Prompt of the Week: Mystery and Wonder

Reblogged this on deyunoves and commented:

Dichotomy of Now and Here
by: deyunoves

dated: 5/17/2023

I was about to cross the street when I heard a honk coming from a Honda Civic. The coffee spilled in my white shirt due to the shock I’ve received. The situation wanted me to be angry and shout to whoever the person who drove the car and honked at it despite the obvious reason that someone, I specifically, will cross the street. Then, I also saw a kitten at the lamppost not far away from where I am standing. That kitten suddenly yelped and then I saw a cat coming towards the kitten’s direction. Maybe, that kitten was crossing the street too, in peace without anyone seeing them. Suddenly the lamppost glitched and tried to offer me a light and then there was none.

The driver opened the door of his car and he asked me if I was okay or not. I told him that I guess you saw the kitten who suddenly crossed the street. And he just nodded and told me that he sincerely wanted to check up on me since I suddenly ran into the streets without minding the cars who drove faster than the actual speed limit. The guy just stands a few meters away from me but he’s behind his car door. I examined him and he looked like he was working in a corporate job, arrogant enough to give instructions to his subordinates and willing enough to bow his head to the business director.

I wonder what kind of friends he has because I don’t want to rely on first impressions. I know he’s better than that. I moved to the other side of the street so that his car could freely drive away from the streets or maybe far away from me. He quickly typed to his phone and he seemed erratic but when he lifted his head and when we met our gaze, he tried to be as composed as possible. Maybe, he will call 911 because someone hit his precious car and he wanted to make me pay a fine. I wanted to go home, wear my paired pajamas and sip my milk. I wanted to let him know about it but I couldn’t. I wanted to get my purse but for sure there’s no enough coins to pay.

I smiled at him when he looked at me, once again, as if I’m from elsewhere. Then, I heard the dog bark a few meters away from us. And the kitten is nowhere to be found, even the cat. It’s only me and the guy and the gravity that holds us in place. He held his phone in his left hand and he asked me a question of why I was there. I didn’t respond to his question because I tried to be as nonchalant as possible. I just wanted to go home. He asked me again ‘why I was there’ and then I replied ‘because I can’. Then, he nodded as if affirming his thoughts that reside in his mind. He walked in the crossing lane and he’s meters away from me. Now I can fully examine his whole body. The only thing that is correct to my presumption is that he’s actually working in a corporate job because the shoes he’s wearing are Red Wing Ranger Boots.

I asked him what he wanted since I didn’t have the money to pay for the damages. He said he didn’t want me to pay. He was just curious that I looked like I was elsewhere. Or perhaps, I came from elsewhere. And I just told him I studied Anthropology so elsewhere is a big deal. I catch a glimpse of his stifled laugh before he continues to ask me questions. ‘So do you think you’re a student?’ I didn’t expect him to ask me questions about it because I know I am a student. I thought it was obvious. I just nodded as a response. “You seem interested in mystery,” I told him. It wasn’t a question, of course. I just wanted to blurt out my opinion because he thinks elsewhere is a place.

I thought he would argue back but he didn’t speak for a while. Then his forehead creased as if he’s answering a puzzle that he doesn’t seem to get the answers right. I just looked at him with pitiful eyes and I hope he gets the sign. I heard a ring on his phone. I looked at it and he caught me looking at his phone and he greeted whoever’s on the other line. I’ve heard him say, ‘What should I do with her?’. Once again the dog barked and I looked at the dog with so much irritation. Then the dog aggressively barks at me and he tries not to get nearer to where I was standing then the lamppost glitches again.

After the call ended, the guy looked at me with brave eyes. He asked me where I should go. And honestly I don’t know, I just wanted to go home. Then, the guy knows I replied that way and he dismissed the crippling feeling of being scared. I don’t understand why he’s scared, maybe because he has a car and he’s vulnerable to car accidents. And he informed me that he wouldn’t offer me a ride back home. And I asked him why but instead of answering me, he even told me to not follow him after this incident. I asked him ‘why’ and he replied ‘because you can,’.

For sure, I looked like a rude person but I’m not a stalker. This guy’s presumptions about me, in general, seems stereotypical, and it often sprung from traditional learning and deep-rooted cultural meanings of ‘elsewhere’. In that place you were not afraid of not thinking. The guy didn’t even bid farewell to me and I sneered at him, which made him jump a little. ‘Shit! You scared me,”

“Goodbye, human.” I said, and he looked at me without horror and he accepted the fact that he just encountered a ghost in the streets with a glitch in the lamppost. For the last time, he honked his car and drove his Honda Civic away from me; away from the person of who I was.

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8 thoughts on “Prompt of the Week: Mystery and Wonder”

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poetisatinta says:

May 15, 2023 at 6:14 pm

Hi, here is my poem:
https://poetisatinta.wordpress.com/2023/05/15/prompt-of-the-week-21/

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Pingback: Mysterious prompts – Suchness1
The Sicilian Storyteller says:

May 16, 2023 at 7:01 pm

Hi, Lady J. Here’s one I wrote back in 2021:
https://theelephantstrunk.org/2021/12/05/rebel-with-a-cause/

LikeLiked by 1 person

deyunoves says:

May 17, 2023 at 3:55 pm

Reblogged this on deyunoves and commented:

Dichotomy of Now and Here
by: deyunoves

dated: 5/17/2023

I was about to cross the street when I heard a honk coming from a Honda Civic. The coffee spilled in my white shirt due to the shock I’ve received. The situation wanted me to be angry and shout to whoever the person who drove the car and honked at it despite the obvious reason that someone, I specifically, will cross the street. Then, I also saw a kitten at the lamppost not far away from where I am standing. That kitten suddenly yelped and then I saw a cat coming towards the kitten’s direction. Maybe, that kitten was crossing the street too, in peace without anyone seeing them. Suddenly the lamppost glitched and tried to offer me a light and then there was none.

