Writing Prompt

Jim’s last novel was a bust. It was a harrowing tale of humanity venturing to other realities to acquire the answers to solve the world’s problems and the vast underworld that thrives from it. His main character, Silver, was a man stuck between two realities because both of his parents were from differing ones which in turn gave him great power. Power that wasn’t fully explained in Jim’s self-published and very criticized novel because he was too busy setting up for the sequel. Critics had described the book as trying too hard, his main character, Silver, as an overpowered Gary Stu, and the writer as out of touch with reality as he claims his background characters were. To cope with the scathing criticism, Jim went out on his boat.

It was a boat of modest size that could fit at least two people. Usually, it does but his wife, Ruby, decided to leave a two-page letter on their dresser yesterday detailing that she's leaving him. She wrote the words, You’re not the man I fell in love with so many times that Jim made a drinking game out of it. He woke up this morning with a hangover and a still empty house that paired so perfectly with his broken heart. In his youth, Jim had a head full of hair and a mind full of dreams. Yet as time went by he found his hair thinning and dreams dwindling.

Whenever Jim worked on an idea, it was like pulling a tooth, painful and leaving an empty feeling behind. Jim didn't know how he became so hollow. Did it start when he held his hundredth rejection letter or maybe after he was fired from his desk job and his finances became tight? Either way, Jim was tired of his cruel reality and the only place he could find solace was on his small boat.

This boat was a source of discourse for Jim and his wife because she was adamant that he sell the thing and called it a useless expense. She didn't understand how the peaceful scene he could sail off to made him feel at peace with himself. The beauty of the rising sun after an awful day and a night full of unrestful sleep always brought him to a tranquil state. His boat made life worth living which in his eyes made it inexpensive.

Yet, as he sits on his boat now the blissful feeling of watching the sunrise doesn't spread throughout him. Inside, he’s empty, the cold water around him is a tempting resting place. He looks away from the water and his hand reaches for the knife he brought. For a long moment, he stares at it, enjoying the tempting whispers and promises of escape it offers. The whispers quiet when his other hand reaches for the soap bar he has been whittling for weeks now for his soon-to-be ex-wife, Ruby. It’s a work in progress but the end result was supposed to be a rose. She used to love the handmade things he made her but he stopped after a while finding the things that he used to enjoy as a tedious bore as time went on.

The water is quiet, a quietness that Jim envies as his mind stays in disarray. He keeps his hand moving, carving into the soap bar as his other hand steadily holds it. Still, even with the distraction, Jim feels as weighed down as the anchor on the side of his boat. If Ruby were here she’d be gazing at the clouds while humming the song they danced their first dance to. No, she wouldn't. She’d complain about the overdue bills, the many failed self-published books, and the fact it felt like every word she said to him seemed to fly straight into the clouds.

How could love so easily die? Jim always remembered every anniversary, buying her card after card full of poems written by him promising undying devotion and yet her eyes stopped lighting up one year and he never figured out how to get them to reignite. His hands stop moving and he drops the soap bar from his hand nearly cutting his palm. He puts down the knife, picks up the soap, opens up the storage chest of the empty seat beside him and places the items inside. There’s a cooler full of beer that once drunk would leave him sobbing his wife’s name over and over. His hand lingers above the cooler but with a defeated sigh he stops himself and decides that maybe it's time to head back to his desolate home.

So he moves over to the side of the boat, leaning over he grabs the anchor but as he does so he spots something strange. A large ominous shadow in the water. A shadow that looked like a black hole of sinister desires that drew you in during your darkest moments. Frightened, he falls back hitting the other side of his boat. His breaths are heavy but soon they ease back to normal.

“It’s nothing,” he mumbles to himself in a voice so fragile it was sure to break. “Just hoist the anchor up and go home.”

He goes back over to the side and his hand’s grab the rope that holds the anchor once again. This time the shadow passes moving from the underside of the boat. With this view, he sees the shadow is slender with a snake-like shape reminding him of tales of serpents and monsters of the sea that destroyed everything one had without a thought. All Jim had to offer was his lackluster life and this marriage destroying boat. For a second, Jim is fascinated by the hair-raising, heart hammering , breath stifling, view but then the shadow moves back under his boat causing his boat to shake this time around like an animal stampede shakes the ground as they run from impending danger. He scrambles to the center of his boat unsure of what to do. Face as pale as the bed sheets on the bed in the guest room his wife and him never used. His body feels covered in heavy drops of sweat that were enveloping him in thirst-inducing fear.

