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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

PROMPT: COWARD

THE COWARDICE

He could feel the fear coursing through him.

What was waiting for him on the other side of the door was too traumatic to deal with, and he couldn’t face stepping through it.

Just the thought of it had him slumped against the wall outside shaking uncontrollably, desperate to be somewhere else.

Even taking deep breaths wasn’t helping.

And this carried on, until his wife finally came upstairs, and calmly got rid of the little spider sitting in the bathtub… 😎

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Miguel S.'s avatar

I can relate to this. Except it was my father who helped lol. Since I live with my wife, I had to overcome the fear and become the dedicated "spider-killer" in the house.

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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

I have a small, aquarium fishing net I use to catch them these days. They seem quite happy to go in it, and it works very well. Haha... 😎👍

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olivia s's avatar

Microdosing - 90mg of a Coward

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The man wiped his bloody knuckles on his shirt. He enjoyed the stings of the peeled skins, as much as he enjoyed staring down on his captives. He and his crews had been contracted to chase the band of thieves. He was just passing by the town, and he was bored.

In the bounty-hunter circle, he was the most fearless. Yet he told people he’s a coward growing up. They didn’t believe him, until he showed them a tattoo, forced on him once. It said: ‘Today could be your last.’

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Matthew Sutcliffe's avatar

I’m a coward.

I’m writing this note because I daren’t say out loud - and even if I could do that much, I doubt I’d be able to cope with the reactions from either of you. I suppose I’d better be honest with you both.

Tomorrow will not be easy for any of us, though one of us will find it less daunting than me, for sure.And it’s true that by the tme night comes again, the anticipation of it will at least be behind whoever of us is left.

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Jeannine's avatar

The boy hid in the barn, worried that the men would find him. He whistled softly to his pet donkeys, precipitating loud, continuous, wookie-like brays. The two men, startled, paused in their search, while the boy's old hound dog crept up silently, until he was right behind them. He let loose with a long, wolfish howl. Even that might not have been enough had not the wolves in the woods answered the dog's call. That was more than enough. The cowardly men ran frantically away, while the boy giggled.

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Lia's avatar

COWARD

Like all emails, the invitation materialized out of nowhere. "After the screening," it began, "we'd love to have you join us at the afterparty." An exclusive club was named. Tomorrow! My free ticket had somehow been upgraded. And I knew no one.

A desperate search ensued for an appropriate work-to-evening outfit. I was sleepless with nerves. It rained heavily, and I arrived at the screening late, soaked and disheveled, stumbling in the dark to the last available seat.

The movie was quite good. I never made it to the afterparty.

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Dustin's avatar

WOO! Very effective ending. That hit hard.

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C J O'Hare's avatar

Problem was, she didn't know whether to kiss him or kill him. But here he was, just as he was the night before, swaying stupidly, languidly.

Curious though, the warmth he exuded.

She had accused herself of cowardice before, but her sisters only warned of infatuation. What did they know? Besides, they had all disappeared now, and she had her own voice.

He flickered once more in her direction, suggestively, and she could tolerate no more, diving straight for him, her powdered wings blackening in the fire like tissue paper.

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Rolando Andrade's avatar

My 90mg of a Coward

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A tall, strong man walks down a narrow street. He walks as if he were dead, with small bumps to the left and right. He has a hunched posture and his closed, grim face is a little frightening. Its mouth, always closed, seems to be keeping a secret for centuries. The man walks like a dragging train.

He keeps walking, and suddendly the giant man screams out of his lungs,

- Please mom, don't hit me!

This is how cowardice is born, whenever a frightened child turns into a terrified giant

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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

Very nicely done, Miguel! The pain and emotion that conveys, in just 90 words, is fantastic... 😎

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Miguel S.'s avatar

Thank you Chris!

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B Stings's avatar

Damn. Yep. That's a good coward story

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Miguel S.'s avatar

Thank you B!

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Scott MacLeod's avatar

Edward had hit Libby for the last time. That morning as he leaned over his breakfast scrapple she approached from behind and with all her strength delivered a blow to the base of his brain stem. He went out like the Miami power company in a category 5.

She elucidated. “Here it’s a ‘sucker punch’. Did you know in Australia they call it a ‘coward punch’? Of course you didn’t. It’s named for the giver not the receiver. But just look at a globe, it’s upside down there, isn’t it?”

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B Stings's avatar

sounds more like a justice punch...but then upside down, roles reversed, right

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Scott MacLeod's avatar

Exactly

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Scott MacLeod's avatar

That would make him the coward

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Jeannine's avatar

Ouch. Good one.

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