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 #86 – The Roundup

Starting us off…

Sweet Memories

Wafts of cinnamon and apples lured us kids to Mrs. Cooper’s open window, not for pie but for browned scraps of crust doused in butter and sprinkled with sugar cinnamon.

I think of her whenever I smell cinnamon, to this day. Thanks for the memories Mrs. C. It was a sweet time.
(276 Characters)

From Michael at Morpethroad:

The view from the window was his break from the screaming words stuck in his head and craving to be on the page.

There were words he skipped over, some crawled away from his soul still clinging to him.

Refusing the let go he knew sitting with them was better than fighting them off.
(280 characters)

From Reena at ReInventions:

Curtains Fall

The mystery of your presence behind the curtain always held an allure for us.

‘Us’?

Yeah… you know the guy things we do, while in college. You were the hottest chick around.

Hmm, I have all the letters sent by ‘us’.

What? We are married now. It’s certainly not a ‘wife’ thing to do.
(278 characters)

From Teresa at The Haunted Wordsmith:

What the Paperboy Found

We never thought it would happen here. They seemed like such a nice family. Our children played together. They were over for BBQ and s’mores last weekend. Police have flooded the neighborhood. It was quiet here. We never would have guessed what the paper boy found this morning.
279 Characters

From Lady Lee at Lady Lee Manila:

A New Day

Looking forward to a new day with you and everything thereon

The mist is visible, out of the charcoal curtain is a perfect dawn

Against this milieu the trees are silhouettes, like oil painting

The colours of the foliage return to green, what a perfect dawn

A new day has come!
(273 characters)

From the Dark Netizen:

WINDOW

After twelve murders and many petty crimes, this job was a cinch. Even the window was open.

He entered the house, silent as a shadow. No one saw him enter. He spotted gold and precious stones. A huge score, but something felt terribly wrong.

The window closed shut.

Welcome to Hell.
280 Count

From Martin at Martin Cororan:

Early Adopter

Technology had really taken the adrenaline out of Peeping Tommery – spy cams, zoom lenses and such like.

Roger was old school – Get up close and personal, take a table lamp to the face like a man.

The technician tapped the jar in which his brain floated. ‘No Roger! Bad thoughts!’

From Radhika at Radhika’s Reflection:

The Perfect Plan

Samantha would always seek solace in this quaint house amid the hills. It helped her untangle the cacophony of thoughts. But today she needed the peaceful environment to carefully lay down her plan. She could not take any chances. It had to be a fool proof one!

Letter count : 263

From Fandango at This, That, and the Other:

Summer Breezes

I remember that it was incredibly hot that summer. I feared that we would all surely perish.

One day father came home from work carrying with him an enormous electric fan. Within moments of plugging it in, it pushed most of the hot air right out of our home.

It was a godsend.

(275 characters)

From Hayley at The Story Files:

The Window

The window had been open for weeks, the net curtain blowing in the wind. Each time I passed, I wanted to shut it but I couldn’t bring myself to. I thought it as a metaphor; when the window closed so would that part of my life and she would be gone forever.

From Jane at Jane Dougherty Writes:

The Face at the Window

Jilly tugged her big brother’s hand. “Why’s there a big wind coming out of Mr Roberts’, Darryl?”

Darryl shrugged. “One of his daft inventions probably.”

“Darryl? Can you see a cat’s face at the window?”

Darryl’s eyes narrowed then widened in fear.

“Darryl, where’s the rest of it?”
276 Characters

From Willow at WillowDot21:

Not that I watching.

They lived opposite and the noise was unbearable especially in the summer months. The net curtains were always clean and often blowing in the breeze.

The noise was awful night after night. He hit her it was stomach turning.Finally it all went quiet and she ran out into the night.
(280 characters)

From Jan at Strange Goings on in the Shed:

Burnt Offerings

The smell of sulphur and whispers were coming rasped:

“Come in, the door’s on the latch, sorry about the smell, dinner’s burnt. Cup of tea anyone?”
(272 characters)

From Peter at Peter’s Pondering:

I told you not to leave the window open didn’t I?

Did I, or did I not, tell you at least a dozen times “DO NOT LEAVE THE BLOODY WINDOW OPEN!”

Well, you’ve gone and done it now, haven’t you? I told you, but do you listen?

NO!

In one ear and out the other!

And now it’s loose out there!
(280 characters)

From Kirst at Kirst Writes:

Haunted Coast Part III

Inside, the sickly smell of mould hit me. In the gloom, my footsteps echoed back at me from the peeling walls and vaulted ceilings.

