Free Write - If I were...

In this week's Free Write, we changed the prompt slightly from last week's "If it were history." 

D-L's Free Write

Maisie, Helen and Barbara sat in the Flowering Acres dining area for the four o'clock tea and sweet. They were good friends they said, because unlike most of the other old ladies, they still had all their marbles.

Often they would play Scrabble or Backgammon. Before Doris died, they played whist. Or the talked on subjects like why Trump was such a bastard.

Today, Maisie started the topic with the words, If I were..."  She added the word "young." She talked of fighting with her father. He signed her up for secretarial school. She wanted to go to university and study engineering. As she sipped her tea, the memory of his laughter still rang in her ears.

Helen said, "If I were young again, I'd have left Tom as soon as Billy went to college and I'd travel. Tom wasn't a bad man, he just never wanted to leave his home. So many countries, I've never seen." 

There was a dab of chocolate around Barbara's mouth. "I'd eat more," Barbara said. My husband hated fat women." She went to the sweet table and helped herself to a large piece of chocolate cake.

The three women had another cup of tea and watched the snow outside thinking it was too late,

Julia's Free Write

He wandered around in the sun, having set his backpack on the ground. 

There, it was the first truly gorgeous day in almost too long to remember. this winter had been gray, gray, gray with shades of gray. The odd snow sudden then way too much: ski sites had had to shut for safety reasons, unheard of He had a good view of the lake, but that didn’t seem to interest him. Camera, rather cell phone, in hand, he wandered. After a few minutes – and a check of photos on said cell phone, he picked up his backpack, got on his bike and left.

Where, What, why?

Then there was the grandmother with a toddler. Again, school holidays meant that half the world seemed to have disappeared. It always amazed her how many people seemed to leave town over the holidays. So the grandmother and grandchild were rare. Why? Were the parents off holidaying on their own? Hardly likely. Probably a doctor and nurse holding the fort so to speak.

And so it went: examples, no answers.

If I were a sleuth maybe I would figure it out.

Rick's Free Write

If I were reincarnated, I wouldn’t want to come back as a woman. Or a refugee. Or a religious acolyte. Certainly not as a politician. And especially not as a millionaire/billionaire. They all have unique burdens to bear of discrimination or fear or hatred, always weighing on their persona.

I’m note sure I’d even want to come back as a person.

Not an insect. Not a maggot.

Maybe an animal. (Not a cat.)

Maybe a dog. A mongrel. No froo-froo designer breed. Not a working dog, though it might be fun to be a border collie and chase sheep all day.

A domesticated dog. Beloved. Pampered. Food whenever I want it. Treats just for being cute. Toys to throw around when I howl. Walks around the neighborhood so I could leave greetings for my fellow canines. And an ample lap to cuddle me as I nap.

Maybe an occasional squirrel to try to catch.

That’s it. The dog’s life.

Visit D-L.'s website  https://dlnelsonwriter.com, She is the author of 15 fiction and three non fiction books. Her 300 Unsung Women, bios of women who battled gender limitations, can be purchased  at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/300-unsung-women-d-l-nelson/1147305797?ean=9798990385504 

Visit Julia's blog. She has written and taken photos and loves syncing up with friends.  Her blog can be found: https://viewsfromeverywhere.blogspot.com/