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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

PROMPT: AURORA

THE COLOURS IN THE SKY

The night sky was full of spectacular colours.

There were dark greens, purples and reds, all swirling together to form an awe-inspiring kaleidoscope.

Everyone on the ground, and on the roofs of the buildings, was smiling and taking photographs, believing they were witnessing the Aurora Borealis.

Poor fools.

They would find out soon enough they were actually looking at the vapour trails of our cloaked fleet.

The invasion had begun… 👽😎👽

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Wordplay With Terry's avatar

Being named Aurora wasn’t easy in a town filled with Stephanies and Lisas.

When she asked her mother why she chose such a strange name, she got a far away look in her eyes. It was the same look she had anytime Aurora asked about her father.

Years later, cleaning out her late mother’s house, she found a hostel bill from Tromsø, Norway, dated Dec. 25, 2000, almost a year before Aurora was born.

Attached was a photo of her mom standing with a tall, blond guy. Written on the bottom,

“Perfect night for Aurora chasing with our guide, Amund.”

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Nick's avatar

To paraphrase a wise old man, "Aurora. Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time".

Aurora

“Did you know it meant ‘dawn’?”

“Yes,” Aurora replied, closing her copy of Romeo and Juliet.

She was Mexican, quite exotic to a teenager from southeast England. We were friends first but I always felt there was more.

It took me a year to ask her out, earning a “yes” the day she left for the holidays.

We spent a fortnight texting and flirting through the night. Black “x’s” on green Nokia screens. “It’s definitely love,” I’d think.

I went to the small cottage she shared on campus when she got back. She gave me some weird Mexican sweets but we didn’t kiss. We broke up. My dreams broken by dawn.

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olivia s's avatar

Get well soon Miguel.

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Miguel S.'s avatar

Thank you Olivia!

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olivia s's avatar

Microdosing Fiction - 100mg of an Aurora

===

He almost tripped when he got to the common hall. The other patients had gathered there before him.

Lucien, his favourite, is in for the story reading tonight.

‘The dark blue is the main palette, which is vast and high. The glimmering stars are everywhere; their white dots are scattered. Through the cloud layers, colourful rays shine through. There are stripes of dark pink and emerald green. All blend together, then slowly dissipate into the dark sky.’

He sits motionless, playing the image in his mind.

It is priceless. That’s the least he can do since he lost his eyesight.

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Matthew Sutcliffe's avatar

I got halfway through and lost my way in a vale of tears

Aurora - 100 words

.

Is there awe in the Borealis

Or in the oarsmanship of a light blue rower?

.

Is there awe in some simple acceptance

To the invitation to lunch?

.

Is there awe in the shock

Of the blunder of their bombings?

.

Or are we too full of awe

To see the awful truth?

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Jane Dougherty's avatar

A poem this time so only 52 words.

Northern Lights

Veil of lights

nights of cold

old stories told.

Behold! she said

led us to the window wide,

hiding nothing of the sight,

bright violet, green,

sheen on the starless sky,

high-stretching, no eye could miss.

This is Earth’s aura,

Aurora of the boreal night,

flight of myth, Phoenix tail.

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Ben Woestenburg's avatar

I went right back to the beginning of time for this one...

Tithonus hobbled to the window, looking at the night sky. Luna was settling in for the duration, giving the night back to her sister, now rushing across the sky in a mad dash to open the gates and let her brother out. It was the same thing every morning. Luna would settle down for the night and Aurora would rush out to open the gates and let her brother out. He wondered if she still loved him? If it was even possible for her to still love him? It took ten thousand years for her to realize immortality meant forever.

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Theresa Greene's avatar

Aurora

a prima ballerina piroutttes across

a golden sky

She dances with light and bestows for

the day

pink-winged clouds of shimmering

silver

Her tutu catchess shining stars

And puts them to bed

Her glossy toe shoes in resplendent

splendor as they grand jete across the

golden sky

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Theresa Greene's avatar

Thank you , Bill Ferguson

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Theresa Greene's avatar

Thank you , WORD PLAY

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Theresa Greene's avatar

Thank you , Scott for the like.

