Writing Prompt 55: Desert Hills
Last night, my husband told me a 'fact' he'd found on TikTok from an account called - Things I Wish I Didn't Know About - or something like that.
Apparently, if an octopus were to climb into your mouth, it would be able to make its way through your body and out via 'your butthole' with no trouble at all.
What does that have to do with this week's writing prompt?
Absolutely nothing. I just wanted to share…
This week, I'm still thinking about the weather.
Here, before the weekend, we had 20cm of snow fall overnight. The following day, I spent nearly an hour clearing the snow from my car, particularly the top, where now a 30cm head of perfect powdery snow had accumulated.
Why did I need to dig out my car? Because I had a tennis lesson to get to. And I’d paid for it. And my friend had texted me and said she was definitely going. Needs must.
My daughter practically prayed for the snow, watching the weather app on her phone like a hawk, giving us an hourly update. Imagine her delight when all the schools called in one snow day after another.
But, as quickly as the snow came, the rain followed. The warmer temperatures began to melt the snow quickly, causing the roads, pavements and trails to become an icy, slippery, slushy mess.
After two snow days, the schools were back open. My daughter, in her infinite wisdom, chose her Ugg boots, which hit just above her ankle, as appropriate footwear to walk to school. I suggested that maybe her snowboots might be better.
They didn't go with her outfit.
An hour later, both my husband and I received a text from our daughter, describing the state of the roads and how the slush had got into her boots and how her socks and her feet were now soaking wet and would be for the rest of the day and could one of us pick her up after school so she didn't have to walk home in the slush again.
On Monday, she wore different shoes.
Weather. Let's write about extremes of weather. Have you experienced extreme flooding, snow, heat, or wind? How did it feel? How did it affect you? How does it change the environment? How might it influence your characters? Write it all down.
Oh. And apologies for being a day late posting. It's both my husband and my daughter's birthdays today. There's been a lot to do.
Middle of Nowhere
The wind gathered in the distance, calling up the ghosts from a golden age, whistling through the rocks and racing across the flat, dry land. The horses flicked their tails as flies buzzed in circles around the piles of shit on the ground, the afternoon heat still pressing into their bodies.
A wild, rangy dog wandered up to the camp, looking wary, scouting for shade and pieces of food for her family. Abe squatted, poking a long metal stick at the fire he'd lit, waiting for the flames to subside and the wood had enough heat to cook the dry meat lying in a pan balanced on a rock nearby.
The oldest brother, Caleb, kicked his foot at the dog, catching it sharply by the rump. The dog whimpered and cowered before lifting her upper lip into a snarl. She backed away to a safe distance, laying down to face the fire, waiting for a moment of opportunity.
“Not far to go now,” said Abe. “Not far at all.” A breeze caught a flame and it flickered out to Abe's hand.
The youngest brother, leant against the rock, twirling a pistol around his forefinger and slipping it into its holster, again and again.
“Wind’s up,” he said, flipping up the brim of his hat and squinting out to the hills.
“We need to tie ‘em up or the haunted will steal 'em.” The old man sucked on his pipe.
The youngest nodded and looped a rope around and around his hand.
“They real?” he said.
“They’re real alright,” said the old man squinting into the horizon.
Another took off his hat and fanned away the flies. He took a leg of meat from a rough sack and began to cut at it with a knife.
Story first posted March 2019 // Photo:Tanya Clarke 2016
