The Results From Mark Ready's Challenge
And they're good!
Mark Ready challenged writers to craft one hundred words (100), not including the title, illustrating a universal truth. Based on the reader’s likes, meet the amazing authors who accepted the challenge. I’m sharing them all!
Prepare for a little spicy reading on your Thursday afternoon.
Saving Willy by Anne Gruner
One cold rainy morning at the lake, a shrieking howl echoes across the cove. A dog has fallen into the freezing water and can’t get out. I speed over in my car, finding a little old lady in a bathrobe and a workman.
"He’s never fallen in before," she says, distraught.
The workman shrugs. "I don’t have other clothes."
The dog, leaning against bulkhead is shaking, struggling to hold his head above water.
I jump in, pushing the dog up toward the workman, who pulls him out. With assistance, I crawl out, soaked and freezing.
Willy’s fine.
Never give up.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words by Susanna Lewis
I entered the dimly lit room once more. Caught on a merry-go-round that never stopped for respite or rest, yet I had to be here. To be present with the woman I loved more than anything. My caregiver, my protector, my friend, my Mother.
As her breathing slowed, mine quickened, heart racing. No words for weeks, just silence and the ticking of the antique clock by her bed. Suddenly, eyes flickered open, locked with mine, a faint smile projecting love, and then, no more. Sleeping now, at peace, forever.
Judgment by Jackie Chou
"I'm going to have you try 6th-grade spelling."
Ms. Chan's voice jolted me out of my reverie. Moving up from 5th-grade to 6th-grade spelling meant sitting with the fashionable crowd instead of the immigrant kids.
The first test I corrected was Yen's. Yen had the highest grades. She got everything right except for "judgment." She put an E after G. So I marked it with an X. When she got her imperfect exam back, she told Ms. Chan what I did.
Ms. Chan ordered me to go back to 5th-grade spelling. Later in life, I'd learn to choose my battles.
A Hairy Tale by Christine Law
I have always found that being honest makes one feel good. Maybe it was something that my parents brought me up to believe in. Although not always easy to commit to, sometimes it may bring rewards. People think of you as a good person, they can rely on and accept your opinions.
Recently this was put to the test. A neighbor in her eighties had her hair done. Who was I to tell her the straight style did not suit her? So I waited for her to decide. “You know I preferred it curly." I agreed that curls suited.
Choose your battles by Kim H.
Sallie knew she would eventually have to face her father and the Elders. She knew they had been checking up on her in the village and poking around the clearing. She knew her choice to stay with Harold was rubbing them the wrong way. It wasn’t proper fairy behavior, and she was ‘breaking’ the rules.
There was also Mable, as it was Mable’s fault for Sallie getting stuck in the tree. The more she thought about it, the more Sallie realized it had probably been done on purpose. Mable had always been jealous. Sallie had always been their father’s favorite.
Expecting the Unexpected by noodleBubble
Pregnancy, despite all my fears, was an absolute breeze. The birth happened promptly on the due date with a bit of a push, and a lot of relieved smiles all around. Relatively quick. Relatively painless.
Words came early to Gabe, but they were never cross, a harsh word never uttered. The dreaded toddler tantrums just didn’t happen. At Junior school, they took up the horn and always practiced courteously at home, ever mindful of others. Teenage rebellion and angst certainly didn’t show itself around us.
It appeared, despite all my apprehensions during pregnancy, that my Gabriel was indeed an angel.
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