Prompt: 095. visiting the beach

1. Visiting the beach had sounded like a great idea. Unfortunately algae blooms had resulted in the release of some kind of toxin.

A. Visiting the beach had sounded like a great idea. Unfortunately algae blooms had resulted in the release of some kind of toxin. Dead fish and sick sea life abounded, releasing a godawful stink that sent them running back to the car. There would be no enjoying the wonders of sea, surf, and shore.

Forced to change their plans, they consulted a tourist map and decided to spend the first day of their vacation at the farmer’s market twenty miles away. It wasn’t what they’d spent weeks looking forward to, but it was better than being at home.

2. Sitting on the sand with her legs outstretched and her head tipped back as she breathed in the sea air and relaxed.

A. Sitting on the sand with her legs outstretched and her head tipped back as she breathed in the sea air and relaxed. She felt as one with the sea and sky. Delicate traces of wind ghosted against her cheeks and down her neck, stirring the hair left loose around her shoulders.

Her belly was full and contentment radiated through her whole body. It had been a good idea to visit the beach. It was something she’d needed, something that she’d denied herself too long.

Ignoring the Call of the Sea had become second nature. She’d nearly forgotten that in the end she needed the sea to live.

Even resting on a beach joined to the sea was enough to fill her body with energy and life. If she touched those rolling waves… she would shed these human legs and remember the body to which she’d been born.

3. For someone born and raised in the city, visiting the beach was a lifetime event.

A. For someone born and raised in the city, visiting the beach was a lifetime event. Thirty years old, and this was his first time seeing the ocean.

It was beautiful. With the sun shining down and the water a greenish-tinged blue, he felt as though he was standing in one of the seaside photographs his mother had been so proud of. He could almost feel her at his side, a warm and loving presence overflowing with gentle cheer.

It was thoughts of her that had brought him here. A sudden desire to be close to her one more time, even if her physical presence was forever gone.

She was here with him now. He was sure of it.

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Prompt: 094. favorite sweatshirt

1. It was weird to think that his favorite sweatshirt had come from a used clothing store. Sometimes he wondered about the previous owner.

A. It was weird to think that his favorite sweatshirt had come from a used clothing store. Sometimes he wondered about the previous owner. If they had been awkward like he was, always trying to hide himself away within the sweatshirt.

He liked to pull the hood up and hide in his music. Headphones and sunglasses were an essential part of his wardrobe. They let him walk amongst the crowds of people without cringing into his skin.

2. They watched as her brother approached the casket and laid her favorite sweatshirt inside with her body. He was teary-eyed as he closed the casket lid.

A. They watched as her brother approached the casket and laid her favorite sweatshirt inside with her body. He was teary-eyed as he closed the casket lid. She’d been the last living member of his family.

“What are we supposed to say?” Adam whispered desperately. “He’s coming over here.”

“I don’t know. Wait until he says something, then express our regret?”

3. The young girl insisted on wearing her favorite sweatshirt to the performance, even after her mother pointed out that it was inappropriate for the occasion.

A. The young girl insisted on wearing her favorite sweatshirt to the performance, even after her mother pointed out that it was inappropriate for the occasion. Her father gave her an indulgent smile and hushed her mother. “Let the girl wear what she wants.”

His power and influence was such that she was seen as endearing rather than obnoxious. Her mother seethed. She enjoyed herself immensely.

It was the kind of thing she would think back on in the future. Those times when she had been cruel to her mother for no other reason than to prove she was Papa’s favorite.

She should have curried her mother’s favor as well. But she was short-sighted and there was nowhere else for her to turn once her Papa died.

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Prompt: 093. visiting a farm

1. It was supposed to be a fun day for the preschoolers. They’d visit a farm, pet some baby animals, and return home with new coloring books and butter they’d churned themselves.

A. It was supposed to be a fun day for the preschoolers. They’d visit a farm, pet some baby animals, and return home with new coloring books and butter they’d churned themselves. Unfortunately, on the way to the farm there was a massive accident on the freeway.

There was no room for the bus to turn around, so the children and adult chaperons spent four hours waiting for the traffic to clear up.

Instead of cute farm photos and young children learning a love of nature and animals, there was hours of whining complaints and several potty training setbacks.

2. Fired up by her desire to provide healthier food for her family, she arranged a visit to a local farm. She wanted to see where her food came from.

A. Fired up by her desire to provide healthier food for her family, she arranged a visit to a local farm. She wanted to see where her food came from.

In retrospect, she wished that she had done a bit of research before driving out to the farm. She’d had no idea how a modern organic farm worked. It was not the Willy Wonka-ish factory tour she’d somehow been expecting.

It didn’t help that the farmer’s handsome single son flirted with her to the point of offering up her number. They went on a couple of dates, but she quickly decided they had nothing in common.

3. They were a group of tourists visiting a farm—his farm—and they had to be some of the most obnoxious people he’d ever had the misfortune to meet.

A. They were a group of tourists visiting a farm—his farm—and they had to be some of the most obnoxious people he’d ever had the misfortune to meet. If he could have told them to leave and never come back, he would have, but he needed the money. It was why he’d agreed to the tour idea in the first place. And since he’d agreed, he made himself play along.

He smiled until his cheeks ached and calculated the number of hours until they would be gone in his head. He put up a calendar just so he could cross out the days.

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Prompt: 092. cinnamon toast

1. Raised with cooks and housekeepers, she’d never learned to cook anything. For him she learned to make cinnamon toast.

A. Raised with cooks and housekeepers, she’d never learned to cook anything. For him she learned to make cinnamon toast.

She was ridiculously pleased with herself, to the point that she was embarrassed by her own sense of pride. There was just something about looking down at the tray she carried and seeing the plate with four slices of cinnamon toast and the cup of coffee that made her feel as though she was providing for someone she loved.

She couldn’t make anything elaborate—yet—but she was sure that someday she would be making complete meals. Being a chef wasn’t her dream career, but she wanted to be able to make delicious food for herself and her loved ones.

2. Mom always buys generic Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal no matter how often you ask for name brand.

A. Mom always buys generic Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal no matter how often you ask for name brand.

Just to have the box in the house would be a point of pride. And with the careful use of a Sharpie to warp the expiration date, it would be easy to refill the box. No one would have to know.

But Mom never buys the good stuff. She always says there isn’t enough money. Not even for one box, one time.

3. Toast slathered with Country Crock and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Scarfed down after midnight when everyone else was asleep.

A. It felt like a dirty secret when she climbed out of bed late at night after everyone was asleep. Yet she would do it anyway, unable to resist that siren call.

She would creep downstairs to the kitchen where she would make toast slathered with Country Crock and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Standing over the sink, she would scarf down the toast, crumbs and sugar crystals flaking from her mouth and bouncing off the back of her hand.

Her eyes would close in silent bliss as she chewed and swallowed bite after bite, slice after slice. The crunch of her teeth through toast would be the only sound in the kitchen. She would be drifting through a sleepy haze of cinnamon and sugar as she stood flat-footed and loose-kneed.

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