Old Corridor
Elopement
(Microfiction, 99 words)
In the end, we settle for an old hotel, thinking its carved columns and stained-glass windows mean the proprietor cares. There’s no one at the front desk, so we go around back, almost slipping on the pathway mottled with bird waste.
The neon sign from the neighbouring bar casts a flickering glare on our room overnight. Yet your breathing slows as soon as we turn in. We have a long drive ahead. We have a bright future ahead.
Will it always be like this? Us, endlessly seeking, being led by beautiful pretenses, and at night only one of us satisfied?
Your Prompt: Think back to a hotel you stayed at or a restaurant you dined in that didn’t quite impress. Write a scene inspired by your experience, using it to foreshadow something calamitous (or auspicious!) for your character.
Quick Tip
Turn off your spell check when drafting a new work. You don’t want to be edited while you’re putting down your fresh ideas.
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Found Words
“‘Close the drawer, Joseph,’ she said, because she found she liked nothing better, after admiring him, after giving him the opportunity to be admired, than to gently suggest a mundane task.’ Miss Lewis could close that drawer with her hip. Joseph used a shoulder.”
—Fiona McFarlane, Buttony (short story)
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Leah Ranada 