In one sentence is the spark of a story. Ignite.
Mission: Write a story, a description, a poem, a metaphor, a commentary, or a memory about this sentence. Write something about this sentence.
Be sure to tag writeworld in your block!
http://writeworld.tumblr.com/post/96130363412/finding-the-frog-was-supposed-to-be-the-easy-part
“Finding the frog was supposed to
be the easy part,” she muttered as the branch her friend released hit her in
the face and she swore vehemently.
“What’s that, Beth?” her friend
asked.
“The frog! The damn frog!” she
exclaimed as she tried to lift her feet from the cloying mud.
“I know, right? How hard can it be
to find a frog in a swamp?” Her usually klutzy friend Lori, seemed to be
navigating the swamp with much more ease. She delicately pushed the hanging
moss out of her face.
“Oh, no but this is a special frog,” Beth whined.
“Well it doesn’t talk like the
ones in the movies or the variety shows, but it is meant to be special.”
She gaped at Lori. “Oh, my God...
you believe it?”
“What?”
“That this thing can work.”
“The old lady said it could.”
“And you believe everything old
ladies tell you?”
She shrugged. “Well... no... but
she seemed very clear about it, and if you don’t believe, why the heck are we
taking this stroll through the swamp?”
Beth shrugged. “Last ditch
effort?” she asked.
“If you don’t believe in it, it
will never work. Magic requires conviction.”
Silence as they both searched the
undergrowth. Lori was searching with much less effort than Beth.
“So we catch it when we find it?”
Lori checked.
“Yep. She gave me something to put
it in.”
“And then what?”
“I don’t know... she boils it up
in a tea or some potion for me to drink.”
“That seems kind of cruel,” Lori
mumbled.
Beth hadn’t missed her comment.
“What do you care? It’s a frog.”
“Frogs are important. They are
like the barometers of environmental change.”
“Good God! Who have you been
talking to?”
“I know about environmental
change,” Lori defended.
Beth snorted. “Since when?”
She grinned at her friend. “Since
that cute eco warrior dude I ran into at that protest. The guy with the
dreads.”
“You lied to me.” Beth’s eyes
narrowed. “You said you did not have
sex with him.”
Lori rolled her eyes. “I knew
you’d get all moral on me.”
“Moral? It’s not moral to want to
get to know a guy before you have sex with him! You met him that day.”
“Oh, right... says the girl who is
in the swamp looking for the ingredients for a love potion.” She said love with several vowels and extra r’s.
Luuuurvv.
Beth’s mouth shut with a snap.
“And I got to know him just fine,”
added Lori. She sighed happily.
“Ugh,” Beth grunted and pretended
that she was searching under a log. “Bet you’ve never seen him again,” she
muttered.
Lori stifled a laugh and that just
made her friend more annoyed.
“You could help me, instead of
standing there laughing at me,” she griped.
“Fine. What colour was it again?”
“Blue; bright blue with black
markings.”
Lori tilted her head, reached out
both hands and carefully scooped up the small blue and black frog that had
landed on her friend’s back. She took several steps back, her hands cradled in
front of her chest, and then announced, “I’ve got it.”
“REALLY? Aack,” she complained as
she banged her head on the log. “Let me see.”
Shaking her head, Lori drew her
hands away protectively. “No. You’ll hurt him-” She peered into her clasped
hands. “-and he’s such a cute frog.”
Snort. “How do you know it is a
‘he’?”
“I know a fine male when I see
one.”
“Whatever.” She shook out the bag
from her pocket. “Hand him over.”
“No. I don’t want him to be
boiled.”
“It’s what we came for.”
“I know. But I've changed my
mind.”
She ignored her and held out the
bag. “Put him in here. And I can’t believe I called it a him.”
“No. Look at him! He’s adorable.” And she kissed the frog.
“Ugh! Are you kissing that?” Beth looked horrified.
There was an odd silence followed
by a weird buzzing hum. The air felt statically charged. Lori dropped the frog.
Beth wailed as she saw it start to fall. But it stopped and hung in the air.
And then there was a loud pop;
like a balloon bursting.
A tall, dark skinned man stood in
front of Lori. He looked almost as surprised as she did but then his face
softened and he stared at Lori with a look of wonder before he grabbed her
hands. “Thank you,” he said.
“Wow.” Lori blinked. “I kissed the
frog.”
“Yes, you did.” His voice was low
and throaty.
“Aack! He’s naked!” Beth
protested.
“He’s gorgeous,” Lori corrected. She glanced down and then made a small
happy sound. “Ha. I can definitely pick a fine male when I see one.”
“I am so thankful,” he crooned to
her.
“How thankful?” she asked. She
leaned towards him and brushed a fingertip seductively down his bicep.
“Seriously?” Beth snapped. “Are
you kidding me?”
“Hey, he’s mine. I kissed the frog
and I believed.”
“That’s how it works,” he added.
“No boiling,” said Lori. “I knew
there wouldn’t be boiling.”
“No.” His arm reached around her
hip and pulled her in against him.
“Oooh,” Lori hummed as their faces
got closer together.
“Ahhh! Sex? Here?” Beth screamed.
“I am not watching this!” They ignored her. “I am going back to the car.” She
took a final glance at them before she made another frustrated noise, waved her
arms around and then tried to stomp off through the swamp. It wasn’t successful
because they were too busy kissing to even notice her leave, the mud did not
allow adequate noisy stomping and after some minutes progress, she had to stop.
“Which way is the damned car?” she shouted.
No response, unless you counted a
breathy moan.
“Oh, my God,” Beth swore.
“Can you grow dreadlocks?” she
heard Lori ask before she stomped away again. She sat on a log that she hoped
was bug free and put her fingers in her ears.
~~~~~~
“Is she going the right way?” he
asked Lori.
“No... and anyway, I have the
keys.”
He laughed.
“Oh I like the sound of that
laugh.”
“Just as well; you’re stuck with
me.”
“Are you, by any chance a prince?”
“Sadly, no.”
“No problem. I rather not have a
prince.” She kissed him quickly. “I am willing to bet that you’re an
environmentalist.”
“Frogs are important,” he said
with a grin.
“Don’t I know it!”
~~~~
© AM Gray 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment