Their Spot

This weekend's Trifextra Writing Challenge is to come up with 33 words inspired by the photo below. Restrictions: no creepy, dark stuff allowed.

 

Read about this amazing photo project: http://eirikso.com/2011/01/04/one-year-in-one-image/

Leaves snapped beneath them.
"Can I see you again?" He asked.

Snowflakes poured through unadorned branches.
"I'm pregnant," she announced.

Warm rain danced against the white tent.
"I do," their baby girl vowed.

The Only Love Story You'll Ever Read with the Word "Excrement" in It

Once upon a time there was a giant named D. He lived in the kingdom of Iowa. The kingdom was divided into two areas: Farmland and Everywhere Else. D lived in Farmland where stars shine brightly, corn stalks scrape the sky, and the air smells of pig excrement.

The giant often fantasized about what lie beyond Farmland's gravel roads. 

"Son, you must never enter Everywhere Else," his father cautioned. "The air is full of smoke and the people eat frozen vegetables."

Still, D felt destined for the land of mega-malls and mini-marts. He knew his father could never grasp this yearning. So one night D packed his chewing tobacco and snuck away to Everywhere Else. 

Life in Everywhere Else was certainly different. D would go entire days without ever encountering an animal. The people were the biggest surprise. They weren't just white; they were black and brown, too!

D the giant was lonely. He decided to seek the heart of a fair maiden. He considered the friendly lass who often stood on the corner, but he wasn't absolutely sure she was indeed female. He had almost given up on love when he met I.

D regaled I with stories of cow inseminations. I captivated D with tales of buying milk from a store. D was besotted. He didn't care that she couldn't tell a tractor from a combine. But what would his father think of the short, black maiden from Everywhere Else?

D brought I to meet his father. The people of Farmland were somewhat taken aback that she didn't own a single pair of cowboy boots. But they quickly accepted I, and D's father gave them his blessing.

D and I married and had two beautiful children, one of them a giant like his father. They moved to the kingdom of South Carolina, where they speak a strange new language, y'all, and consume mass quantities of a mystical potion called sweet tea.

And they all lived happily ever after

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This week's Trifecta writing challenge: The entry must be 33-333 words and include the word "grasp" as defined below:

GRASP
to lay hold of with the mind : comprehend

Word count: 333

Roots

This weekend's Trifextra writing challenge: write a 33-word piece including the word "tooth."


I found another piece of bone in the flower bed yesterday.
And a tooth with the root still attached.
Grandfather has been in the ground for months,
but we're still burying his crimes.

So Happy

"Sir, I'm flattered. But, as I've told you before, I'm a married woman."

The man in Booth 9 was persistent.

"I've come in here nearly every night for the past two weeks. You never smile, which leads me to believe your husband doesn't make you happy."

His reasoning was weak. So was his chin. No, he wasn't conventionally handsome. Still, there was something attractive about the man in the bargain basement suit.

"Not that it's any of your business, but my husband makes me very, very happy," I said tersely. "Now, would you like your usual spinach omelet with the buttermilk short stack?"

"What I want isn't on the menu." He swatted my ass with the heavily marked up "help wanted" section of his newspaper.

"Sir, that stuff might work on Waffle House waitresses," I scolded quietly. "But it's not gonna fly here."

He devoured his food like he'd barely eaten all day. When he finished, I gave him the check. He paid in cash. Exact change. (He never leaves me a tip.) I was at another table when he left. He blew me a kiss on his way out. I met the gesture with a wink and a smile.

I watched him walk to the car. He had parked at the farthest end of the lot so my coworkers wouldn't see the mountain of clothes and boxes filling the back seat. He carefully placed his suit jacket on the back of the driver's seat.

When he leaves the restaurant, he goes to the free life center down the street to shower. And then he parks at the 24-hour Wal-Mart to hopefully catch some winks before picking me up at the end of my shift.

As I bussed his dishes, Sheryl stopped en route to Table 14. 

"Your hubby is so sweet. Can't believe he comes to see you every night," she marveled. "You two seem so happy. I'm jealous."

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This week's Trifecta writing challenge: The entry must be 33-333 words and include the word "weak," as defined below:

WEAK

Not factually grounded or logically presented <a weak argument>

Word count: 333

Shadow of a Man

This weekend's Trifecta Writing Challenge is to come up with 33 words inspired by this photo:

Photo credit: [ changó ] / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

He kept his head down whenever the white ladies passed, resisting the urge to study their yellow hair and seemingly translucent skin. A misunderstood glance could result in him swinging from a tree.