87: Dying isn't the worst part
When people look at cancer, they think of death. I did too before I found out I had it. But the truth is, dying isn't the worst part. No, when you have cancer, you're not thinking about how much it's going to hurt to die, or how soon it will be. You're thinking about what you're going to leave behind. Your friends, your family, your furry loved ones; the things that really are important. What you're wearing, how you look; these are insignificant. But those who care about you, the people and things you care about are what become really important in your life.
I do not fear death. I fear losing all I care about.
Slim and red, with amused eyes looking at her with deadly curiosity.
“I’m sure they are nice Eve. Just be kind to them and I’m sure you’ll all get all along fine.” She remembered her mother sighing and reminding her that morning as she struggled to clean a spot off the countertop. She didn’t understand.
“What will they think of me when they hear about who my father is?” She’d asked. Which had made her mother put her hands on her hips and say, “Why would they care who your father is? It’s none of their business.”
Mother always believed the best of people, of course; she was incapable of assuming negativity. Even moving to the new house in the new country she was optimistic, only seeing the sparkling new opportunities it afforded them and the new friends they would make. She did not doubt that they would settle into their new home, she did not doubt they would be accepted, she wasn’t even worried about her husband’s upstarting career and fame, she couldn’t imagine it falling to pieces. It was no use trying to explain the concerns she had.
One of them licked their lips, another blinked while they watched her. She had to say something.
“Hey, what’s up?”
The snake threw back its head and laughed,
“You know who I am right?” she asked condescendingly. The words rolled off her tongue like poison and her eyes flashed delightedly.
She thought it best not to say anything at this moment. She didn’t want to give the serpent a reason to pounce.
Apparently no move was the wrong move too because the snake frowned and then after looking at her scaly friends said, “Don’t act smart with me new kid. I am Degrando’s only daughter, and I run this school.”
“I’m not looking for trouble…” She replied, looking down at the bottom of her locker. They were snakes alright.
“Hmm…” She mused suddenly, “You’ve got a weak chin but it might work. I’ll pay you, whatever you want to be a part of my friend group…but don’t think of saying no, or I’ll send one of my dogs after you”
Was she serious?
LOL this is nothing like my high school experience.
I guess its a kind of mean girls story lol.
90: All this time I thought love was something for me. I thought it was a dream to chase or a friend to keep. I never imagined it was something I MYSELF had to give. That it wouldn't come to me but it would come from me and I must make the effort to drag it out. I only realized when Mum died.
Sorry its a long prompt
Slim and red, with amused eyes looking at her with deadly curiosity.
“I’m sure they are nice Eve. Just be kind to them and I’m sure you’ll all get all along fine.” She remembered her mother sighing and reminding her that morning as she struggled to clean a spot off the countertop. She didn’t understand.
“What will they think of me when they hear about who my father is?” She’d asked. Which had made her mother put her hands on her hips and say, “Why would they care who your father is? It’s none of their business.”
Mother always believed the best of people, of course; she was incapable of assuming negativity. Even moving to the new house in the new country she was optimistic, only seeing the sparkling new opportunities it afforded them and the new friends they would make. She did not doubt that they would settle into their new home, she did not doubt they would be accepted, she wasn’t even worried about her husband’s upstarting career and fame, she couldn’t imagine it falling to pieces. It was no use trying to explain the concerns she had.
One of them licked their lips, another blinked while they watched her. She had to say something.
“Hey, what’s up?”
The snake threw back its head and laughed,
“You know who I am right?” she asked condescendingly. The words rolled off her tongue like poison and her eyes flashed delightedly.
She thought it best not to say anything at this moment. She didn’t want to give the serpent a reason to pounce.
Apparently no move was the wrong move too because the snake frowned and then after looking at her scaly friends said, “Don’t act smart with me new kid. I am Degrando’s only daughter, and I run this school.”
“I’m not looking for trouble…” She replied, looking down at the bottom of her locker. They were snakes alright.
“Hmm…” She mused suddenly, “You’ve got a weak chin but it might work. I’ll pay you, whatever you want to be a part of my friend group…but don’t think of saying no, or I’ll send one of my dogs after you”
Was she serious?
LOL this is nothing like my high school experience.
I guess its a kind of mean girls story lol.
