July 17, 2018

Twittering Tales #93 – The Phone – 17 July 2018

About the challenge: Each Tuesday I will provide a photo prompt. Your mission, if you choose to accept the challenge, is to tell a story in 280 characters or less. When you write your tale, be sure to let me know in the comments with a link to your tale.

A final note: if you need help tracking the number of characters in your story, there is a nifty online tool that will count for you at charactercountonline.com.

I will do a roundup each Tuesday, along with providing a new prompt. And if for some reason I missed your entry in the Roundup, as I have occasionally done, please let me know. I want to be sure to include your tale.

Finally, have fun!

And REMEMBER…you have 280 characters (spaces and punctuation included), to tell your tale…and a week to do it. I can’t wait to see what you create this week.

Twittering Tales #92 – The Roundup

Photo by katermikesch at Pixabay.com

Starting us off:
An anonymous tip proved what Feds had known for years. “They” were among us.
Special forces stormed the desert complex that catered to their reptilian nature.
As snipers waited on the perimeter, laser blasts fell from the
darkening sky, vaporizing them.
Integration complete.
~kat
279 Characters

From Teresa at The Haunted Wordsmith:
Is It True?
Rumors spread on Facebook first, but few believed them. Then it spread to Instagram, but everyone wanted photographic evidence. Then one influencer caught wind of the rumor and it spread like wildfire on Twitter. Everyone came. Everyone waited. No one asked if it were true.
274 characters

From D. Avery at ShiftnShake:
Mixed Message
Thank god for cell phones. What did we do before? Listen in on this call:
I’m in a tent… Rectangle… upright.
Tallways!
Striped… Red and white. Yes, covered… Green?
Yes, there are other red and white striped tents near me…
Listen, do you think you’ll get here before high tide?

From Reena at ReInventions:
Consumer Power
Famous last words of a producer of kids’ books and toys
They have created a world with the mental toys that I gave them to play. Wish I had been more imaginative, positive and expansive in my writing…. I underestimated the power of my readers.
(243 characters)

From Shweta at My Random Ramblings:
Summertime
Summer was in.
The school was out.
While kids his age were spending the summer obsessing over video games, Adi had other plans.
Volunteering to help clean up the local beach was his favourite summer activity.
Adi loved to make a difference;
Saving the environment, one beach at a time.
(280 characters)

From Lady Lee at Lady Lee Manila:
On Another Beach
Out of my reach
You’re so far away
And even when I’ve
Caught you
Not possible
I can’t have you
Out of my reach

On another beach
Perhaps we’d have our day
When we could be halve
When we could go through
Time would let us able
That I could reach you
On another beach
(251 characters)

From Michael at Morpethroad:
It’s me han’bag love, I left in the tent,
The change tent?
Yeah, the striped one.
But they’re all striped.
It was the one near the steps, facing the sand.
They’re all facing the sand. Was it red or blue striped?
Blue! Then again, it might have been red.
Oh dear, another fine mess.

From Amritha at Igniting Hope:
39
It’s me han’bag love, I left in the tent, The change tent? Yeah, the striped one. But they’re all striped. It was the one near the steps, facing the sand. They’re all facing the sand. Was it red or blue striped? Blue! Then again, it might have been red. Oh dear, another fine mess.

From Deepa at SyncWithDeep:
Escaape
away
from the
bustling city
wild thoughts
and stress
Best
Escape
Anyone
Can
Have
summer’s
in the
air
I am annoyed
to see people
wearing sneakers
parents letting
their children cry
bags of trash
a grocery store
laid on a beach mat
umbrellas set
blocking the sun
a beautiful sandcastle
destroyed
before the builder
leaves the beach
argh!
to escape the city
I fled to the beach
now
leaving the wild
with a
souvenir
for a
perfect day!

From Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
Beach Cabanas
Me: What are those little red and white striped huts on the beach?
She: Those are personal beach cabanas.
Me: What are they for?
She: To sit in to get out of the sun, to store things in, to change into bathing suits in, and a place for some privacy.
Me: Privacy?
She winked and smiled.
(280 characters)

From Willow at WillowDot21:
The Bank holiday Monday
All morning in the heat of the car “how much longer, are we there yet” Finally there. The heat had the beach rammed packed. They piled out the car, windbreak,bucket,spades, packed lunches, kids. Caught like sardines on overcrowded beach. “How long do we have to stay” she thought.
(280 Characters)

From Piyali at Piyali’s Blogs:
Dream Vacay
Macramé monokini, over-sized glares, seashell flipflops, a bucket straw hat and sunblock- all stowed neatly in a canvas tote. But, her dream of a tranquil holiday was shattered. Sure, there were sun-kissed beaches and frothy turquoise waters- but crowded, chaotic and maddening.
278 Characters

From Anurag at Jagahdimein:
If Wishes Were Ribbons
We stared at the Wishing Tree with wonder.
So majestic, so magical. I could SEE what great things could be done through its powers.
“Cut it down,” I told my foreman, “we’ll use these ribbons to make Wishing Pods, and sell them to the rich & the famous for a 100 Mn apiece.”
274 characters

From Indhu at Always:
Loner
Sue’s shack was buzzling with tourists. Today, as she served a cocktail with her usual cheery smile, she felt drawn to the waters. She walked and stood still as a wave washed her feet.
She felt it begged for her mercy.
She could not forgive them for they took her family away!
<276 characters>

From Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
It was the annual barbecue of the Cartographers Guild.
Being newly elected members, they were not quite sure of protocols.
They had the dress code, and a detailed plan of how to get there.
They just needed to pass the final test.
Find the red and white tent #82, with the green roof.
(280 characters)

From The Dark Netizen:
Beach
It was a nice sunny day.
The entire community had come to enjoy at the beach. Kids, adults, and senior citizens, frolicked on the beautiful white sand. An abrupt commotion coming from the water interrupted the merrymaking. All the water had swiftly receded.
A disaster approached.
Character Count: 280

From Kirst at Kirst Writes:
Bikini Bodies
Shouldn’t you keep covered up?
I’ve got Factor 50 on!
Yes but that bikini, at your age? I mean, I don’t mind your extra layers, but your Baywatch days are over love!
She forced herself to share his laugh. Their daughter was watching, after all.
Listening to every word.
Not eating.
(280 characters)

Thank you to everyone who joined me on the crowded beach last week, sharing your tales, making me laugh, think, and wonder…and wander. Once again you each gave an amazing account laced with creativity and fun. I hope you did have fun! That’s what these tiny tales are all about!

For this week’s challenge…I’m thinking “Twilight Zone”. Picture if you will a pink toy phone in the middle of a crop field… or maybe it’s just the tale of a child who created an imaginary house in the middle of a garden. You decide. Can’t wait to see what you see. 🙂 Photo by MabelAmber at Pixabay.com.