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 #99 – The Roundup

Prompt photo by Conquero at Pixabay.com

Starting us off…

It was 8.3 on the Richter scale. The town had never experienced an earthquake. Fracking had rendered the bedrock unstable. Aftershocks sent herds of wild horses and other animals through the center of town. The worst was yet to come. No one would live to tell, when the dam broke. ~kat
(280 Characters)

By Reena at ReInventions:
Hatching Plans
She will never know…
He had let the horses out to kick up a dust storm. They would return home in the evening.
But she will not know what happened beyond the horizon – and he will never return to the palace, where she waited with a conspiracy to kill him.
(253 characters)

By Deepa and Sync With Deep:
Waiting for Prince Charming
I see chords of silver lining in my dark hair adding wisdom to my age. I was particular about marrying the guy of my interests. Waiting for my prince charming on a white stallion for years now, I failed to realize the one sitting next to me since childhood craving for my love.
(277 words)

By The Dark Netizen:
Run
They could sense him coming.
His scythe ready to swing at closest innocent. His mere visage could freeze the very blood of humans. However, for the herd, the source of fear was not the rider. It was the hungry monstrosity he rode.
Just as he hungered for men, it craved foals.
Run!
Character Count: 280

By Piyali at Piyali’s Blogs:
Final Moments
Her once taut rippling muscles had slacked. The thick glossy mane had lost luster. She could no longer lithely trot down the meadow or forage for food.
Staring at her twitching muzzle & lifeless 16-hands-tall body, Betty sighed.
Putting Belle to sleep was a difficult decision.
276 Characters

By Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
The Stampede
“There’s only one way outta here. Get on that horse over there. I’ll open the gate, smack a few horses on their butts, and get ‘em all to run out of the corral. Then you ride up to the gate and I’ll hop on.”
“This better work, pal, or we’ll be hangin’ from them gallows at dawn.”
(278 characters)

By Radhika at Radhika’s Reflection:
The Prophesy!
The recurring dreams of the horses running berserk tormented Amanda.
Staring at the same picture in the papers along with a news item a few days later, sent jitters down her spine.
She recalled the gypsy woman’s prophecy at the carnival, “Visions of the future will haunt you”!
Letter count : 279

By Anthony at Dear Daughter:
Their Own Path
The walk through the woods was peaceful as it always was. Joe and I were walking our normal trail, reminiscing about our recent trip to the little league world series, when a family of wild horses came rumbling through the woods. An array of colors from white, black, brown, white & brown.
We were Speechless.
Character count (255)

By Willow at WillowDot21:
“All I said was let them out for a run” Satan mumbled. Michael was having none of it.Gabriel had been sent for time out by the big man. Azriel sat in the corner happily.
The heavenly herd had rampaged the earth leaving destruction in their wake. Satan just couldn’t see the problem.
(280 Characters)

By Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
The Hunt
I really think I’ve cracked it now.
Even though I say so myself, the form of the horses is quite superb.
My painting is almost like a photograph.
I’m really pleased with the result!
It’s such a pity that I can’t paint human figures, or dogs, or saddles, reins, or stirrups.
Tally Ho!
(280 characters)

By Jan at Strange Goings On in the Shed:
Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt begins,
The Signal is given,
Cernunnos emerges from shadows and moonlight,
Calls forth the Old Ones,
Those who are resplendent in glory and deep mystery.
Epona’s children race forth,
Their riders are hidden,
The horn is sounded,
The hounds are loosed,
The Horned One flies!
(277 characters)

By Amritha at Igniting Hope:
The Gift
I was obviously curious to open the neatly wrapped gift from my dear friend. It was a portrait of a herd of horses in haste, prehaps to safety or towards their goal in grace that is personified with horses. Whatever it maybe, my bedroom wall is adorned by this photo frame.
(273 characters)

By Hayley at The Story Files:
Through the Mist
Everything was hushed at 6 am as I hide in the forest, breathe held. Through the misty trees ran the wild horses with their coats of many colours, their hoofs pounding the earth, manes and tails flying in the wind. It was a beautiful sight and well worth the wait.

