Flash Fiction / writing prompts

The Coming of the Rain

Chris Hall66 Comments

As the sun’s pink fingertips caress the tops of the purple mountains behind the cave, Owab is the first of the hunters to wake. Aquila waiting for him outside. The eagle bows and turns to the east, where a procession of wispy clouds rises with the dawn. Aquila takes to the air and Owab, in the thrall of his night-time vision, follows where his guide and protector leads.

When they return, Owab is leading a long-legged rain-cow which will bring soft raindrops to last a whole season.

The Great Bull bellows
rain swells the gathering clouds:
the parched land awaits.

This concludes my little African adventure, although I wouldn’t rule out a comeback for Owab and Aquila sometime in the future. You can find the previous episodes here.

Photo credit: John Fowler at unsplash.com/@wildhoney

Written in response to two challenges:

– Di of Pensitivity101‘s Wednesday’s Three Things Challenge – WISP, CARESS, FINGERTIPS
– Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge‘s Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt – SEASON

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

Read more Six Sentence Stories here at the Link Up Party!

66 thoughts on “The Coming of the Rain”

  19. The description you gave to the rain cow in an earlier reply adds even more to the wonderful scene that you built in my mind’s eye, Chris. I think I’ve seen a couple of rain cows in real life over the years, thinking about it.

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  20. Very excellent tale. And…and, not always the case, an ending that is like having a friend return home after a visit. Enjoyed the time we could spend with them and are confident that should the occasion arise, another encounter will be just as satisfying.

    …. good Six, yo

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  22. More beautifully poetic prose with the haiku to finish. Not a superfluous word. I really enjoy your style of writing here, Chris and am looking forward to what you write next, now that the African adventure has come to a fitting end. For the moment…

    Liked by 1 person

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