Early one morning...
Today’s post is based on a writing prompt I shared in a previous Daily Drafts & Dialogues post. Keep reading to see what I wrote, and to access more writing prompts.
What I wrote below is based on the following writing prompt→ Complete this sentence for today’s writing prompt: “Early one morning…”
Early one morning…
Early one morning, as dawn was breaking, I tied my shoelaces, slipped out the back door, and headed for the running trail in the woods behind my house. With all the oncology appointments and work emails and dinner meetings, I had almost forgotten what a living tree looked like, which was tragic.
But this morning I was determined to run through the woods until my lungs were completely full, like I was training for a marathon, or someone was chasing me. I wanted to absorb the dirt and trees and air surrounding me until they pulled me toward the earth again and I felt buried in their wholeness.
I pushed and stretched my limbs harder and harder and farther and farther, inhaling the fresh morning ambience as I exhaled my worldly anxieties. My cheeks were numb. My upper back was damp. My thigh muscles ached. And I was soaring, soaring, soaring, downhill, far away from all my temporal troubles…
Until I turned a corner and almost ran right into a deer standing in the middle of the trail. It was almost my height, definitely younger than me, bold and striking.
When I stopped abruptly, inches away, the deer stood frozen, alert, and beautiful. Its eyes were large and cartoonish, and its coat looked soft and warm. It was assessing me, deciding not to flee, as I did the same.
Without thinking, I reached out to pet its neck. To comfort it, or myself, or both, immersed as I was in my return to nature.
As my fingers extended toward the creature, the air cracked then whizzed, and I felt a burning sensation run along my forearm. The deer remained stunned, still. And so did I, for a beat. As if we were operating as one, confused and tethered to the ground.
Before I could turn to see where the noise originated from, I heard another crack, another whiz, then witnessed a red dot blooming in the center of the deer's head.
The deer crumpled to the forest floor, then so did I. The only questions on my mind: Am I next? Why? The first bullet could have been a mistake but not the second. Or maybe the reverse was true. So, who and what will be the prey here? The deer and or I? Together?
I heard a human hoot and holler, cackle, then rustling leaves as someone, or someones, approached us…
[Write what happens next, then share what you come up with in a comment or chat thread below. ]
I might revise, edit, or add to this draft in the future. Stay tuned.
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© All Rights Reserved by K.E. Creighton; Creighton’s Compositions LLC. The above work is a piece of fiction. While, as in all fiction, the literary perceptions and insights are based on experience, all names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
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Today’s Writing Prompt
Writing Prompt: Free Write, Love
Set a timer for ten minutes. Once you start the timer, start free writing about love and why it's important. Write about whatever comes to your mind as soon as it comes to your mind, and don't overthink what you're writing about. Don't stop writing until the timer goes off. And feel free to repeat this free writing exercise for any topic in the future, especially when you find yourself stuck or needing a bit of creative inspiration.
Be sure to share what you write for any of the daily writing prompts in a subscriber chat thread so we can read and discuss what you wrote.
