life

May 12, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 24 Comments

There are days when heavy overcast clouds become so depressing, a blue sky can be difficult to imagine, the want of comforting sun so envelops our need. Yet within the those thick clouds a ray of sun can break through, the edges glowing with hues of gold and a silvery cast.

And in that moment, you take heart that perhaps the clouds will soon disperse bringing a new and bright shiny day! I find that some days Nature simulates human life.

Alastair’s photo prompt for this week illustrates the point well! My offering for Alastairs Photo Fiction Challenge:

The silver lining of life

~*~

He stood transfixed by the sight of the clouds, as grey and dark as his heart. He was poised on the edge of emptiness, Searching for a way to ease the unrelenting pain in his soul, something, anything to give him a reason to go on. His wife had died so suddenly and he was lost, hopelessly lost without her.

Why, why should he go on? Nothing mattered anymore! No reason without her. Abruptly, dropping to his knees he let his head fall into his hands, sobbing in sorrow. Ironic how the weather was matching his mood. Tears seared his face as he waited for the rain to fall – companionable compliance this gloomy day.

Instead … there was a break in the clouds, a ray of sun touched his face at the same time he felt a small hand brush away the tears from his eyes.

Although the sun’s warming ray couldn’t reach his heart, the soft sweet voice could, “Don’t cry daddy,” she said. Her tiny arms encircling him as best she could, “I’m still here, you still have me to love.”

“Even on the darkest day there is always a reason to keep going,

we must open our hearts so we can see the silver lining when the sun begins to shine through.”

Thanks for stopping by, for more information and to be a part of Alastair’s Photo Fiction writing challenge, click on the link above.

~ Penny

Alastairs Photo Fiction – The nature of things

May 5, 2013May 5, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 31 Comments

The photo prompt for Alastair’s Photo Fiction follows. To take part and challenge your writing skills, click on the link, you won’t regret it.

“Light and dark, good and bad, up and down!” She inhaled the misty clouds blowing out ringed circles as she had seen humans doing with their cigarettes. “Why always the extremes in life, dad?”

He thought about sending her back in time to review the beginning of existence. But upon reflection decided she was just emoting to break through his reverie. She knew why there were extremes.

“Well, no philosophy lecture today my child, just the natural order of things which reminds me, are your “things” in order for today?”

She flipped herself (the ethereal one shaped now as a human) doing cart wheels in the clouds. “Oh yes indeed! I am ready. Things are going to start happening now!” Her dark chuckle a sound on the wind, dissipating quickly.

He sighed causing the clouds to change form around him. His exhaled breath creating movement, although he was also, without physical substance or form. Her exuberance would be tolerated, it was after all her nature. “The subjects are prepared then?”

“Yes, most particularly the female!” Her reply a sneer. “The scary dreams I’ve been sending her are awesome”.

“Why her?” He asked? Although he knew.

“She just really irritates me. How could she encourage him to dismiss my beautifully ominous clouds the other day and right after pointing them out?”

“But you thought it funny at the time, child,” He reminded her.

“Well I don’t now,” *Yin replied.

“If you must then”, *Yang sighed again. “Just remember, balance must at some point be achieved, it is the nature of things.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, while nodding her head in agreement!

*Yin and Yang in Chinese culture, represent the two opposite principles in nature. Yin represents the feminine or negative nature of things and yang stands for the masculine or positive side. Yin and yang are in pairs, such as, female and male, dark and bright, passive and active, etc. But yin and yang are not static or just two separated things. The nature of yinyang lies in interchange and interplay of the two components. The most important element is that yin and yang rely on one another so balance of life is maintained.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed the story (yes it was a continuation from Alastairs prompt last week!) Stay balanced in life – as you can!

~ Penny