Welcome to the fifth week of the Spring Writing Challenge!
You all did so well with your stories last week! There were so many interesting and unique ways you interpreted the prompt. It’s now the fifth week, so it’s time to do it again! Will your story have fairies? Time travel? Ghosts?! Whatever you decide, we can’t wait to see what you come up with.
So, without further ado, here’s your next prompt!
Week Five Prompt – The Sentence Prompt
Write a story that includes the following sentence:
Needless to say, this wasn’t the first time…
Wait…what’s a sentence prompt?
A sentence prompt is a prompt that uses a particular sentence. It doesn’t matter where your story takes place, who’s in it, or what’s said. The only thing that matters is that your story must include the sentence, “Needless to say, this wasn’t the first time.”
Before you start writing, we have some important rules for you to follow.
Writing Rules
1. Please keep the content of the stories you post to a PG rating. Please avoid real curse words. Violence/fighting should be limited and purposeful. Please do not include any spice.
2. Your story must be 1,000 words or less, and must contain the prompt to be counted for the challenge. You’re not required to post it in order to “win” the challenge, but if you want it to count for your team, your story must be posted by Sunday at 11:59 PM ET, and you must include your team name.
Remember to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and post your story as an “answer” to this question, not a “comment”. 🙂 You’re all doing such a great job! I’m so proud of all the stories you’ve posted.
Happy Writing!
Team A
Constellation
Needless to say, this wasn’t the first time the mermaid had broken the surface. After all, she was a lovely young princess and her father was merely the minor king of the tiniest kingdom in the seventh sea. He didn’t understand her world.
Despite her father’s admonitions not to break the surface until her sixteenth birthday, the mermaid had snuck above the waves on countless nights to gaze at the stars. The constellations blinked freely up there in their orbits. She envied them, twinkling brightly for all the world to see, with no petty fathers to order them around.
It wasn’t until the night of her sixteenth birthday that she saw him.
In the dark sky, she glanced at the familiar constellation of The Hunter. There were his arms, his legs, his bow and arrow, his face and his eyes–….and he winked at her.
She gasped and stared more fully at the constellation. Then the cluster of stars smiled and waved to her. He moved closer and closer to her, descending from the sky, at first nearly blinding her with starlight, but slowly transforming into glowing translucent flesh. The constellation man soared above the water where she floated, and sang in a deep, sonorous voice like church bells.
“Little maiden mermaid, daughter of the sea.
I’ve been watching, waiting, longing now for thee.
Little maiden mermaid, daughter of the foam.
I have come to meet you, and I hope to bring you home.”
The mermaid’s large blue eyes widened. “Who are you?”
“I am Thoren. Your people call me The Hunter. Did you know you are very lovely?”
“Thank you,” she said, amazed that she was talking to a constellation. “Are you…made of stars?”
Still hanging in the air, the constellation nodded. “Yes. But I’ve seen you out here so many nights that I grew desperate to meet you, so I came down from the heavens.”
“But…you don’t know me.”
“It’s true we’ve never spoken. But I felt sure that someone so lovely would be lovely inside as well as out. I asked Father for a single hour to come and meet you and ask you to return to the sky with me as my wife. He granted me permission on the condition that I found you to worthy of life among the stars. Would you like to come with me?”
Though the mermaid had grown up among mermen, she had never seen a man as beautiful as Thoren. She was instantly infatuated with his translucent, glowing beauty and exclaimed, “Yes! A thousand times yes! Take me with you!”
Thoren smiled and reached down for her hand. His hand felt pleasantly hot to the touch of her cool wet skin, and his eyes shone with starlight. “I am so glad, beloved one. I hope you will be happy as my wife, especially as you have been an orphan for so long.”
The mermaid cleared her throat and frowned. “An… orphan?”
Thoren nodded. “It is well known among the star-folk that mermaids are only allowed to break the surface when they are old enough. You’ve been coming to the surface for years, so I assumed you had no family to guide you.”
“Well…that’s not strictly true,” said the mermaid, tossing the lovely mane of her hair behind her back. “I usually just sneak out at night.”
“I do not understand. Is it not a rule among your people that you wait until you are of age?”
She tittered. “Well, yes. It’s a rule.”
“But you did not know about it?”
“Oh, I knew about it. As if I could miss it. My father won’t shut up about it. I just don’t think it matters all that much. My dad is just the worst, you know, and I don’t really have to follow his rules, right?” She grinned and squeezed Thoren’s hand tighter. “Once we’re married, we’ll finally be free to do whatever we want.”
Thoren rose a few inches higher in the air. “My people are made of stars. We must stay where we are fixed in the heavens. If we did not listen to our Father, whole worlds could burn. The consequences would be terrible for myself, and for countless others. Is it not so for your people?”
The mermaid stuttered, “I guess it’s not the same. I mean, what do dads know, right?”
“My Father is the creator of heaven and earth. He is wise, faithful, and kind. If you are unable to follow the rules of your own father, then your life will be full of…chaos.”
Thoren dropped her hand. Disappointment settled over his countenance and he drifted a few more feet away from her.
“Wait, aren’t you going to bring me with you?” the mermaid asked.
“You must forgive me. I am being impertinent. You are still very young and perhaps you are not ready. My time is nearly up, and I promised I would return within the hour.”
