Tuesday Tales 27!
Challenge #27
By entering, every contestant agrees to shamelessly promote and praise the winner on twitter.
For all discussions about this challenge use hash tag #TuesdayTales
Please give a shout out to this week’s Tuesdaytales judge:
@BethanyLopez2
Contemporary YA Author of Ta Ta for Now!. Second novella in series, xoxoxo, will be released March 2, 2012. Wife, mother, Airman, supporter of fellow writers. http://bethanylopez.weebly.com
Our judge is challenging us this week with a awesome sauce word!
Secret Word:
Euphoric
def: an exaggerated physical and psychological state
Picture:
ON WITH THE TALES!
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Posted in: Tuesday Tales
Siobhan Muir
February 7, 2012
She stared, open-mouthed, at the computer, the news short-circuiting her brain for a moment.
“Oh my God,” she whispered.
“What, Elaine?” her husband asked.
“They accepted it.”
“What?”
“They accepted it.” She pointed at the computer, her face blank with shock. “They want to publish my book. They’re offering me a contract.”
“What? It’s only been two hours since you submitted it!”
“I know.”
She reanimated, dancing around the room in euphoric delight.
“Yeahyeahyeahyeah! I’m gonna be published! I’m gonna be published!”
Her husband grinned. “How d’you wanna celebrate?”
She crooked her finger, suggestively. “Take me to bed, big boy.”
100 words
@SiobhanMuir
Cara Michaels
February 7, 2012
She ran through the surf, a euphoric vision of splashes and laughter. The waves soaked the white cotton of her dress, pulling at the delicate fabric as they retreated, silhouetting her slender body.
A smile changed her from lovely to radiant, and my breath backed up in my lungs. Desire and something else, something stronger and deeper, unfurled inside me. I wanted to see her like this always.
I knew then I would help her. I would give my life, if needed, to see her home.
And I would trust her to keep my heart safe until we met again.
@caramichaels
100 words
Nellie
February 7, 2012
The creature danced in the white foam of the waves, bare feet splashing as she gave a laugh, her head thrown back, sea green hair flowed and trailed behind her. Grey skin flushing with color. She was euphoric at being free from imprisonment.
I gave a wary glance over my shoulder. It was a matter of time before they found out that she had been taken out of the keep.
I looked back to her and she was gone. The sound of the waves covered up her movements.
I saw the flip of a tail further out to sea.
99 words
@solimond
Robby Hilliard
February 7, 2012
Taby1: OMG! I did it! OMGOMGOMG!
ANON: ??? WH@?
Taby1: I killed sum1!
ANON: ORLY?
Taby1: Yes!
Borgaxm: BS
ANON: Y?
Taby1: ?
ANON: Why?
Taby1: BCOS 2 join
Borgaxm: UGTBFK
ANON: WH5
Taby1: IDK SUM SK8TRGRL on the beach, piosind her 2day aftr skool
Borgaxm: 4RLZ?
Taby1: 4RLZ!!!
ANON: how does it feel?
Taby1: U4ic
Borgaxm: UNO we were kidding, right?
Taby1: Funny
Borgaxm: seriously we were joking
Taby1: Thast not fnny
ANON: its tru we were joking
Taby1: STFU
ANON: U STFU BITCH. R U SO FUC|<1NG STOOPID U ACTUALLY KILLED SUM1?
Borgaxm: what a |=uc|<ing LOSER
100 "werdz"
@redshirt6
eliserae
February 8, 2012
This is possibly the most terrifying drabble i have ever read. I’m now really afraid of teenagers.
A.D. Duling
February 7, 2012
The waves crashed on the rocks beyond the shoreline, sending a watery blanket out across the wet sand of the beach. It was morning and the fog had not yet rolled out to sea. She left her bungalow now twenty yards away, to enjoy the convenient view that came every morning. The nippily water splashed at her feet and the sun warmed her body as it climbed up in the horizon; it’s path never the same one. One would argue with that theory, but she wouldn’t care, she wouldn’t notice, not now in her euphoric state where nothing else mattered.
100 words :0)
@adduling
Daniel Swensen
February 7, 2012
I watch her frolic along an alabaster Maui beach, hair flying in the breeze, sunny and euphoric as she beckons me to follow.
A stolen memory. We never went to Maui. No grand tragedy, no terrifying accident, just a quiet cellular unraveling that snuck in and took our lives away. Made the hospital bed her home, wrote her euphoria on slips of prescription paper.
I remember what we wanted to be, because I can no longer remember what we were. The faces in my dream are the only ones I recognize. Even my own.
94 words / @surlymuse
Nicole
February 7, 2012
It was an old photograph, black and white, surface scratched – Lemon’s great-grandmother running toward the sea. She handed the picture to Benny.
“Look at her,” he said. “You can tell even from here that she was euphoric. Buoyant.”
“Not enough.” Lemon’s lips curled, and she ran a fingertip over the surface. “It was the last time anyone ever saw her.”
“What?”
“My grandmother took this. Great-grandma looked back, smiled, and then dove into the ocean. That was it.”
Lemon let the wind talk to her, coax her to the waves, but she dug feet into the sand. She would stay.
