Flash Fiction / writing prompts

Rain Dance

Chris Hall46 Comments

Hopeless as it’s beginning to seem without the elder’s lead, the dance continues. Chanting, stamping, every person keeps in time, as strings of shells which dangle from their ankles, rattle to a timeless beat. Owab, carried by the rhythm of the dance, wills himself on, inhaling the powerful scent of the sacred herbs smouldering on the remnants of the fading fire.

They cannot fail. Without the Rain Bull, the land will turn to dust and the group will be driven from the place they call home.

Far into the night
they dance on through scented smoke;
waiting for a sign.

Previous episodes of this little African adventure are here.

Photo credit: Nika Zhorzholiani from Pexels

Written in response to two challenges:

– Di of Pensitivity101‘s Wednesday’s Three Things Challenge – PERSON, DANGLE, HOPELESS
– Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge‘s Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt – REMNANT

I also set myself the additional challenges of confining my piece to 100 words exactly and writing in the haibun form. Just for fun!

Click here for more Six Sentence Stories – come and join the party!

46 thoughts on “Rain Dance”

  12. Your writing is always extremely vivid and takes me straight to the heart of the story. I’d heard of Rain Dances before, but I’d never realised until now that they’re called that because they’re done to literally summon rain. I’d never considered that before.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thanks, Simone! 🙂 The San people of southern Africa still perform a ‘healing dance’ on which this little bit of fiction is based. The Rain Bull is part of the same culture, and is depicted in their cave drawings. I’m not sure that they perform a rain dance to summon the Bull, but it makes for a good tale.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  13. The most enjoyable (for me) of the weekly SSS pieces, this one, like the others, creates its own atmosphere so succinctly.
    Reminded me of the Rainmaker, one of Hesse’s Three Lives at the end of The Glass Bead Game.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

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