Love at first sight

Open University writing prompt no. 3. I'm having so much fun as I prepare to do my level 2 Creative writing course and enjoying the challenge of the 30 minute free writing prompts. Hope you don't mind me sharing.

Love at first sight

Ali stopped eating as soon as she came into the room, a rare occurrence for him as he really loved his food. But when he looked up, intending only a quick glance, at the sight of her long blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes, shining with laughter, he knew that he had completely lost his heart forever. He’d never seen someone so beautiful. It wasn’t so much that she was aesthetically beautiful. Her eyes were a bit too big and her jaw line a bit too square. No, her beauty lay more in the aura of her spirit which emanated from her very being. He never thought that it would happen to him but he had fallen in love at first sight. He knew that he would go to the ends of the earth and do anything in his power to protect her, ‘for as long as they both shall live.’

 Realising that he was drooling, his mouth still full of half chewed food, he tried swallowing but only succeed in choking.

‘Oh dear! What’s the matter? What can I do? She said only now becoming aware of his presence.

‘I think his foods gone down the wrong way; we need to give him the Heimlich manoeuvre’ her companion replied.

Gasping for breath as he was Ali still managed to shoot a look of hatred at her companion. Who did he think he was? And why was he holding her hand like that?

Suddenly he found himself being grabbed round his middle and squeezed so hard he was sure that his ribs would break. At the same time a bolus of food shot across the room splattering on the door of the oven. Ali whimpered. Not exactly the type of first impression he’d wanted to make.

But much to his surprise the object of his affection was kneeling on the floor, her arms gently holding him in complete contrast to the painful manipulations of a minute ago. Then she kissed him and gently began stroking his back. Ali closed his eyes, inhaling the soft sweet scent of her. He couldn’t believe it. She seemed to feel the same.

Her companion looked on, smiling at this tender scene.

‘Well love, what do you think of your surprise?’

‘Oh daddy it’s just what I wanted. My very own Cocker Spaniel. I’m going to love him forever!’ she beamed.

 

©2013

 

 

 

I only went out for a bottle of milk!

How does a mature Open University student spend her August Bank Holiday? Why, by responding to one of the 30 minute writing prompts, of course!

 

Here is my latest attempt. Just a bit of fun. I hope you enjoy it.

 

I only went to the shop for a bottle of milk!

I’ve said it before and, I’ll say it again. My life! You couldn’t make it up. The day started off as normal. By normal I mean that I stumbled out of bed, fell over the cat and made my nose bleed by crashing into the chest of drawers. I went into the bathroom to get a wet flannel to put on it only to discover the most enormous spider glaring at me menacingly. Beating a hasty retreat back into the bedroom I grabbed the first piece of clothing that came to hand to staunch, the by now, gushing flow of blood, which happened to be my designer raw silk blouse bought on our honeymoon in Paris.

In the kitchen an even bigger disaster awaited me as unable to see due to my holding my head up because of my still bleeding nose, I failed to notice that one of our elderly cats who was a bit incontinent, had missed the litter tray. Thump, crash, bang as my bottom hit the floor leaving a trail of; well I’ll leave that to your imaginations.

A while later, bleeding stopped, kitchen and me cleaned up, I could finally think about putting on some coffee, an absolute necessity if I’m to be the least bit civil to anyone today day. Coffee machine bubbling away I close my eyes thinking of that first sip of the elixir of life. Humming to myself and thinking that, surely things could only get better, I opened the fridge door and disaster; there was no milk! Now, I do like my coffee, I’m a bit of a coffee snob to be honest, but it has to have milk in it!

Our local shop is only a 10 minute walk away but being desperate I decided to jump in the car. It was a Bank holiday and the normally busy road was, unusually devoid of traffic. Looking carefully left then right, I started to reverse out of our driveway. The sound of screeching metal and a slight juddering in the cars usually smooth movement caused me to stop. Lying under the back wheels was my daughter’s 2 day old birthday present, a bike. This was going to be one expensive pint of milk. Not only had I ruined the bike, but the handle bars had caught the exhaust pipe and ripped it off completely.

If ever I needed that bloody coffee it was now! Leaving the mess to deal with on my return, I set off down the road at a pace my somewhat out of shape body wasn’t used too.