I heaved open a window sash to let the sea air in. Somewhere upstairs a door slammed. Just the breeze, surely? I looked round, sensing something…
(276 characters)

From Piyali at The ‘write’ stuff:

Once again, the lone tree swayed and the delicate white curtain hanging from the window fluttered. Inside the dark room, the old lady sighed while knitting away a soft crimson sweater for her grandson; hoping against hope that this summer she’d finally be able to see the child.
(279 characters)

From Indhu at Always:

Little Minds

Sid looked out of the window from his chair, lost in thoughts.

I wish I can play cricket on the street. No, I wish to ride a bike around the town.

He paused, he could smell the porridge.

Oh! I am on high chair and its meal time!

He began to think countless ways to spill the food.
<280 characters>

From Deb at Twenty Four:

She was mystified … it was gone and she had only placed it there a moment ago. What had happened?

Around the corner an old man sat with his dog, enjoying the still warm apple pie.

A smile upon his weathered face as his dog wagged its tail forever optimistic.
(259 characters)

From Isabel at Poetry, Fiction & Photography:

The Remainders

I don’t like it when they open the windows. Memories blow out. And memories are all this place has.

We lived here, slept here, played here. Those moments have faded with the centuries, but they remain. And as long as they remain, so do we.
(239 characters)

As always, wonderful tales! Thank you to all who joined the challenge. This week a storm is brewing…or an alien ship is breaking through the clouds or a galactic battle in the night sky over the bay. Hey, it could happen. You never know. You have 280 Characters to tell the story of this photo by jplenio at Pixabay.com. Posting early tonight. I have limited WiFi. Have fun! 😊

Twittering Tales #87 – 5 June 2018

The Whistleblower

Charlie regretted joining the agency. At first the climate experiments were exciting, but they had taken it too far. He locked his office, drove past the security gate, pulling off the road to call the authorities. A super storm was brewing. He hoped it was not too late.

~kat

273 Characters

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 #84 – The Roundup

photo by malmanxg at unsplash

Starting us off:

Sylvia peered in the darkness. “Where am I? I know! I must’ve dozed off. Where is everybody? Hello?”
She found the exit door, pushing it open. WHOOSH!
“So bright! What is that? A UFO?!” She turned to rush back in. Too late. The door closed…CLICK!
“Sylvia! Wake up! Movie’s over.”
(278 Characters)

From Reena at ReInventions:
The End
Shucks… the dreaded nightmare of an empty auditorium….
This is what he had feared all his life.
It was the funeral of a well-known politician, with only a few policemen impatiently looking at their watches. He had forged lucrative links with terrorists in his last unglorious years.
(280 characters)

From Deepa at  Sync with Deep:
Knifepoint
Jane’s eyes are glued to the screen.
Her boyfriend’s arm rubs her breast as he reaches for the nachos. She wiggles in her seat.
He emits a piercing cry. His pupils move from side to side signalling Jane.
Sitting at the back with a hooded top, Jane’s hubby gives a wicked smile 🙂 🙂 🙂
(278 characters)

From Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
Rotten Tomatoes
“Are you sure this is the right theater?”
Stan looked at the tickets. “Yes, we’re in the right place.”
“Are we that early?”
“No, we’re right on time.”
“So where is everyone?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did this movie get decent reviews?”
“It got a 12 on Rotten Tomatoes.”
“That explains it all.”
(277 characters)

From Martin at Martin Cororan:
Gallows Humour
In the final moments there was doubt. He steeled himself. Life had been a chore and Rachel wasn’t coming back. This wasn’t even a unique place to jump.
On the way down a tiny light came on: Exit.
Who would ever see such a thing unless in freefall?
‘Huh, that’s pretty fun…’

From Willow at WillowDot21:
Wake up Little Suzie.
This is how Suzie loved the cinema, quite clean and empty. No mess, no smells, no people. She’d hoovered and removed the leftovers and unmentionables! She settled in the comfy leather seat put her feet up and closed her eyes. It was better than going home no one here to hit her.
(279 Characters)

From Michael at Morpethroad:
He was adorable in the dark.
His voice melted my every inhibition,
The touch of his hand was stimulating.
Who cared what the orchestra was playing.
I sat beside the love of my life.
Interval arrived and the lights came up.
There was my apple blossom transformed into Mr Crabapple.
(274 characters)

From D. Avery at ShiftNShake:
Showing
Traffic could be thick in this weather, getting around taking longer than usual. He would give her the benefit of the doubt.
And, actually, she had probably misunderstood the time, thought their date was for the next movie. Yes, that was it.
He would continue to wait.
276 Characters

From Masercot at Potatoes and the Promise of More Potatoes: 
For Sale:  Tickets to Waiting for Godot.  Orchestra seats.  Make offer.

