Wednesday's Words on a Friday

On Wednesdays, assorted people have been taking monthly turns at putting up a selection of words which is called “Words for Wednesday”.

We have taken over this meme from Delores, who had been having computer problems.

This month the meme continues right here, with words supplied by me!

Essentially the aim is to encourage us to write.   

Each week we are given a choice of prompts: which can be words, phrases, music or images.   What we do with those prompts is up to us:  a short story, prose, a song, a poem, or treating them with ignore...

Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog.  We would really like it if as many people as possible joined in with this fun meme.

If you are posting on your own blog - let us know so that we can come along and read your masterpiece.

I’m hopeless at poetry so I always do a story.

It’s a fun challenge…why not join in?

This week's words are:

1. station

2. stranger

3. opportunity

4. release

5. notebook

6. heavens

and/or: 

1. devastation

2. yacht

3. surrounds

4. security

5. touch

6. glow

and/or: "much like gravy, the plot thickens" 

Here is my story: a background chapter.

After Billy had faded into the shadows, Sandy drove back towards town, but skirted around to the old boat shed, where Stephen Jenkins often spent the night during the summer. The two spoke quietly for a while, Sandy asking if Stephen had enough medication, enough food, then asking if he would look in on Jenny the next morning. Stephen agreed and Sandy went on home to let Jenny know.

Jenny was a trained, certified psychologist and had learnt quite a bit in her many talks with Stephen and also by talking to Old Pearl. Billy wasn't much of a talker, but in chatting with these three, she was gradually piecing together some of the events of the past few years. Just before Stephen's breakdown, his boss had been under suspicion; there'd been some shady goings on and Jenny was convinced that Stephen had found out something crucial and had his breakdown when his boss had first threatened him, then fired him, stating that he couldn't have a mentally ill staff member. Stephen's mind broke completely when his wife, Beverly, packed up and walked away from a man who could no longer provide her with the material things she believed she needed.

Stephen had been found ranting and wandering by the riverbank by Old Pearl, who recognised the filthy hungry man and led him to her camp, where she fed him the remains of their breakfast and allowed him to sleep in the humpy. Word was sent to the town's doctor, who had known about Stephen but had been so far unable to help as Stephen refused to go to the hospital. Discussions between Pearl, Doctor Paulson, and several of the knitting club women, resulted in daily meals for Stephen, left at Pearl's humpy, or at the old boat shed where Stephen liked to sit and watch the river.

Many of the meals were laced with mild tranquilisers in hopes of stabilising Stephen to the point where recovery could begin. Then Jenny had taken over delivering many of the meals and staying to chat with Stephen as he ate. At first he was suspicious of "the stranger" as he called her, but the opportunity to release and relieve some of his mental devastation through talking soon had him accepting Jenny and her ever-present notebook. He never asked about the things she wrote and she was happy to just let him ramble on with whatever things came to his mind. 

One day as he ate a roast beef sandwich, Stephen mentioned the Police Station and that he was supposed to tell someone something, but couldn't remember who or what, only that something was wrong with the office security and the boss had bought a spiffy new yacht. Jenny noted this down, then sat quietly while Stephen once again went off on tangents, speaking of the heavens and how he would like to reach up and touch the stars that glow there, then suddenly switching to Klingon.

For two years now Jenny had been trying to make sense of the bits Stephen said, and she knew also that Old Billy and Old Pearl probably knew more than they were letting on too.  Pearl was grandmother, or great grandmother, to Rick Stanton's wife Mary and Rick Stanton was somehow related to Stephen's old boss, George Hughes. There was a large spider web of lies and half truths to be unravelled in this town, but Jenny had the necessary patience. Sergeant Barry knew who she was, but wouldn't yet tell the new Detective Inspector, he'd wait until they all knew Wayne Grimshaw better. Hopefully, he'd be a patient Detective, willing to let things unfold, instead of hurrying towards a conclusion. 

At least things had now got to a point where Stephen knew he was taking medication and the pills could be given to him to swallow, instead of being ground up in whatever meal was brought to him daily. 

There were still days when he didn't seem to be aware of his surroundings and wandered the river muttering about glowing lights and stinging sticks. No one knew what to make of that, everyone just kept an eye on him as much as possible until he slept again.