Wednesday's Words on a Friday
The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over by a moveable feast of participants when Delores had computer troubles. Sadly, Delores has now closed her blog forever due to other problems.
The aim of the words is to encourage us to write. A story, a poem, whatever comes to mind.
If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please let us know so we can come along to read it and add a few encouraging words.
This month the words/prompts are supplied by Charlotte and can be found here
This week's words/prompts are:
1.peach 2.granola bowl 3.idea 4.wood 5.sad
and/or:
1.turn 2.scarecrow 3.flowers 4.cauldron 5.hot 6.bubble
Here is my story:
Erin slowly stirred the
cauldron of peaches that would magically turn into jam, watching the surface as
each hot bubble popped. Maggie had sent Susan and Jenny for more wood to keep
the fire going under it, and talked to Erin as she stirred, all the while
watching carefully.
She talked of memories,
her favourite granola bowl from early childhood, the scarecrow her grandfather
had stood in the ripening fields to keep the crows from eating the wheat,
laughing gently at the idea that such a thing would actually stop the birds,
marking the time with a scratch on the wall each time Erin winced.
Labour had begun,
though Erin might not have realised just yet, each niggling contraction being
small and far apart. Maggie spoke of being sad when her grandfather had died,
saying we all get a turn at life, just like the flowers in the spring, gathering
cloths and tying a rope to the bedstead for Erin to grip when the time came.
She took a turn at the cauldron, sending Erin to look outside to see if Susan
and Jenny were on their way back.
“Take a walk around outside
the hut, and breathe deeply”, said Maggie noticing a faint sheen of sweat as
the next pain hit a little harder. She remembered Granny telling her Aunt Celia
that walking and gravity were good at this stage, Maggie had been very young at
the time but remembered how calm her Granny had been while helping Aunt Celia.
She was determined to
give Erin as much of that calm as she could and hoped Susan and Jenny would
soon be back. They could help with wiping Erin’s face with cool cloths and
rubbing her back. Dana carried in the basket Rufus had finished weaving, now
filled with swathes of soft fabrics to nestle the baby into. “It’s coming on
faster now,” she told Maggie, having seen Erin hunched with pain and realising at
last what was happening.
She walked back in,
hands cradling her belly, smiling through the pain of the next contraction, knowing
she would soon be holding her baby. “Run to the smokehouse and bring Russell
now,” Maggie said to Dana.
THAT is how you end your story??? Ahhhrgh! Did all go well? Boy, girl, HEALTHY???? All happy? I hope there is a follow up and please let it be sweet.
ReplyDeleteLots of stuff going on there. what next??
DeleteSounds like the beginning of a book. Very nicely done.
ReplyDeleteElsie had been drifting through life like a peach slice floating in a granola bowl. However, one morning she woke up with an idea. She planned to carve an image of Jesus from a block of seasoned eucalyptus wood. His face would be sad.
ReplyDeleteMany hours of patient work followed. When the statuette was finished, her twin granddaughters in turn said, "Jesus looks like a scarecrow Nana!" Their matching dresses were patterned with flowers. Nana was furious.
That night Nana stirred her cauldron. She chanted an ancient Latin rhyme as she poured bull's blood into the hot liquid that was beginning to bubble. The twin granddaughters looked on from their wooden pen, fearful. This was a side of their nana that they had never seen before. They were starting to regret what they had said about the Jesus idol but it was too late now.