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.

Twitterting Tales #101 – The Roundup

Starting us off:

The Best Kind of People
“They were the nicest people. Kept to themselves. Friendly enough. What do you suppose happened over there officer?”
“Why don’t you tell me ma’am.”
“Oh I have no idea. I could tell you stories now. But I don’t want to keep you.”
“Go ahead ma’am. I’ve got all night.”
~kat
(269 Characters)

By Reena at ReInventions:
“Is there a pattern to the arrangement of titles?”
“That is my challenge tonight. Rearrange titles to let new stories emerge. They are waiting inside me for long, outside the pages of authors’ perspectives.”
“That’s just partial freedom. Why does one need prompts or challenges?”
(277 words)

By Deepa at Sync With Deep:
My Companion
‘You are going to miss out on a beautiful nature and life if you don’t travel,’ Ian said.
I smiled at him as I recollected the places I visited through my companion – my books.
(176 characters)

By Ron at Read4Fun:
Dad knew I was at the library and would be home by six. Ever since the neighborhood attacks, he has been a worry wart. I should have known he would come to pick me up. I shouldn’t have worn this shirt. Maybe he won’t see me before I get to the bathroom and wash off the tattoo.
<277 characters>

The Books
“So many books? You must love reading.”
Not really.
“Then why borrow so many?”
They are for my best friend.
“Oh! She loves reading?”
No. She can’t read.
“Ah! You teaching her?”
Nope. Reading to her.
“Young man, if you could teach her, that would help her more.”
I can’t. She’s blind….
Character Count: 278

By Amritha at Igniting Hope:
Maggie and Me
She went around the library and collected as many books as she could.
“Did you find the book you were looking for?”
“No”, she replied in negation.
“What next?”, I asked
Its time to write my own book, she announced.
A ‘best-selling author’ in making, I thought to myself!
(267 characters)

By Schwetha at Face the Music:
The Wonder
The indigenous men believed Mowgli was a cursed child. Despite being raised in the jungle-sleeping under the trees, swimming with the whales and climbing mountains, he yearned for an urban life. The city-bred humans were not considered to be the best kind of people on the move.

By Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
They’re Books
“Books,” he said. “At least two dozen. A variety. Fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, mystery, romance, self-help, inspirational, male authors, female authors.”
“Okay,” she said. “May I ask what they’re for?”
“What do you think they’re for, young lady? They’re books. You read them.”
(276 characters)

By Kristian at Tales from the Mind of Kristian:
The Weight of Knowledge
It was clear that they were dealing with a particularly sick minded killer.
To crush a librarian to death under a pile of her own books was horrific.
It would have been a kinder, quicker death if they’d used more hardbacks and fewer paperbacks.
[242 characters]

By Radhika at Radhika’s Reflection:
Books – My World
Friends envied my collection of books which ran into thousands. Innumerable authors writing across various genres kept me busy all day long.
Books became my world since that fateful accident, that left me confined to bed for life. Maybe I was the Cursed child!
Letter count : 262

By Piyali at Piyali’s Blogs:
A New Name
I am afraid we can’t publish it under your real name.
Why?
Books by female authors in this genre rarely sell.
Joanne was a single parent, struggling to support her child. All she ever wanted was to publish her book
She choked back her tears and scribbled down a pen name-J K Rowling

By Willow at WillowDot21:
The snow had fallen for days now. The whole town was cut off. Those stuck in the library were warm and well entertained. Micheal was helping Gabriel search for his talc and Azriel. St Peter had told the Big Man it was a Code White. Satan was warming himself by the fire, happy.
(277 Characters)

By Hayley at The Story Files:
Stocking Up
September payday arrived, Kim had worked overtime to have enough money for her shopping spree. At the till, she watched the cashier cashing up everything.
‘That’s a lot of books!’ the cashier said, counting eighteen total.
‘It’s my winter stock pile,’ Kim replied, grinning.

By Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
I could always recognise her by the tattoo on her arm, a beautiful rose, and by her shiny black hair.
I always greeted her with a cheery “hello”.
I longed to see her face, but she always seemed to hide behind a pile of books.
I determined to peek behind those books.
I wish I hadn’t!
(279 characters)

By Deb at Twenty Four:
Few could comprehend it, fewer knew the truth.
She had strolled into the library and borrowed the maximum number of books allowed and in the dark of the night she had set them alight. Tears staining her face.
Was it a protest? A cry for help? A plea for justice?
No one knew.
(275 characters)

By Anurag at jagahdilmein:
The Disappointment
Harry saw the lone dog-eared book in his son’s hands, and said in a disappointed tone, “Albus, look at yourself, and look at Hermione & Ron’s daughter, Rose. She’s got such a huge stack of books from the library. Why can’t you learn from her and try stealing a few more books?”
277 characters.

By the Universal Unionist:
You ordered pizzas, I bought you books. You wanted spicy, fruity, cheesy, something to share, something hot, it’s all in this lot. You can keep them in the fridge, the oven or the pot, you’ll get a bit hungry, but your soul and your mind, will be nourished, a lot.

By hridrayanka at Incandescent Spirit:
Reader
A girl of eight sits next to me in the library that I visit every fortnight.
Yesterday, she whispered “What do you do, sitting idle?”
I said, “I read people and try finding their stories, by the books they read.”
“And what do you do sitting next to me all day?”
“I read you.”
~279 characters

By Indhu at Always:
Reminiscence
Raj helped her unload the books on the table. She looked at him and smiled. It was a mixture of blush and pride.
They chose each other’s favorite and slipped into different worlds.
“Happy 25^th!” their son’s message flashed on phone.
“Re-living our first date night 😉” replied Raj.
<277 characters>

By Kalpana at Gemini in the Sky:
Books
“why are you hiding behind the books?”
“I have no face , no identity.”
“Why?”
” I dive into the pages, swim with the words and get into the skin of the characters. I lose myself”
“But you have to surface to reality.”
“That’s the toughest part. I loathe it.”
(252 characters)

Thank you to everyone who participated last week. I was impressed by the different takes on the prompt. Clearly we all have a love of words and books. Be sure to visit your fellow twitterers.

I almost decided to scratch the photo below. I had selected it before I prepared the links to your tales from last week. And I wondered as I revisited it…is this photo too weird? It is weird. And maybe a bit disturbing. So, against my own trepidation, I am going for it. No telling what stories you all may come up with. That’s the best part. The anticipation and the excitement I feel as I click on your link and read what you’ve written. It makes my week. Really. So go wild with it. Have fun. And I’ll see you at the Roundup! 🙂

Twittering Tales #102 – Broken Barbies – 18 September 2018

Photo by Skitterphotos at Pexels.com

Smart Girls

“This is exactly how I found them Doctor. I don’t know what to think! Should I be worried that my sweet daughter has mangled her Barbie dolls?”
“Have you asked her?”
“I did. She told me she hated Barbie. Who hates Barbie?”
“Smart little girls, Mrs. Jones. I hope you’re listening.”

~kat

(278 Characters)