Remembering how it used to be…

January 27, 2021January 27, 2021 Chris Hall80 Comments

She stands on the hot, hard pavement, inhaling the ozone-laden breeze. Her eyes feast on the tempting glint of lapping waves breaking gently on the crescent of white sand, which circles the foot of the flat-topped mountain rising from the shining city by the sea.

Here in the city, where two oceans meet at the southern-most tip of the continent, she remembers all the summers when the whole world, it seemed, flocked to the beaches where they bathed and frolicked in the clear blue water.

The beaches are empty now.

An army truck rumbles past.

To keep it that way.

Image credit: Laurette van der Merwe

Written in response to two challenges:

Di of Pensitivity101‘s Three Things Challenge – CRESCENT, WORLD, BATHED

Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge‘s Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt – OCEAN

The Mask

January 20, 2021January 27, 2021 Chris Hall50 Comments

She’d always wanted to be the perfect lady, all glossy hair and high-heeled shoes, smiling graciously behind flawless make-up, while people marvelled at the poise of her bearing and her chic couture.

But nature was cruel. The golden-haired baby girl grew into a spotty awkward teenager. There was no extraordinary mutation from ugly duckling to elegant swan for her; no amazing transformation in her teens nor late-blossoming in her early twenties.

And so she became a writer, acclaimed for her literary accomplishments while sheltering beneath the camouflage of the well-turned sentence and gorgeous prose.

What lies behind your wordsmith’s mask?

Image credit: Ava Sol on Unsplash

Written in response to two challenges:

Di of Pensitivity101‘s Three Things Challenge – LADY, PERFECT, HIGH

Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge‘s Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt – MARVEL

What lies within?

January 13, 2021January 27, 2021 Chris Hall69 Comments

Kneeling before the old chest, watching the winter sunlight filter through the dusty window of the attic, I’d paused in trepidation. I’d never been in this part of the house, as my uncle had forbidden it and his directives were not to be ignored lightly; but I’d been driven to explore the unexplained parts of my past and now I’d discovered that the chest contained the final few pieces of the puzzle.

Finally, I’d unlatched the lid and lifted it.

If only I hadn’t. My uncle had been right.

That day I learned that some things are better left undisturbed.

Image credit: Pinterest

Written in response to two challenges:

Di of Pensitivity101‘s Three Things Challenge – PAST, FEW, CHEST

Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge‘s Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt – FILTER

Together we are strong

April 7, 2020April 7, 2020 Chris Hall47 Comments

wdys 24 the picture shows a neon sign with the words You Are Here in the background a view of city lights

In that darkest hour
just before dawn
when night-time terrors
clutch my heart

You are here.

In black-dog moments
when tears well up
and despair’s dark hands
wrench me apart

You are here.

When sunbeams stream forth
as storm clouds part
and laughter and song
fill my heart

You are here.

And we will survive
this troubled world
because together, my love
we are strong.

Written as a ‘two for one’ prompt response to:

1) Sadje’s What Do You See #24 photo prompt – photo credit: Pexels.
2) Di of Pensitivity 101‘s Three Things Challenge #198 – phobia, cry, laugh (loosely)

The Search

February 24, 2020 Chris Hall25 Comments

what do you see 18 by chris hall lunasonline

Breathlessly I peddled up the hill. Jack loved the woods. We were going there anyway, but as soon as I’d reached for his collar he’d bolted out the back door.

I threw my bike down at the end of the lane. Sandals pounding over the dry earth, I called out, running this way and that.

No Jack.

I ran deeper into the woods.
‘Jack! Jack!’

Where would a little dog go? Suddenly the woods seemed huge.

Calling his name, I ran and ran until I could run no more. I leant against the nearest tree, fighting my rising panic.

Tears ran down my cheeks. I closed my eyes and began to howl.

Then I felt something rub against my leg. I opened my eyes.

It was Jack!

I crouched down and put my arms around my little dog. I’d gone to find him, but it was he who’d found me.

Written as a ‘two for one’ prompt response to:

1) Sadje’s What Do You See #18 photo prompt – photo credit: Hoi An, Unsplash.
2) Di‘s Three Things Challenge #155 – rub, howl, collar

The Fall of ‘The Sparrow’

April 6, 2019April 6, 2019 Chris Hall3 Comments

The Sparrow by Chris Hall lunasonline — Source

Small, brown-clad, zip-lining across the city skyline, the bird-like acrobat would alight on the tiniest ledge. Clip on, push off, hurtling through the topmost branches of the urban jungle. But tempted, the bird became a cat, a peeping tom. His wings were clipped and now The Sparrow flies no more.

50 word story, written in response to Paula Light‘s Three Things Challenge: PL51

Going Undercover

April 2, 2019 Chris Hall2 Comments

He was dressed in an orangutan suit. It must have been itchy as he scratched himself rather a lot. Or perhaps it was part of his act. We thought it was just a prank, but then we discovered he was an undercover insurance agent, tracking a gang of kleptomaniac chimpanzees.

50 word story, written in response to Paula Light‘s Three Things Challenge: PL47

Henry Goes On Safari

March 31, 2019 Chris Hall6 Comments

Henry's safari lunasonline — sanbona.com

Henry cashed in his dividends and purchased an exclusive package to an upmarket campsite deep in the African bush. He got all the gear, the khaki shirt and pants, the wide-brimmed hat and he was on his way. He knew exactly what was what. He’d read a guide book. Or at least, he’d looked at some of the pictures.

He arrived and was greeted warmly by his hosts. After the briefing, to which he paid limited attention, he decided to go for a walk, all by himself.

Caught short, he squatted by a Khaya tree. As he perched precariously, a long, sinuous tree snake with bright yellow eyes wound its way down the trunk. Clearly offended by what it saw, it opened its jaws and fastened onto Henry’s tender regions.

Henry howled. He jumped up. He ran for the camp, clutching his pants.

But the venom circulated rapidly. It spread throughout his bloodstream into the tissues and the nerves. Henry collapsed in front of his luxury tent.

Later he was flown home in a polished box made from Kanya wood. The irony would, no doubt, have been lost on the hapless Henry.

Written in response to Paula Light’s Three Things Challenge PL45 with a little nod to my own recent close encounter with a boomslang!

And for those of you old enough to remember: enjoy!

They do things differently over there!

January 31, 2019 Chris Hall4 Comments

hoppytaw Percy the pigeon was on holiday. It had been a very tiring journey but at last he’d made it; all the way from London to New York City. As he perched on a tree in Central Park, admiring the city skyline, he noticed a group of children playing hopscotch. What were they using as a marker? Percy wondered. It wasn’t the usual stone that bounced and skipped.

A little girl dressed in pink made her throw. Percy flew down for a closer look.

‘Oh, what’s that pigeon doing?’ she cried.

The children gathered around as Percy waddled over to the marker.

Percy put his head on one side, examining the object. ‘Hoppy Taw‘ he read on its face. (He was a very intelligent pigeon who’d spent a year in Oxford.) Well, I never, Percy thought. I’ve never heard of one of those. Whatever will these clever Americans think of next?

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