All of his years of sailing, he’d never encountered something so large…so odd. Even on the occasions when he fished here which was rare, the fish he caught were always medium-sized at best. The boat shakes again like a voice tired of arguing, a voice forgetting what they were even trying to defend.

He had to pull the anchor up and try to run but would it be so bad to let the creature feast? Jim pushes the thought away like a man so trapped in his mind he can't see the good in front of him. He moves to the side where the anchor hung, clammy hands out, and grabs the anchor’s rope with slippery hands.

As he does so, the creature’s head bursts out of the water. Its white eyes glow with hatred and judgment, mouth agape with rows of sharp teeth, skin slick like butter and it has a colorful gleam similar to the body of a fly. It comes right at Jim who ducks in an instant and he hears the sound of it crashing back into the water from the other side of his ship. Jim bolts up with the strength of a thousand men in his hands. He wipes his clammy hands on his shirt, soaked with sweat then on his pants. He once again grips the rope. The creature, the serpent, the beast, on the other side of the boat is battering it with the intent of making this place Jim’s final resting place.

Jim pulls on the rope as images flash in his mind. He sees himself as a child, writing a slew of stories. He sees the moment he first saw his wife Ruby, which was on a sunny day in the park, her dark hair pulled back as she read a worn copy of a sci-fi novel he was obsessed with. There’s the image of their first date where he held her close as they danced to no music in the middle of a restaurant to a horde of strangers' ridicule. And then there’s the image that sticks to him like a blood-sucking leech. Him, in a robe, messy hair, empty bedroom, holding onto a letter that proclaimed the dissolution to a story he didn’t want to end.

Jim didn’t like abrupt endings. He preferred ones that always lead to the prospect that more stories could unfold. Yet, here he is trapped in an abrupt ending. His wife had blocked his number. Within a night, it seemed all of her stuff had vanished from their home and there was also no trace of their undying love and devotion that Jim had spent years dedicating himself to. Although, maybe that had died so long ago and Jim just never noticed he was clinging to its rotting corpse.

Jim could feel the boat tipping over so he pulls harder on the rope and soon the anchor is up. He bolts over to the front of the boat, key in ignition, he turns it and drives off. The creature does not follow and Jim does not dare look back. Minutes pass, and Jim docks the boat and is back on land. He drives back home back to his house that’s haunted by the memories of happier times. Before he gets out of his car, he leans forward, head against the steering wheel as he takes a heavy breath.

His heavy breaths get shorter and shorter as tears fall from his eyes. His heart thumps against his chest, hands sweaty once again, and he feels himself crumbling on the inside.

It takes a long while for him to get out of the car. When he does, he takes slow steps to his house and once he’s inside of it he takes off his jacket and boots. He walks into the kitchen, hunger stirs in his belly so he makes himself a sandwich. Once it’s done, he heads to the kitchen table where the letter his wife left behind lies.

He doesn’t touch his sandwich as his eyes linger to his side where he expects to see Ruby reading the paper and wearing the gray reading glasses she insisted she doesn’t really need. Of course, she isn’t there but the ghost of her is a cruel haunting. He reaches past the sandwich and grabs the letter she wrote him off the table. He stares at his wife’s neat script. His eyes dwell on the last line reading it over and over.

You’re not the man I fell in love with.

Just sending me alone on a boat. What could go wrong?

Sam sighed as the soft waves rocked his boat and slowly made its way to shore.

At the shore was Mattheo, who sent him on the adventure to “lighten the mood.”

Or to desert him.

Sam hates the ocean, so he screamed the moment a dark shadow appeared from under the boat.

”BLOODY HELL! MATTHEO! MATTHEO!” he screeched.

”Huh?” Mattheo said, barely audible.

“ITS A GOD DAM SHARK!” Sam said, in panic he vigorously rocked the boat looking for the shark.

”Stop moving!” Mattheo warned.

Not listening, Sam continued untill he saw the fin.

”Hey! Wake up man!”

Sam slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the bright sun.

”Huh?”

”Yeah buddy you passed out. Good thing you did because that shark almost bit the boat!”

”Shark? SHARK!” Sam screamed popping up and head butting Mattheo in the nose.

”Ah geez man! Your fine. Gosh darn it.” Mattheo whinced.

”I will never EVER trust you again.”

“Uh huh, yep, cool, fine by me,” Mattheo stretched as he got up, holding his nose.

”Dont be a twat about it.”