By Anurag at jagahdilmein:
Night Shift
I woke up to find them lazing around on their sorry asses. My BP went shooting up like Apollo-13. Did they expect ME to keep feeding them indefinitely?
“OUT!” I shouted, and they broke into a stampede. People might be scared of them, but I too was the mother of all night mares!
278 characters.

By Universal Unionist:
I know that your young colt is a stallion Darling, but he must do something about his body sweat.

By Deb at Twenty Four:
He was silent and still as he watched them rush past, a cloud of dust rising as they found the forest path. He knew tomorrow there would be questions, but tonight he didn’t care.
When he had heard the boss on the phone talking to the slaughterhouse, he had known what he would do.
(280 characters)

Thank you everyone for joining the challenge last week. Some of your tales were very moving, some inspirational…and some gave me a chuckle. Well done everyone.

This week…DRUMROLL PALEEEAZZZZE! This week is Twittering Tale Challenge #100!!! I can’t believe we have been doing these twitter-sized tales for 100 weeks! When we first began, twitter only allowed 140 characters. Remember those days? Talk about a challenge! Then the rules changed and several of you wondered if you could ever get used to more characters. But it didn’t take you long. Those extra 140 characters were a welcome change! Just for the fun of it, I challenge you to write a tale using 140 characters or less in honor of this, the 100th challenge. Or not. Don’t fret if you need more than 140 Characters. I’ll post all tales 140 – 280 characters if you choose to join us for this milestone!the main thing is to have fun! Today’s photo is by Lauris at Pixabay.com.

I am so grateful for you, for your creativity, for your cyber-friendship in this strange place where we spend time pressing words. See you at the Round Up next week. 🙂

Twittering Tale #100 – 4 September 2018

Photo by Lauris at Pixabay.com

100 Memory Lane

“We’re here. 100 Memory Ln.”

“Are you gonna knock on the door?”

“Nope, just wanted to see it again.”

“I’m knocking….”

“I wouldn’t…”

“Oh god!”

~kat

Wondered if I could pull it off…140 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 #94  – The Roundup

Photo by Couleur at Pixabay.com

…and starting us off…

A Cold Case
Edwin prowled the streets at night looking for stone monuments to vandalize. A swift swing of a bat rendered them headless.
Police followed every lead to no avail. That is, until a jogger happened upon a headless torso in the park.
Apparently, Edwin grew bored with statues.
273 Characters

From Reena at ReInventions:
History
“Vandalism has only rendered the statue headless. The persona with life experience imprinted on stone cannot be erased. I can see the pain, the scars and triumphs which moved the sculptor’s hands.”
“I agree. History can be rewritten, not erased or undone.”
(255 characters)

From Amritha at Igniting Hope:
Happy Halloween
Halloween just turned spookier this year when the wax statues at Madame Tussauds came to life. The vampire held her head in his blood-stained hands. Everyone is striving to set the statue right, but in vain– is this a part of attraction or something more serious?
263 characters

From The Dark Netizen:
Statues
Cadet Billy looked at his pocketbook.
“Sir, this makes 5.”
Agent Keynes stared grimly at the headless statue.
“Inevitable. She escaped from prison last week. Chaos had to follow.”
He called HQ.
“Code red. Medusa is on the loose. We need Special Agent Perseus to come in.”
Character Count: 268

From Deepa at Sync with Deep:
Life_Less
you are
a mannequin
with heads high
and never cryeven amidst cracks
you are covered
sometimes with
full-length dress
or
stoles and drapes
semi-naked
with undies and bra
to brighten up
in the showroom lights
as a display chick
for the people to gaze
who sometimes touch
and
many times vandalize
for their sexual pleasure
because
you are just a statue
lifeless and headless
and no tears!!
(368 Characters…oops)

From Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
Off With Her Head
“Mommy, why does that statue of a girl have no head?”
“That’s Alice from the Lewis Carroll tale, ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.’”
“But Mommy, where’s Alice’s head?”
“Oh, she had a run in with the Queen of Hearts.”
“A run in?”
“Yes, the Queen shouted, ‘Off with her head!’”
“Ouch.”
(278 characters)

