Challenge 14: The bedroom

It is a medium-sized acrylic lacy shawl with strings coming loose. Pale blue. A plastic doll with curly, bright gold hair, is inside it. Together, they are on the an old-fashioned quilted bedspread, white cotton with orange and brown leaves and cotton frills on the edges and dark brown legs poking out the bottom. On the scratched wood dresser which has four drawers, black plastic and silver metal handles, is a tube of crimson lipstick, curved at the top with a plastic lid, the inside of which has red smears. A pale pink compact with the paint rubbed off and vaguely visible writing; an orange brush with a black ridged handle, ridges following the square cross-section.

A woman holds the brush, its ends frayed, studies her face. The mirror on the left, on top of one drawer, – tall and rectangular - has stains on it, white-fuzzy stains, bits of plasticine, a pair of colourful shiny birds with squished faces on a yellow plastic perch, and a paper cutout of a too-big head attached to a minute neck attached to a skirt attached to skinny legs attached to fat shoes, coloured in with felt-tip scribbles. The mirror on the right, on top of three drawers, is round and rotates on a brass rod when she pushes it.

The woman puts down the brush, sits on the bed. Moves the shawl, finds a thick black textbook lying open. “Case study. John is a 23 year old...” It goes onto the pile between the dresser and the bed, after the yellow highlighter is flicked out of the way. There’s another bookshelf on the other side of the bed, full of novels and poetry. Two shelves, dresser-height but coloured darker. One of the white-painted wardrobe doors at the foot of the bed is held open by a tiny baby rubber duck. There is a girl, in amongst the clothes, stroking a pale green satin-and-lace nightgown.

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Word count: 321

Challenge 14: Adoration of the Cat

He walked into the room and smiled. A black cat lay curled on the couch beside the window. He sat down on the edge of the bed, eyes fixed on the ball of fur. The cat stretched, yawned, turned around on the spot, digging at the leather with his paws before plopping himself back down and closing his eyes. The young man continued to watch, eyes soft and smiling.

A woman came into the room and, catching sight of him, frowned. She did not disturb him, but walked out again. A minute later she returned with a wine glass in either hand. She sat down beside him, slipping one of the glasses into his hand. She took a sip of the sparkling red liquid, looking between him and the sleeping animal. He wrapped his fingers around the stem of his glass, but did not drink. His tongue slid over his top lip as he let out the barest whisper of a sigh. The woman put glass aside, kneeling forward onto the carpet before the couch. Her long pale fingers smoothed fur, stroking always in the same direction, from behind the cat’s ears around to its curled up tail. The cat woke, purring, stretched and then pouched off the couch, disappearing beneath the bed.

The young man took a sip then, meeting the woman’s eyes. Her cheeks were flushed. She hurriedly peered beneath the bed, cheek pressed against the carpet. He laughed and touched her shoulder. She stood up again, taking another sip of wine. They kissed, apology in her eyes. Beneath the bed, the cat had gone back to sleep.

Wordcount: 270

Challenge 14

No Ideas, but in Things

Write a very brief story told only in images-concrete, simple, visually efficient movements and details. This exercise does not ask you to eliminate people, just to watch what they do and what objects they crave and caress rather than what they say or think about these objects and actions.

Wordcount: 300 (+/- 10%)