@nicolewolverton
100 wods
Nicole
February 7, 2012
That “ever” in the second paragraph is supposed to be “even.” I’m having a quite a day for proofreading.
Sheilagh Lee
February 7, 2012
I stumbled down to the ocean’s shore; the night’s drunk my courage to drown myself, when I saw her. Dancing a frantic euphoric movement of such life affirming glee, she stopped me in my tracks. I watched for a few moments mesmerized. She smiled a wide smile and a calming peace came over me. She held her arms to me and I went to them willingly, but as I felt them close over me, she disappeared as if she never was. A ghostly figure had saved me, the urge to drowned was gone.
93words
@SweetSheil
Jeffrey Hollar
February 7, 2012
The Call Of Home
As she crested the dunes, Shelleah felt the siren song’s beckon. No matter how much she treasured her occasional dalliances amongst the Landwalkers, her rightful place would always be beneath the chill waters of the sea.
She frolicked in the sensual blue-green caress of the surf, subsumed by euphoric sensory overload. The crashing of the waves upon the cliffs, the salt-tang scent and, even, taste of the morning air, these mingled with an infinite number of other elations beyond description.
With a moaning sigh, she discarded her human form like a flawed garment and answered the irresistible call of home.
100 words. @klingorengi
Toni Wyatt
February 7, 2012
The Venture set sail three months ago. Rosalind ached to have Bryant in her arms again. Captain of the ship, she remembered how proud he’d been—ruggedly handsome, his first time as boss.
As she paced the shore, her eyes searched the horizon. At first, the sails looked like fluttering clouds in the sky, and then the hulk of the ship came into view. A sense of euphoric bliss twisted through her heart.
A shimmer glittered over the water, and the sun blinded her vision. When it cleared, she opened her eyes. The ship was gone—only a mirage.
@Toni1777
99 Words
rastrohman
February 7, 2012
The probe’s mounted camera slowly turned one-hundred eighty degrees, revealing the sparkling methane ocean. The crowd of scientists gazed at its magnificence, euphoric smiles and comments marking their accomplishment.
The camera turned again, and a collective gasp rang out as the sandy ground inexplicably opened up and a bizarre metallic tube appeared. Suddenly a wispy figure was thrust out, spinning wildly as the toxic ammonia rained down on her, dissolving her instantly.
Not only had they just discovered life on Titan, but intelligent life with enough sophistication to build dwellings underground and enough cruelty to murder one of their own.
100 words
@rastrohman
Wakefield Mahon
February 7, 2012
She danced upon the shore, nestled between my twin enemies, sun and surf.
Even on an overcast evening, I knew better. The running water, saline as it was, would hold me back from her while the sun vaporized me. Self-preservation is the core instinct of all living things, even those creatures no longer living.
Her flaxen hair danced around her shoulders in the breeze beckoning. The young woman splashed along the beach, the scent of her purity intoxicating.
My mind warred against every muscle in my body. My need won out.
Euphoric, I flew at my victim, and my destruction.
@WakefieldMahon
100 words
Rafe
February 7, 2012
Glen smiled despite himself, watching Cherie caper in the surf, her laughter twining with the cries of the gulls.
“When I told you I got wet when I was ecstatic, what did you *think* I meant?”
“That the last one back to the cabin owes the other the first orgasm.”
He took off running, chased by her mock outrage and one deftly-thrown Tiffany-blue box.
#66
@etcet
Charles W. Jones
February 7, 2012
The water splashed at her ankles, its coolness contrasted with the warmth of the sand as she ran along the beach. He would be here, she wished it therefore it had to be true. A dark figure rose from the gentle waves in the distance. Her heart raced.
She stopped a short distance from him. His muscular body glistened with drops of water. Their eyes locked causing their euphoric feelings to surge. He stepped toward her; she did not notice his fins disguising themselves as human flesh as he approached. He embraced her and quietly, they slipped into the water.
@ChuckWesJ
100 words
jendauthor
February 7, 2012
I’m disillusioned.
My depressive funk was supposed to be dark and mysterious. I’d drink to excess and write chilling insights into a troubled mind. The next day I’d be euphoric, dancing on a sparkling beach like a woman possessed.
The truth was far less glamorous, far more – depressing. On the good days, I can get out of bed. I can calm my thoughts enough to write a few words down. Sometimes they are even good.
The truth is this: depression hurts in every way imaginable. And I’m only just learning how to find my way out of the darkness.
@JenD_Author
99 words
Wakefield Mahon
February 7, 2012
This one feels true. Simple and yet somehow dramatic. Thank you for this story.
eliserae
February 8, 2012
I know exactly what this is.
Truthful, and it brings back sad memories. Good work to bring out such strong emotions in under 100 words.
Greg Nance
February 7, 2012
Crimson Tide
Her sweet siren songs beckoned from the sea. I saw her from the edge of the sand, but my heart heard her voice. The serenity sent a euphoric sensation through every fiber of my soul. I could feel her pulling me to the water’s edge. I felt love. A foot into the water. And then two. Her silky fluent form joined mine with the grace of two doves floating upon the breeze.
