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 #147 -The Roundup

Photo by enriquelopezgarre at Pixabay.com

Starting us off…
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

By Lisa at Tao Talk:
Ants
Crom, an interstellar vagabond parasite, was told to, “Get out of Dodge” with an uncanny regularity.
Crom entered the Milky Way and saw edible bugs on Earth. As a shape shifter, he became clouds and waited to guzzle. Today his huge nozzle lowered; he began to eat the “ants.”
[276 characters]

By Tien at From the Window Seat:
Group Think
The long weekend holidays were here so they took half day off from work. They thought they set off early enough to beat the holiday crowd.
They thought wrong.
The beach was packed when they reached.
Everyone else had the same idea too.
Humankind was not any different from sardines.
(280 characters)

By Graham at Graham is Just My Name:
THE SEASIDE
I savour my morning coffee and watch the news.
Childhood memories return of the seaside; sand-castles, vanilla ice-cream, and donkey rides.
Now you wouldn’t see me dead in those crowds. It looks like somewhere in hell.
The twins bounce in excitedly.
Can we go to the seaside Daddy?
(277 characters)

By Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
Second Honeymoon
Honey, what’s wrong? I thought you’d be thrilled.
This is not what I expected when you said you wanted to take me on a romantic second honeymoon.
But, baby, this is one of the most popular beach resorts in the world.
Yes, and one of the most crowded. Where’s the romance in that?
(276 characters)

By Bear at Jellico’s Writing Nook:
The Photo
‘Found this in the ruins.’ He stared at the picture. ‘Humans; half-naked. Wonder if it’s some kind of religious ceremony?’
‘Don’t know, don’t care. Just throw it in the burn pile already.’
‘Yeah, sure.’ He turned as if to comply, then deftly slipped it into his pocket.
CC: 267

By Larry at East Elmhurst A Go Go:
The Odds Are You Won’t Live to See Tomorrow
“I feel like Patrick McGoohan’s John Drake character in ‘Secret Agent,’ ” Al told Fred. “Drinking, womanizing.” “Remember one catch though,” his friend said. “That line in the Johnny Rivers song is ‘swingin’ on the Riviera one day, then layin’ in a Bombay alley next day.’
(278 characters)

By Di at Pensitivity101:
“You’re joking, right? I mean, we live within a stone’s throw of a clean sandy beach.
We can swim or sunbathe without having to fight for space.
What the hell possessed you ????”
‘It was free,’ he said sheepishly.
210 characters

By Tessa at Tessa Can Do It!:
Moving On!
Ron added a sleeping pill to the boy’s drink before bed.
As he drifted off Ron said, “That should keep him sleeping all night.”
“Do you think it is safe here, Ron?”
“Yes, it should be. It is a large beach resort and then wouldn’t expect us to stay here.”
“I heard Nan was caught.”
276 charactersBy Dave at @DaveMadden:
Life’s a Beach, Until the Beach is Full of Life
Before arriving to the beach, I warned my son of potential dangers in the ocean.
When we got there, vacationers swarmed the shore. On his way to the water, he stepped on glass, was chased by a dog, and hit in the head with a frisbee.
“Let’s go back to the hotel’s pool,” I suggested.
Character Count: 280By Sadje at Keep It Alive:
The beach was over crowded by people seeking relief from the heat wave. But little did they know what was in store for them today. A huge tidal waves hit the beach moments after this picture was taken. Most of them could not make it out alive.
Character count: 245By Kristian at Tales From the Mind of Kristian:
The Last Laugh
She sat under an umbrella, her pale body sheathed in fine linen with bare skin smothered in sun-cream.
She gazed at the young and foolish who camp out burning in the full sun.
A few laughed at the young girl covered from head to toe.
She had the last laugh; she was nearly fifty.
[280 Characters]By Willow at WillowDot21:
Shockwaves
All of a sudden the beach went quiet, no one could believe their eyes. The tide had just turned, no the sea had disappeared. Standing frozen to the spot they couldn’t believe their eyes. This was Brighton Sussex.
Then the shout went up, RUN! They did but there was nowhere to run.
(280 Characters)By Anurag at Jagahdilmein:
Dream Destination
“Which way to the beach?” the man asked.
I quietly pointed towards the huge crowd milling about on the hot sand.
His face lit up, as he ran, and jumped….straight into the middle of the mirage.
With a beatific expression on my face, I started walking towards the empty actual beach.
280 charactersBy Reena at ReInventions:
Combinations
I repress a strange desire
to put them all together
and see what happens
but they escape…
splattered souls celebrate
being divided
coming together
would reduce them
to two entities
God and Devil..
stripping the planet
of myriad hues
unplanned, unexplained
combinations
can fire splattered souls celebrate
being divided
coming together
would reduce them
to two entities
God and Devil..
stripping the planet
of myriad hues
unplanned and unexplained
combinations
can fire
(263 characters)By Deb at Twenty Four:
It could have been a scene from a postcard. The joy of escaping to the seaside, but it wasn’t.
Matt stood on the esplanade, hands upon his hips, a dark frown on his brow.
Somewhere amongst this mayham he lurked.
They just had to catch him before he snatched another child.
(270 characters)

