P. Jean

“They Would Be Alright!” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #52

(You thought she was dead, but there she is, right in front of you on the street, smiling at you.)Waking slowly he pushed at the edges of sleep wishing he could sink back down into the nothingness. He reached out as he did each morning to feel the warmness of his wife beside him.  His confused emotions almost sent him back under the blankets to search again for sleep, part of him just wished for it all to be over but he knew he must get up and get them moving.Groaning softly, trying to hide the pain and stiffness he felt,...

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“May The Words Be With You!” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #52

(Come with us,” two burly men in gray suits say, grabbing you by the arm and handcuffing you. “You know what you did.” But you have no idea.) When those brutes assaulted you, you really had no idea at all what was going on!    First panic,  the panic of being roughly handled!  The panic of the certainty in their voice that this was real!  They said, “You know what you did!”   But in truth, I knew nothing!  But the force was very real,  this was no game,  this felt like serious business....

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“The Softness of Charmin” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #52

(You are the only one in the supermarket during a blizzard. Feeling creeped out, you decide to leave, when suddenly you find a baby abandoned on the floor.) I was actually running.   I was hurrying as fast as my legs would take me through the snow drifts in the parking area.   I was delighted to find the supermarket still open for business as I arrived.  Hurrying in, I jerked the dripping shopping cart from the rows of carts in the lobby.  My mind was thinking of meals for a few days and what I would need to keep us a...

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“Is It A Big Deal?” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #52

( Twenty minutes before you are about to get married you find your Mother and your fiancé kissing passionately ) ~~~~~ It is just two hours before the wedding.  Grace, the bride,  is not suffering the usual pre-ceremony jitters,  she just seems bored and almost annoyed.  Grace is trying to explain to her maid of honor and also best friend, Laura, why she isn’t super happy or excited on this very special day. “Yes, I know.”  Grace says with exasperation in her voice, “but it feels anticlimactic!” Laughing,&nbs...

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“An Unexpected Powerful Treasure.” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #51

(Write about someone or something that has a superpower.) The boy sat on the flat rock by the stream,  the words on the page fading as the light faded.  It was the very best part of the day,  the back breaking work of the day done, a meager but tasty meal over and then his personal few hours with the books. ~~~~~ Passing by that day,  on his way to nowhere or who knows where,  he stopped at the smith at the edge of this town, seeking water and information that would give him some idea the best way to go on.&n...

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“A Life Well Lived.” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #51

(Write a story that begins and ends with someone looking up at the stars.)A life well lived! Isn’t it what we all hope for? Our definition of well lived will vary from person to person, a thousand people, a thousand answers or ideas! So perhaps it will all sift down to if you feel ready, are you content to go on to the next stage or the final stage or whatever your beliefs allow or instruct you to believe. Will your final moments be met with grace and gentleness or will you resist and realize you really aren’t ready ...

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“The Coral Island!” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #51

(Write a story that remains a mystery until the end)He lays flat on his back, his arms outstretched, his body in total relaxation. His hunger is waking from a deep sleep. In his mind he can picture his surroundings, the sand, the shells and beautiful things he has scavenged from the sea. He feels the sea breeze and hears the sea birds calling as they wheel overhead. He must get up soon. He knows soon he will again be in the depth of the coral reef with the colors and shapes so beautiful....

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“I Know This Place!” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #51

(Write a story about someone who's haunted by their past.) I sit tonight looking at an image that I haven’t consciously thought about for decades and yet it colored my whole being. I had stopped into the library to return two books on growing roses and on my way out the door,  I glanced at the bulletin board and saw the image.   It stopped me dead in my tracks,  literally.   Leaning in to read the small note attached,  one of those tear off a phone number kind of notes,  I read that a person was trying to ...

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“Dresses!” by P. Jean

(Write about someone who returns as an adult to a place they last visited as a child.) ** I will exercise a bit of poetic license here as the child is really eighteen! When thinking of a place last visited as a child, with the innocent eyes of youth, my mind came up with a place in time not some gps coordinates.  What an unusual subject you might say or think but I take what comes into my mind like fielding a fly ball in left field.  The thoughts come, I reach out and grab them,  as simple as that. I decided not to write...

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“DRAMA! EMOTE! EXERAGERATE!” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #50

(Write a story about a person experiencing pre-performance jitters.) I sit here thinking about all of the myriad things that could go wrong,  so many personalities and the slight chance that all things will click, that it will go smoothly! I wonder why I volunteered  to coach this group!  A mistake or blown line or someone bursting into tears, or worse, like an avalanche where a few grains of frozen water or snow slips away from its base and slides downward,  taking more and more with it until a mountain of snow has...

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“THE AUTOGRAPH BOOK!” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #50

(Write a story about a proposal.)George sits on the old wooden front steps of the house in which he grew up. He is waiting for the best part of everyday. He is waiting to see Gladys open the curtains or drapes of her dining room windows. If today is like every day for years and years, she will wave to him and then disappear into her home to do whatever needs doing that day. The wave is his signal that his day can begin too so he gets up and goes into breakfast.~~~~~George remembers the first time he really noticed Gl...

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“MILK COWS, KITTENS AND BALL BEARINGS!” by P. Jean

(Write a story told entirely through one chase scene.)As chase scenes go, this was not much of a thriller but it was intense and in my mind dangerous!What I have going for me stealth wise is I look so common, so innocuous! Should anyone actually see me, I’m the kind of person you write off as too boring to bother with right off the bat. I’m easily forgotten! I am middle age, female, and I have all the trappings of a housewife. Plain and overworked looking. I even have a cotton wash dress, a shoppi...

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“TREEHOUSE STORIES,” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #50

( Write a story about a day spent in a treehouse)If you can imagine, and I suspect most of you can, being a teenage girl just old enough to be considered responsible, but not old enough to get a proper job. I am that girl and I have a whole summer ahead of me. A whole boring summer!  Circumstances have created this place where I am in life, that while not horrible, it certainly is not what I would wish for!   “What would I wish for?” , you ask, even rhetorically.  And I would smile slightly,&...

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“MY DARLING! MY DARLING! WHERE ARE YOU?” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #49

(Write a story about a relationship where one person is always running late and the other is constantly kept waiting.) My Darling!  My Darling!    Where are you?   I’m waiting!   We will be late! This question or these questions have been asked over and over through the years and here we are again,  me dressed to the nines and waiting, and him among the missing! ~~~~~ In the early years it precipitated some lively arguments as I interpreted his behavior as a “power play” of sorts.  He wanted to pr...

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“THE SCENT OF HUMANITY!” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #49

(write-a-story-that-takes-place-in-a-waiting-room) It is early spring, but already hot.   I tend to forget that it is never cold here and warm is normal and for locals today is not an especially hot day.   Back home in the Midwest,  this time of the year can be variable,  warm days of spring thaw followed by cold winds and even snow storms.  This place could use some cold wind blowing through,  it is not the most pleasant place to be.   I’m never sure if I might be labeled practical or if it goes b...

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