It’s time for my weekly Story Starter prompt. Here’s how it works. Every Tuesday morning (my time), I’m going to give you a “teaser” sentence or sentence fragment and your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to build a story (prose or poetry) around that sentence/fragment. It doesn’t have to be the first […]

Fandango’s Story Starter #187

The old lady grasped my hand and placed something in it. “This key,” she said in a gravelly voice, “will unlock a door to a world you can’t even imagine.”

I noticed my audience went down one. So I lost someone’s interest. Then, I was thinking how the purpose of my blog was “my healing through writing.” So the followers are not the goal for me anyway. Today, I noticed I lost one more😳

I watched the Super Bowl this Sunday. The outcome didn’t matter because I liked both teams. I enjoyed sitting here in my living room curled up on the couch with my warm blanket. I did, however, notice the boo’s when the Chiefs entered. I mean, a bunch of adults who paid a ridiculously high price to sit in a game were booing. Not that I always do this, but I wonder if keeping my opinion to myself is a characteristic I should keep. In my writing, I mean. I realize that’s silly, though. I am a creative writer. I have my own blog. I can say what I want to hear and here. Did you notice those two words that sound alike but have different meanings?

So Fandango’s story starter is a place where I get to create my own opinion on a phrase today. The phrase is,

The old lady grasped my hand and placed something in it. “This key,” she said in a gravelly voice, “will unlock a door to a world you can’t even imagine.  The thing was, this key is handed down from generation to generation. Two thousand years ago by our ancestors, this key, became a magical part of the Cistene family. For reasons of a means of escape from a cruel world that was growing stronger by the day…

Centuries later,as my grandmother handed me the key, I was mesmerized at the thought that I would finally get the chance to explore what was inside that door. I thought about the times I climbed those stairs to sit on the top step and stare. So many times, my grandmother would call up to me from the bottom of the stairs to ask me how I was doing. In the summer, it was,”Are you too hot?” However, in the winter, it was, “Are you too cold? ” I would always reply with, “I am fine grandma” or “I’ll be down in a minute”, if she cooked a meal for me. Today was different. I was so excited. Today, I would learn the secret world of Catalina. Today was the day I was mature enough to know the secret.

My home was now with my grandmother. It wasn’t like she was unable to take care of herself. We just felt (my mom and I) that granny needed a little extra company. I was also offered a job in my hometown that was to start next week. Without enough time to prepare for a new place, I decided that I would live with my grandmother for a while. My mom was planning to move back to live in her childhood home as well next month.

I thought to myself that I should wait for her. I mean, my mom was already familiar with the door and the magic inside of it. I also wanted to go ahead and turn the lock on the doorknob. All my uncertainty was settled when I heard the sound of broken glass downstairs. I immediately got up to run down the stairs when my grandmother was starting to meet me in the hall that led to the stairs. She nudged me eagerly to the door. I knew at that moment that our lives were at stake if I didn’t unlock the door. I crawled in and pulled my grandmother’s fearful body in the world of Catalina. Immediately, I closed the door while locking it with trembling hands and fingers. Our quick moves enabled us to avoid our enemies , the Klashes. Sounds of groans came from the other side of the door as they accepted their defeat when we were nowher to be found. My question was,”How would mom know we were here?” My wise grandmother eased my concern by telling me how my mom would know we were here. Our family had a special gift that allowed us to feel the feelings of our loved ones. That’s how she would know. But what began as my concern was soon to be comforted by the sight I would behold as I turned to face the world I was recently introduced to. I was amazed at the size of the new world I rushed into. Never in my life would I have guessed the magnitude of this new place that I had now was my entrapment.  There were acres of farmland with fields of wheat. On the right side of the fields of wheat were all sorts of farm animals. Cows, sheep, horses, and chickens. Lots of chickens. But what really fascinated me was the cottage with a small duck pond on the left corner of the house. My grandmother explained that this would be our safe place while we waited for the Klashes to return to their home. I said to myself, “How could anyone want to leave here? Why wouldn’t we stay here instead of returning home.” My grandmother sensed my worry and led me to the cottage.  Inside was a pot of soup on the stove. Obviously made recently, were two pimento cheese sandwiches for us to devour with our vegetable beef soup. She encouraged me to eat well tonight in order to be full. She also felt it was necessary for me to get a good night’s sleep cause tomorrow our journey in our new world would begin. I needed the energy.

Until Next Time,

Heidi💜