From Hayley at The Story Files:
Sunrise
I embraced the dark, cold theater. Feeling secure despite many people nearby. Tampering down excitement, the pictures came to life, real but yet not real; moving and talking in full colour. Then, I saw the sun rise in all her glory for the first time in a hundred and twenty years.

From Jan at Strange Goings on in the Shed:
Fan
“I’m such a big fan of yours”
“Pleased to hear that. You want me to sign that?”
“Thank you. I loved you in The Seventh Seal”
“Nice to hear”
” If you don’t mind me asking, what’s it like being, Death?”
“Great. Flexible hours and good pension. Here’s my card, see me tomorrow.”
“Thanks!”
(279 characters)

From Deb at Twenty-Four:
He’d thought it would be cool – hiring the whole cinema out … but he was realising that things weren’t that fun when you were alone.
In silence he stared at the exit sign, it was the most interesting thing about this whole stupid escapade.
Maybe he’d head back to school.
(271 characters)

From Indhu at Always:
The First Separation
She sat alone in the theatre, thinking about the most magical day of her life. She could not recall a scene from the movie they saw, for she was too elated! It felt like a beautiful dream.
46 years back, he proposed her right in this row.
“It’s time for the funeral” said her son.
<279 characters>

From Francine at Woman Walks Dog:
Dreams
My favourite place on earth, the Purple Velvet Cinema, palace of dreams. My favourite film Titanic. I’m Rose Dewitt, you’re Jack Dawson.
…” We shall be together for eternity Jack…Rose never let me go…”
Whoa  icy waves, deafening crash, I’m sinking…Get me out of here ! It’s a bad dream, a dreadful dream.. aaaaaaaah !

From Kirst at KirstWrites:
First date? And last! Such a weirdo!
Cinema was deserted except for us! I panicked when I saw those empty seats, and his creepy smile. Gave him a good kick you know where, then ran!
Weird cinema too. As I left I saw a string quartet arriving, and the usherette with some red roses.
(280 characters)

It’s amazing what an empty theatre will conjure up. Thanks to all who gave last week’s Twittering Tale challenge a go of it.

This week is about an old house on the waterfront. If its walls could talk, what tales would they tell you? Have fun weaving your 280 character (or less) tale inspired by this photo by Tama66 at Pixabay.com! See you next week at the roundup!

Twittering Tale #85 – 22 May 2018

Photo by Tama66 at Pixabay.com.

Mistress Possessed

Her once pristine facade had faded in the brackish air, but the elements didn’t bother her. It was those vile humans she couldn’t abide. They were loud, destructive; pelting her walls with nails, stinking up her halls with smoke. This new hoard wouldn’t last long. They never did.
(280 Characters)

~kat

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.

First things first. We had a late entry from the previous week’s prompt, “The Doors”, from Francine at Woman Walks Dog:
The Rehearsal
Today’s rehearsal is for stage directions.
Romeo enter door 4, Juliet you through door 7 quick kiss exit door 1.
Mercutio enter door 5 call for Romeo, exit door 2.
Juliet poisoned collapse in front of door 2,  Romeo stabbed stagger & fall next to Juliet
Nurse & Mercutio enter door 3 & weep.
All clear now ? It’ll be fine on the night!

Twittering Tales #83 – The Roundup

Photo by Fabio Santaniello Bruun at Unsplash.com

Starting us off…
Lost Soul
Madge got off the bus. She knew the way home on Elm St. but Elm St. was closed. The street sounds blared louder, louder.
The road crew noticed her pacing, repeating, “Elm St. Elm St.” and called police.
Poor Madge was escorted safely home, but she couldn’t recall how she got there.
280 Characters

From Hayley at The Story Files:
Working
Were they digging to the center of the earth? I didn’t know but I just wanted to sleep. The sounds of the drilling vibrated everything, so there was no way to block the noise out. I looked up hotels and moved out for the weekend. Peace at last!

