#completethestory

bench in the park, barely registering the evening joggers and dog walkers as they passed me by. As if one upheaval wasn’t enough, I had two to deal with. First I get laid off, and with job prospects being what they are I’d run through my savings and was facing selling my house. Now this family crisis was forcing me to move half way across the country to my childhood home.

Sitting and sulking was not going to change things, and my mood was just going to sour my memories of my favourite park. Collecting my worries and dreading the packing in my future I stood up and moved in to the path.

“Watch out!” shouted a low baritone right before I found myself on my back with a hot sweaty weight holding me down. Looking at my tackler, I felt the breath knocked out of my lungs and the blood rush to my cheeks and somewhere more mortifying. His eyes were a deep brown, complimenting his caramel skin. A mop of black hair and short well-trimmed beard framed his solid features perfectly.

“I’m sorry. Are you ok?” we say in unison. He chuckles and catches my gaze before saying, “It figures; I get knocked off my feet by Prince Charming the day before I have to go back to Ottawa.”

Stunned, I let him help me to my feet. I appreciate the view as I stand, letting my eyes linger on his solid furry legs, tight shorts, and barrel chest. Finding my voice I ask, “Seven o’clock event flight?”

This will be a limited series. The prompts are taken from a book called “Complete the Story” that was bought from Barnes & Noble years ago. I had been working at the store when I bought this, but never got around to using it. Now that I have some time, I will share with you some mildly revised versions of what I write for each prompt. The prompt will be in bold followed by what I managed to fill the page.

At first, we thought the black liquid was oil, that we’d struck it rich and that we’d be able to retire and live in leisure. We actually started [discussing] all the ways we’d spend the money. Our first choice was to buy an expensive car to show off at school. Someone suggested to save it all. Half of the group groaned when Lucas said we should donate all or some of it. Arthur argued that if we split the money he should get the most because what we found was on his uncle’s land. We all began to argue about how much each person would receive. No one knew who started it, but Arthur was soon swinging his fists at Derek. Both of them ended up falling into the puddle of black liquid. Derek was able to jump out of [it immediately], but Arthur started coughing violently.

We could only guess he accidentally swallowed some of the liquid. Seeing Derek in pain - his skin [showing signs of a chemical burn] where he had come into contact with the liquid - I rushed him to the side of the house and began trying to wash it off with [water from the] garden hose. The two of us could hear Arthur retching up everything in his stomach.

Derek was cleaned. We could see now how much damage was done. Red and peeling skin. Grey pus pooled where the damage was the worst. I heard sirens approaching. Lucas came up to us to let us know he had called 911. Arthur was no longer vomiting. I wanted to see how he was doing, but Lucas stopped me from seeing him. Derek suddenly panicked and reached out for me. He cried out about not being able to see a thing.

Courtesy of my aspiring write mind and the Piccadilly Complete the Story book from B&N.