The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!

[fernly]

Je Ne Sais Quoi

…. the way those sweet baby blues turned from bright and lively to sad and distant when he thought she wasn't looking….a story waiting to be told.  Well, no matter; she loved a mystery – and a challenge.  And this one was worth it. 

She just hoped he thought of her as more than a one-shot thing. 

Empty Schedule

.....His brief moment of pleasure began to slip away when he spotted the small calendar inside the bag.  He flipped through it aimlessly, pretending to focus on the birds pictured on each page while trying to ignore all the empty days, weeks, and months that stretched out before him. 

Beautiful, apt, and heartbreakiing.
Thank you so much, Marie.



....and thank you for your kind words about my drabbles. I'm so grateful for the time you take to comment.

Fern

[MaineWriter]

Hello everyone,

For today:

• bounced check
• perplexed
• "fainted dead away"

L

[mariez]

Theater of Life

"Forgetting something?"

Her voice sounded odd to her ears, and she had the strange sensation of standing outside her own body as though watching a scene play out on a stage, observant and detached.  She looked on calmly as she saw him turn, hesitate for a moment, grab his tackle box, and hurry off without a glance.

She must have gotten up, made dinner, put the girls to bed, but those scenes were missing; and she realized she had turned away at some point in the surreal play, unable to watch as her last trace of hope fainted dead away. 

~~~~~~~
100 Words

[MaineWriter]

Hi everyone,

For today:

• clothespin
• flash cards
• "a bird in the hand"

L

[ifyoucantfixit]

         Ennis trudged the dirt road, up to the farm house.  He was nine years old, and he and KE and Cindy had to walk
the half mile to the bus stop.  He didn't really mind it, it gave him time to think on things, before the start of
chores after gettin home.  He was in the third grade now.  Just starting in last month in Mrs. Fanfers class.  He liked
her ok.  She was nice, and she seemed to like him well enough.. He was a shy and quiet boy, so he didn't cause no
trouble.  Cindy and KE kept saying "Ennis hurry up.  Pick up your feet.  Stop kicking up dirt."  He saw a clump of grass
by the side of the hedge row.  Then he noticed a baby bird layin there.  Just making a peepin sound..He wanderer over and there was no nest anywhere.  He looked around to see if he saw a mother bird anywhere.. ?  Nothing there either.
KE said "Ennis git on up here, we gotta git home.  What ya looking at over there?"  Ennis grabbed the baby bird and
said, "Nothin."  He hurried up to catch up with his siblings, with the bird hidden in his mostly closed hand..
         When he got to the house, his pa was there in the pickup truck, telling him and KE, to" get in we gotta go somewhers."  Ennis said "I gotta go pee."  His father said, "better make it quick, and get out here."
          He ran to the bedroom, grabbed his shoebox from under his bed and put the small bird inside.  He rushed outside
with his secret treasure on his mind.  Big smile on his face.  He jumped in the truck, and KE slammed the door shut.  His
dad said "what ya grinnin about? "  "Oh nothing special."  He replied.  "Where we goin?"   "I got something i need to
show ya."  He said, and they just looked at him, questioningly.  He offered no explanation   and turned as he backed the truck out of the yard and headed for the road.

[fernly]

          Cindy and KE kept saying "Ennis hurry up.  Pick up your feet.  Stop kicking up dirt." 

This brought a smile to my face. Ennis at that young age not picking up his feet, but it seeming like it 'cause he's playing maybe, not because he's hobbled like he is later, with all the emotional weights pressing down on him.

He rushed outside
with his secret treasure on his mind.  Big smile on his face.  He jumped in the truck, and KE slammed the door shut.  His
dad said "what ya grinnin about? "  "Oh nothing special."  He replied.  "Where we goin?"   "I got something i need to
show ya."  He said, and they just looked at him, questioningly.  He offered no explanation   and turned as he backed the truck out of the yard and headed for the road.

omg...this left my heart in pieces...the story going on sweetly, Ennis rescuing the bird, needing to keep it a secret, but it's a good one....and then the shock when I realize just where his dad's taking him, and what that secret is going to do him for the rest of his life.
What a beautifully structured drabble, Janice.

[ifyoucantfixit]

        Thank you.  I am glad you liked it.       

[mariez]

         Ennis trudged the dirt road, up to the farm house.  He was nine years old, and he and KE and Cindy had to walk
the half mile to the bus stop.  He didn't really mind it, it gave him time to think on things, before the start of
chores after gettin home.  He was in the third grade now.  Just starting in last month in Mrs. Fanfers class.  He liked
her ok.  She was nice, and she seemed to like him well enough.. He was a shy and quiet boy, so he didn't cause no
trouble.  Cindy and KE kept saying "Ennis hurry up.  Pick up your feet.  Stop kicking up dirt."  He saw a clump of grass
by the side of the hedge row.  Then he noticed a baby bird layin there.  Just making a peepin sound..He wanderer over and there was no nest anywhere.  He looked around to see if he saw a mother bird anywhere.. ?  Nothing there either.
KE said "Ennis git on up here, we gotta git home.  What ya looking at over there?"  Ennis grabbed the baby bird and
said, "Nothin."  He hurried up to catch up with his siblings, with the bird hidden in his mostly closed hand..
         When he got to the house, his pa was there in the pickup truck, telling him and KE, to" get in we gotta go somewhers."  Ennis said "I gotta go pee."  His father said, "better make it quick, and get out here."
          He ran to the bedroom, grabbed his shoebox from under his bed and put the small bird inside.  He rushed outside
with his secret treasure on his mind.  Big smile on his face.  He jumped in the truck, and KE slammed the door shut.  His
dad said "what ya grinnin about? "  "Oh nothing special."  He replied.  "Where we goin?"   "I got something i need to
show ya."  He said, and they just looked at him, questioningly.  He offered no explanation   and turned as he backed the truck out of the yard and headed for the road.

Janice, I agree with Fern - this is exceptional.  I love how you show that Ennis has always been a thinker with a tender heart - and how brutally that young mind and heart was shattered. 

Thanks,
Marie

[mariez]

Happy Saturday, drabblers.  How about:

• haunted
• horoscope
• sugar

Marie

[mariez]

Sweet Things

"There you go, you sweet little things."  Mrs. Johnson beamed while handing Junior and Francie their ice cream cones.

Ennis placed his hands gently on their shoulders.  "Say 'thank you,' girls," and two tiny voices cheeped in unison.

She turned her smile on Ennis.  "They really are 'sugar and spice and everything nice.'  I'll bet you thank the Lord everyday for your beautiful family."

"Yes, ma'am." Ennis smiled and nodded while the shame and despondency welled up inside him.  He knew that what he had should be the sweet life. 

And he hated himself for the fact that it wasn't. 

~~~~~~~
100 Words