The driver opened the door of his car and he asked me if I was okay or not. I told him that I guess you saw the kitten who suddenly crossed the street. And he just nodded and told me that he sincerely wanted to check up on me since I suddenly ran into the streets without minding the cars who drove faster than the actual speed limit. The guy just stands a few meters away from me but he’s behind his car door. I examined him and he looked like he was working in a corporate job, arrogant enough to give instructions to his subordinates and willing enough to bow his head to the business director.

I wonder what kind of friends he has because I don’t want to rely on first impressions. I know he’s better than that. I moved to the other side of the street so that his car could freely drive away from the streets or maybe far away from me. He quickly typed to his phone and he seemed erratic but when he lifted his head and when we met our gaze, he tried to be as composed as possible. Maybe, he will call 911 because someone hit his precious car and he wanted to make me pay a fine. I wanted to go home, wear my paired pajamas and sip my milk. I wanted to let him know about it but I couldn’t. I wanted to get my purse but for sure there’s no enough coins to pay.

I smiled at him when he looked at me, once again, as if I’m from elsewhere. Then, I heard the dog bark a few meters away from us. And the kitten is nowhere to be found, even the cat. It’s only me and the guy and the gravity that holds us in place. He held his phone in his left hand and he asked me a question of why I was there. I didn’t respond to his question because I tried to be as nonchalant as possible. I just wanted to go home. He asked me again ‘why I was there’ and then I replied ‘because I can’. Then, he nodded as if affirming his thoughts that reside in his mind. He walked in the crossing lane and he’s meters away from me. Now I can fully examine his whole body. The only thing that is correct to my presumption is that he’s actually working in a corporate job because the shoes he’s wearing are Red Wing Ranger Boots.

I asked him what he wanted since I didn’t have the money to pay for the damages. He said he didn’t want me to pay. He was just curious that I looked like I was elsewhere. Or perhaps, I came from elsewhere. And I just told him I studied Anthropology so elsewhere is a big deal. I catch a glimpse of his stifled laugh before he continues to ask me questions. ‘So do you think you’re a student?’ I didn’t expect him to ask me questions about it because I know I am a student. I thought it was obvious. I just nodded as a response. “You seem interested in mystery,” I told him. It wasn’t a question, of course. I just wanted to blurt out my opinion because he thinks elsewhere is a place.

I thought he would argue back but he didn’t speak for a while. Then his forehead creased as if he’s answering a puzzle that he doesn’t seem to get the answers right. I just looked at him with pitiful eyes and I hope he gets the sign. I heard a ring on his phone. I looked at it and he caught me looking at his phone and he greeted whoever’s on the other line. I’ve heard him say, ‘What should I do with her?’. Once again the dog barked and I looked at the dog with so much irritation. Then the dog aggressively barks at me and he tries not to get nearer to where I was standing then the lamppost glitches again.

After the call ended, the guy looked at me with brave eyes. He asked me where I should go. And honestly I don’t know, I just wanted to go home. Then, the guy knows I replied that way and he dismissed the crippling feeling of being scared. I don’t understand why he’s scared, maybe because he has a car and he’s vulnerable to car accidents. And he informed me that he wouldn’t offer me a ride back home. And I asked him why but instead of answering me, he even told me to not follow him after this incident. I asked him ‘why’ and he replied ‘because you can,’.

For sure, I looked like a rude person but I’m not a stalker. This guy’s presumptions about me, in general, seems stereotypical, and it often sprung from traditional learning and deep-rooted cultural meanings of ‘elsewhere’. In that place you were not afraid of not thinking. The guy didn’t even bid farewell to me and I sneered at him, which made him jump a little. ‘Shit! You scared me,”

“Goodbye, human.” I said, and he looked at me without horror and he accepted the fact that he just encountered a ghost in the streets with a glitch in the lamppost. For the last time, he honked his car and drove his Honda Civic away from me; away from the person of who I was.

LikeLiked by 1 person

deyunoves says:

May 17, 2023 at 4:01 pm

Hello, Lady J. Here’s my short story related to your prompt:
https://deyunoves.wordpress.com/2023/05/17/prompt-of-the-week-mystery-and-wonder/

LikeLiked by 1 person

Iris Carden says:

May 19, 2023 at 9:34 pm

Thanks for the prompt. In this chapter from my work in progress, a fifty-plus year old mystery is solved. https://iriscardenauthor.net/2023/05/20/family-lies-chapter-21-discovery/

LikeLiked by 1 person

Dan says:

May 20, 2023 at 12:21 pm

Hi everyone. Here is a short story I’ve written in response to the prompt.

https://dansgamingblog.wordpress.com/2023/05/20/the-grim-chamber/

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M	T	W	T	F	S	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

Prompt of the Week: Mystery and Wonder

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