‘You alright there lass, you look as if you’ve just done the marathon!’ quipped Mr Mackenzie, our local retailer.

 

Resisting the urge to punch him in his cheery face, I politely, placed my litre of milk on the counter.

’89 pence please.’ He said giving me a peculiar stare. ‘If you don’t mind me asking, are you ok?’

‘Why wouldn’t I be ok?’ I growled. Shooting my worst dagger's look in his direction.

‘Well it’s just that you’re still wearing your pyjamas.’

Blushing furiously, I wrapped my arms around my body.

‘They’re not my pyjamas they’re the latest fashion statement from Milan! Everyone’s wearing them this season. Oh and while you’re at it, I’ll have a number 6 scratch card.’

Mustering as much dignity as I could, I paid for my purchases and nonchalantly wandered out of the shop. Round the corner, out of sight, I leaned against the wall the heat of my embarrassment bringing me out in a sweat. Could this day get any worse? Well what the hell, I thought. Taking a coin from my purse I rubbed the surface of the scratch card. As I removed the silvery coating, out of the variety of objects gradually being revealed appeared, not one, not two but three gold bars. After checking and I rechecking, I went back into the shop, a dazed expression on my face.

‘Can you just check this for me please?’ I croaked.

Mr Mackenzie put the card through his machine. Shook his head and tried again.

‘Well, I don’t believe it lass. You’ve only gone and won a million!’

‘Right!’ I gasped. ‘But I only went out for a bottle of milk!’

 

© 2013

 

 

 

Don’t you think you’ve had enough now?

Sometimes it can be hard to say, let alone write, what you really feel. Especially in a situation where you have lost someone close. Imagine then how it must feel when you have to make a decision that brings about that loss. In 1990, my husband and I had to make the hardest decision of our lives. Our beautiful daughter was born by Cesarean section, five weeks premature, and with a heart condition. Due to complications just before and after her birth, her brain suffered massive oxygen starvation and when she was just seventeen days old we were told by the doctors that she was, in their words, "incompatible with life". We had to make the heart-breaking decision to let her go peacefully. My one consolation was that she passed away in my arms after only half an hour, which made me realise just how bad things were. It's taken me a long time, but a couple of years ago I wrote this short story, which describes my feelings at the time.

Don't you think you've had enough now?

Kirsty Anne Johnstone

'I watch you laying there, your eyes closed but not in a peaceful slumber. I smile fondly loving the sight of you. Your curly, dark hair, your rosebud mouth, the soft roundness of your cheeks. We’ve been on an adventure, you and me. But how do you feel? It’s been a long journey, sometimes good, other times, well, not so good. The one amazing thing being that we’ve travelled it together, for the most part. These past few months have been wonderful, full of joy and hope. I’ve laughed and loved and planned so many exciting adventures for us both, little knowing it would come to this.

You came too soon. Not ready for life, not strong enough to make it. You’ve fought hard and I’m so proud of you. But, haven’t you had enough now?

I listen to the shushing sound of the machines helping you to breathe. The steady in and out, up and down continuous sound that only serves to remind me that it’s not really you, only the machines are keeping you here with me. The tubes protruding from your tiny body another reminder that all is not well. A tear runs down your cheek. It tears a hole in my heart. I’m not sure how much more of this I can take?

The doctor comes. I can tell by his face that it’s not good news. I shut my eyes, like a child playing hide and seek. If I can’t see him, then he can’t see me. Then he won’t be able to give me the news that I’ve been dreading. But he places his hand on my shoulder and I know that I have to open my eyes and listen. As he speaks, I look at your face and I can tell that, yes, you have had enough.

My heart breaks, but I know what I have to do.  

We’ve both had enough now.'

Sometimes if we love someone, we have to let them go, no matter what it costs us.

I miss and think of her every single day. Time has helped, but there will always be a 'Kirsty shaped' hole in my heart.

In memory of Kirsty Anne Johnstone and all the other angels who were born too soon. 

Isabel Johnstone 2015 ©

A teaser!

Recently on my Open University Facebook page someone posted a writing prompt. 'She knew that there was something wrong when she opened the door' I took up the challenge and here is my attempt.

