I Told Her Not To Go

I told her not to go
But inside I wanted to say leave,
She’d hurt me so many times
Yet, my heart was still on my sleeve.

I told her not to go
I don’t think I could love another,
How long had it been going on?
Your sleeping with my brother.

I told her not to go
But now jealousy consumes my heart,
I invited him to join us
He must pay; he played his part.

I told her not to go
She really shouldn’t have listened,
Because her lover now lays dead
The murder weapon; it still glistened.

I told her not to go
But she stayed and now she pays,
The knife feels right in my hand
As I end her unfaithful days.

The Battle Had Just Begun

Prompt: the battle had just begun

He sighed as he realised that the battle had just begun.

It wasn’t the news that he had hoped to hear and momentarily the world went black, and he heard a rushing, roaring sound in his ears.

As he became aware of his surroundings again, he caught his doctor’s eye, and he could see the sympathy and pity etched into his face.

He turned to his left and looked at his wife. She was pale and shaky. Her eyes were full of tears, and her words trembled as she spoke, but ever the practical one, she was already asking the questions that needed to be asked.

He didn’t want to know at the moment; he just needed a second, a minute, an hour to catch his breath.

He sighed again; the battle had just begun, but he would win it in the end.

My Cat Sooty

Prompt: A day in the life of your pet.

I watch as she picks up her bag and puts on her coat and I know that that means she is heading out. Sure enough, a few minutes later, I hear her shout ‘Bye Sooty’ and she is gone. Why she insists on calling me that I don’t know. I’ve never responded to it. Sooty indeed! I’ve told her several times that my name is Empress!

As soon as the door closes I’m up and into the kitchen. Sometimes she is only gone a few minutes, so I need to be quick. I love the cookies that she keeps in the cupboard, but when I jump onto the kitchen sides to get at them, she always shhh’s me off. I can smell that there are some there today, so I jump up onto the side and paw at the cupboard. If it’s loose then I can sometimes paw it open: once I even got a cookie.

I was so engrossed in my desperate attempt to get a cookie that I didn’t hear her come back.

“Get down off there Sooty!” she shouted.

I jumped down and ran for it but not before I shouted over my shoulder at her, “It’s Empress not Sooty!”

The Letter

Prompt

Character: a police inspector    Place: flight of uneven stairs

Situation: two more days to live    Object: a submarine   When: when we were in France

Inspector Radley put his hands onto the side of the boat to steady himself, the speed that they were going at he was surprised that no one had fallen overboard!

It felt like an age before he finally saw the submarine in the distant waters. He still couldn’t believe that he was even here! Whisked away from his usual duties because of an urgent message he had received from his life-long friend and Commander in the navy, just that morning.

The message had been vague. It read:

Dear Brian, do you remember when we were in France last year and I got taken away on an urgent matter? Things have come to a head. Please come, it’s a matter of life and death, transport has been arranged, we need to talk. I have been told I only have a few days to live, hurry! Regards John.

Brian kept thinking what that last sentence implied and he had to swallow several times to get rid of the lump in his throat. He couldn’t bear the idea that John wouldn’t be part of his life for much longer.

Finally, the boat pulled up next to the submarine and Brian wished that he had better sea legs as he tried to navigate himself up the uneven step ladder that they had thrown over the side. Eventually he reached the top and was distraught to see that his once tall proud friend was now a shadow of his former self, he wouldn’t have even recognised him if he hadn’t of been expecting to see him there. What on earth has happened? Brian thought.

The Tree

Prompt: evil, yacht, tree

As Bertie cut down a few branches from an old tree he felt an overwhelming sense of evil and foreboding come over him. He looked around trying to sense what had caused the feeling, but the only thing that it could be from was the tree. He carried on chopping regardless and he pushed the feeling aside knowing that such things were ridiculous, trees were not evil! So, he continued until he had enough wood to make the promised toy yacht for his young nephew.

As he gathered the branches into his arms again, he felt like something bad was about to happen, and again, he brushed the warning aside, he really wasn’t one for silly superstitions.

He headed back home and spent the next few hours making the yacht ready for Charlie's visit later. As he hoped the yacht was a big hit, Charlie loved his gift so much that he headed straight upstairs to use the bath so that he could test his new toy out. Even his Uncle telling him he could only fill the bath a few inches didn’t curb his excitement.

Ten minutes passed, and Bertie headed upstairs wondering why Charlie was so quiet. He let out a yell of shock and anguish as he found his beloved nephew floating face down in the bath, the yacht sitting in the shallow water next to him.

If only Bertie could have seen the voodoo doll that lay embedded in the tree that he had so casually cut up.

The Storm

Prompt: it felt like the sky had fallen in.

Bang!

Beth cringed as another piece of garden furniture hit hard against the window and she was surprised that it didn’t break. She closed her eyes tight and tried to pretend that the storm wasn’t happening.

The weatherman had been warning all week that a big one was coming, but they were so often wrong that preparations this time just hadn’t happened. Beth wished that she had listened to her husband, Pete when he had wanted to prep the house and evacuate.

Bang!

Something else smacked against the window but this time it didn’t hold and broke. Suddenly the room was sent into a frenzy as papers and belongings were whipped around by the wind.

Beth hoped Pete had found somewhere safe to shelter. They had spoken a while ago and she had promised to leave the house and head to the local emergency shelter at the school, but she had been delayed and now it was too late to leave.

Just then the wind picked up even more and Beth could hear the house creaking. Perhaps it would be safer out there, after all, Beth thought, but too late as suddenly the ceiling began to fall in and Beth felt like the sky was falling in on her.

An hour later, Pete brought the car to an abrupt halt at the pile of rubble that had once been his house. He was really glad that Beth had relented and gone to shelter in the safety of the school as he couldn’t see anyone surviving that!

Don't Snoop!

Prompt: a babysitter is looking around her employer’s house and finds a disturbing picture.

Jane was relieved that Billy had finally settled down for his nap and it was now time to explore. It was the best part of her job, having the opportunity to have a nose around people’s houses. She loved the insight that it gave her into their private lives. And as long as she put everything back as she found it, her employers would be none the wiser. No harm done! She worked for a high-end babysitting agency and some of the places she had worked in left her in awe of the wealth.
Jane hadn’t met Billy’s dad yet, his mum had seen her in and had left to meet her husband at the theatre, so Jane started with his office first wondering what sort of man he was and what secrets she may find.
She went straight to the bottom drawer of his desk and it held a big shock. There was a huge pile of photos all being held together by an elastic band. The top picture showed the body of a lady who had a knife sticking out of her chest. The next was of a man's severed head, his lifeless eyes seemed to be staring at Jane out from the photo. A quick flick through the rest of the pictures left Jane feeling cold and shaken. Dead people in a variety of poses. Different methods of murder on display.
What manner of a man is he? Jane wondered. And does his wife know?
Jane wanted to call the police and leave straight away but she couldn’t as she had Billy to consider, and she knew she would lose her job for snooping. Instead, she sat shaking and scared until she heard them returning. She pressed 999 on her phone so she just had to press the green button to call for help if she needed it, but the couple came in smiling and happy. They paid Jane and she left the house as quick as she could, the couple thought she was a bit weird, but Billy was safe and happy, so they were too.
The next day when Billy’s dad went into his office he realised the babysitter had been snooping in his drawer and he now knew why she had been acting so strangely. He smiled as he looked at his photos of the props that he had made for several tv shows.