Eleanor's Dare
I grew up on Ficlets. There, the writer inside me had a home. I'm a teacher now, and a 4th grader who reminds me so much of myself asked, "Why don't you share your writing with us?" So, I come tentatively, searching for a place to stretch my writing muscles again.
It's one of those mornings--an anything-is-better-than-pretending-to-sleep-while-I-actually-just-worry sort of morning.
It's the third morning of its kind this week. I'll be into work two hours early. Again.
I've flipped through the radio stations, and tiring of the market report on NPR and the talk bits of Top 40 stations, I choose silence instead.
The trees rise up to the east, covering the hillside in that nascent sort of autumnal yellow. And then I see it again. The mist. It covers two distinct patches of forest, neatly nestling in the tree tops, barely visible from the road.
I bet no one else even notices. Or if they do, they just keep driving. You know, like I'm about to do.
Unless I don't.
I could turn off at the next exit. I could walk into the woods. I could risk getting lost, being late, being scared.
Do at least one thing every day that scares you, I hear Eleanor Roosevelt's words in my head.
They sound an awful lot like a dare.
Prequels
No prequels yet. Why not write one?
Sequels
No sequels yet. Why not write one?
Comments (6 so far!)
Average reader rating 4.67/5
ElshaHawk LoA
Or you might get in trouble for trespassing... :) Sounds like you need a hobby that fills two hours. I know! Writing.
- #1488 Posted 8 years ago
-
0
Emmyful
Ooh! A pre-work walk in the woods. Could be interesting, or disastrous. Or both!
- #1491 Posted 8 years ago
-
0
- 5 out of 5
Robert Quick
Aha! I've just figured out that I don't get notifications for stories entered into one of my prompts, so this is pretty late. I guess I was still thinking of prompts as the 'challenges' from the last site. My apologies. I like this idea and I love how you incorporated my very general prompt into your story. That was clever. I think we do a good job of forgetting that we can change nearly any moment of our life, start sailing in a different direction on a whim. Your story is a good reminder that we hold the power. Of course in a sequel or if this was part of a larger story there would be consequences but the main character would still have agency.
- #1598 Posted 8 years ago
-
0
Mighty-Joe Young LOA
Hey how about a picture, nothing says," this is me", like a picture.
- #1702 Posted 8 years ago
-
0
- 4 out of 5
Jim Stitzel
It is most definitely a dare -- and a challenge. Step out of your friendly, warm comfort zone. That's where we are forced to stretch and grow.
- #4355 Posted 5 years ago
-
0
Story prompt:
I triple-dog dare you to write anything! If you need an actual prompt feature a dare in your story, either the moment of daring, or the actions that follow because of an accepted/rejected/(un)successful dare. No restrictions apply. Void where prohibited---
- Published 8 years ago and featured 5 years ago.
- Story viewed 34 times and rated 3 times.
All stories on Ficlatté are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. What does this mean?
slapdashmonuments
If you fail the dare, she calls you in for a stern Fireside Chat, I hear. But I am cheering you on.