Daily writing prompts from June 9th, 2008 to December 31st, 2022
Wednesday November 8th, 2017
The exercise: Write something to do with: hide and seek. Fair warning: you might want to be prepared to continue your tale tomorrow. And maybe the day after that.
No hints as to what the story will have to conform to? I guess that means leaving things a little open ended then....
Hide and seek The afternoon sun was shining on the lawns of the house at Westreach. The grass, as green as the taste of lime, looked cool and inviting, and the trees and shrubs that lined the edges and concealed the high walls were contentedly photosynthesizing, practically basking in the light. Scents of honeysuckle and hyacinth drifted lazily around: the air was moving slightly but it was more like what you got from the movements of bees and wasps that it was a breeze. Four lawn chairs, white plastic bearing the stains of being out in winter rains, were loosely gathered around a small-diameter cast-iron table supported by a single leg that looked a lot like a Victorian lamp-post. The house itself was back a way, brooding like a hen on a clutch of eggs. Everything tasted of cinder toffee for a moment and there was a sensation like sandpaper dragging over skin and then Miss Hyde and Miss Sikh were walking on the lawn as though they'd always been there. Miss Hyde was wearing a light, eggshell-green cotton dress that came down to her wrists and ankles and carrying a straw boater in one hand. Miss Sikh seemed wrapped in something iridescent that might have been the platonic ideal of a sari or toga. They reached the chairs and Miss Hyde sat down. Miss Sikh rested a hand on the back of hers for a moment and it twisted and writhed, stretching out as though suddenly melted by the sun's heat and tugged on by invisible hands. Eventually it rested and seemed to solidify, and where once was cheap extruded plastic was now a carven high-backed chair with armrests inset with precious stones and a footrest of exotic wood carved to look like a crouching penitent. Joachim stepping out of the middle-distance and seeming to grow until he was in the foreground was barely worthy of comment after that. "I'm impressed," he said, touching two fingers to his forehead as a salute to Miss Sikh. "I was a goddess 75,000 years ago," she said calmly, her voice like a hanging-judge's. "There are prerequisites for the job that are not left behind when one takes a sabbatical." Joachim looked at Miss Hyde. "I'm also impressed," he said. "Those chairs are supposed to change according to occupancy-" as he spoke his chair shimmered into something near-invisible and glass-like, like a hourglass large enough to use as a stool. "-yet you are somehow compelling yours to maintain its form. What are you, Miss Hyde?" "It's impolite to ask a lady what species she is," said Miss Hyde, though she smiled. "If I remind you of a teacher though, I will not be offended." "Timeless one," said Miss Sikh, and while her voice didn't change the air around them felt a little colder. "There are four chairs here. Who is still to come?" "I asked both the Seraphim and the Schedim," said Joachim. Miss Sikh snorted, and Miss Hyde put her hat on. "You'd start a war in this garden?" she asked. "Neutral territory," said Joachim. His mouth turned down a little as though hurt by the suggestion. "They both nominated the same champion. Which I suppose I should have expected." "So where is it?" asked Miss Sikh. "That's where this gets interesting," said Joachim. "He should be on Easter Island waiting for a conjunction, yet he appears to be missing. I should like that we find him." Miss Hyde spoke first, a restraining hand settling on Miss Sikh's arm. "Let me get this straight," she said. "I know your kind, and I know how much you value your sense of humour, for all that the rest of us find it execrable. You have asked us here, and taken advantage of circumstance, to invite us to play... hide and seek?"
I actually wrote all three parts of mine tonight but I'll spread them out over the next couple of days. I think they'd be less effective posted all together.
So...
Mine:
It began as just a game - Innocently, like any other. There was so little at stake, Merely: who was the better brother.
When the seeker closed his eyes The three young boys disappeared like ghosts. Into the thick woods they ran, Each boy already planning his boasts.
But the fun didn't last long, For they were not alone in that place. And the seeker - their father - Was not the only one giving chase...
Well, if all your posts are going on the right day I think you might get away with posting them altogether and just letting us know... but I can enjoy the suspense as well :) Hmm, this seems autobiographical except that I thought you only had two boys. This could be worrying! That said, this tells an intriguing story. I think this works really well as a poem and the rhymes are strong; the poem forces you to choose words carefully and conveys the threat better than prose would, I think. I'm looking forward to more of this :)
4 comments:
No hints as to what the story will have to conform to? I guess that means leaving things a little open ended then....
