Soul Mates - The Meeting

I pulled up into a parking space, and shut the engine off. I was excited, adrenaline made my senses more alert, I was ready for this. I took a final look in the mirror, fluffed my hair a bit with my fingers and stepped out of the car. I wondered a little at his instructions, "Don't wear make up or fuss with your hair." I normally wear very little make up so this was not difficult to comply with, but it seemed a bit odd.

This has all happened so quickly. I can't believe I let Pam talk me into putting up a profile and a picture of myself on Plenty of Fish. I don't share pictures, I don't often even put ones of me on my Facebook page unless my two girls are in it with me. The contact ad was only up for 24 hours before I was messaged "Good morning." by an interesting looking fellow, his picture was not a great one, but he seemed attractive. We sent messages back and forth through POF for a short while.

He asked "Can I give you my cell number, so you can text me directly." I thought about this for a moment, and replied "Sure" He sent the number to me, and a moment later I looked my reply "So now what?" and hit send. His reply was immediate. We texted only a few more messages, getting to know a bit more about each other, where we lived, that sort of thing. I told him about my job, he told me he was out of work at the moment but looking for a job. It was not a surprise when he wrote "Could we get together this afternoon?"

I replied "That would be nice, we could meet at Starbucks here in the mid-afternoon."

He texted back "My car is broken down. Can you come meet me here." I knew he lived an hour away, a two hour round trip, I would have to fill up with gas, and was a bit unsure about driving all that way to meet a stranger, but at the same time I was excited, interested in meeting him in person. His easy manner in the messages intrigued me.

As I entered the mall I could not help noticing some of the mens furtive glances my way, this boosted my confidence, I knew that I looked fantastic and I felt great, keyed up, I looked forward to this.

I sent him a text "I am in the store, by the entrance." He replied "Be right there." I saw him approaching before he spotted me. I know it sounds like a cliche, but time slowed down for me, it felt as if the world stopped turning. He was beautiful. Not handsome. Not good looking. Beautiful. A beautiful man.

My knees felt weak, and my stomach was doing a little flip, and then he saw me. His face lit up with the greatest smile. I watched as he made his way towards me, he appeared confident, self-assured. He carried himself well, straight upright,and walked with an easy gait.

He reached me and opened his arms to hug me. "Hello Diane, it is great to see you. You are much more beautiful than your picture." I managed to reply "Pleased to meet you Brad, your picture doesn't do you justice either." I felt his warmth, his solid chest, his strong arms around me, and it felt great. His scent was enticing, his cologne a blend of spice and citrus. "Mmmm," I said "that cologne is so nice. What is it?" "Eternity" he replied, "I am down to the very last drops though." We stood, looking at each other, not sure what to say next, then we both said "Hi" at the same time. This made us laugh as we turned to walk through the store to the food court.

I really wanted to get a coffee, and sit down across from him and talk and talk, to learn more about him, and to gaze at his face. As we neared Starbucks he said "Never mind, the line up is too long." We strolled the length of the mall, and returned the way we came. As we walked he talked, told me all about himself. This was alternated with him telling me how beautiful he thought I was. That feeling was mutual, those were exactly my thoughts about him. He was constantly interrupted by text messages from his friends.

I turned to him and said "Let's ditch this scene." "He smiled and replied "We can go to my place, it is near." I did not hesitate, nor question at all, we left the mall and went to my car. He offered to drive, but I laughed and said "I am OK if you give me good directions." We got in, and headed out. We just entered the city street when he reached over to the radio and switched the station from my country music station to a hard rock station. "He smiled. "This is my favorite station, I listen to it all the time."

On the drive over he talked non-stop about himself, about places he worked on as we drove past them. I loved the sound of his voice. I could not help thinking about how confident, how cool he was. He sent out an aura of strength. I was conscious of his scent, clean, warm and enticing, as the air coming through the open window carried it to me.

© 2014 NoelHC

Exercise 3: Your characters are having a conversation/discussion/negotiation/argument. Who are they? How are they similar? How are they different? Write a short scene, paying careful attention to differentiating each of the characters through dialogue, actions, and attitudes. For a special bonus – no physical descriptions allowed. Instead, communicate the uniqueness of your characters to the reader using only their actions, dialogues, inner thoughts, etc.

Story cubes #WriteFridays Challenge - Voyages

King Nikolai peered out the tall window, paced around the room, and returned to the window, looking out it again, searching the horizon. Clearly anxious, he turned and seated himself at the head of a long, heavy dark table and dined alone. His heavy crown was on the table beside him.

The only light in the cavernous dining hall came through the tall window on the outer wall. The sun passed behind a bank of clouds, the room darkened .

The king picked at his meal of boiled crab, distracted and agitated. The disruption caused by the increasing darkness only served to make him more disturbed.

