to fill my empty cup anew
with dreams that linger into day
to light my path along the way
I feel her pull, drawing me in, a magic brew
~kat
The Oviellejo is an Old Spanish verse form (derived from ovillo, a ball of yarn). A stanza consists of 10 lines, with a rhyme scheme of AABBCCCDDC. The second line of each rhyme scheme, Line 2,4,6, is short line of up to 5 syllables. The last line is a “redondilla,” a “little round” that collects all three of the short lines.
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.
The Anniversary They were losing altitude fast. Jon held Sarah’s hand tightly as the treetops cracked under the belly of the craft.
“It’ll be okay,” he assured her.
Sarah turned to him, her eyes flooded with tears, “It was perfect anniversay gift Jon. Thank you so much. I love y…”
276 characters
The Fly By Ned tapped the pilot’s shoulder. “Can we do a fly over my granny’s house? It’s just past that grove of trees, the one with the pool.”
“Sure thing,” the pilot smiled.
As they neared the property Ned gasped, “Oh my god! GRANNY!”
Down below Granny was sunbathing poolside…naked!
276 characters
By The Dark Netizen: Their Culture “Oh God! Are we really going there?” Yup.
“You realise they are uneducated tribals right?” Yes. Very little is known about them. We can learn and share their culture with the world.
*2 hours later*
“Is keeping us locked in cages a part of their culture?!” So is cannibalism, I’m sure… Character Count: 280
By Kristian at Tales from the Mind of Kristian: A Change of Heart They’d been stuck on the island for seven years. At first, they’d hated each other. She thought he had a massive chip on his shoulder and he thought she was terribly stuck up.
It was only when the helicopter came to rescue them, did they realise they never wanted to be apart.
[277 Characters]
By Naonato at Honing Skills and Loving the Ride: (A take on week 147’s Beach Scene) R & R Rush & Relax! We’ve been dealing with traffic for 3 hours so we can queue to swim in the over-human-populated water, with too much toxic sunscreen and barely a reef or fish in site; other than the ornaments on peoples necks and the batter-covered fish a few feet away. Now relax! character count: 280
By Ramya at And Miles to Go Before I Sleep:
Mysterious Journey
“Are you sure this is the place?”
I think so…
“You have a map.. right? ”
Huh.. Yes
“Show it to me..”
*staring at the map in disbelief and panicking*
“This is a page from Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. Not a real map!!! We are dead…”
Character Count : 233
By Tien at From the Window Seat: Maiden Flight
The little boy’s parents gasped while he cried out; the birthday surprise was morphing into a nightmare.
The hovering helicopter wobbled drunkenly before nosediving.
Screams sounded out at once.
The father picked up the toy helicopter and, after a brief check, announced “It’s OK!”
(278 characters)
By Reena at ReInventions: The Only Way to Go “He cannot carry the weight of his bloated ego anymore.”
The watercooler gossip was both dejected and vicious. My colleagues couldn’t take the humiliation and abuse any more.
“Wait for it to take a nosedive. It is the only way to go from that altitude.”
(252 characters)
By Fandango at This, That, and the Other: Down There Helicopter patrol above the big city park was fairly routine. A fracas of some sort every few days, an occasional fender-bender. Mostly boring.
“Down there,” Sam pointed to a small clearing between the trees. He picked up the radio mic. “Rape in progress at Hippie Hill. Respond.”
(279 characters)
By Willow at WillowDot21: The Accident The helicopter hovered above the trees, expertly piloted. It had been flying for two hours then in a moment of inattention from the pilot it clipped a tree. Sending it crashing to the ground.
“OMG. Billy, Dads going to go mad when he sees the mess we’ve made of his new toy.”
(277 Characters)
By Graham at Graham is Just My Name: THE HELICOPTER
“This’ll flush them out”, I insisted.
“Not a chance in hell”, you sneered.
I piloted the drone remotely, whilst checking the images on my phone. From here at least it looked impressive.
It’s not the size or noise of the beast that matters.
“Once we localise them, it’ll be game over!”
(280 chars)
By Di at Pensitivity101:
Now look what you’ve done!
The blades have torn a hole in the sky!
