| General Fiction posted August 19, 2024 |
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Stairway to heartbreak.
Top Stair
by Shirley Ann Bunyan
She sat on the top stair, shivering. It wasn't cold but the shouting and screaming from downstairs
left her quivering and numb. She heard the words her mum and her dad spat at each other, even though, hands on ears, she tried not to. Words, daggers, stabbing and twisting, leaving her rigid with fright.
Sometimes silence would fall into which her young imagination would conjure up multiple scenarios of horror. Were they hurt? Dead? Was one of them? Both? Could they hear the sound of her pounding heart? Would they ever?
Soon the nightmare would return. She flinched with every cutting retort. Weeping for the life she ought to know. Listening to the worst sound in the world. Mummy crying. Mummies are not supposed to cry. She wanted to make it stop but she had no power. Just a baby. No voice, no choice but to sit on the top stair, shivering.
Staircase writing prompt entry
She sat on the top stair, shivering. It wasn't cold but the shouting and screaming from downstairs
left her quivering and numb. She heard the words her mum and her dad spat at each other, even though, hands on ears, she tried not to. Words, daggers, stabbing and twisting, leaving her rigid with fright.
Sometimes silence would fall into which her young imagination would conjure up multiple scenarios of horror. Were they hurt? Dead? Was one of them? Both? Could they hear the sound of her pounding heart? Would they ever?
Soon the nightmare would return. She flinched with every cutting retort. Weeping for the life she ought to know. Listening to the worst sound in the world. Mummy crying. Mummies are not supposed to cry. She wanted to make it stop but she had no power. Just a baby. No voice, no choice but to sit on the top stair, shivering.
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Writing Prompt Write a description or scene, in prose or poem about a staircase. *Use the ordinariness of the subject to really push the genre. Maybe it's a fantasy staircase that transports one between worlds, or a gothic staircase descending into the depths of a castle, or a gritty urban fire escape, etc. Variations like stairs, steps, or ladders are fine. *A story isn't necessary. Focus on description of the stairs and its setting, or a scene playing out on them. *100-500 words recommended for prose. No restrictions for poetry. |
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