^ Newt from the Death Cure. Hehe ✨

Underneath the ocean at night slowly going farther down. This was the job of a scientist To discover the unknown but to be honest I wasn’t prepared. I was only an intern student who won a trip to the bottom of the ocean with dr. Adam “we are almost out of the twilight zone if you want to look out the window miss Ambers.”

“Thank you doctor,.” Amber said then looked out a side window and saw a vast empty ocean the sound of water could be heard from inside the sub. looking out she was able to see all kinds of fish and sharks They were heading towards the Marina Trench a few hours later Ambers got tired of looking out the window so she sat down then got out her sketch book and air buds

It was a long while before anyone noticed it Creak

Creak 
    
     Creak 

   Creak 

Creak

“What’s that creaking sound doctor?”

“Just the water pressure, my dear nothing to worry about. We are currently in the midnight zone so pressure is stronger here.”

“Ok.” Ambers said then went back to doodling until the light started flickering

“Um… doctor can water pressure affect lights?”

“Um it shouldn’t, I’m sure there’s a logical explanation.” Adam said less assuringly and more nervously

The lights turned of suddenly Then they heard a loud

Thud

 Thud 

Creak

Thud

Creak

Thud

“What is that noise doctor.”

“I don’t know I’m not even a real doctor, I’m just a sub driver.” Aden said panicky

Ambers looked out the window and saw a large slimy tentacle then she heard screaming from up front

Ambers ran to him then also screamed For what was on the mirror was A gigantic eye

The waves finally calmed down to the point I could see the bottom of the sea or rather more of the bottom. I had spent well what seemed like only mere minutes out here on the water but was probably hours waiting for the sea to calm down. My boat had gotten a hole in it from all the previous waves but it didn’t matter anyway. I came out here to well surrond myself in endless scenery of the sea for the rest of my life. The hole in my boat just meant if I didn’t do it myself, the water would do it for me. My plan was simple, go onto the water then sit in my boat and tell my life’s story to the water until I drove myself so mad I would accidentally fall into the water. Yeah okay I can do that with myself. “My earliest memories were-“ I began to saw as a small wave came towards my boat. It was rather odd. The wave wasn’t like the waves from before, it was smaller & moved closer to my boat. “That’s rather peculiarly…” I said looking side to side then I tilted my head to the left as I looked out the boat. I sat back down in my boat & sighed. “Hey boss.” A voice said. I looked immediately to where the voice had come from. To find a strange looking… creature with fins? “What?! Who are you!?” I exclaimed loudly falling back off my seat on the boat. I closed my eyes and blinked a few times before I opened my eyes again. “Nothing. Of course, I’m already going mad.” I said sighing a breath of relief. Even the tiniest bit of time away from society can make one go mad. But has he really gone mad or is it something else…

What do genre do I even put this in? Day 8 of — of changing my pfp to a random Gord picture because Gord is great.

“I don’t know how I can okay!” Fluffy shouted. “I just did it one day and I never knew how!”

Arashi backed away. “Okay, you don’t have to freak out. Geez.”

Fluffy wiped her face. “I’m sorry, I just don’t act well under pressure and get emotional a lot. Sometimes over the stupidest things.”

Arashi sighed. “It’s fine. I do that too. But very little. Like very, very little. I still do it though.”

Fluffy growled. “I’m getting out of here.”

Arashi grabbed her arm as she was walking away. “Look, Fluffy, I…” she trailed off.

Fluffy turned to her. “Yes?”

“I understand you. You regret every decision you’ve ever made, you feel you don’t belong here anymore, everyone always tells you you’re wrong. I understand.”

“No you don’t! You’ve never had those things happen to you. And you missed one. Every time I tell my friends something that’s happened to me, I always get ‘I understand’. Like, no you fucking don’t!” Fluffy screamed. “I’m getting out of here.”

“Do you think I want to control storms?!” Arashi growled after her.

Fluffy paused where she was.

“My whole life that’s all I’ve been able to do. I was put in jail for trying to save someone from a fire I didn’t even make. I was told by everyone in my life, my parents, friends, strangers, once they learned I could control storms, that I was useless, pathetic, and stupid. And they abandoned me. I truly understand you, okay? I’m not making this up. You can trust me, Fluffy.” Arashi cried.

Fluffy spun around and ran back to her, hugging Arashi. “I can trust you.” She whispered into Arashi’s shirt.

——————

“I know how you can open the door.” Arashi pulled away.

“Really? How?” Fluffy asked.

