Product Parties

PHOTO PROMPT © Fatima Fakier Deria

“My day planner is crammed full. Something needs to go,” commented Cheryl.

Liam grinned to himself. “Yeah, right,” he thought, having heard all this before.

“I know one thing for sure. All these product-pushing parties have to stop, ” Cheryl continued. “There’s nothing I need, but you always feel obligated to buy something if you attend.”

“Jewelry? Makeup? Lingerie? Kitchen equipment? Really, you’re not going to ANY of them any more?”

“Well—-I really could use some up-to-date jewelry, but there’s nothing else I need.”

Liam laughed. “So, when’s the jewelry party?” he said.

“Oh, stop!”

The Sewing Room

Jean L. Hayes

Lissy loved Mommy’s sewing room. She ran her little hands over all the different fabrics, enjoying how smooth, or prickly, or rough they all were. She especially loved the shiny ones.

But her main interest was the pin cushion. Thimbles, straight pins, needles with bits of thread still dangling from the eye. And the little white heads all around the cushion.

“Mommy, are their arms and legs all tangled up inside the ball?”

“No, Lissy. They don’t have bodies. They’re just for decoration.”

Lissy thought for a moment.

“Yes, they do. And some day I’m going to set them free!”

Zing and Zang Return

PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

(My two favorite aliens, Zing and Zang, just HAD to make another appearance for this other-worldly prompt. We haven’t seen them for a while, so If you’re curious, you can find all their stories on the right side of the page at the bottom of the “Categories” list.)

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“No matter how many places we’ve been, there’s always something new!” declared Zing.

“What do you think they are? Bubbles? Angel halos? Space ships? “queried Zang.

Walking invisibly, the two friends agreed that they’d never seen anything like it.

Suddenly, Zing felt and heard a tiny little tremor in his sensors. “A message from Zerkon!” He was so excited. They didn’t hear from home very often.

“Shhhh! Listen!” whispered Zing. The message traveled over the years of time and space:

“Don’t touch them! Remove yourselves immediately! They are unknown to us, and could damage you or undermine your mission. Repeat: DO NOT TOUCH!”

“Let’s go, Zang. Danger!” And they transported to another realm.

Faded Memories

After Mom died, Daisy and Jonas had the overwhelming job of sorting through almost 90 years of accumulated stuff. Mom would have called them memories, the building blocks of her life.

Shoe boxes filled with snapshots in black and white, 70 years and older. Some were cracked, yellowed and faded beyond recognition.

Mom as a war bride, aged 16, sitting proudly by her sailor who would ship out a month after they married. Her hair and makeup made her look older, but knowing her as Daisy did, she could also see the fear and dread in Mom’s eyes.

It was a long war.

Just Wait!

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

They spoke just above a whisper. “How long do we have to wait?”

“Shhh!” answered her older brother. “Just wait. Be patient. They’ll come, I promise you.”

Missy sighed, bursting with impatience as the sun slowly, ever so slowly, sank beneath the horizon. “Now, Jimmy?”

“Not quite. Just a few more minutes. It has to be almost dark. You know, DARK dark.”

MIssy’s eyes caught a sparkle Then another, and another; blinking, drifting, blinking.

“Ah, here they come!” Jimmy’s voice rose with glee..

“Fairies?”

“No, Silly. Lightening bugs. Fireflies.”

“They’re grand, Jimmy. Like fairies.”

“Well, okay.”