Hide and seek
The afternoon sun was shining on the lawns of the house at Westreach. The grass, as green as the taste of lime, looked cool and inviting, and the trees and shrubs that lined the edges and concealed the high walls were contentedly photosynthesizing, practically basking in the light. Scents of honeysuckle and hyacinth drifted lazily around: the air was moving slightly but it was more like what you got from the movements of bees and wasps that it was a breeze. Four lawn chairs, white plastic bearing the stains of being out in winter rains, were loosely gathered around a small-diameter cast-iron table supported by a single leg that looked a lot like a Victorian lamp-post. The house itself was back a way, brooding like a hen on a clutch of eggs.
Everything tasted of cinder toffee for a moment and there was a sensation like sandpaper dragging over skin and then Miss Hyde and Miss Sikh were walking on the lawn as though they'd always been there. Miss Hyde was wearing a light, eggshell-green cotton dress that came down to her wrists and ankles and carrying a straw boater in one hand. Miss Sikh seemed wrapped in something iridescent that might have been the platonic ideal of a sari or toga. They reached the chairs and Miss Hyde sat down. Miss Sikh rested a hand on the back of hers for a moment and it twisted and writhed, stretching out as though suddenly melted by the sun's heat and tugged on by invisible hands. Eventually it rested and seemed to solidify, and where once was cheap extruded plastic was now a carven high-backed chair with armrests inset with precious stones and a footrest of exotic wood carved to look like a crouching penitent.
Joachim stepping out of the middle-distance and seeming to grow until he was in the foreground was barely worthy of comment after that.
"I'm impressed," he said, touching two fingers to his forehead as a salute to Miss Sikh.
"I was a goddess 75,000 years ago," she said calmly, her voice like a hanging-judge's. "There are prerequisites for the job that are not left behind when one takes a sabbatical."
Joachim looked at Miss Hyde. "I'm also impressed," he said. "Those chairs are supposed to change according to occupancy-" as he spoke his chair shimmered into something near-invisible and glass-like, like a hourglass large enough to use as a stool. "-yet you are somehow compelling yours to maintain its form. What are you, Miss Hyde?"
"It's impolite to ask a lady what species she is," said Miss Hyde, though she smiled. "If I remind you of a teacher though, I will not be offended."
"Timeless one," said Miss Sikh, and while her voice didn't change the air around them felt a little colder. "There are four chairs here. Who is still to come?"
"I asked both the Seraphim and the Schedim," said Joachim. Miss Sikh snorted, and Miss Hyde put her hat on.
"You'd start a war in this garden?" she asked.
"Neutral territory," said Joachim. His mouth turned down a little as though hurt by the suggestion. "They both nominated the same champion. Which I suppose I should have expected."
"So where is it?" asked Miss Sikh.
"That's where this gets interesting," said Joachim. "He should be on Easter Island waiting for a conjunction, yet he appears to be missing. I should like that we find him."
Miss Hyde spoke first, a restraining hand settling on Miss Sikh's arm.
"Let me get this straight," she said. "I know your kind, and I know how much you value your sense of humour, for all that the rest of us find it execrable. You have asked us here, and taken advantage of circumstance, to invite us to play... hide and seek?"
Greg - bah, hints are no fun :P
I'll have to come back another time and write on this, as I did have an idea of where I'd like to take it.
God, I love the way you're able to set a scene like you do in your opening here. Totally jealous.
And I quite like the way you've tied the prompt to this scene and these characters. I do believe interesting adventures are ahead!
I actually wrote all three parts of mine tonight but I'll spread them out over the next couple of days. I think they'd be less effective posted all together.
So...
Mine:
It began as just a game -
Innocently, like any other.
There was so little at stake,
Merely: who was the better brother.
When the seeker closed his eyes
The three young boys disappeared like ghosts.
Into the thick woods they ran,
Each boy already planning his boasts.
But the fun didn't last long,
For they were not alone in that place.
And the seeker - their father -
Was not the only one giving chase...
Well, if all your posts are going on the right day I think you might get away with posting them altogether and just letting us know... but I can enjoy the suspense as well :)
Hmm, this seems autobiographical except that I thought you only had two boys. This could be worrying! That said, this tells an intriguing story. I think this works really well as a poem and the rhymes are strong; the poem forces you to choose words carefully and conveys the threat better than prose would, I think. I'm looking forward to more of this :)
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