“You’re magic like me of course.” Arashi wiped her tears away.

“Do you know what I control?” Fluffy asked excitedly.

“I don’t, but try lifting your hand up and focusing on it. See if anything comes out?” Arashi suggested.

Fluffy raised her hand in front of her and focused on it hard. Eventually, a tiny spark of something blue and red appeared. It spiraled out of her hand and up into the sky. Fluffy and Arashi looked up after it. Once it reached a certain point, the spiral exploded. The sky became a beautiful mix of red and blue.

“Woah…” Fluffy breathed.

Arashi turned to her. “You control fire and air.”

Fluffy turned to her. “Fire and air?”

“Yes. Both.” Arashi replied. “You might just be even more powerful than I am.”

The bars shook loudly. Lightning and thunder boomed outside the building. Other inmates were screaming. But one wasn’t. She just sat with her chains on the stone bench at the back of her cell.

“Perfect.” She snapped once.

White light blinded those who stared. Her chains broke. And once the light disappeared, the cell door fell down. She calmly stepped out of the cell and down through the hall.

“Who are you?” One inmate shouted at her.

She flashed to their instantly. She looked up at them. Her eyes and hair were pure white. “I am…Stormgirl.”

The inmate whined and flinched back from her. She turned away from him and continued down the hall. The thunder and lightning from outside became louder as she walked closer to the door outside.

“She controls the storms!” An inmate shouted.

The girl paused, lifted her arm so everyone could see, and snapped again. Within seconds everyone who heard were dead. She continued to the door, and when she reached it, the loudest crack of thunder sounded behind her and she disappeared.

——————

Fluffy pulled her hood up and slipped unnoticed through the small hole in the gate. Then she sprinted to the woods. Once she reach a particular tree, with scars all down its trunk, she reach up and ran her finger through one scar.

Sure enough, like always, a large magic door opened and Fluffy stepped inside the forest. The door closed behind her.

She took a deep sigh of calm and began walking her normal path through the woods.

But it was different this time. Fluffy felt a strange tingle in the air that got stronger as she got closer to the end of the path.

Once she reached it, Fluffy started to look around. Suddenly, a cage fell down on her.

“Hey! What’s this for!” Fluffy started tugging on the bars.

A girl, pure white hair and smoky light gray eyes, appeared in front of her.

“What are you doing here? How could you get in?” The girl asked.

“What are you talking about? I come in here everyday.”

“How?”

“I just run my finger through a scar on some tree and a door opens. What are you doing here?” Fluffy snapped.

The girl snapped and the cage disappeared. Fluffy shuddered and realized the tingling so much stronger when this girl in front of her.

“You’re making the tingling…how?” Fluffy asked slowly.

The girl simply shrugged. “Wherever I go, storms follow.”

Fluffy narrowed her eyes but didn’t ask another question about it.

“So are you like a storm goddess or…?” Fluffy questioned.

“No. Storms just follow me. And you can call me Stormgirl or Arashi, I don’t care.” She replied.

“Well, now that I know that, can I go? And it’s Fluffy.” Fluffy pointed behind her.

“No. Not until you tell me how you can open the door into this forest. No one has been able to for multiple centuries. No one except for me. So spill.”

By Dean Martin The singer’s name couldn’t all fit in the title since the song name is so long. Suggested by A Canvas Torn

——————

Eilem grabbed Orla’s hand and pulled her in. He kissed her and she returned it.

His father then stepped in the door. “Ain’t that a kick in the head?”

“I don’t think so.” Eilem replied.

—

The dark room was the perfect cover. Eilem hugged Orla and she hugged back.

His friend walked up. “Ain’t that a kick in the head?”

“I don’t think so.” Eilem replied.

—

Eilem smiled at the ceiling. my life is going to be great he thought. His head spun.

His father walked into his room. “Tell me quick, ain’t love a kick in the head?”

“I don’t think so.” Eilem replied.

—

Eilem smiled at the ceiling again. my life is going to be great he thought again. His head spun.

His father walked into his room again. “Tell me quick, ain’t love a kick in the head?”

“I don’t think so.” Eilem replied.

—

“We’re going to get married one day, Eilem. I even picked out a king-sized bed for our house.” Orla said.

Eilem smiled at her. He couldn’t feel any more proud or he’d be sick.

His friend walked up. “Tell me quick, oh, ain’t love a kick in the head? Tell me quick, ain’t love a kick in the head?”

“I don’t think so.” Eilem replied.