From Michael at Morpethroad:
We’d picked the best place with our taste buds bubbling.
So much expectation, we knew our order.
But in front was our dream in ashes.
Smouldering before our eyes, the chicken, the beef, the special lamb.
We couldn’t believe our eyes, our stomachs cried.
We went next door to Maccas.
(277 characters)

From Reena at ReInventions:
Gratitude
“Hey! This little fella appears to be working hard with you.”
“We saved him once from a conflagration, and he’s been our ally since then.”
“I wish humans showed the same gratitude, as these four legged creatures do….”
(215 characters)

From Deepa at syncwithdeep:
The Stink
I stink
to clean your stink.
I collect your garbage,
and clean your shit.
I am covered with rashes,
And you are covered with robes.
while I wash your stink with water,
you bathe in luxury foam.
I drown in spirits,
to escape the stink.
to keep my family alive,
I clean your stink!
(280 Characters)

From Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
Time For Some Dictation
Her text read, “You should stay in town tonight, honey. The power company has the street torn up and it’s so loud that you’ll never get any sleep tonight if you come home. Love you. See you tomorrow.”
He winked at his secretary. “Can you stay? I have some dick-tation for you.”
(276 characters)

From Team Wellness at World of Wellness:
Oceans Two
The tunnel to the Premium Mobile Store at the corner was ready. They needed to deliver all the mobiles by daybreak…the payoff was good!!!
140 Characters

From Jane at Jane Dougherty Writes:
Fighting Fire
Jim heaved himself through the manhole gasping for breath the fumes of toxic gas billowing around him. Heavy hands on his shoulders stopped him. Harvey.
“Back you go. The fire’s not out yet.”
With a grin Harvey slammed the manhole cover back in place and hurried back to Jim’s wife.
280 Characters

From Willow at WillowDot21:
Well it certainly wasn’t a sinkhole, it was incredibly deep. There was no explanation for this huge hole in the road. Suddenly the machinery stopped, silence engulfed them. Then the pounding started, strange lights shone like arcs into the sky.Tentacles appeared, and so it began.
(280 Characters )

From Leena at Soul Connection:
Trapped
“Its A Long tiring day.Wrkng since morning n now its dark.Dnt evn knw wht we are looking for.”
“Evry1 says they hear strange noise frm underneath.Nw do U See smthng dwn there?”
While evry1 searching below they failed to notice face appeared in smoke above thanking for freeing them.

From at The Dark Netizen:
FALL
“The poor man is mangled beyond recognition.”
“He was neither poor, nor needed recognition. He was mad is what he was.”
“You knew him?”
“Everyone did. That’s Mr. Icarus – mad inventor. He was testing his nuclear jetpack yesterday.”
“Must have flown too high to have fallen so deep.”
Character Count: 280

From Kirst at Kirst Writes:
Werewolf
Humid today, huh? Best time to work, moonlit night. Nobody around neither. Drill down to the gas main and…
You hear that?
Some drunk, is all. Man, this neighbourhood!
No. An animal. Kinda snarling.
Like a werewolf? Awooo!
Ok, c’mon. Hey – there in the steam, see?
It’s coming. Run!
(277 characters)

From Indhu at Always:
The Treasure
“It is been 2 hours since Dave went in. Should we send more men?” asked Dan.
“I am not sure what’s taking him long” said Ron.
Dave dug faster. He has to hurry up before someone finds out. He secured the treasure bag in a pit.
“Hello” said a voice with a gun pressed to his head.
<278 characters>

From Debbie at Twenty-Four:
The call had come late and consequently he was now standing on a dead end street in the middle of the night- tired, cold and hungry.
His boss had gone mental – this was going to inconvenience everyone.
John smiled, being home without water wasn’t his problem this time.
(267 characters)

From Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
Ah, there you are Carruthers! What a marvellous idea it was of yours to build our new listening post below the existing embassy. Unfortunately our excavations have hit a bit of a snag. Seems there is a team of Russian builders already working down there on some project or other!
(279 characters)

Great Roundup this week! Once again, quite a variety of tales. Well done everyone, and thank you for participating. This week’s prompt photo is by malmanxg at unsplash. I think there might be a few good stories here in this dark theatre. Give it a try in 280 characters or less and I’ll see you at the Round-up next week!

Twittering Tales #84 – 15 May 2018

photo by malmanxg at unsplash

Sylvia peered in the darkness. “Where am I? I know! I must’ve dozed off. Where is everybody? Hello?”

She found the exit door, pushing it open. WHOOSH!

“So bright! What is that? A UFO?!” She turned to rush back in. Too late. The door closed…CLICK!

“Sylvia! Wake up! Movie’s over.”

(278 Characters)