General

Initially planned to spend the night at the reading room on campus. Change of plans. Returning back to hostel. Out of fuel. Broke. Hours of concentration on books without food was draining me. Losing my mind.

While bypassing the International Students Hostel, I had an idea. Search through the dustbin beside the hostel. These were desperate times. It was midnight and no one would notice. There might be a dollar bill mistakenly thrown away with some disposable cups or plates.

Stealthily, I scavenge the dustbin. I was about searching through an old handbag when I noticed there was a security personnel on duty. He was seated in a dark corner of the hostel, staring straight at me. I was startled and impulsively started walking towards him, the nerves in my brain racing hard for a sensible lie to offer this welcomed pair of eyes.

When I got to him, I…

A situational prompt this week;

Situation 1

Your character finds an old, disposable camera on the ground. They get the photos developed. What they see tells an unsettling story.

Situation 2 ☑️

The doorbell rings and your character answers it – finding nothing but an envelope with nothing on it. They open it and follow the instructions.

➰➰➰

Always be wary of strangers giving you instructions

You never know where they will lead you or to what

Found a blank envelope on your doorstep with instructions?

If I were you, I wouldn’t open that envelope or read the note inside

But if your curiosity gets ahead of your sensible thinking

Then do stop and contemplate what you’re about to do!

Does this fall in the realm of sanity or is something too outlandish?

Think carefully before you commit yourself to any harebrained scheme

Always remember that only…

Serena dropped off the old disposable camera at Walmart for developing, asking for the one-hour rush. The sixty minutes couldn’t pass soon enough; that’s how excited she was.

Finally, it was time! Opening the package, it lookO time, still held a certain charm as she quickly went through all the photos. It looked to Serena as if these were from a wedding reception. Yes, there was one with the bride in her beautiful white dress!

OMG! That’s her mother, but NOT her dad!

Inspired by Eugenia’s Moonwashed Weekly Challenge – Captivating &
Reena’s Exploration Challenge

When I found this disposable camera on the ground, I decided to get the photos developed at my local CVS Photo location.  They told me that the processing would only take a few hours and then I could come back and pick up the photos.  I went to pick up the developed pictures and the girl gave me a disturbing look, as all of these pictures were a bit unsettling.  She smiled at me and said, “Nice sex den.  It looks a lot like that bizarre place from the Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman movie Eyes Wide Shut.”  I was totally embarrassed, as I had watched that movie about the underground sex group that were into all sorts of perversions, but I smiled back at her and told her that the camera was not mine and that I just got the pictures developed, but I am not responsible for the…

Reena’s Xploration Challenge #243 is a sentence starter this week and I am choosing situation two.

The doorbell rings and your character answers it – finding nothing but an envelope with nothing on it. They open it and follow the instructions.

Sarah heard the door sill clank, and peered out of the window. It was dark, and she could only see the outline of a person walking away. She wasn’t sure if it was a man or a woman – it could have been either.

Used the darkness of the hallway, she retrieved an envelope, but to read it, she needed some light. She sits at her computer desk, where she slowly opens the flap. Inside is one strip of plain paper.

St Ives car park, in one hour, alone – there is nothing else, no stamp or who it is from.

She thinks about what to do next: there…

I Guess You Didn’t Mean

i know i’m not perfect, but how could you let her attack me

with her unfounded allegations and accusations, i was beaten

i guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that poem ’bout me

“i will keep you from people, tears, and harm” what changes then?

i know i’m not perfect, but i never felt this way, so how could you

i thought we’ve agreed this is just between the two of us

but you hurt me, and you two took it all against me i was blue

you probably want some air out but look what it did to us?

i know it’s been a while, and i’m just tired; how could you

how could you let her attack and question me

and i just could imagine how you seemed so okay

now that she completely blew a hole in me

i know…

No, I am not undermining you lady precious. Only trying to figure out how many facets of you there are and how you managed to create heaven with each one of it. Remind yourself where you have started and where you have crawled to reach. I can read that story you haven’t uttered. Let the world know too. Comment if you like my way of conveying your “poetry”.

My mother .. another homemaker
Cried with joy
When she was informed
I was inside her
The ladies around
Made it sound
The load she carried
Will bad luck surround.
For her face glew
And let eyes lit
Sweating around
Yet calling herself fit
The symptoms evident
That I will arrive
My mother knew
I will live less and more survive
I am the gender they warn you about
They don't read poetry, they only shout.

Parents amazed, damned the world aside

vulnerability-
that moment of hesitation you cease to be yourself
hesitation-
that moment of expectation you invest in others
expectation-
that momentary trap, betrayal lays for you
betrayal-
that moment of choice serving as a ladder for growth
choice-
that moment of successful redemption
success-
that moment of vulnerability which goes unnoticed.

Acknowledgements :- Thank you Reena Saxena for hosting Reena’s Exploration Challenge # 242. For rules please refer here. Thank you all for stopping by and reading.