Wood creaked against the calm ripples of the ocean below, no map nor gps, just a paddle and a wish on the wind.

A wish to see them again…

Dead centre, the middle of nowhere, no sounds beside the soft wind and no sign of anything above or below, no chirps of dolphins or blowholes and no squawks of birds.

But waiting there for who I had hoped to meet once more, a shadow deepened the vast ocean below, turning the blues black as the water thinned below the wooden boat. Raising it atop a giant black monster.

A beautiful monster and like thunder their blowhole erupted, echoing into the horizons of nothing.

It was a warm welcome back, an annual connection between the greatest beast the sea had known.

And it’s unlikely carer.

I slowly open my eyes everything is a blur the gentle rocking of the boat and the smell of the sea brings me back to the moment I sat up in the small wooden boat and looked around the only light is coming from an oil lantern I put out the light and anchor the boat then I look up to see millions of stars it felt strange being the only one out on the ocean surface then something caused me to look back I thought I heard a splash of water so I let my eyes scan around the boat and boldly nothing was there then I heard it again this time it sounded like it was drawing closer I turned on the oil lamp once again forgetting to the first time I take the lamp off its hook and held it out across the water I held my breath as I saw a shadow moving under the water it slowly was at the end of the light then it grew smaller at this point my heart is racing I start panicking then I looked over the side of the boat and to my horror I saw just below my boat straight down to red eyes they were small at first but then I realized it was too late the thing jumped out of the water causing my boat to flip I scream as I get plunged into the see the could water hit me it it was freezing I look into the darkness trying to see blindly moving my hands I swim back up to the surface frantically trying to get the boat turned back over but then I saw it it was enormous it jumped out of the water again and swallowed my boat whole then plunged back into the water causing huge tides I watched as the creature glided across the water showing its massive scales then I realized I was surrounded by killer Whales I tried to scream for help but it was too late

Thwack. Slosh. Whoosh. Splash.

I rowed my boat down the sedate river. Nature had been my friend today- I had escaped the rapids that usually troubled these waters. The tip of my yellow canoe was barely discernible against the backdrop of the purple night sky. A million stars seemed beaded into the river bed below me- they twinkled in the shimmery water I was cutting through. Deep below, I could make out the outlines of pebbles and rocks- glittering in the starlight. Little fish swam alongside me, a particularly frivolous one occasionally popping out of the water and diving back in. A gentle breeze caressed my skin and tickled my neck. The rustling of leaves, hooting of owls and rhythmic sounds of my oar lulled me into a trance. I set down my paddle soon after, and laid down. I could feel the splinters breaking skin, but the tranquility had soaked in so deep that I hardly cared. I closed my eyes.

Swish. Thud. Crack. Growl.

I bolted upright, a shiver running down my spine. Looking about frantically, I hurriedly reached for my weapons-pepper spray, a baton and a scythe. I’d had to scare away animals and cut down obstacles in the form of weeds before. As a thorough boatwoman, I’d gotten used to the occasional scare. I was utterly bemused by my jitteriness. Peering into the clear waters below, I could make out the outline of a fin rocketing away. I silently laughed at my overreaction. Nevertheless, I breathed a sigh of relief. Ordinarily, I would have laid back down, idyllic air restored. Maybe even dozed off for a short, blissful while. But I was too high-strung to relax. Reluctantly, I picked up my oar and prepared to paddle away. I cursed myself for my blind fear.

Snap. Grind. Screech. Gush.

I know not whether I screamed aloud or stood frozen in shocked silence as I felt my oar snatched away from me. I do know that the second I heard the snapping of wood and the gnashing of teeth, my mind exhorted me to flee. In desperation, I reached down and used my hands to attempt to paddle myself to the shore. I know I screamed when I heard an ungodly shriek and felt my finger snap off. I picked up my hand, bleeding heavily, blood gushing down my arm. The water had been stained a deep scarlet, slowly dissipating. I felt my boat sink- the monster had cracked it. My eyes widened as I saw a long serpentine form shoot up into the air. I was drenched by the spray, and in those moments, I relished the delicate coolness of those cursed droplets.

My mother always told me that I’d been born in the river. That she’d pushed and struggled amidst the very whistling dolphins and hooting owls and glooms trees that lamented my fate today. That I’d wailed louder than the rushing current, and that my discordant cries blended quite harmoniously into the sounds of nature around us. There was nothing harmonious about my unnatural screams anymore. I guess it was only fitting that I met my end by the lake.

Crunch. Slurp. Splash.

Silence.