Tuesday 14 September 2010

Word of Inspiration: "Pebble"

Here it is, the first of my word-inspired posts! Hope you enjoy!

She’d never really liked fish. She didn’t really know why, but there was just something about their cold slimy bodies, bulging fleshy mouths and goggle-eyed expressions that put her off. Or, she thought, perhaps it was the smell. There was no other smell like it; an overpowering stench that forced itself up her nostrils and wreaked havoc with her sense, usually resulting in a lot of eye-watering and hissing on her part.  Thankfully, there were no fish in the river today – they had long since swum upstream to breed in the warmer lagoons, doubtless falling prey to all the predators that lurked on the river’s shores.
She yawned widely and wiggled her toes, the five tiny digits gleaming ghostly white under the thin veil of water. She reached down with her left foot and picked up a pebble from the river bottom, purring delightedly as the soft sand tickled her feet. She passed the pebble up and held it in the palm of her hand, admiring the pale blue-grey surface and running her fingers over the tiny grooves carved out by generations of tiny scuttling creatures. It was cold to touch, but there was something soothing in the round perfection of the stone, a sort of earthy solidity that sent gentle pulses up her arms. She gave the stone a tentative lick, her tongue picking up the taste of salt and grit. River smells, she thought, as she passed the pebble back into the grip of her dextrous toes and lowering it back under the rippling surface of the river.
She sat there for a while longer, enjoying the gentle tug of the water against her feet and the soft whisperings of the breeze as it brushed feather-light against her body. Eventually she stretched and got to her feet, tiny rainbows gleaming on her legs as the water droplets on her skin caught the last light of the sunset. She gave a little sigh, took one last look at the river, turned and strode away, feet barely skimming the grass as she gradually faded from sight, leaving nothing behind but a small mark in the grass and the pebble lying on the riverbed.

4 comments:

  1. Loved the detail, Spook. I especially liked that she licked the pebble!

    Mine:

    The Pebble

    Nathan selected a small, flat stone and, after hefting it in his hand to gauge its weight, sent it skimming across Middleton’s Pond. It skipped once, twice, three times, then did a belly flop, sending rings echoing across the water.

    Footsteps approached from behind and he skimmed the ground around him, just to be sure; it would be most embarrassing if anything was left behind. A tiny crimson drop caught his eye (the last one, Nathan was sure) and he bent low to pick up the pebble that had caught it. As the policemen approached, he sent it flying through the air with a casual thrust, as though he’d been whiling away the time for hours, just skipping rocks.

    Well, he supposed, that was what he'd been doing—sort of.

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  2. Thanks, glad you liked it :)

    Any other suggestions? I need words! xD

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  3. Pick a word that inspires you so that at least you can post something. As you attract more followers, they'll just follow suit. If no one responds, don't take it personally. Not everyone is inspired by the same thing. Just have fun with it.

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  4. Rightio, thanks for the advice!
    Let's start plotting today's then .... :D

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