They were too volatile, they said, too unpredictable, and she shouldn’t get too close.
But she didn’t listen.
And by the time she realised she should’ve heeded their advice, it was too late.
She was already up at the top of the ladder, with the loft hatch open, and her one can of bug spray was doing absolutely nothing to stop the swarm of angry wasps heading rapidly towards her… 😎
I couldn't figure out which hurt more, Dean manipulating that topless photo out of me or posting it online. Or the part where hundreds of commenters wrote that I was meh, too flat, too fat, or reminded me of their mom, but not in a MILF way.
Telling Dean off did nothing. Like spitting in a storm. His careless shrug. "What, me?" Eyes wide.
I needed to get back at him, thoroughly humiliate him as he humiliated me. Annihilate him.
I wasn't going to do this but it wouldn't let me go. Painful to read yours, Miguel, also painful to write this but .... the words just had to get out!!!
"I hate that stupid climbing frame. I HATE it!" Ava screamed, her sharp words cutting their way through her hot tears. She rubbed her little leg to magic away the hurt, but a trickle of Eden red blood mixed with the dirt, and Ava quit.
"Well, I thought you were amazing," I said.
"No, I wasn't."
"Yes, you were. Bet you could make it if you try again."
Steve screwed up his courage. One dive and he would be famous. There would be fame and fortune, adoration and a new record. No one had ever done this seven times in a row. His mother thought he was crazy.
Steve looked out over the crowd. He focused on the water. It had to be amazing. That was the only way he could win.
He did the belly flop. The splash was tremendous. The hurt was unbearable. Steve passed out.
People say they’ve been hurt, whine about stupid things like a boyfriend dumping them, the girls at work sniggering about their big butt. The think they know about pain because something trivial didn’t go right. But I can tell you, there’s no hurt that compares to the hurt your child inflicts when she says she hates you, always has and always will. Pain like that brings the whole world tumbling. Then she’s gone, and the silence sounds like a conviction.
“Grandpa!!! I hurt my knee” cried Maeve as she ran into my arms. “Oh Sweety, come inside and let Grandpa make it all better.”
The very words we say a hundred times as a parent. First, the tears are dabbed and reassured that everything's alright. A kiss to the knee then the warm washcloth is applied. “Oh dear, I’m out of Barbie bandaids, will a Bluey one work?”
She nods in agreement as I apply. “Grandpa, it’s the other knee!”
She blubbered out a shaky ‘ouch’. She was trembling, unsure of what had happened. The pain bounced around in her quivering chest. She clumsily stumbled. Tears were sliding down her cheeks. She managed a deep breath as she timidly and clumsily crouched behind the pale purple sofa. She had grabbed a sofa pillow and embraced it with intense fear as another heavy ‘ouch’ escaped from her trembling body. Her ears were ringing with a violent, vicious, awful piercing, reverberating echo.
PROMPT: HURT
THE WARNING
People had warned her she was going to get hurt.
They were too volatile, they said, too unpredictable, and she shouldn’t get too close.
But she didn’t listen.
And by the time she realised she should’ve heeded their advice, it was too late.
She was already up at the top of the ladder, with the loft hatch open, and her one can of bug spray was doing absolutely nothing to stop the swarm of angry wasps heading rapidly towards her… 😎
I couldn't figure out which hurt more, Dean manipulating that topless photo out of me or posting it online. Or the part where hundreds of commenters wrote that I was meh, too flat, too fat, or reminded me of their mom, but not in a MILF way.
Telling Dean off did nothing. Like spitting in a storm. His careless shrug. "What, me?" Eyes wide.
I needed to get back at him, thoroughly humiliate him as he humiliated me. Annihilate him.
I wasn't going to do this but it wouldn't let me go. Painful to read yours, Miguel, also painful to write this but .... the words just had to get out!!!
===================================================
Hurt 80mg
I know you didn't mean to but still you made the choice.
To please your friends, go with their plans regardless.
You believe I will always be waiting in the wings
for when you've some time with no-one else to please.
You forget my fragile heart beating here for you
wanting just to be together not on some activity.
Gently I heal my hurts, wait calmly for that day
you'll be ready to just hang and enjoy being with me.
A beautiful, painful story, Miguel. I feel his devastation and shock. (He's got a great dad, though.)
80mg of Hurt
The warm, dry tongue of the ghibli lapped at the skirts of our school uniforms.
“Ghibli!” I laughed, as it rippled out from the back of my throat; a little guttural but ending like jelly.
Today, it whipped up stinging sand that hurt our legs as we ran home from school through dusty streets.
There would be no tree climbing this afternoon, nor riding our bikes around the block, just tired, scratchy eyes like we had been crying all day.
"I hate that stupid climbing frame. I HATE it!" Ava screamed, her sharp words cutting their way through her hot tears. She rubbed her little leg to magic away the hurt, but a trickle of Eden red blood mixed with the dirt, and Ava quit.
