Automated Drabble
It was a
☐dark ☐wet ☐clear and
☐stormy ☐blue ☐shiny
☐night ☐sea ☐limo.
The ☐boy ☐model ☐dog
☐sat ☐idled ☐ ☐lay
on the ☐rocky ☐dangerous ☐empty
☐street ☐beach ☐runway.
There was the sound of far away ☐sirens ☐thunder ☐applause
and muffled ☐engines ☐screams ☐shots.
A man walking by threw a
☐sno-cone ☐gun ☐rose
☐into the water ☐at a girl ☐into the trash.
His shoes were caked with
☐dough ☐blood ☐tomato sauce
and he was singing
☐ Hallelujah ☐ show tunes ☐"Meet the Swinger. Polaroid Swinger."
The man
☐screamed ☐fainted ☐laughed
when he saw the ☐cookie jar ☐ pizza ☐body
lying in front of him.
The ☐boy ☐model ☐dog
ran to him and ☐licked ☐kicked ☐kissed him.
The sound of ☐sirens ☐thunder ☐applause
grew louder as they both ☐howled ☐ran ☐ate.
The animated or automated challenge is now closed.
This week's challenge is opening the box .
You've always taken as much care with the wrapping as with the contents: a pastry brush and wooden spoon crossed in the bow of an apron wrapped around the box containing a pretty ceramic pie plate. A pretty pebble twisted in tissue-foil, tied with tinsel, a tiny bottle full of sand with an hourglass drawn and "extra time" hand-lettered on the label, and a list of "things to do with your extra time" on parchment, rolled and tied, all tucked into a small white bag watercolored with sunset, or forest, or ocean.
Your mom always handed you a wrinkled brown paper bag, the top rolled over and crimped shut. Happy Birthday, she'd say. Merry Christmas.
That's lovely, but painful. Nice work.
The call came once a month with a gentle reminder to please come pick up the box. It was claimed and then sat on the closet shelf. Out of sight. I don’t remember when it was moved to the shed. It may have been moved for safe keeping, out of reach from toddler’s hands. Ten years had gone by before I knew what had to be done. The box descended slowly beneath the water lilies. I had thought ashes were supposed to fly away on the wind. I know he understands why I never was able to open the box.
Oh Laura. Um. That last visual is striking, of the box sinking amid the lily stems. And the last line is quietly powerful.
We're a lively bunch of Pandoras, aren't we?
(In my mom's defense, she always baked me a cake--from scratch. Presentation of any sort was not part of her purview.)