The mermaid began to cry and pout. If she’d had a foot, she would have stamped it, but instead settled for moving her hands angrily in the water. “But…stay with me. You don’t really have to go back up there, do you?”
Now Thoren’s face grew terrible to behold. “You would want a husband who would break his promise to God the Father? Please, forgive me, I spoke hastily before. I can see now that this would not be a good fit for either of us.”
Thoren began to recede back toward the stars, his body growing less translucent and more bright the farther he went from the mermaid floating in the water.
Her salty tears flowed down her face and mingled with the saltwater. “Thoren! Thoren, wait! Are you ever going to come back?!”
But there was no response. The stars in The Hunter Constellation sat up high in the sky, merely stars now, its bow, its arrow, and its face pointing firmly away from her.
Wow, this fairy tale/legend was written so succinctly, but the language and description were beautiful just the same! What a unique idea, I thought for a second you were playing off the Disney movie plot, but this was way superior!
Thanks, Hannah Stiff! That makes my day.
Interesting take on the prompt this week. I’m not that familiar with the stars and constellations, but you did a great job.
TEAM A
SUSAN BY ADELAIDE RIGGS
Near the local dirt road in a lush field, there was an abundant variety of grasses, wild flowers, and small creatures. All who dwelled here lived their lives with simplicity and gratitude. This included Susan, a beautiful flower whose color reminded everyone of a ripe summer lemon (but she was not quite so sour).
One morning, Susan was in the clearing enjoying a soft breeze when suddenly the air rapidly changed direction. Fragile as she was, Susan fell on her face, unable to get up. Panicking, she tried calling for help but the ground muffled her voice. Susan was helpless.
Just a minute later, a tiny, round old woman wearing a bright red cloak with black polka dots came into the clearing. It was Mrs. Dotty! She noticed the girl laying on the ground.
“Oh my!” exclaimed Mrs. Dotty as she hurried over to Susan. “What ever happened to you, dear?”
“I fell and ca-can’t move,” replied Susan quietly. “Could you he-help me?” Then she began to cry.
“Yes, yes of course! Be patient my dear. I’ll go as fast as I’m able to the house of Dr. Chippy.” And with that, Mrs. Dotty turned and quickly scuttled away, her red cloak fluttering behind her.
Susan was alone again, and very anxious. She wondered if she would never rise to see the blue sky again. Despite these thoughts, she tried to focus on her respiration. After what felt like months, she heard a pitter-patter, and out from the tall grass appeared Dr. Chippy with little Mrs. Dotty riding on his back.
“There she is, Doctor!” said Mrs. Dotty, pointing with one hand while the other five hung on tight. Needless to say, this wasn’t the first time he had been summoned, however this was the first time he had dealt with little old woman riding on his back.
“I see, I see! Please do not yell, you’re already near enough to my ear!” replied the doctor. Dr. Chippy was tall, dapper, orderly man, with a decent amount of good humor. They approached Susan.
“Hello?” asked the girl.
“Hello! So sorry about your condition. I’m Dr. Chippy, and we will help you get up.” These words made Susan feel better.
“Pardon, but where is the other one?” inquired Mrs. Dotty.
“Well, Perk should have been behind us. Excuse me for a second.” The doctor filled his cheeks and gave a couple sharp whistles.
In a moment, a boy appeared next to them. He looked rather lofty, and had a smirk on his round face. Mrs. Dotty jumped up and landed in a ball, her arms and legs tucked in.
“Perk!” said the doctor sternly as his son began to laugh. “This is a serious matter. I did not ask you to come along to play games!” Susan thought it was quite funny, but would have enjoyed it more if it weren’t for the condition she was in.
“Ok, let’s get to it,” said the motivated doctor. “Madam, you fetch some water from the brook and grab some witch hazel on your way back. Perk, you’ll need to climb onto my shoulders so we can lift this poor girl up.” Immediately Mrs. Dotty flew down the hill to complete her orders.
Just as Perk was about to climb upon his father’s back, Dr. Chippy noticed a break in Susan’s back. “Oh my, we will need some long grass to bind that wound. Got it, Perk?” “Sure, dad!”
Overhearing the doctor’s concern, Susan’s nerves were on the rise. “A-am I going to be OK?”
“I believe you’re going to be just fine,” consoled the doctor.
Perk made quick work of gathering some long grass and wasted no time in hopping up onto his father’s shoulders. They worked together to lift Susan up off the ground and stand her upright, Dr. Chippy encouraging Susan throughout the process.
Mrs. Dotty arrived not a moment too soon with the water and witch hazel, the latter of which was applied to Susan’s fracture.
In a jiffy Dr. Chippy had bound her wound with the green bandage and all was well.
“Oh, thank you all! I feel so much better, except it feels like my eye might be bruised,” said Susan.
“Well miss,” Dr. Chippy responded, “it does look pretty dark.”
“Black, I’d say,” added Mrs. Dotty.
Dr. Chippy applied the witch hazel to Susan’s bruise, but it did not seem to work.
“I’m sorry, but there is not much else I can do. What’s your name, miss?”
“Susan.”
“Susan,” Dr. Chippy looked her in the face. “Your black eye is beautiful.”
“Black eyed Susan.” said Mrs. Dotty….