January has kind of flown by in a blur as I’m learning more in-depth about my laser and how to set up and tweak the programs. Eventually, I should even be able to write them myself. I’ve got three great teachers who have all been doing this for so long that there are nearly 100 years of experience between them. I’m in great hands, and I hope to learn everything that I can from each of them.
I feel like I’ve been a bit neglectful in my story writing as of late. I’ve only given y’all three short stories, and they all were holiday related. [Unwrap the Story, Under the Mistletoe, & Fast away the old year passes] Since today was one of those days where I can’t decide if things went well or were absolutely terrible and writing is a great way to ease the soul, I thought I’d grab another prompt from my Write the Story book. I haven’t done that in a while.
write the story: A famous fictional character in the wrong story
Include the following in your story:
- stock market
- salute
- serial
- average
- tangy
- Venus
- panda
- boss
- ensemble
- knee
When I opened the page and read what I’d selected, I wished I hadn’t set the rule that I write the story no matter what it is. How do I know what character is famous enough or choose which story to drop them into? So, I turned to my family for a little help. I gave them no context when I asked each of my children to choose. My son chose Ebeneezer Scrooge as the famous character, and my daughter chose Goldilocks and the Three Bears as the well-known story. Oh gods, what have I done?
Ebenezer’s Cabin Retreat
As the boss, Ebenezer had always been sure to arrive at the office promptly every morning. Since making Cratchit a partner, he’d been traveling more. As it just so happened, he had found his way to a small cabin in the woods where he was seated in a rocker on the porch.
He was thinking of the stock market as he sipped his morning tea and watched the sun chase Venus from the sky. The sound of a child singing drew his attention to the path that wound through the woods just as a young girl with silken curls of gold came skipping into sight.
She carried a basket on her arm that occasionally bounced off her knee as she skipped down the path. She gave a quick salute as she passed him. He watched her until she had skipped out of sight.
The rain began to fall lightly at first. There had been an average of one hour of rainfall every day since he’d arrived. He didn’t mind it though. It smelled rather pleasant afterward.
He’d been a changed man since his visit with the spirits last Christmas. He’d found a way to enjoy life more. He fretted less about the things he wasn’t in control of.
He passed the rainy afternoon reading the next story in his favorite serial, Penny Dreadful. He enjoyed a tangy lemon tart at tea time. When the rain lessened to a light drizzle, Ebenezer returned to the porch. The air smelled clean and green.
He rocked gently. The serial lay forgotten on his lap. He drifted dreamily, jolting every time his head lolled to the side.
He had just jolted awake again when an ensemble of bears came walking up the path. They were heading in the same direction the golden-curled girl had skipped off to. Ebenezer had thought he’d known all nature of bear.
There was the brown bear and the black bear. He’d heard of a panda bear and a koala bear, too. But in all of his years, he’d never heard of bears that strolled casually on by while discussing the porridge they’d left cooling on the table at home.
“I hope the porridge hasn’t gone cold,” fretted one bear. “That rain came on us out of nowhere. We were lucky to find the shelter that we did.”
“If it’s turned cold, we’ll just place it back on the hearth. I’m looking forward to settling into my comfortable chair and warming my paws by the fire.”
The littlest one yawned sleepily.
“Looks like somebody could use a nap.” The largest bear tousled the head of the littlest one.
“Stop it,” he replied grumpily as he shoved the paw away.
“Why, I’ll be…” Ebenezer muttered as he watched the bears disappear into the woods.
Love Sick: Stories is out now
Do you enjoy reading Tiffany’s stories and poems?
You can own a book of Tiffany’s stories
ShldBWriting 