(interesting imagery 0,0)
90: All this time I thought love was something for me. I thought it was a dream to chase or a friend to keep. I never imagined it was something I MYSELF had to give. That it wouldn't come to me but it would come from me and I must make the effort to drag it out. I only realized when Mum died.
Sorry its a long prompt
Are you trying to post a prompt instead of a reply..?
I am not sure how this works lol
Bruh read the room. Sure we don’t post here but we sure as hell stalk. This is Bandito’s place. Respect it.
Ok lol, I meant no disrespect
Okay but like. Bruh. You could’ve read a few things up. The set up is pretty simple. But whatever if Bandito’s cool w you so am I.
(true ;-;)
89: Snakes
I jumped as a hoarse hiss shot from the dark corner.
“No need to be afraid,” said the man, “he won’t bite.” He stepped into the light of the lamp hanging from the center of the tent. He stroked the head of the snake, I couldn’t tell what kind it was, but it was long and black and orange; wrapped around and around his arm.
I stepped back, intimidated.
The man chuckled. “You don’t want to say hello to old Rej?”
“Not particularly.”
He let out a screeching laugh. “Not particularly,” he said, uncanny imitating my voice while making it sound highfalutin and ridiculously posh. His bright green eyes bored into mine. “Are you afraid?”
I nodded, truthfully. “Bah!” he spat. “Rej won’t hurt you unless I let him. Come closer and see.”
I stood, unmoving.
He stopped to have a clearer look of my face under my hat. “Are you afraid of me, too?”
“No.”
“You’re lying.” He leaned back, wrapping the snake around his shoulders, before tugging a stool from the corner and sitting down.
“There,” he said, “now I’m lower than you. Now we can be friends.” He brushed back his dark red braids out of his face. He was younger than his voice let on.
I knelt in the grass, heedless of the stains, but ready to run if he moved too suddenly.
“I’m Jack,” he said.
“Clara.”
“How do you do, Clara,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye and a smirk on his lip.
“Fine,” I said, hardly willing to be courteous to someone who had just called me a liar.
“You want to meet Rej now?”
“No.”
“Well that’s mighty impolite miss Clara, don’t you think?” He grinned. “Oughta teach you better manners where you come from.” He started uncurling the snake from around his neck and I stayed still, frozen.
“There we go,” he said, laying the snake at my knees. “Say hello to the nice missy, Rej.”
The snake moodily ignored me.
“See now that’s not nice,” he said, slapping Rej on the tail. Grudgingly, Rej moved forward until he rested his neck on my knees. He flicked his tongue at Jack as if to claim to have done enough. I tried to steady my unsteady breathing, both out of pride, and fear I would disturb the snake.
“You see a lot of people are afraid of snakes,” Jack said. “Like to kill em. Awfully unfair don’t you think?”
I nodded.
“See Rej here won’t hurt nobody unless they try to hurt him, he just gets a little grumpy sometimes. Even the sidewinders let you know before you step on them.” He shook his head. “It’s a might foolish think to be afraid of serpents.”
“Now people on the other hand, they don’t have a rattle. But some do have fangs. You just can’t see em.” He gestured around to the enclosures around us.
“It’s a lot safer to be around all them than other folks don’t you think?”
I nodded.
He walked into his home after a long day of work, he ended up staying late to finish up some things and was looking forward to some dinner and relaxing on the couch with his dog. But was he found when he entered the kitchen and turned on the lights was not a nice house with a loving dog waiting for him, what he found appeared to be something of a horror scene. He feared for the worst but that's when the smell hit him. Tomatoes. and not fresh ones, the very tomatoes that he had been putting off taking out for the past week and a half, and amongst the wreckage was his golden dog, cowering behind the couch, covered in rotten tomatoes.
"…Well Max, at least you don't smell like skunk anymore." the man sighed
the dog whimpered and gave puppy eyes in response.
"Come on, lets get you a bath."