65 characters
By Larry at East Elmhurst A Go Go: Inside and Outside “I’ve been reading about the Manson murders,” Ed told Sue. “It says the Manson family symbolized the reality of evil and the Woodstock era represented its pretty camouflage. Beware the sugar coated Trojan horse.” Just then there was violent turbulence.
(253 characters)
By Lisa at Tao Talk: Double Double Cross
Intel learned rebel HQ was in a bunker under the orchard. Double Agent Ripley led the raid team, in specialized helicopters. As they landed on the other side of the hill from the orchard, Ripley slit the pilot’s throat. The rebels waiting to begin their ambush got her signal to move.
[287 characters]
By Tessa at Tessa Can Do It: Caught? They heard the helicopter overhead. Ron glanced at the sleeping boy and then at Linda.
“I think Nan may have spilled the beans. She was the only one who knew where we were.”
“Oh Ron, why would she do that to us? We’ve been friends for so long.”
“She didn’t want to go down alone.”
277 characters
By Anurag at Jagahdilmein: Bang for the Buck “Mom, can I please go back to my Video Game now?”
“Just a few more minutes sweety, keep making those weird sounds and waving your arms.”
“But our team needs me.”
“So do they on the helicopter, son. They’ve paid top dollars for a peek into the life of an authentic indigenous tribe.”
280 characters.
By Radhika at Radhika’s Reflection: Gratitude! A pilot for a decade now, this was a routine sortie for Jim. The sudden technical snag led the chopper to nose dive. Experience helped him crash land safely.
The brush with death changed his perspective to life. He started living each day of life to the fullest, with gratitude!
Letter count 279
By Shweta at My Random Ramblings: The Light at the End of the Tunnel
Below them, the rushing floodwaters raged and roared, leaving a muddy, crumbling mess in its wake.
Stunned into silence, they watched helplessly as the water level continued to rise.
They were trapped.
“Look, look! It’s a chopper!”
The tired, trembling crowd heaved a collective sigh.
(280 characters)
By Kitty at Kitty’s Verses: Zoom
Ground work for the rumoured multi- storeyed building, progressing in a hush hush manner.
Growl!!! Growl!!!
The roar from the app scared off the builders.
Environmentalists exchanging smug glances from above.
How many tricks would they have to play until the builders see light? 274 characters
By Sadje at Keep It Alive:
Winning the lottery meant that they could indulge themselves. So on a crazy impulse, James booked a helicopter ride over the Central Park in New York. It was amazing experience till half an hour into the trip, the pilot warned them to be prepared for air turbulence. Oops!
Character count: 274
By Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
The contrail had been there for 3 days.
Mike had to take a sample to see why it failed to dissipate.
As they approached, he could see that it was made up of tiny ant like creatures.
He felt a bite on his wrist, and screamed in horror as they started to devour him, and the aircraft!
(280 characters)
By Diane at Ladies Who Lunch Reviews, Etc.: The Search…
“I see smoke, maybe a campfire!”
“Can you get closer?”
“Bringing it down — I see red. You said she was wearing red?”
“Yep, red hoodie and jeans.”
The helicopter dipped.
“Houston, we have a problem,” the pilot said drily as his runaway wife hightailed it for the woods.
277 characters
By Deb at Twenty Four:
Clear blue skies and a crisp breeze, we couldn’t ask for better condition I tell you.
I know some of you were reluctant, but you have to admit it wasn’t the worst decision you ever made, was it?
Ok, so I’m blind but I tell you whoever said I couldn’t fly a helicopter can go jump.
(279 characters)
By John at Broadsides: Whiteman not welcome The NSA were furious. The Indians had stopped using the internet, and they could not decode smoke signals, only disrupt such messages with the beating blades of their helicopters, flying across the pipelines over their ancestral lands. But the message was simple. “Go back to where you came from”.
By Hayley at The Story Files:
The trees moved violently as if stuck by a giant when the chopper flew close to them. The noise of the whirling blades blocked out all of sound but then the emergency bleeping went off.
People watched in horror as the helicopter failed to land and crashed into the forest.