He got up from the table and walked over to the sole window, on the ledge was his telescope, he picked it up and peered down the road leading to the castle. Where was Sir Argent? The knight had ridden off two days ago with a small entourage to collect the taxes due from the surrounding villages.

He spotted three horses with riders as they exited the edge of the forest. Sir Argent's banner was held by one, but it almost trailed on the ground. Another rider was slumped on the neck of his mount. Only one rode upright, Sir Argent, the king recognized his distinctive helmet with its golden horns. Ten riders had left; only three returned.

As the king hurried down the stairs, and through the passages to the drawbridge he wondered what could have happened. There were rumors in the kingdom the shopkeepers and the farmers were angry with the increased taxes that were collected to fund the war against king Ethelred in the kingdom across the Great Valley.

"Open the gates!" the king commanded. "Sir Argent is approaching." He watched as the guards applied their strength to the long handles on the gears that connected to the chains that lowered the drawbridge down over the moat surrounding the castle. The gears creaked, the chains rattled, and the huge gate thudded heavily as it hit the ground on the other side.

The three riders crossed the bridge, the king could see they were injured. Sir Anthony turned to the castle guard and commanded "Close the gates, they are right behind us!" He dismounted and faced the king. "Your Grace," as he handed over a small leopard fur pouch "this is all we could collect. We were attacked by a large angry mob in Middleford. Farmers, yeomen, the shopkeepers, there were too many of them. Sir Giles, my bannerman and I were the only to survive."

King Nikolai looked at the paltry few coins, he knew he needed pots, chests full of gold to continue the battle. This war against King Ethelred had taken a heavy toll.

© 2014 NoelHC

Story cubes

Words in italics are the images on the cubes in the image

Rowan Tree

Spring

Waking, slowly, the lengthening days stir her,
From her deep strong roots, through to the very
Tips of her branches on her strong limbs
A force flows through her veins, she is the first to
Send forth her buds , opening to soft verdant leaves
And she begins to bloom, her white blossoms in clusters
Bees swarm around the bobbing heads
Collecting her pollen

Summer

Her leafy crown spreads, and shades everything
Below, protecting all from the bright sun
Birds perch in her topmost reaches
Their voices raised in morning song
Her leaves bask in the sun's rays
Taking in its power to store her strength
Through rainstorms and blustering winds
She stands firm, her roots deep and wide support her

Autumn

The days shorten, and become cooler
Her leaves turn from lustrous green to russet orange
As her plentiful fruit ripens in tight heavy bunches
Her essence begins the long journey
From the smallest twig's tip
Through the branches, into her strong arms
And into her smooth trunk, finding its way deep to her roots
To restore and sustain her

Winter

The nights are long and cold, she rests
As she meditates and prepares herself
To repeat the cycle, and bring forth life again
The birds, the squirrels, the deer have all come
To depend on her for their sustenance
Availing themselves of the fruit she brought forth
Protecting them from the harsh winter
As she slumbers in her deep, dark sleep

"Rowan is the tree of power, causing life and magic to flower." The rowan is prominent in Norse mythology as the tree from which the first woman came from, and is felt to have protective powers.

© 2014 NoelHC

Anxiety Dream Challenge

#WriteFridays Challenge on http://infamous-scribbler.com/blog/

The Challenge

EXERCISE: Write a short scene in which we learn the flavor of your character’s anxiety dreams … and why he/she/it has been having them for a week straight.
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Faint voices, distant, incomprehensible, echo in hollow corridors. Metal doors clang shut. Heavy soles thud on the concrete floor. The dank smell of confined bodies and disinfectant burns his nostrils.

Damp, clammy sheets cling to John's chest and arms, he struggles to free himself from their grasp. Finally he pushes the bedding off, and looks around his cell. The bars have disappeared,  the locked door replaced by his bedroom door, open.

He realizes the nightmare has returned. Every night this past week. The same scene, a prison cell. The same sounds. The same smells. The same feeling of terror. The same sense of being locked in, unable to leave.

He sits on the edge of his bed, head slumped forward. John reaches automatically for his cigarettes on the night stand, he lights one, draws a long pull of smoke in deeply, savors the flavor, and blows a stream towards the ceiling. 

"So close," he says quietly "another two months, and I would have been in the clear."

He stands up from the bed, walks to the dresser and picks up a letter, handling it like the edges will slice his fingers. He re-reads the words. "You are requested to appear for a complete audit of your taxes for the taxation year 2009. Be prepared with your tax filing, and all related income statements and receipts." He can't believe he trusted the accountant's advice, he knew it was wrong, hell, it was probably illegal.

The date has arrived, John shudders as he starts to get ready to go his appointment.

© 2014 NoelHC