Showing posts with label roses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roses. Show all posts

Wednesday, 7 June 2017

Drabble Wednesday: Ashen

Today on Drabble Wednesday, come explore the world of the pale, the cold, the stark and white...





The Pale Tree

It stood apart from the rest of the grove, growing tall from a small hummock. The rough bark of the tree glinted snow white with streaks of silver, its branches bare save for one month a year when it sprouted greyish buds. The only colour it showed came from a green vine twining around its trunk, and even it bloomed flowers of white in season.
Underneath the tree, entangled in its roots rested another layer of white. Slowly seeping into soil, nurturing it, those rotted corpses and bones of the poor victims buried alive.
Sacrifices.
To the Tree of Death.

~*~





Under the Frozen Earth

The sun sets on silence, and a vast frozen wasteland. No wind blows, no birds fly, not a sound breaks the settling of dusk on the world. Only the cold, the snow, and the deep frozen expanse that ever tightens its grip exist.
The cold and frost run deep. Down, down to the Old World, the world that once existed. A place of faraway dreams and summer. A realm that died in its own hubris, swallowed by the endless winter. A domain that yet whispers, locked in its prison of ice. Where the dead stare upward, frozen in their screams.

~*~




White Petals and Lace

Remains of the past.
One white rose and a scrap of ivory-coloured lace.
Resting next to a small silver box.
The pale kitchen curtains flutter in the breeze, and the sweet smell of summer grasses wafts through the window. If you listen, you can almost hear the laughter drifting across time. When the family gathered for picnics in the yard, when the aroma of potato salad and mayonnaise filled the room.
But those days are long gone.
Only the dead are left, with the last body now crumpled on the kitchen tile.
The poison from the silver box works quickly.






© A. F. Stewart 2017 All Rights Reserved





Wednesday, 11 March 2015

Drabble Wednesday: Destiny

Today we spend some time with three woman, all embarking on a new journey in their life, and one woman at the end of hers…



 Dancer

She held her breath, as the studio held the quiet, counting the seconds in her head. One, two, three… stretched en pointe, flawless balance… hold it, hold it, keep position… perfect lines… yes, that’s it…
For a brief moment she felt elation. The pain, the sore muscles, hours of practice, all melted away. Embodied in one unblemished movement she saw her dream—Prima Ballerina. Across her ambition and drive lay centre stage, the spotlight, the faces of her audience.
Then the moment broke, and she returned to the practice studio, rehearsing for another role in the chorus. But some day…




 Bride

Sinyae stared in the gilded mirror. She made adjustments to her diadem and headscarf, to her jewellery. Everything must be perfection when she walked into the temple. Her bedroom door opened and her mother appeared.
“It is time.”

During the ceremony, Sinyae stood reverently, head bowed, proud she ceased to be a daughter of her father’s house and embarked on to a new path. She happily spoke her vows, smiling as the rites ended.
The officiating priestess placed a hand on Sinyae’s head. “Welcome child, within the Temple of Isnanya. Blessings be upon you, novice, newest Bride of the Goddess.




Warrior

Jai knelt at the altar, her head bowed. She grasped her sword—a talisman thrust upright before her—both hands resting on the hilt. She ignored the dirt in her hair, her bloodied face, and prayed.
“Give me strength for this last battle. Shore my weak spirit that I may instill hope in my men, and so we can triumph over this evil, and vanquish the enemy.”
Sunlight flickered through a grimy window to glint off the metal of her armour. She smiled. A sign. She rose and walked from the church to rally her men against the zombie hoard.



Out the Window

The old woman adjusted her frilled cap and smoothed the lace on her dress as she settled in the chair by the window. She pulled her shawl tighter about her shoulders and looked out to view the morning.
The lane and the adjacent common garden were empty, but she knew that would change. Mr. Knowles would be along shortly to tend the rosebushes. She chuckled.
Poor Mr. Knowles, such loyalty to your wife. Tending her roses even though you believe she ran off with that sailor. I wonder if you ever suspected? That I buried her under her precious roses.



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