Another great Roundup! I enjoyed reading ever single one! Well, I always do. It’s amazing what on can do with 280 characters! Thank you once again for taking part. This week’s photo by wal_172619 at pixabay.com has so many tales to tell. Traffic…stories from the cabbies…a missed flight or important appointment…hmmm. I’m looking forward to your tales this week. See you at next week’s round up. And by all means, have fun! 😊
Twittering Tales #149 – 13 August 2019
Photo by Wal_172619 @ picabay.com
After years behind a desk, Ellie decided to make a change. Sure, she could’ve gone Uber or Lyft, but her old clunker was a wreck. At “Checkered” they provided the wheels and a paycheck.
She had some wild stories. Like that time she delivered twins. Too bad I’m out of characters…
The news has been giddy with “who done it, was it homicide or suicide, how could they let this happen, whose gonna pay now” drivel. All over a vile pediphile’s untimely demise. But I’m still stuck. A little over a week ago, back to school shoppers were gunned down at a Walmart. Just a few days later, other children came home from their first day of school to find their parents missing. And still at our border there are no doubt children wasting away in cages because their parents had the audacity to seek safety for them. What parent wouldn’t do the same for their own children, faced with the threat of death or worse? I’ve been stewing on this Oviellejo for days. I had planned to write about the beautiful sunrise. It was beautiful. But somewhere someone is suffering, and my heart is bleeding. We can’t forget the children. We just can’t.
when children lose their innocence
no recompense
can make up for the damage wrought
it’s a dark spot
that festers slowly over time
it is a crime
ignoring it for a lifetime
can lead to callous, broken souls
no hope of ever being whole
no recompense, it’s a dark spot, it is a crime
~kat
The Oviellejo is an Old Spanish verse form (derived from ovillo, a ball of yarn). A stanza consists of 10 lines, with a rhyme scheme of AABBCCCDDC. The second line of each rhyme scheme, Line 2,4,6, is short line of up to 5 syllables. The last line is a “redondilla,” a “little round” that collects all three of the short lines.
be kind to others you don’t know
the smile they show
is their way of grin and bearing
may need caring
of a tender hearted stranger’s soul
to feel whole
and when they growl under life’s toll
please don’t take it personally
their brokenness is what you see
the smile they show may need caring to feel whole
~kat
The Oviellejo is an Old Spanish verse form (derived from ovillo, a ball of yarn). A stanza consists of 10 lines, with a rhyme scheme of AABBCCCDDC. The second line of each rhyme scheme, Line 2,4,6, is short line of up to 5 syllables. The last line is a “redondilla,” a “little round” that collects all three of the short lines.
It was the best of times…it was the worst of times…I’m borrowing a line from Dickens today. This week was one of those times, albeit in reverse, starting with the aftermath of another two mass shootings, and the heartache and terror that follows, and then the added cruel insult to our woundedness, the racist raids of Hispanic people at workplaces because…well because they are Hispanic. The fact that hundreds were immediately released is proof that our nation has now taken to rounding up people like cattle. That was the macro view of our country this week. The photo op of the president and First Lady, with she holding the baby whose parents died saving it at a mass shooting and he beaming with a crass thumbs up tells the world all they need to know about the lunatics running this country. I honestly don’t know if my heart can survive another 4 more years of this…I’m hoping I won’t have to…but if Russia has their way again… 😣 (please vote)
And the very best of times…for the truth of the matter is that the darkness never lasts forever. Even when shadows fall, all it takes is a turn of the head to see the light. And so it was in my little corner of the world. Though everything was spinning out of control all around me the light made its way to me in the rescue of a coal black kitten and his pure white mother. They are safe now in my imperfect home where dust settles a little too freely, but love is also free and unconditional, patient and kind. I may not have the power to change the world but I do have the grace to change a tiny corner of it, one fragile soul at a time.
It’s hard for me to say this past week was a good week…but it was seven days in the life of a people and of me, and to borrow again from Dickens, it was the worst of times, but it was also the best. Go gently dear ones…always always turn to the light leaving the shadows to fade behind you! ❤️
Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 11 August 2019
oh what a tangled mess we’ve weaved
grief repeats itself
just past that grove of trees,
“It’ll be okay,”
seek the light
until the people cry, “no more!”
we live in fear
fourth kitten rescued
finally, I can breathe
where nothing’s sure
with every breath i breathe i pray
So it is easier for you to find all the parts/chapters of my ongoing fiction series, I created a new page that lists all the links. You can check it out HERE!
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kat Myrman and Like Mercury Colliding with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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