By Indhu at Always:
Ignorance?
The beach was over crowded.
Families enjoying together.
Children playing with the sand.
Young couples in their own world.
But nobody noticed the frail rag picker who was collecting the waste thrown by them. He had two big sacks and one of them filled only with plastic wastes!

By Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
Happy holiday
Lots of people twittering
most of them are littering
beach and ocean too
surely that’s not you
angry folk are bickering
bullies nasty snickering
what are we to do
what is that to you?
Mums and Dads with separate lives
wonder then that love survives
a rather dismal view
it’s really up to you
(280 characters)

By John at Broadsides:

Look at that Fin, delicious.
Yeah Jaws, I particularly like them when they’ve
been out in the sun too much, a bit of crackling.
Ah yes Finn, but I don’t like when you have to swallow their inflatable dinghies as well, rubber so bad for you Jaws,
Ah, we shouldn’t complain Finn,, look at it, a whole beach of snacks.

By Hayley at The Story Files:
Over-Crowded
Britney looked around the beach. It seemed everyone in the world was here and the noise was so loud Britney couldn’t hear the sea! Leaving her husband sleeping and the children learning to surfboard, she found an empty cafe on the promenaded.
Finally some quietness! she thought.

By Rekha at Invictus:
Littering is a Crime
Detective Shelley arrested him sweet-talking a family of four with a plastic debris.
He smiled at tomorrow’s headlines – Vigilante killer strikes!
No worries. He’d killed long before she’d arrived and had an ironclad alibi.
He’d get away. Just like the litterbugs…
263 characters

By Kitty at Kitty’s Verses:
Change of Place
Let’s settle here for eternity, why stay in the same old place?
New place, new friends, wide range of food, better opportunities.
Others share similar sentiments as you, guffawed the matriarch as she dodged the whale and shepherded the young one to safety.
257 characters

By Diane at Ladies Who Lunch Reviews:
Yeah, she said a public beach.
It’s so crowded. How you gonna find her?
Said she’d wear a black bikini. Why’s that funny?
Dude, there’s like 1,000 girls! Just text her.
Crap, no bars. You think she set me up?
Jeez, ya think?
272 characters

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Thank you everyone for joining the challenge this week. I hope you had fun and I also hope that wherever you are you have a cool place to find relief from these blasted heatwaves! For this week’s challenge this intriguing photo of a hovering helicopter by David Reed at Pixabay.com. Tell me your story in 280 characters or less and I’ll see you at the roundup next week. Peace all! 🙂

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Twittering Tales #148 – August 6, 2019

Photo by David Reed at Pixabay.com

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…”

~kat

276 characters

And a second tale this week…I just couldn’t leave you on such a sad note…

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

Have a great week! See you at the Roundup! 🙂