creative writing
“Mom! Mom! MOM!” shouted Lucy, “Guess what I brought home!” Knowing Lucy I thought to myself it could be anything. Last week it was a puppy, the week before that was an injured pigeon. I know she means well but we just can’t keep animals in an apartment. I braced myself to tell her this yet again. “MOM! You’re not guessing” she pouted. “Is it an elephant?” I guessed. “No silly! I couldn’t hold that behind my back!” Lucy condescended. “Its small and pretty and you’ll like it!” “A butterfly?” I ventured. “No Mom, these!” Lucy exclaimed as she held out a handful of half dead flowers. “Purple is your favorite color, when I saw them I had to pick them because I knew you’d love them” Lucy explained. And I did love them. I loved that my daughter thinks of and cares for other people so deeply. “I know they’re kinda dead but I thought you’d like them anyway. “They’re perfect just the way they are Luce, just like you!” I reached into the cupboard and pulled down a mason jar. I filled it with those beautiful flowers, and gave Lucy a hug. Then I set the jar on the middle of the dining room table for all to see.
in the end prompt 134
I sipped my coffee and stared out the window at the passing cars. Red, red, yellow, white. I relaxed my eyes and they blurred into a stream of color. I felt myself falling into the rhythm of the traffic. I moved with the cars and the spin of the tires. It was relaxing, a release. Better than feeling this tightness in my chest. A tap on my shoulder jerked me back to my senses. “More coffee miss?” the waitress asked. I held up my cup and she filled it to the brim, sloshing some over the side. I watched it slide down the side of the cheap ceramic mug and fall unceremoniously on the Formica tabletop. I glanced up and saw the waitress sashaying away. I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of coffee left to brew too long, and settled into the creaking vinyl of the booth seat. I didn’t want to be here this morning. I didn’t want to be here waiting, knowing it was the end. It was all coming unraveled, like pulling a loose thread on a sweater. I couldn’t hold onto it any longer. A tear started a slow crawl down my cheek and I bitterly brushed it aside. Another one took its place. I could feel the gaze of the waitress. I shook my head and let my long brown hair form a curtain of sorts. That semi-privacy made me feel better, more secure. I’m better off alone I tell myself. I don’t need a partner, I don’t need someone to help, to hold my hand. Its easier this way. Things are more clear. I checked my watch, 10:15. Just a few more minutes and I can get this over with I think to myself. I drain the last of my coffee and stand up, moving towards the bathroom. Once inside I set my purse on the counter and pull out a hairbrush. I stand there brushing my hair and I stare at my reflection. I see me as he must see me. Long light brown hair that’s as soft as silk, hazel green eyes that hold the world in them, and the most perfectly kissable set of lips he’s ever seen. I shake my head and clear the image. When I glance at the mirror again I see only me, forgettable me. I splash a little cold water on my face and dry it with a paper towel. I open the door and walk back to my booth. I signal the waitress again and she scurries over with her coffee pot. I add two packets of sugar and one of those little tubs of creamer, watching the white bleed into the brown. Settling back into the seat I sip my coffee, occasionally taking a small nibble out of the stale Danish on a plate in front of me. My mind drifts back and replays a thousand scenes in my head. The first time we met. His sea grey eyes with tiny little lines around them from laughing too much. Our first dinner together; what a disaster that was. The first time I felt his touch. The moment I knew I loved him. These memories came rushing back in waves and I was a drowning woman. In the midst of my memories I heard the door creak open. Instantly I snapped out of my reverie and focused on the man coming through the door. My partner. The man I’d fallen for. I analyzed him, watching him move, the way he scanned the room the way he walked like a cat all saunter and barely contained prowess. He slid into the booth and put his sunglasses on the table. “so whats up Cooper?” “The agency knows” He took a moment to order breakfast then gazed at me intently “you mean about us right?” he said. “Yes us, the whole thing. They know you initiated it they know you seduced me, but I’m being de-ranked, pulled out of the field” I replied. “and me?” He asked with that serious look in his eye. “I don’t know honestly” I retorted. “yes you do, headquarters would fill you in give you one last assignment, we all know the protocol. Where are they?” I held out my hand. In it were two tiny blue capsules. “You know what you have to do” I broke the cyanide over his freshly served hashbrowns. “I’m sorry you know” “I know” he said. I stood up and left. Spies can never have lovers within the company. And I just paid the ultimate price to end our affair.
in the end prompt 134
I sipped my coffee and stared out the window at the passing cars. Red, red, yellow, white. I relaxed my eyes and they blurred into a stream of color. I felt myself falling into the rhythm of the traffic. I moved with the cars and the spin of the tires. It was relaxing, a release. Better than feeling this tightness in my chest. A tap on my shoulder jerked me back to my senses. “More coffee miss?” the waitress asked. I held up my cup and she filled it to the brim, sloshing some over the side. I watched it slide down the side of the cheap ceramic mug and fall unceremoniously on the Formica tabletop. I glanced up and saw the waitress sashaying away. I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of coffee left to brew too long, and settled into the creaking vinyl of the booth seat. I didn’t want to be here this morning. I didn’t want to be here waiting, knowing it was the end. It was all coming unraveled, like pulling a loose thread on a sweater. I couldn’t hold onto it any longer. A tear started a slow crawl down my cheek and I bitterly brushed it aside. Another one took its place. I could feel the gaze of the waitress. I shook my head and let my long brown hair form a curtain of sorts. That semi-privacy made me feel better, more secure. I’m better off alone I tell myself. I don’t need a partner, I don’t need someone to help, to hold my hand. Its easier this way. Things are more clear. I checked my watch, 10:15. Just a few more minutes and I can get this over with I think to myself. I drain the last of my coffee and stand up, moving towards the bathroom. Once inside I set my purse on the counter and pull out a hairbrush. I stand there brushing my hair and I stare at my reflection. I see me as he must see me. Long light brown hair that’s as soft as silk, hazel green eyes that hold the world in them, and the most perfectly kissable set of lips he’s ever seen. I shake my head and clear the image. When I glance at the mirror again I see only me, forgettable me. I splash a little cold water on my face and dry it with a paper towel. I open the door and walk back to my booth. I signal the waitress again and she scurries over with her coffee pot. I add two packets of sugar and one of those little tubs of creamer, watching the white bleed into the brown. Settling back into the seat I sip my coffee, occasionally taking a small nibble out of the stale Danish on a plate in front of me. My mind drifts back and replays a thousand scenes in my head. The first time we met. His sea grey eyes with tiny little lines around them from laughing too much. Our first dinner together; what a disaster that was. The first time I felt his touch. The moment I knew I loved him. These memories came rushing back in waves and I was a drowning woman. In the midst of my memories I heard the door creak open. Instantly I snapped out of my reverie and focused on the man coming through the door. My partner. The man I’d fallen for. I analyzed him, watching him move, the way he scanned the room the way he walked like a cat all saunter and barely contained prowess. He slid into the booth and put his sunglasses on the table. “so whats up Cooper?” “The agency knows” He took a moment to order breakfast then gazed at me intently “you mean about us right?” he said. “Yes us, the whole thing. They know you initiated it they know you seduced me, but I’m being de-ranked, pulled out of the field” I replied. “and me?” He asked with that serious look in his eye. “I don’t know honestly” I retorted. “yes you do, headquarters would fill you in give you one last assignment, we all know the protocol. Where are they?” I held out my hand. In it were two tiny blue capsules. “You know what you have to do” I broke the cyanide over his freshly served hashbrowns. “I’m sorry you know” “I know” he said. I stood up and left. Spies can never have lovers within the company. And I just paid the ultimate price to end our affair.