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 #70 – The Roundup 

Photo by PIRO4D at Pixabay.com

Starting us off…

The Race
Jon and Sue were first to find the final clue: a riddle.
It has a mouth but never speaks, a bed but never sleeps…
“Think Sue,’ Jon pleaded. “the others are coming!”
“The river!” Sue exclaimed, “It’s the river!”
At river’s edge, they claimed their prize…freedom from the island.
(279 Characters)

From Reena at ReInventions:
Misleading Clues
Six kids were reported to be missing from a school excursion. Alex led the police to the forest.
He had seen the note on the bench, which appeared to be a clue for Treasure Hunt. He had learnt from his detective mother that criminals often place misleading signs in the path.
(275 characters)

From Martin at Martin Cororan:
Fall at the First Hurdle
Knowing that time was short he traded his vast estate for a lump of Orwellium, the rarest metal on earth, so that when his blood-sucking offspring discovered the treasure map they’d discard the seemingly worthless stone that held it in place and set off on a costly and ultimately fruitless quest…

From Leena at Soul Connection:
Forever Together
He Slwly Tk Ot Crumbld Letter n Plcd It Bside Him On Bench.1nce Sun Sets,Lyk Evrytym He Whsprd I Love You B4 Leaving.
Snce 2Yrs He Cmes Alne Wd Ltr Of Blvd Late Wfe n Sits On Sme Bench As Dey Hd Prmsd 2C Evry Sunset 2gtr n Wrote Ltr 2Ech Othr,So Tht If 1Die Anthr Wl Nvr Fl Lonely.

From Jane at Jane Dougherty Writes:
The List
She picked up the crumpled sheet& looked around guiltily before smoothing it out, feeling like a voyeur. How awful, she thought, someone must be going through hell right now, &looked for a stone to hold down the shopping list in case the distraught owner came back looking for it.

From Radhika at Radhika’s Reflection:
The Note
An excited Amit rushed to their usual meeting place at the park. Seema and he were to wed that day much against her parent’s wishes. Instead he found a note from her brother which read,” We have killed Seema for disgracing our family.” Amit froze there with shock and disbelief!
Letter count 278

From Fandango at This, That, and The Other:
The Note
“Where did you get this?” the deli owner asked me.
“I found it sitting under a rock on a bench in the park,” I answered. “It seems to be written in German, so I brought it here. Can you tell me what it says?”
“You need to take this to the police,” he told me. “It’s a suicide note.”
(280 characters)

From Kathryn at Another Foodie Blogger:
Their relationship had been rocky, to say the least as of late. She asked him to meet her at the park, at their “bench.” He knew where she meant. He didn’t even bother reading her long diatribe, the wordy bitch. He just kept strolling, mentally packing his belongings.

From Willow at WillowDot21:
The Shock
Running as fast as she could towards the railway. Up and over the style, she was stopped dead in her tracks. There was a note right where her foot had landed on the style. Held down by a stone, a hand written note. Slowly and carefully she picked it up and cautiously read it.
(279 Characters)

From Michael at Morpethroad:
I found a love letter addressed to me.
In a random place by a random person, reaching out, telling me I was ok, beautiful and worthwhile.
It lifted my heart, I felt elated, buzzing within.
I replaced the note, precious stone and all
Hoping the next person would get the thrill I did.

From Kirst at Kirst Writes:
One Last Message
If you find this, please try to understand. I know I said meet me here in a month’s time. But I just can’t. Too much has happened. I’ll never forget you, but this has to be goodbye.
182 characters.

From Jan at Strange Goings on in the Shed:
Highly Restricted
Headed Highly Restricted
It was lifted from locked files and sent to shadowy cliques
This was point of no return, and others had to be warned now
The contents were dire.
How could they unleash this on the world?
Surely It was Marketing gone mad? Why? Ken and Barbie sing show tunes.
(280 characters)

From Isabel at Isabel Caves – Poetry, Fiction & Photography:
From the Log of Major James Whitfell
The portal wasn’t what we thought. We thought to see the marvels of the future, but all we see is destruction and death. Let this log serve as a warning – curiosity killed more than the cat.
(191 characters)

From Hayley at The Story Files:
Bench Love
Sitting on a park bench, I saw a paper pinned by a rock. With a quick glance, I picked up and read what was a love letter. The named addressee seemed familiar and looking I spotted the same name on the bench’s plaque. I returned the letter and left.
(191 characters)

From Rules640 at Life at 17:
A New Page
He touched her hand accidentally and a new page was written about him
“His hands touched my body, penetrated my soul and left an imprint I know I could never erase, even after this moment would be gone, even after he would be gone, a part of him will always remain with me.”
273 characters

Thanks to everyone who helped reveal the mysteries of the letter in last week’s photo prompt. As always, you all took us in many directions with a variety of tales including lost loves, broken hearts, lost inheritances, forgotten lists, mysterious authors, serendipitous messages, love stories and even time travel. What fun. Speaking of many directions, this week’s photo prompt by kbhall17 at Pixabay.com is all about signs to interesting places. You can write about one of the destinations on the signpost…or bundle several of them together in one grand adventure! Remember, you only have 280 characters and a week to explore. Have fun and I’ll see you at the Roundup!

A housekeeping note before I close…I received a note from one of our fellow twittering talers that they had found a large number of nasty spam comments that seemed to be linked to one of their twittering tales under the old 140 character logo (this is my original artwork so I can’t imagine anything being attached to it). I did not see any spam or odd comments directly in my mailboxes, but if anyone else is having an issue, please let me know so I can alert WordPress. I hate that the fun of this challenge is being spoiled by a bunch of trolls. At any rate, I hope no one else is having an issue.  

Twittering Tale #71 – 13 February 2018 – It’s a Sign

photo prompt by kbhall17 at Pixabay.com

Oh, I could tell ya’ some stories. I’ve lived here in flat number 1 going on 40 years now. People don’t realize I’m behind this old red-framed door. They’re too busy planning adventures or their next meal. The things I’ve heard! Do you have a minute? I just made tea. Come sit.

(277 Characters)

~kat