From Piyali at Piyali’s Blogs:
Impulse
A beaded cinched waist gown with a swooping neckline displayed at the boutique window lures the nearly broke shopaholic.
She fidgets.
Taps her fingers and heels.
Checks her wallet.
Tosses her head back and walks in.
“Well! It’s vintage Valentino. One more splurge shouldn’t hurt.”
275 Characters

From Willow at WillowDot21:
Mischief of idle hands. (Trouble in Hell)
It’s been very quiet in hell since the hotline went missing. Azreal was back upstairs being supervised by Michael. Satan was bored and decided to annoy the big man. So he sole Michael’s flaming sword and removed Gabriel’s head. Gabriel was not pleased and Satan was still bored.
(279 Characters)

From Shwetha at Face The Music:
The Righteous Kill
The priests prayed with sincerity. Their vain queen had met her tryst with fate. Her tyranny had made her forfeit her crown along with her egotistical head and all that was left was her stone-cold torso. The kingdom was left headless, but it was time for a new awakening.

From Schreya at The Midnight Sun:
Blonde
Stone cold from sitting still, I needed a walk.
My dress was pretty, the head was slightly out of place. Red isn’t my colour, blonde could be.
A woman panicked and called the police later, something about a severed head. She had lovely blonde hair.
Blonde looks good on me.
274 characters.

From Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
Great do last night!
Was it?
Yea, I got completely legless. Had to crash out on Ben’s sofa.
Did you see me at all?
Yea. We had a chat early on and then you went off with that weirdo.
Weirdo? What weirdo?
That guy with a huge chopper!
I can’t remember a thing. Think I lost my head a bit!
(280 characters)

From Michael at Morpethroad:
Meeting in the museum came with challenges.
It was full of relics, which was good as she had a thing for the old.
It wasn’t long before she realised she’d lost her head over him.
Tall, dark and wrinkled in all the right places.
She was thrilled his creases fitted neatly with hers.
(277 characters)

From Lorraine at Lorraine’s Frilly Freudian Slip:
If You Can Keep Your Head…
It has to be around here somewhere.
That’s what happens, he warned, if your head isn’t screwed on right.
Sigh. I hate it when he’s right. If I can pull myself together, I’ll be ready for his gloating.
198 characters

From Leena at Soul Connection:
Mystery
“Who Alwz Move statue Frm Tht Corner Evry Mrng?”
At Nite She Locked Door n Hid Behind Wall.
Midnite She Heard Door Unlock Frm Inside
“HWZ THT PSBL.Headless Statue Mvng 2wrds Road”
She Followd Statue,It stopped n Turned 2wrds Her.Scared She Freezed
“You Knw Whr Is My Head?”
She Fainted.

From Anurag at Jagadilmein:
The Master Sculptor
The troll king had warned me while commissioning the statue that it had to be in his exact likeness, or he would lose his head, and I, mine.
I think I’ve done a fairly good job of it, don’t you? That bottle of rum that I drank to keep me awake while I worked surely helped a lot.
280 characters

From Indhu at Always:
The Show Stopper
Jay took a final look at his show stopper dress.
“It looks perfect.”
“Clean the place”, he shouted at his wife as he walked out of his workshop.
Next day, the local police looked at the mannequin,
“Are you sure that your wife was wearing these dirty clothes before she went missing?”
<280 characters>

From Deb at Twenty Four:
She had been jibbed. The ad had said the dress was a classic, stylish and in perfect condition.
The first she was dubious about … the second she wouldn’t even discuss.
She smiled, no harm done though, it was for Halloween anyway and she could always demand a refund later.
(273 characters)

From Sascha at Microcosm Explored: (Follow the link to ready the longer version at Sascha’s blog.)
Borrowed and Blue
“It’s okay,” he says.
“The wedding’s ruined.”
“I’m not marrying a dress. You’re all I’ve ever wanted.”
His expression says his words are true. I swallow hard.
“You’re my everything.”
I fall in love all over again.
250 Characters

