July 30, 2019

Twittering Tales # 147 – 30 July 2019

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. This is important as I have noticed that some of the ping backs have not been working. If you would prefer to post your tale in the comments (some people have very specific blog themes but still want to participate), I am happy to post a link to your site when I post your tale in the Round Up.

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!

Twittering Tales #146 -The Roundup

Cenote Cave in the Yukatan by mattiaverga at Pixabay.com

Starting us off…

Remembering…
Sandra hoped to quell the nightmares that had haunted her for years in the cool waters of Ik Kil. As she floated in the pristine pool, the sound of drums and chanting filled her head. This place felt oddly familiar, terrifying, peaceful as she remembered she’d been here before.
~kat
278 Characters

By Di at Pensitivity101:
Toy Story
‘Daddy’s killed all my toys,’ Sabrina sobbed into her mother’s shoulder.
Aster glared at her husband.
‘They were draining resources,’ he explained. ‘It won’t be long before other humans find the Pool child, and then you can have some new ones.’
242 characters.

By Willow at WillowDot21:
The Last Farewell
Opening her eyes she was free, no more pain not even that of leaving them behind.
One last look at all she had done and written, she saw all the people she had touched. He was there young and fit and smiling at her. Come he said let’s dive the water is so clear. Together they did.
(280 Characters)

By Tien at From the Window Seat:
Frogs in a Pot
The swimmers enjoyed themselves in the limestone pool, splashing around in the cooling waters. The summer sun continued its relentless heat waves.
None of them noticed the rising temperature of the limestone waters until it was too late.
By then, sukiyaki was ready to be served.
(277 characters)

By The Dark Netizen:
Miracle Pool
The pool had earned a solid reputation.
Its waters slowed aging. The rich flocked to swim in the pool. They paid the hefty entry fees and swore by the effects. Only years later did they discover the village drainage pipes connecting to the pool.
The villagers avenged their past….
Character Count: 280

By Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
The Zoo
“There are so many, Mommy,” Sara said as she and her mother looked down at the tropical pond from the catwalk high above.
“It’s hard to believe there were only a dozen when we brought them here before their planet became uninhabitable,” her mother said. “All they do is procreate.”
(280 characters)

By Graham at Graham is Just My Name:
CENOTE
My body screamed at me not to enter but my heart urged me in.
Magical and captivating sight. Sun caressed bodies at play on the limpid water.
Water that had dragged my beautiful boy into its dark depths the fateful day of his dive into that abyss.
Tears of joy when he was rescued.
(278 chars)

By Reena at ReInventions:
Making of a Criminal
This toy gives me immense satisfaction, especially while watching WWF on television.
I treat my enemies the way I want to. It is catharsis.
Today, I see them swimming out of the well. Maybe, they have a soul… but they failed to see mine. I push them back again.
(259 characters)

By Dave at @DaveMadden:
The Oasis
“How much farther?”
“It should be just up ahead.”
“We have been walking forever and haven’t seen a soul. How can you be so sure?”
“Trust me. We’re almost there, and we’ll have the whole oasis to ourselves.”
“I thought you said we’d be alone out here.”
“Umm…”
“I’m going to the car.”
Character Counts: 278

By Lisa at Tao Talk:
Pool of Souls
The last thing Sha saw was a man with a syringe. Waking, she found herself on a stone ledge near a round pool of deep water surrounded by tall sheer rocks. Looking up, Shar saw sunshine, green, and water falling.
“Where am I?” she asked.
“The Afterlife Pool – waiting to return.”

By Jellico’s Writing Nook:
These Days
They were told not to swim there, but did they listen…Nooo.
Now look at them, covered head to foot in slime. It’s a disgrace.
Adults these days, I tell ya…

By Larry at East Elmhurst A Go Go:
Big Decision
The battle had reached its climax. The World War I flying ace was forced into an emergency ejection from his plane. “The Red Baron will never get me,” he announced into his radio. He jumped, opened his parachute, and hoped for the best as he cascaded into the unknown.
(273 characters)

By Ron at Read 4 Fun:
Long Drought. Hands appeared around the edge of our world. Plants and shade appeared. A far-away voice, “Ready, turn on the tap.” Water flowed gently from several sources. The ground inundated quickly; water levels rose. Hope it stops before flooding. Man-made climate change.
276 characters

By Anurag at Jagadilmein:
Tourist Trap
“Are you guys having fun?” the tour guide shouted from above.
The cacophonous response that followed, gave him his answer.
“That’s great,” he yelled back, “because you guys could be stuck down there for a long, long time if your folks delay paying up your ransom.”
264 characters