(Max and the man return)
93: Too far away
How many times had she seen a ship pass? How many times had they come so tantalizingly close, even brushing the very surface of the ground, before leaving? How many times had she sat there, screaming at the stars, staring at that distant planet that was her home. She couldn't remember how long she'd been here. Couldn't remember her own name. Yet she knew, in her heart of hearts that the little blue ball in the sky was her home. It tore at her, eating at her insides every day. When the ships started to arrive she felt hope, that they'd find her, take her home. But they left all the same, returning to the place she so desperately coveted. As the days turned to years and the years to decades, the sandy ground beneath her feet stayed the same. Yet her home, the little blue ball, changed. It began to shine, to twinkle as brightly as the stars that surrounded it in that inky veil of the sky. She watched with fascination, as closely as she could from her distant rock. She was too far away, yet as the lights brightened she felt she could just reach out and touch it. To scoop it from the air and cradle it to her chest…
The decades turned to centuries, and the lights only got brighter, dwarfing even the blinding light of the sun. More ships grazed the surface of her rock, and eventually began to land. She wanted to scream, to run, to shout out her joy for the whole universe to hear. She settled for finding the people who crawled from the ships in bulky suits of cloth and metal. She longed to wrap her arms around them, to fall at their feet and weep. Beg for these people to take her back with them, to that little blue planet that now shone like a star. They did. They called her The Lady In The Moon. She wasn't too far away. She was home.
(Just popping this here for stalking purposes…)
93: Too far away
How many times had she seen a ship pass? How many times had they come so tantalizingly close, even brushing the very surface of the ground, before leaving? How many times had she sat there, screaming at the stars, staring at that distant planet that was her home. She couldn't remember how long she'd been here. Couldn't remember her own name. Yet she knew, in her heart of hearts that the little blue ball in the sky was her home. It tore at her, eating at her insides every day. When the ships started to arrive she felt hope, that they'd find her, take her home. But they left all the same, returning to the place she so desperately coveted. As the days turned to years and the years to decades, the sandy ground beneath her feet stayed the same. Yet her home, the little blue ball, changed. It began to shine, to twinkle as brightly as the stars that surrounded it in that inky veil of the sky. She watched with fascination, as closely as she could from her distant rock. She was too far away, yet as the lights brightened she felt she could just reach out and touch it. To scoop it from the air and cradle it to her chest…
The decades turned to centuries, and the lights only got brighter, dwarfing even the blinding light of the sun. More ships grazed the surface of her rock, and eventually began to land. She wanted to scream, to run, to shout out her joy for the whole universe to hear. She settled for finding the people who crawled from the ships in bulky suits of cloth and metal. She longed to wrap her arms around them, to fall at their feet and weep. Beg for these people to take her back with them, to that little blue planet that now shone like a star. They did. They called her The Lady In The Moon. She wasn't too far away. She was home.
(awwwwwwww) (love the suspense omg)
After a long day off spent cleaning his previously disaster of a house, the man stepped back and leaned against the counter, a well deserved glass of lemonade in hand and the back door open letting in a nice evening breeze. He finally sat back and admired his work. Spotless house at last.
This was short-lived however, as a happy dog came bounding in through the door, toy in mouth and paws caked in fresh spring mud splattering all over the mans freshly cleaned floors.
"…really Max?" the man stared down the dog.
Max simply dropped his dirty toy and stared blankly in response.
he sighed "come on Max, lets get you a bath."
69: You do not speak for us
The best part of making a deal with a semi-conscious, evil, and ever hungry being was, supposedly, the power. The worst part was, surprisingly, the noise. Rosalind's lips tugged down into a frown, keeping an annoyed hiss from escaping from her throat. The being she'd affectionately named Friendly Roaring Evil Demon, or F.R.E.D. was constantly talking in overlapping voices. A hundred voices constantly screaming, jabbering, or demanding things from her. A tidal wave of insanity and incomprehensible rage, living in her skull like an unwelcome house-mate. It almost drowned out her own thoughts, but in time she'd learned to carve out a little pocket of quiet for herself. Fred liked to pull itself together when it truly wanted something, to whisper in her ears its requests and asks. Today was one of those days.
"Meatbag, where are you taking us today?" The voice was neither male nor female, but a mix of both, reminding Rosalind of the cheesy special effects in old movies. It always sounded angry, and on good days very annoyed. She smiled, not answering for a moment, and feeling Fred's impatience.
"I'm going to a coffee shop Fred, I'm hungry." Rosalind said in a hushed voice, not wanting to scare the people walking near her on the busy street by talking too much to herself. She'd gotten more than her yearly dose of strange looks, she didn't want to overfill the quota too much. The store she wanted was only a few blocks from her apartment and served really good breakfast pastries. It was one of her favorite places in the city, with it's quiet atmosphere and cozy decor. She'd had a scare a few years back when a pair of super's had visited the city and nearly wrecked the street with their fight. Luckily the store still stood, and as Rosalind opened the door and the little bell announced her presence, a massive smile lit up her face. The air was silky with the smell of roasted beans and only a handful of people sat in the chairs, looking uninterested to see another customer.
