Start a story with, “I picked it up to have a better look and…” Suggestion: one paragraph. Post your work as a comment. Scroll to “Leave a Reply”.
Writing Prompt #2
Start a story with, “I picked it up to have a better look and…” Suggestion: one paragraph. Post your work as a comment. Scroll to “Leave a Reply”.
A Porch of Whittlers 
I picked it up to have a better look and immediately wished I hadn’t. The little orb’s surface was hot to the touch, and every point at which my fingers contacted the metal began to glow with purple light. I dropped it back into the grass of my backyard and took a step back, wondering where this thing could have come from, hoping it wasn’t dangerous. As I watched, the light grew brighter, tracing, crisp, angled lines of purple light between each of the glowing points. The grass touching it began to smolder. I jogged two steps away, then went back for the lawn mower, wheeling it’s bulk back toward the shed as quickly as it’s little wheels would traverse the slightly overgrown grass–my parents would kill me if the brand new Ryobi got blown up by some random piece of alien technology. As I rounded the corner of the house, I realized I could hear the orb now. It was making a keening almost like music, but the harmonies were all wrong. Was it a weapon? Was it a communication device? Was it some recalled toy from Ollie’s that had gotten tossed into our yard from the park next door? One thing was for sure–this was the last Saturday I was going to start my chores before my parents woke up and made me.
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I picked it up to have a better look and the rock felt cool and smooth in my palm. Its acrylic landscape had been sealed with a clear finish, so even though it languished under this bush for some time I was able to polish to a gloss it on my shirt. When I flipped it over I saw the usual “#RockvilleRocks” but this had something else: with tiny brush strokes was painted 43°14’33.6″N 72°32’12.5″W. Latitude and longitude, such as on a pirate’s map. Intrigued, I flipped back to the front and now noticed the tiny red X under the largest tree. My first thought was, Someone has buried treasure there for someone to find. My second was, Wait—I know that tree. I know that view. I saw it from my childhood bedroom window. Five hundred miles from here.
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From Wendy:
I picked it up to have a better look, and was drawn by the colors
most of all: peach, pale turquoise and mauve. I first thought of
swirls of soft ice-cream – peach, blueberry and black raspberry. But
as I held it longer and breathed its coolness, its uniqueness, and its
beauty, I revisited in my mind a long ago trip to Greece and my lover
handing me shells of just these colors.
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