She’d felt his eyes. Blatant. A power trip. All the applicants looked good on paper. This process would whittle them down. Four to one. She understood the rules. They’d learn. Some quicker than others. “Coffee, two sugars, Miss”. She smiled thinly, taking the seat opposite him, the one marked CEO.
That means a lot—thank you! I love that it’s something you keep coming back to. Mistakes shape us, but so do the ways we see them. Grateful for your read, your time, and your words.
I never should have, never should have left the path, the path that winds in and out, around and about old trees, up and down where stream and bramble brake cross it. I never should have, but it’s too late now, too dark and it’s there ahead, blotting out the last of the light.
Thank you for the warm welcome to your community. Really enjoying the posts and the reading.
50 words feels almost like poetry to me. Gave it a try:
Senior Consultant at twenty-six; celebrated with whiskey and a girlfriend almost forgotten. At thirty, Senior Manager. Shadows under the eyes. Partner at forty-one; a millionaire with migraines and shaking hands. Every promotion feels like upgrading seats on a crashing plane. You retire, no one cares.
Miss Stakes # five; Richter earthquake, magnitudes scale: married too early. Number one: born, called toe head. Not sure what that meant. Two: scooted to school, slipped on Sandy curve, just missed wire support and head cut off. 3-4 hot potatoes; burned twice. Lesson. Woke up, wore mittens, ate french fries.
I knew I addressed all the prompts for the week. Why was I coming up one short? Counting again--and again. Checking word counts. Checking prompt titles. All there. What's wrong here? I must be losing my mind. Check the dates. AHA. I found the mistake. 03-12 written twice. Feeling better.
I love these 'meta' ones. I didn't even realise this was a story contribution at first, and thought it was just a regular comment. Haha! So clever... 😎
Once again, I discover that Miguel and I had much the same idea (I never read anyone's work before putting mine up here) -- but being me, I made a joke out of it! You're right, apologies don't fix anything that's broken. But no apologies are even worse.
PROMPT: MISTAKES
THE SOUFFLÉ
This year, she was determined to win the annual village cookery competition.
She’d prepared the perfect showstopper to wow the judges: a delicate, and perfectly risen soufflé.
But as they began tasting it, they started to gag.
There’d been a terrible mistake.
She’d mixed up the salt with the sugar… 😎
Selection (50mg)
She’d felt his eyes. Blatant. A power trip. All the applicants looked good on paper. This process would whittle them down. Four to one. She understood the rules. They’d learn. Some quicker than others. “Coffee, two sugars, Miss”. She smiled thinly, taking the seat opposite him, the one marked CEO.
What an awesome batch. I'm enjoying this fiction dealing place...
Here's my microdose for the day. Thanks for the prompt, Miguel!!!
Mistakes – Write a story in 50 words:
Fred’s never been bankrupt, killed a human, or robbed anyone.
Doesn’t mean it’ll never happen though.
Mistakes happen.
For the older he gets, the closer that line comes to being crossed, no matter his moral code.
Because sometimes jail sounds like a haven, and banishment from normal society a reward.
Thanks for the mention! Here's my contribution for today:
50mg of Pour Decisions
Look—mistakes were made.
First, I saw my fiancé, who was supposedly out of town. Naturally, I followed him to this restaurant and threw water on his date.
How was I meant to know that you weren’t him after all?
Sorry about the mess. Like I said, mistakes were made.
Utter perfection! So succint, yet says so much!
50 mg of Mistakes
I carved regret into my ribs,
mistook survival for silence,
held my breath where truth should live.
Stumbled forward, backwards,
tripped on lessons I refused to name.
But each fall whispered—
not failure, but flight,
not ruin, but rhythm.
Mistakes weren't tombstones.
They were stepping stones.
Wow! This is excellent! I'm enjoying reading it over and over
That means a lot—thank you! I love that it’s something you keep coming back to. Mistakes shape us, but so do the ways we see them. Grateful for your read, your time, and your words.
I never should have, never should have left the path, the path that winds in and out, around and about old trees, up and down where stream and bramble brake cross it. I never should have, but it’s too late now, too dark and it’s there ahead, blotting out the last of the light.
Mistakes were like compound interest.
Gerry had had enough and wanted to scream. Change was in order.
She peaked over the side of the dam, liked what she saw and let the cool waters take her to another place in time.
Time for ideas that would compound in her favour.
In the delivery room, the happy parents looked down lovingly at the new arrival, child number four, six years the junior of her predecessor.
“She’s a pretty one for a mistake,” said dad.
Mom smiled. “We’ll know for sure in about 12 years but for now she’s just an accident.”
Pieces of cookie jar scattered across the floor.
"I'm sorry, it was a mistake!"
I stared at my daughter. "What have you learned?"
"Huh?"
"Mistakes can teach us. So, what have you learned?"
"Not to drop the jar?"
I stifled my laughter until she was safely tucked in for timeout.
Another wonderful week of Prompts, and another great Batch! Well done everyone... 😎
Thank you for the warm welcome to your community. Really enjoying the posts and the reading.
50 words feels almost like poetry to me. Gave it a try:
Senior Consultant at twenty-six; celebrated with whiskey and a girlfriend almost forgotten. At thirty, Senior Manager. Shadows under the eyes. Partner at forty-one; a millionaire with migraines and shaking hands. Every promotion feels like upgrading seats on a crashing plane. You retire, no one cares.
It is sort of like a prose version of poetry yeah! Glad you enjoy it here :)
Makes me soooooo glad I escaped all those years ago!
Should share war stories sometime haha
Good one!
Mistake 50
Miss Stakes # five; Richter earthquake, magnitudes scale: married too early. Number one: born, called toe head. Not sure what that meant. Two: scooted to school, slipped on Sandy curve, just missed wire support and head cut off. 3-4 hot potatoes; burned twice. Lesson. Woke up, wore mittens, ate french fries.
Ooh a mention. Thank you!
Mistakes:
“I made some mistakes.”
“SOME mistakes?”
“Why are you overreacting?”
“Oh so now I’m the one with the problem? Do you see what you’re doing?”
“I’m not the one going insane over nothing.”
“It wasn’t nothing, Justin. Not to me.” I grabbed my coat.
“You’re leaving now?”
“You’re MY mistake.”
I knew I addressed all the prompts for the week. Why was I coming up one short? Counting again--and again. Checking word counts. Checking prompt titles. All there. What's wrong here? I must be losing my mind. Check the dates. AHA. I found the mistake. 03-12 written twice. Feeling better.
I love these 'meta' ones. I didn't even realise this was a story contribution at first, and thought it was just a regular comment. Haha! So clever... 😎
I've made that mistake before, too! 😅
all so good!!!!
❤️❤️
Once again, I discover that Miguel and I had much the same idea (I never read anyone's work before putting mine up here) -- but being me, I made a joke out of it! You're right, apologies don't fix anything that's broken. But no apologies are even worse.
Great minds Lia, great minds :)