The evisceration of my body began violently just below the surface, organs ripped, tendons torn, bones stripped, and in my last moments… I couldn’t have been happier.
99 Words – @acenance
Maureen (@Emyrldlady)
February 7, 2012
She knew, despite the frigid waves lapping at her legs. She knew, despite her fear of the unknown or rather because of it.
She knew that if she just went far enough she’d feel it again. That complete and utter feeling of bliss. That amazing feeling of freefalling and crying and release.
She’d felt it before, alone in a warm tub a path of red trickling across the cool tiles. It was there, just out of her reach, that feeling she was desperate to gain. Till her quiet calm was invaded.
She’d keep walking into the waves, into his arms.
@emyrldlady
100 words
David A Ludwig
February 7, 2012
She ran through euphoric waves. The air warm and the breeze cool. The water shallow yet with crests towering. Everything just so, and constantly adjusting as the moment required.
She ran through euphoric waves. Here she didn’t reel from life’s cruel blows. Here sand slipped underfoot, invisibly correcting her ever more eager steps. Her balance now perfect, in a world of surf and sand shifting to support her rather than tear her down.
She ran through euphoric waves.
She ran out to meet the stars, even in solitude no longer alone.
91 words
@DavidALudwig
Kelly
February 7, 2012
A euphoric feeling washed over her. Clear water splashed her feet, and the wind fluttered her white gown.
As she enjoyed the light hugging her, she froze. “I wasn’t at the beach. I was driving.”
Coldness crept in, and thick clouds swirled. The waves nearly knocked her down. The wind whipped her dress around, binding her legs.
Her paradise disappeared, and what remained was Hell.
“Melissa!” A low, distorted voice said.
“Melissa, wake up!”
She saw blackness. Reassuring words from her husband brought her back to reality. This clock read 3:32 a.m.
The next morning, she made her husband drive.
100 words
@ohthatmomagain
Juan Pablo Hurtado
February 7, 2012
“Give it up, Sully,” she announced.
The scene was playing out in a tightly closed loop: the girl would gather the hem of her dress and head in a euphoric trot into the billowing waves. Then, close to where the shore plunged down and the frothy sea offered not a subtle caress but a deep, unyielding embrace, she would break free and run back in a state of anguished turmoil.
“Ten minutes?” he begged.
“Fine, considering what’s at stake,” the teacher said.
“Yeah, nobody wants to fail Puppetry 101.”
He squinted, focusing on the fleeing figure, and tried once again.
-O-
100 words, @righteousgeek
Aaron Beyer (@AGBeyer)
February 7, 2012
Ben swayed unfeeling as the Mediterranean rocked him like a nervous mother. He imagined his Xanax-laden sweat flipping switches on some sad, flailing anemone below, blasting it with euphoria as it had never done to him.
He searched for lost fire. Was it still here? Or was it frozen in time, twenty years back, in glistening new things?
A nearby splash invaded his senses, and he saw a girl running at a pretty blue Man-o-War. Without thinking he was between her and it. He threw her to safety just before the neurotoxin melted the glacier inside, and he smiled, finally.
100 words
@agbeyer
danielle. (@MyMercurialMuse)
February 8, 2012
Inspired by Homer’s Odyssey:
Despite the frigid February winds, Penelope was euphoric. Giddy delirium enveloped her as she ran into the icy water, oblivious to everything except her husband’s ship visible on the horizon. Struggling against her skirts, which grew heavy with the water, she waded further and further out. Beautiful music, like nothing she’d ever heard, filled her ears and made her heart swell with joy. Twenty years of emptiness and lamentations were now over her love was within her sights. Losing foothold, she strained toward the horizon, aware only of the beautiful siren song pulling her onward to watery abyss.
99 words
@MyMercurialMuse
eliserae
February 8, 2012
I can definitely see this being a part of the original.
eliserae
February 8, 2012
Wanted
The wanted poster got enough attention just by the featured portrait; long gold hair, blue eyes, pursed lips, and eyebrows raised. When onlookers stopped gaping at her picture they saw the bold letters: NOTORIOUS OUTLAW WANTED followed by REWARD 2,000 DOLLARS. That was nearly two months wages on this backwater planet- a fortune good to stay out of the genetics field and euphoria mines for a time. The artist had gone to great pains to make the poster look nothing like herself. Her dirty blonde hair whisked behind her as she ran down the beach, laughing, towards the escape ship.
100 words, @hammer_and_nail
eliserae
February 8, 2012
shoot I’m missing one word in there.
“a fortune good _enough_ to stay”
But if I put it in, I’ll be at 101 :O
James Bambury (@JamesBambury)
February 8, 2012
Over the centuries, he had distinguished several kinds of joy.
When he was smaller, he syphoned water so rich in plankton it barely passed through his valves. Afterwards he would feel sleepy. He called this satisfaction.
When water rushed around him after low tide he would open his clenched shell after hours of tension. He called this relief.
As he grew, he found he could syphon up larger things: crabs, fish, gulls, dogs…anything that got too close and curious. He called this sublime.
When he caught the girl, he called it euphoria.
92 words
@JamesBambury