"Well, I thought you were amazing," I said.
"No, I wasn't."
"Yes, you were. Bet you could make it if you try again."
"Really?" Ava said, with a sly smile.
"I know you can. Promise."
Detective Ward examined the crime scene.
The victim lay cold on the floor. No forced entry. No fingerprints.
Then, Ward noticed it—the victim’s smartwatch, still recording. He played the last audio clip.
A struggle...gasp. "Why are you hurting me? We were partners in crime,"
Then, the killer’s voice—familiar.
"I work alone. And now, our partnership comes to an end."
Ward’s blood ran cold.
It was his own voice.
But he wasn’t there that night… was he? He couldn't remember.
Ah, Izzibella! Leaving us hanging! Great piece!
Oh, you know me and my thrillers, Ink, they are so much fun to write.
March 25 Hurt 80 words
"Maybe it's not as bad as you think."
"Don't know. Don't care. I'm hurt and the world must know."
"Can't you wait a minute and see what happens?"
"Nope. Don't plan to. My way or no way. And if I'm hurt, it's their fault."
"What if you're wrong and it's just another round?"
"You are denying my hurt, which makes you part of the problem."
"Last time it went your way and I hurt."
"So what? Your hurt don't count."
I hope it's okay to have a second try.
There’s some sharp pain
that’s like the rain,
it rattles, trickles and pounds,
and it does the rounds
so many times,
like the worst of crimes,
and it digs as deep
as an ancient sleep,
but I always wake,
and you always take
the easy way,
you always say
the fault is mine,
as if the spine
of the world’s back broke
when the doctor spoke,
and the tears ran wild—
we would have no child.
OMG, what a moving piece "as if the spine of the world's back broke"😭
I’m pleased you like the expression. It’s a self-reference, from a poem I wrote when my dog died. It upset me a lot.
I 100% get this! Sometimes beautiful stuff emerges from deep pain.
That's so sad
It must be devastating. Not everyone wants children, but when you do, it's visceral.
Steve screwed up his courage. One dive and he would be famous. There would be fame and fortune, adoration and a new record. No one had ever done this seven times in a row. His mother thought he was crazy.
Steve looked out over the crowd. He focused on the water. It had to be amazing. That was the only way he could win.
He did the belly flop. The splash was tremendous. The hurt was unbearable. Steve passed out.
One word for this story...ouch
Right 😪
People say they’ve been hurt, whine about stupid things like a boyfriend dumping them, the girls at work sniggering about their big butt. The think they know about pain because something trivial didn’t go right. But I can tell you, there’s no hurt that compares to the hurt your child inflicts when she says she hates you, always has and always will. Pain like that brings the whole world tumbling. Then she’s gone, and the silence sounds like a conviction.
80 MG OF HURT
“Grandpa!!! I hurt my knee” cried Maeve as she ran into my arms. “Oh Sweety, come inside and let Grandpa make it all better.”
The very words we say a hundred times as a parent. First, the tears are dabbed and reassured that everything's alright. A kiss to the knee then the warm washcloth is applied. “Oh dear, I’m out of Barbie bandaids, will a Bluey one work?”
She nods in agreement as I apply. “Grandpa, it’s the other knee!”
OUCH
She blubbered out a shaky ‘ouch’. She was trembling, unsure of what had happened. The pain bounced around in her quivering chest. She clumsily stumbled. Tears were sliding down her cheeks. She managed a deep breath as she timidly and clumsily crouched behind the pale purple sofa. She had grabbed a sofa pillow and embraced it with intense fear as another heavy ‘ouch’ escaped from her trembling body. Her ears were ringing with a violent, vicious, awful piercing, reverberating echo.
Such a visceral visualization of pain 🥹
80mg of Hurt
.
A glance slid past me—erased.
Words smiled, then cut.
They called me names I never chose.
Forms trapped me in boxes too small.
Language bent me till I broke,
then blamed me for the silence.
Pain woke first, every day.
I chased life on legs too tired.
“Imaginary,” they said, as I bled truth.
“You’re strong,” they cheered—
I begged for rest.
I wore their shame like skin.
I asked for help.
They punished me.
I stayed, to spare them.
“I'm sorry. I had no choice.”
At first, those six words made no sense on their own. Only as the dread threaded its icy tendrils up into his brain did he understand what they meant.
His hands dove into the wastebasket by the toilet before he realized, and sure enough, there it was. A small beacon etched with two pink lines.
What escaped his throat was something between a feral howl and the sound of a dream crashing into reality.
Oh I've just read this through a few times and it makes my heart hurt. Great piece
Hopefully it's a pain you've never had to experience in any way in real life. Tha k you for reading!
Thankfully not. You?
Unfortunately. Maybe one day it will make a good story in its entirety
Huge hugs. I think too often we forget the pain men feel this
Ouch. 😭😭