W is for Water Whips
Day 23 of the challenge!
My theme is NIFTY NUGGETS. Little nuggets of writing based on a photo, a phrase and an object, which is designed to encourage lean, tight writing. I’m aiming for a word count of under 300 words.
Thank you to L.Diane Wolfe for providing the beautiful photo prompts. You can visit her blog to check out more pictures.
WATER WHIPS
PHRASE – opening a can of worms
OBJECT – garden gnome
Water mesmerizes as it cascades, flows, glistens, ripples, trickles.
But nothing excites me more than water whips…
Round and round, spraying in all directions.
A sprinkle of liquid, a hint of moisture, a light splattering that’s quite refreshing…
Like the memory of a sunny day, when mother was too tired to take us swimming. We’d connect the garden hose, thumb over the opening, swing it round and round, screaming and laughing, spraying water in all directions.
… and the time when dad opened a bottle of champagne, and sprayed the contents onto the guests and mum called him a klutz.
… or the time when the ketchup bottle burst and squirted the sauce all over our new Sunday dresses.
… another memory emerges from the can, squeezing through the pack of wriggling worms spilling in all directions.
… holding our rag dolls, swinging them round, faster and faster, then releasing them. Up, up, up and then they would drop, hit the floor!
… a quiet and sultry morning… nobody was around. Only the garden gnome at the end of the verandah leading to the blood-spattered pathway. I think he knew something about the missing puppies, all three of them. They were newborns, just two days old. We never saw them again.
… and then the memories blur.
… I remember the terrible headaches and Dad would say that it was all my imagination…
… we paid a visit to the counsellor… lots of visits.
…she asked us loads of questions.
We were confused and didn’t know what was happening. Dad said it was all mum’s fault. Then mum started crying saying that it came from Dad’s side of the family. I wonder what she meant by that?
Water whips always stir these memories…
That is disturbing…
The above idea wasn’t part of the plan.
I didn’t intend for the lovely water image to go in that direction… but it did.
That is one messed up child.
A beautiful image and a messed up child.
I had other plans for this image… it didn’t work out…
Another fantastic photo and another EXCELLENT FF. The first sentence sucked me in and that last one absolutely made the ride well worth it. You have a talent I wish I had, my sweet friend.
Thank you Robyn!
You are also talented… each one has his/her own special, individual talent/skill!! 🙂
The garden hose sucked me in, it brought back good memories of my childhood. But then, things started getting a little strange when the rag dolls hit the floor. And then…the ending was disturbing. What a ride! I’d like to know more! 🙂
Thank you Melinda!
Welcome to my place! 🙂
Whoa, what started out as quite enchanting quickly turned dark. I love it, great job.
Thanks Sara! 😀
i am fascinated by your style of writing, must try something like this
I love writing from picture/word prompts.
You should try it sometime. 🙂
I love the detail in this picture! It almost has a 3D effect. What a creative story that leaked family secrets until it became flooded in deception! Wildly fascinating, Michelle!
Thanks for the lovely compliment, Julie! 🙂
Hi Michelle – a disturbing twist to put it mildly … really disconcerting – I shall struggle with the rest of the day … better take my mind off the subject and onto something else … though the water droplets may well always return me here in their watery rainbow whips …
Cheers Hilary
I really didn’t intend for this lovely image to translate into a deeply disturbing story.