Thursday July 23rd, 2020

The exercise:

Write about something that is: bursting.

2 comments:

Greg said...

Bursting seems ominous: pipes unused for four months springing leaks in the buildings, perhaps?

Bursting
Jimmy was staying in a three-room hut that he pretended, with a sheepish grin on his face, was a house. There was a medium-sized room with a stove at one end and wood stacked neatly by it, a rug on the floor that might not be home to fleas and ticks, and two broken chairs and a couch that was bursting at its seams and leaking what was probably sawdust. There were two bedrooms, both about the same size, both with two narrow beds in and a washstand with a basin and a blue pitcher for water.
"Ain't bad," said Ben, looking at the broken chairs. "Did you do that?"
"Like that when I got here," said Jimmy. "The one with three legs is alright if you don't mind rocking about a bit."
"Hmm." Ben disappeared outside with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Which room are you sleeping in?" I said. Jimmy shook his head.
"I'll let you and Ben choose first," he said. "That way I'm not sleeping in the same room as him. I remember how he snores."
"Everyone remembers how he snores," I said. "I swear he's chased mountain lions off in the night before now because they think there's a bear prowling around them."
There was a crash outside, and then a thump, and the whole house shook, just a little, just enough to remind me that it probably wasn't built for any weather stronger than sunshine. The door opened, and Ben hauled a rocking in, and set down opposite the couch with another thump.
"I remembered seeing it outside the house with the broken windows and holes in the roof," he said. "I figured we could use it better than ghosts."
"Ma Hominy lives there! You stole her rocker," said Jimmy. His voice got a little high as his emotions warred between horror and laughter. "She'll be furious to bursting! She'll, she'll..."
"Go off her rocker?" I asked, and Jimmy stared at me for a full second before collapsing to the ground in helpless laughter. "Did anyone see you... ah, liberate, this chair Ben?"
"Nope," said Ben. "If anyone asks we'll say the chupacapra must have taken it, and we'll give it back when we leave."
"The chupa- chupacap- chupacapra took it!" Jimmy struggled to get the words out between explosive gusts of laughing. "Je- Je- Jesus guys, I've mis- missed you!"
"I think I've missed us," I said, sitting down on the couch. Ben sat in the rocker and rocked in back and forwards a little. It squeaked, but he looked pleased. He started patting his pockets, looking for the cigars he'd obtained from Josie.

Marc said...

Greg - or bursting with excitement! Don't be so negative :P

Ah, these three. Such enjoyable company. And I rather like Jimmy's house/shack. It sounds rather charming, considering the surroundings.