By Kitty at Kitty’s Verses:
Keep Going
Banyan tree’s nature to sprout from the seeds that land on other trees by smothering them, can either be seen as selfish nature of the banyan or tenacity to survive no matter the circumstances. The perseverance to keep going in tiring times is the positive side to the coin.
274 characters

By Kristian at Tales From the Mind of Kristian:
Love, Extinguished
It was a beautiful spot; Couples arrived at the secluded pool through a candle-lit passage. He’d had to scout hard to find the opening at the top.
Since she’d rejected him, he’d planned his revenge. The click of the trigger echoed in that bowl-shaped hollow. So did the screams.
[279 Characters]

By Linda at Charmed Chaos:
The Feast
The last addition to John’s living aquarium arrives tonight. These oddities are prized; amazing what millions of dollars can buy. The truck arrives and the iron gate opens. From high above John shouts ‘Let the creature loose!’
It slides into the water and the bloody feast begins.

By Sadje at Keep It Alive:
They were there to get whole and healed again. All that was required was to jump into the hot water of the pool with the absolute faith that it will heal all their physical ailments . Uma and her husband held hands and jumped in, letting go of the crutches they were carrying.
Character count; 271

By Tessa at Tessa Can Do It!:
The Landing
Landing at Cenote Cave in the Yukatan was a great place to hide. Being out of the country makes it hard for the over-seas cops to track them down.
“Did you hide the goods, Ron?”
“Yes, and where’s the kid?”
“Taking advantage of the pools.”
“Hope he sleeps tonight. Suspicions arising.”
280 characters

By Rekha at Invictus:
Welcome to the Party
We hung around the edges of the pool as the bodies fell in one after another.
Like them, we had been pleasantly surprised that our captors chose to dump us in such breathtakingly beautiful, clear waters. We’d also wondered if they were villainous at all. The cool, fresh water had washed our fears away and we had swum about happily. Until our skin started burning, then itching and to our utter horror, peeling off.
Warning the newcomers was pointless. One dip was all it took.

By Deb at Twenty Four:
Mark grinned, “It’s perfect, do you think anyone will realise?”
“Of course they will, that’s the whole point, to be astounded by what we’ve achieved.”
“They look so realistic though.”
“Exactly,” Mary stated caustically, “Until we pull the strings.”
“And the marionettes come to life.”

By Indhu at Always:
Our Abode
“Well, they seem to be happy and relaxing”, said He.
“Yeah”, said the other one.
“This is our right and why are WE hiding from them?” added He.
“It is time to show them their place!”
The extraterrestrials gather to plan the wipe out of all humans from their planet.
<263 characters>

By Diane at Ladies Who Lunch Reviews:
The Gift
Papa, it’s wonderful!
Well, it’s not everyday that a prince turns 10, now is it?
May I make the puppets move?
Puppets? Oh, no, son, they’re not toys. They’re tiny subjects I had created just for you. Now, be gentle —
I’m making this one fly!
Wilhelm, no — his arm!
275 characters

By Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
She collected, and bred, carnivorous plants all her life, and was considered an expert.
She thought she had every type until offered a gigantic pitcher plant she had never seen before.
She was delighted with the new acquisition, and decided to name it after the donor, Herman Trapp!
(280 characters)

By Rob at Art by Rob Goldstein:
Echo Lake Park
Skyscrapers rise
through the dusty
skies
around Echo
Lake Park.
Ripples of water collide
as children splash and
dive,
and swim to shore.
126 Characters

By John at Broadsides:
What we can do is build a lift, a glass lift, rising up and down between the apartments we can cut into the rock face, all-glass fronts, and a beautiful water slide curling and twisting into the pool, and maybe a hot tub. All we need is planning permission.

What a diverse array of tales this week! It’s fascinating how many versions of a story can develop from one photo! Thank you to everyone who tweeted this week! For this week a familiar scene, I’m thinking. You can write about our global heat wave like I did… or maybe there’s someone amidst the throng who is living out a dramatic story only you can tell! Have fun with it! Keep cool! And I’ll see you at next week’s round up! 😊

Twittering Tales # 147 – 30 July 2019

Photo by enriquelopezgarre at Pixabay.com

Toast

foolish naysayers will cry
thinning ozone is a lie
they boast global warming’s a hoax
but the mercury’s rising
polar ice caps are melting
the sea’s swelling over the coast
people gathering in droves
strip off all of their clothes
sizzling on sand bars like toast

~kat

254 Characters