'She knew that there was something wrong when she opened the door. Instead of the happy, excited chatter that she’d been expecting, the air hung still, silence pervading the entire space. Her heart began to beat louder and faster. She realised that she was holding her breath, yet was reluctant to let go for fear that this small act would break the silence and result in -what?  Slipping quietly back outside she leaned against the wall her chest heaving as she hungrily gasped for air. Briefly she contemplated running away. If she didn’t go in then she wouldn’t have to face up to whatever, if anything, had happened.  There had been rumours, but not being one to listen to gossip she’d dismissed them with her usual cynicism. If the rumours were true then the sensible thing to do would be to run as far away as possible. Anyway surely the silence meant that she was probably too late?

Shaking her head she came to a decision. She’d never run away before and she wasn’t about to start now. Whatever lay on the other side of that door, she knew that she had to face it. But not alone! Pulling her mobile from her pocket she dialled the number of the only person she trusted. They hadn’t spoken in a while but instinctively she knew that he would come. He had too……'

What happens next? Who knows!  Check in and see. :) 

Have you a chidhood dream?

 Every young girl dreams of having an adventure, of being rescued by a prince, the man of her dreams. what little girl doesn't dream of starring in her own fairy tale? But sadly few of us ever have the opportunity to fulfil that dream.

A few weeks ago I responded to a tweet asking 'would you like to go on an invisible dragon adventure?'   Well my twitter status states that 'I'm a lady of a certain age on a mission to prove that life can still be an adventure', so how could I refuse! Little did I know what was in store for me.

I replied that I was interested in going on an invisible dragon adventure by replying, 'always'.

A few days later I received a message asking me where I would like to go on my 'invisible dragon adventure. Not really taking it seriously I replied Shangri La. After all that's the place where people live for ever in a land of plenty. Who wouldn't want to go there? This was followed by a question asking who I'd love to go on this adventure with. After discarding the obvious candidates such as Brad Pitt and George Clooney,( but not before dreaming about it a bit first), I replied that I would want to be accompanied by Lancelot.  The conversation that followed then went like this;

'Lancelot, the knight of the Round Table?' was the surprised response.

'Of course !' was my reply, 'Who better to go on an invisible dragon adventure with?' 

 'What would you say to the good knight Lancelot while you adventure with the invisible dragon?' 

'Come with me to Shangri La to recapture the thrill of life in Camelot in years gone by! 

The Invisible Dragon Adventurer then replied, 'OK, now we need to wait a few days for the magic of storytelling to do its stuff :-) 

Life went on and I completely forgot all about my 'Invisible Dragon Adventure'. In fact life got pretty serious with my son having complications after a routine operation and to be perfectly honest at times it would have been really great to have been able to escape, anywhere and with any type of dragon or knight!

Imagine my surprise and delight when a couple of weeks later I received this message on Twitter;

'It took a little time, but the new Invisible Dragon adventure is ready! ...and it is all about you :-)'.

Eagerly I clicked on the link and was both enchanted and delighted by what I found there! This clever, talented person had taken my 'tongue in cheek' comments and woven them into a magical, poetic and funny story, featuring me as the central character! I'm still grinning like the proverbial 'Cheshire cat' now as I'm writing this. It made this 'lady of a certain age' and grandmother, feel like a young girl again. My childish dream of meeting my 'knight in shining armour' had come true, if only in a story.

My hubby reckoned that I took a chance by replying to this tweet, but sometimes it can be fun 'taking a chance'. I had in fact gone on to the Invisible Dragon's website and found out that he was a writer who writes short stories based on the inspiration of his friends combined with his belief in the wisdom of children. How lovely is that! There's nothing to compare with the wisdom of children. They don't have the boundaries and limitations that many adults seem to have. 'Out of the mouths of babes...' has now taken on a whole new meaning for me.

Read for yourself my ' Invisible Dragon Adventure' parts 1 and 2 by clicking on the links below.

©

 http://www.thedragonadventures.com/2013/08/isabels-first-spell.html

http://www.thedragonadventures.com/2013/04/a-new-dimension-of-time-and-space.html

Lancelot photo courtesy of:

  //www.medievalwalltapestry.com/lancelot-and-guenevere-picture.html