Rosalind approached the counter, already pulling out her wallet from her bag. The employee looked up from their phone and gave a fairly decent customer service smile.
"Hi ma'am! What can I get for you today?" The young man said, and at his words Fred began to stir again in its cacophony, making its demands like a particularly excited child or dog.
"The souls of the innocent!" The voices screamed in excitement, and Rosalind stifled a smile. Fred still didn't seem to understand stores yet. She was still trying to teach them that stores didn't sell human blood, haunted artifacts, or death traps. They also had a fondness for puzzles.
"A bagel."
"NOOOO-" Rosalind cut them off again. "Two bagels actually!"
The bagels were good, Fred was unhappy, and Rosalind was having a great day.
(excellent)
95: Never ending
One: You will never be a god.
Hey its a bit of a flash from the past because its the first prompt lol. I hope you enjoy it :) (Also I don't write often and I'm not really used to writing short stories so sorry if its not very good)
Aurora’s golden locks had just begun to spill over the horizon. Her rosy cheeks held dimples from her dazzling smile. A smile unfit for me. A smile I am not worthy of. My senses are slow to awaken, but as they do, each one is flooded by the beauty of this world. Birds and babbling brooks can be heard from the gardens. Pine and mint drift through the air. I feel the contrasting warmth of the sun and the coolness of the silk sheets I lay under. Every morning begins as such.
Sundays are my least favorite day, for we are not permitted to work. Even if it is the one day we break from the monotonicity of life, it’s the one day that I am left to battle with my own thoughts. But this Sunday stands out above all the rest. Today is the test: the test to see if I inherited any of my father’s divine energy.
I roll out of bed, less gracefully than a demigoddess should, and get dressed. With woven gold and scented roses, I braid my hair to wrap around my head and fall over one shoulder. I then adorn my pale neck and arms with the golden strands and precious stones of my family. When the girl in the mirror stares back at me, I barely recognize her. She isn’t ready. I don’t think she’ll ever feel comfortable playing out the future expected of her. What a disappointment. Each step echoes through the hallway as I pad towards the atrium where the biggest event of my life will take place. Even if my father is a god doesn’t mean I feel any more powerful. My mother had fallen in love with him when she was my age. How foolish. Everyone knows that the gods do not care for the mortals. They only keep us to toy with our lives and receive our sacrifices.
The whispers cease the second I walk in the room. Everyone stares at me. I hate the spotlight. I walk to the center of the atrium where the oracle awaits. The air around me is not enough to fill my aching lungs. I kneel before the priestess who sprinkles sacred herbs and spices over me. She recites a short blessing for me in which the crowd joins in, then silence.
“Stand”, she orders.
I stand. This is it. This is the moment my life is decided for me. From this moment on I will either stay with my loving mother and friends or be forced to live in the heavens with a father I’ve never met. I look back at the crowd of people gathered here for my fate. Not everyday does someone get to see a demigoddess, let alone witness their test. I pick out the faces of servants I grew up with. Each one looks hopeful and proud. I smile. This may be the last time I see them. My eyes glide over the staring faces and comes to rest on my teary-eyed mother. Tears of my own threaten to fall, but I must stay strong for her sake. I smile at her, too, hoping to fake an ounce of strength for her to borrow.
I turn back to the priestess who now holds a box before me. It is a plain and simple wooden box. Any commoner could have purchased it from the markets. A single line of silver script wraps around the sides.
“This box,” the priestess spoke,” holds your answer, preordained by the gods and spoken by our oracle. Only those with divine energy such as myself can hold it, let alone, open”
It's now or never. The second I touch the box it begins to glow red. Suddenly it bursts into flames, forcing me to drop it in fear and pain. Flames spill from the unopened box and lap at the terrified crowd. This is not supposed to happen. The flames disappear as quickly as they came. I stare up at the oracle, who has been silent until now.
“This a divine sign from the heavens! From the king himself!”
The terrified crowd waited in anticipation, along with my family and friends, for the oracle’s answer.
“YOU WILL NEVER BE WORTHY TO LIVE IN THE HEAVENS!”
Horrified gasps filled the room.
“YOU ARE NOT A TRUE GODDESS!!”
I smiled.