---

Thank you everyone for joining in this week. It was a strange photo. And not to be outdone, you all stepped up to the challenge with some very creative takes. This week’s photo is by markusspiske at Pixabay.com. There is a hint of a silhouette through the rain splattered glass. What’s with that? Or your tale could be a melancholy dirge about the rain. Or it could be the conversation of people who are inside looking out. Really, it can be about anything you imagine. I think that’s why I love this photo. I know you all well enough to know you are up to the task in 280 characters or less…

(‘Why does she always write that?’ you might be thinking. Well, I mention those pesky 280 characters, because occasionally someone gets REALLY inspired and writes a short story. Of course I LOVE short stories too, but I just don’t have the space on this post to include stories longer than a tweet. I really do like having them all here all in one stream for everyone to read at the round ups. If you do decide to forgo the character limit, never fear. I always post a link to your blog. I like to recognize everyone who has taken the time to link their stories tweet-sized or longer).

At any rate…the main thing is to have fun, sink or swim…come hell or high water…let the floodgates open…let it pour…okay, okay…I’ll stop. I’ll see you at the round up next week…if the good Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise…I’m stopping…really. 🙂

---

Twittering Tale #95 – Raindrops on Glass – 31 July 2018

Photo by markusspiske at Pixabay.com

Stranded

“He’s just standing there. Should we call the police?”
“It won’t do any good. The bridge is washed out.”
“Well it’s just creepy.”
“Wait! Where is…? I don’t see him!”
“Did you lock the door?”

“Looking for someone?” said a deep voice from behind.
“Oh my god, Joe. Don’t ever…Joe?!”

~kat
280 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 #93  – The Roundup

Photo by MabelAmber at Pixabay.com

Hotline
“What’s this?” Ned glanced around. As he turned the phone rang. “What the…? This ain’t funny! Come out!”
It kept ringing. Finally, he answered.
“Hello?”
“Hi Ned.”
“Who’s this?!”
“Come to take you home, Ned.”
“Ma? Is that you? Ma?!”
Suddenly, the phone dropped. Ned breathed his last.
~kat
(279 Characters)

From Michael at Morpethroad:
The Phone
The pink phone, do you see it?
It’s a myth.
Fake news.
You pick it up and say, Kat it’s me!
Hello? Kat?
It’s her!
Told ya.
Kat can you answer a question?
She said yes.
Well go one and ask her.
She sounds nice and friendly.
She is. Now go on ask her.
Kat how did you get inside this phone?
(278 characters)

From Fandango at This, That, and the Other…? If you posted a tale Fandango, I couldn’t find it!

From Radhika at Radhika’s Reflection:
The Magic Phone!
When Sid heard of the magic phone which allowed one to speak to a dead person, he too joined the long queue of people, the only condition being, the phone rings when one touches it. Many tried in vain!
Sid picked up the ringing receiver with trembling hands.
“ Hello…..”
Letter count : 277

From Amritha at Igniting Hope:
Surprise
The aroma of the butter, dough and strawberry mixed together filled the air as I started baking.
Happy birthday dear Pooh , my threenager babbled in her sleep.
A mouth-watering, telephone-shaped pink cake was almost ready.
She woke up in glee and now wants to cut it amidst greenery!
Character Count: 280

From Deepa at Sync With Deep:
Present…
I hear the phone buzzing
you have received a voicemail,
it beeps
I sigh seeing the sender
and
immediately put it
on silent mode
finally
tucking into my bag
my day ends
happily hanging out
with my friends
I hit the bed
suddenly remembering
my phone
there are 5 voice messages
frustrated
I keep it away
yet
listen to the message
that was the last sent
‘sorry to bug you
if you are already in bed
had a dream
and
see you scream
just checking on you
goodnight sweets’
says, momma
at nineteen
I was hesitant
to pick up
momma’s call
a phone holds
a thousand memories
not just
in
the hundred pictures
they could tell my story
far away from home
from mom, her deep voice
now at 40
I am reluctant
to put it down…

From Teresa at The Haunted Wordsmith:
Pick It Up
Princesses Rhyme and Reason were, as sisters often do, arguing over this n’ that, but mostly over Tock. He was driving them nuts with the same story day after day. They wanted excitement again. Ten pink princess phones ought to do it. Now to wait for someone to answer their call.
280-character tale

