Wednesday Words: The Storm

The Perfect Storm Source

Last night’s violent thunder and lightning storm more than battered Theo’s barn.  The storm brought it to the ground, leaving broken timbers and shattered planks.

Theo and Ellen were silent, as he assessed all that had been lost.  His eyes widened as he realized the cost to rebuild and to begin again.  Credit?  That was stretched beyond his ability to repay.

“Maybe we could take up a collection from our families?  I know that…” Ellen suggested, hesitantly.

Theo hung his head, “No, no.  I can’t ask them, you know that.”  Then Theo realized with clarity what he could do, what he should do.  “I’ll be back.” He hugged Ellen tightly and then getting into his truck, Theo drove out onto the dirt road in a cloud of dust.

Where did he go?  What will he do? Any ideas? 

This week, River provided 6 or 12 words for bloggers to use as a writing prompt, to stir up the old brain cells.  Take the leap and see what you can create.  You could write it in the comment section of River's site, post it on your own site (with a link back to River).  

I have really enjoyed these prompts.  They give me a chance to cut loose, take the plunge....

With Lightning Speed

I was on a long-weekend trip with my husband to Idyllwild, California.  The mountain air was brisk; there was the promise of snow in the air.

We wore coats because it was cold and we needed them.  Those coats were so thrilled to be let out into daylight; lingering in a closet must be depressing to a coat meant to shield one from rain, or buffer away the cold wind.

We did our best to support the mountain economy, buying mugs and gifts for our granddaughters.  Anything with a red cardinal on it was in my hands and at the cash register in lightning speed.

It was in the Mountain of Books store that I found a book by Alice Hoffman, The Ice Queen.

Recently, one of my posts dealt with the issue of being invisible.  The M/C narrator (never ever given a name) in this book survives by her ‘invisibility’.   Then she is struck by lightning.  Instead of killing her, this electric life-changing event sends her in a different life direction.

The “Tuesday Teaser” is this:

Are people drawn to each other because of the stories they carry inside?  At the library I couldn’t help but notice which patrons checked out the same books.  They appeared to have nothing in common, but who could tell what a person was truly made of?  The unknown, the riddle, the deepest truth.

Reading the narrator’s journey left me wondering about this being-invisible status so many of us share.  It made me resolve to break through the shields of the invisible.