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Theresa Greene's avatar

Thank you, Jeannine

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Rhumond Tonique's avatar

She is the daughter of Hyperion and Theia. She is the goddess of the dawn. Her brother is Helios, the god of the sun and her sister is Selene, the goddess of the moon. Each day she rides her chariot, drawn by winged horses, across the sky, bringing the light of dawn to the day and chasing away the darkness of night. Her light is soft and ethereal, yet able to penetrate the darkest of shadows on earth. Dressed in the softest colors of the sunrise, she inspires all with the spirit of hope and new beginnings. She is Aurora.

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Stephanie Loomis's avatar

Aurora

100 words

Emmie looked into the sky. No light pollution and new moon, perfect for viewing the Aurora Borealis. She steadied her cameras, checking the settings for perfection. At midnight, Emmie set them clicking into action.

A pink glow reflected on the snow, blossoming into ribbons of swirling pink, red, purple, and green. The lights began to rotate as Emmie watched without blinking. The lights spun, a tornado of color closing in on her. Emmie panicked. The lights hurt her eyes. Deafening noise, like a million cicadas

Then, nothing. Blackness stretched over the mountains while the cameras continued to click, click, click.

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Jeannine's avatar

Very good story, but I noticed that Emmie turned into Ellie... one of those pesky typos, I presume.

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Stephanie Loomis's avatar

fixed!!

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Stephanie Loomis's avatar

oops!

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Richard Blaisdell's avatar

100 MG joys I knew : aurora

Graduation day. Pati melted ice that clung to me. We sat together on a sleigh ride over snow, reflected on the aurora borealis, eerie yellow-green glow. We held hands, frozen intime. Returned to a warm fire place. Bob for apples, push fruit to buckets bottom. We capture a big bite, resurface. Fire crackles, sparks sent to the Aurora. Puppy love lights, wags tail. Reminders of kisses; secret sky waves to hide strong emotions.

No preparation for prom night. Finally call Pati. She’s too young to go. The sky lights extinguished; memories fade; waited too long; Aurora long gone.

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Jeannine's avatar

Simon spent his life amassing wealth,  crushing anyone in his way. But he no longer had enough years left to enjoy his riches. When he learned that the secret to everlasting life lay at the aurora's source, he knew he must have it.

Traveling north, always north, always alone, he eventually found the place from whence all colors flowed. He fell to his knees in jubilation, but then he felt his soul being sucked into the maelstrom to join the others, each glowing in anguish. Everlasting life was indeed his, but he would spend eternity serving the great god, Aurora.

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Roi Aharonson's avatar

Erggg I got 99 words exactly 🥲

———

Aua! Aua!

What is it Mr. Baby?

Aua!

Does he want water? Said the lady who spoke too much and ate too little.

Auar!

Soup? Offered the lady who ate too much and spoke no languages.

Auaar!

He wants a taste of the mighty rivers! Said the chief as he jumped into the freezing river to retrieve fish but froze mid way his dive and his legs stuck out of the surface.

Aurora!

Said the baby and turned into a magnificent goddess of dawn and lit his path in the sky with blasting colors as he flew into eternity.

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Miguel S.'s avatar

Well compared to most challenges it’s more like up to 100 words here not exactly a 100 so you’re good 😁 thanks for writing with us!

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Roi Aharonson's avatar

😮‍💨thank goodness, I was worried there!

🫶

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Chase Imler's avatar

A curtain of silence fell over the lounge as the stage lights dimmed, though pulses quickened and the glow from a dozen cigars grew to torch-like levels.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've been waiting for! Cleo Cosette!”

The curtain parted at first with simply an ivory leg sheathed in crimson stocking, but it was enough to draw a howl from the collected speakeasy.

But it wasn't the body in motion Jeremiah analyzed, it was her eyes. How they scanned the room the way a wolf scans the overgrowth to see which goat is slowest. “She's a predator, all right.”

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Stephanie Loomis's avatar

Lovely story and thanks for the shout out!!

FEEL BETTER

My story to come soon.

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