Sunday 10 May 2020

The Date – Creative Writing Exercise # 14



by Laura Lai/ Uncategorized

Every month I wait with great enthusiasm the criteria of the Furious Fiction writing contest of the Australian Writers’ Centre (AWC). I try to rise to the challenges and some of the previous (text) results I posted on this blog:

A38-Word Champion Story (Sept. 8th, 2019)
The POV (online exercise) – Part I and Part II (July 1st, 2019) – might have also be inspired  by the AWC

It makes me a great pleasure to try to rise to the challenges. And every time I take the challenge and send my entry, I’m wondering ‘what other challenging requirements will cross their minds next month?’
            For example, the ‘Furious Fiction’ criteria for April 2020 were the following:
 Your story must begin on the side of a road;
Your story must include the following words: apron, pigment, ribbon, icon, lemon;
Your story must include a splash.

THE DATE

At 10 a.m. she was still sleeping deep. The windows of her room were open but neither the wind slowly blowing, nor the birds singing or the sun seemed to bother her. It was the cling of her mobile phone that woke her up from her dreams. The message she got was short: ‘meet you today at 4 p.m. at the junction of the Apron Street to the Icon Street. Love you’. Then she jumped from the bed, she jumped on the bed, she screamed of joy and she buried her face in the pillow. The message was unsigned, but she knew exactly who wrote it.
            She met him online. His username was ‘Pigment’ and hers was ‘Lemon’, although a lovely and pretty high school girl. They talked online for the whole month. They learned about each other online. They shared secrets, they laughed and cried online, but they never physically met.
            She was so happy that morning that she didn’t want to waste it all staying with the face in the pillow. Jumping of joy she entered directly in the closet looking for the best outfit. She spent hours, trying things and combining different cloths. She even skipped lunch, because she was still in the closet. You cannot possibly imagine what was on her bed! It was a mountain of clothing and shoes, but she was still looking for the perfect outfit that would make this pretty young girl feel pretty. When she finally found it, she was tired and strengthless, but happy in her heart that she found this beautiful white beach dress that she bought the previous year. She put it on. She turned several times in the mirror and smiled satisfied. She thought to add also a hat. She brought a chair and grabbed from the upper shelf of her closet a white summer hat with a silk red ribbon. She had a last look at herself in the mirror and she left satisfied that she looked like beautiful bride.

At 4 p.m. she was waiting on the side of the road at the junction between the Apron Street and the Icon Street for her love story to begin. But he was not there, yet. A short, but intense summer rain started and she was still there waiting. Now she was all soaked. He showed up a couple of minutes later, when the rain was gone, the sky was clear and the birds were singing again. He rushed and he stopped the car so sudden that he splashed all the muddy water on her beautiful white dress. A young man in T-shirt and shorts, wearing slippers went out the car.
Look what you have done! she said nervously.
What?! You mean the dress?
Of course, I mean the dress. It’s my favorite dress!
Don’t worry about the dress. I’m interested in what is beneath!



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