From Reena at ReInventions:
Maybe He Tried
The pink phone had dominated her dreams for long…. ever since she lost it. It was a setback at that stage, with mobile phones not having arrived yet, and the family landline phone locked with passwords.
She was haunted by a voice – that of her first love, now incommunicado.
(274 characters)

From Willow at WillowDot21:
The Phone
The big Man could not find the hotline to Hell. Meanwhile down on earth Azreal had it. As usual it was Satan’s fault. Take a long walk along a canal he had told the feckless angel. Absent mindedly Azreal put the phone on a post. Lose it Satan had told him, stupid pink thing!
(276 Characters)

From The Dark Netizen:
The Phone
I rushed through the field. The pink phone continued ringing.
Panting, I picked up the receiver.
“Reached.”
“Good. Answer this riddle for the next location: What is Medusa’s favorite cheese?”
“Stop this game. Return my son.”
“Tick-tock. Time’s running out.”
*click*
The game continued.
Character Count: 280

From Piyali at Piyali’s Blogs:
Marshmallow Rain
Fairy Godmother swished her magic wand & marshmallows fell from the sky.
Orphans collected them in their umbrellas spread upside down.
They delightfully gobbled up every piece till their tummies ache.
The fluffy sticky sweet feast ended with a huge phone-shaped strawberry cake.
278 Characters

From Indhu at Always:
The Portkey
“Our new neighbors are weird”, said Rose as she entered her house.
“What happened?” asked Dan.
“To begin with, they have a phone placed in the middle of their garden.”
Meanwhile, at the Weasleys’ household,
“Hope we passed as muggles. All of you get to the phone portkey”, said Molly.
<280 characters>

From Anurag at Jagahdilmein:
The Art of the Deal
“Daddy, I did something nice today,” my daughter chirped.
“What, baby?” I asked.
She squealed, “I ex..ex..exchained my old phone for a new doll.”
“Very good baby,” I stuttered, as my face went ashen.
Hiding the pink panther in her toy phone had seemed like such a great idea.
277 characters

From Lorraine at Lorraine’s Frilly Freidian Slip:
THE Phone
She knew it was seen as rather stereotypical; but pink was her favourite colour.
The telephone tagged along on family vacations.
She prayed it would never ring. Never splinter nature’s solitude and choruses.
She dreaded hearing the words: “Madame President, we have a crisis . . .” 
(279 characters)

From Deb at Twenty Four:
He paused as he rounded the corner, the complex problem he had been concentrating upon forgotten.
It just sat there. He scratched his head and then turned around.
“Mum, why is the phone on top of the fence post?”
“The new neighbors said they wanted to call.”
He groaned aloud.
(274 characters)

From Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
The Phone
The phone stood by the stream, at the edge of the wild flower meadow.
It buzzed loudly nearly every time I passed by.
Being community spirited, I always picked up the handset and said “hello?”
No-one ever answered!
Inside, The Queen and her workers were obliviously, busily buzzing!
(278 characters)

From Jan at Strange Goings on in the Shed:
The Phone
Ken, are you still there?
Who is this Ken? I’m trying to speak with my agent Jonathan
Who are you?
Vlad Dracul, who are you?
Barbie
Well Barbie, please get off the line
You get off Mr Dracul.
It’s Count, Count. What is wrong with you people?
Well, Count Count you get off
Damn human!
(275 characters)

Ring-a-ling-ling…I love what you did with this very odd photo. This week’s challenge is another odd photo by Couleur at Pixabay.com. There is story here…I’m sure of it. But what could it be. Remember to link your story here in the comments. And tell me in 280 characters or less whatever happened to this girl’s head! Have Fun! I’ll see you at the RoundUp!

Twittering Tale #94 – 24 July 2018

Photo by Couleur at Pixabay.com

A Cold Case

Edwin prowled the streets at night looking for stone monuments to vandalize. A swift swing of a bat rendered them headless.

Police followed every lead to no avail. That is, until a jogger happened upon a headless torso in the park.

Apparently, Edwin grew bored with statues.

~kat

273 Characters