Passing the Baton

My uncle is ebullient this morning, remarkably so. He is a man transformed; overjoyed outpourings spill from his lips as he beams at me across the breakfast table.

I, however, having  ploughed through piles of obscure texts and ancient tenets from the towering oaken shelves of my uncle’s library (previously off-limits to me), am less so. The taste of the delicious food on my plate is spoiled by the knowledge I have swallowed down over the weeks since my discovery.

I am to prepare for my initiation, he declares.

Passing the baton
gladdens the master’s heart; yet
the burden remains.


Image credit: unsplash.com/@romankraft

Written in response to two challenges:

– Di of Pensitivity101‘s Three Things Challenge – DELICIOUS, OVERJOYED, SPOIL
– Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge‘s Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt – PLOUGH (PLOW)

I have also set myself the additional challenges of confining my piece to 100 words exactly and writing this, now ongoing story, (loosely) in the haibun form. Just for fun!

57 thoughts on “Passing the Baton

  1. And the mystery deepens, Chris. Your protagonist has gone from being filled with apprehension to dread and now it appears, foreboding. The last 4 words… too much to believe the implication is not as ominous as it sounds?, lol
    Impressive for working 2 prompts and in haibun! (had to look that up. cool)

    Liked by 2 people

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