A-to-Z Challenge
I took part in A-to-Z Challenge in 2016 and, after a long gap,
in 2024. Last year I skipped again. But this year I think I will take a chance.
I have chosen no particular theme but I will try to write a
few stories and poems for kids. But if I can’t write something good for
children I may fall back on frivolous rambling.
I trust you will support me in this journey.
A Tree
“Dadu, can I have that tree?”
The old man laughed, “It’s a….it can’t be a tree!”
“Then why are so many kingfishers sitting on it? It must be a
tree. And there are some parrots also. I want that tree, please.”
“Let me smell it,” the old man pressed his large, plump nose
on the glass.
“I think you are right.”
The kid smiled, “Should we go in?”
“Of course. If you want a tree, you will have a tree.”
The kid held grandfather’s calloused hand in his tiny left hand
and said softly, “Be careful, one of the steps is broken.”
********
Word count 101
A post for Friday Fictioneers on a picture post.
Hunter
Photo prompt © Lisa Fox
“Do you see
that man over there?”
“Where?
Which man?”
“There…. On that
red building…. You see that signboard.”
“What of
him?”
“He has a gun.
He is a hunter?”
“Don’t be
silly, he has no gun. He seems perfectly harmless.”
“No, you
don’t understand. Jinxy had told me. He knows everything. That man must be a
hunter.”
“And what
would he be hunting here?”
“Sky-dragons.”
“Jinxy would
have told you about sky-dragons?”
“Yes, he
knows everything.”
They heard a
gunshot. The little boy screamed.
Father patted
him lightly and pointed to a screeching car. It had a tyre burst.
*******
Word count 100
A post for Friday Fictioneers on
a picture prompt
The Far End
Photo prompt © J Hardy Carroll
“Hurry! Don’t you want to see him?”
“I’m scared.” The younger brother whispered. “Is he fearsome?”
“No, he looks hideous but he is nice…. gentle….”
The little boy could feel his thumping heart.
“Why does he look hideous?’
“How do I know? But he always has a chocolate for little boys.”
They reached the far end of the cemetery. They looked around.
There was no one there.
Then the little boy pointed towards a grave.
A man was lying there, his face covered by a cloth. There was
chocolate in his left hand.
Elder brother screamed and ran off.
***********
Word count 99
A post for Friday Fictioneers on
a picture prompt
A Slip
Photo prompt © Jen Pendergast
“What’s
this? What have you been doing?” asked the mother, sounding tired and
flustered.
“I was making coffee?”
“But why is the room flooded? Where is Papa?”
“He is busy…attending meetings.”
“Shantanu!” she screamed. Shantanu felt that he had been hit
by a bullet. He jumped from his chair and ran. But he slipped. There was soapy
water, everywhere.
“What have you been doing” he asked meekly.
“Papa, I wanted coffee,” she said, smilingly.
“But why is there water here…...everywhere?”
“I was cleaning the kettle…. it was….”
And then they noticed white, soapy water, leisurely flowing
down the kitchen sink.
******
Word count 100
A post for Friday Fictioneers on
a picture prompt
The Painting
“That is the
painting……I know the artist…. He studied in Shantiniketan and JJ School of Art….
a dear friend of my uncle….” said the boy, proudly.
“You must be
joking…. it’s just trash…...” replied his friend.
“You have no
idea…..it’s abstract art…..everyone can’t appreciate it.”
“What has he
painted….”
The boy
scratched his head. He knew he had to say something and quickly, “It’s a thick autumn
forest and there is a tiger hidden in the foliage.”
“What are
those words?”
“That’s the
tiger talk….”
The friend
looked at the boy and laughed. The boy repressed an urge to hit him.
******
Word count 101
A post for Friday Fictioneers on a photo prompt
The Chair
“I think the chair is too big for him. What do you say?””
“Should we get a new chair? Brand new?”
“I don’t want him to be a soldier? No, never!”
The mother felt a twinge in her heart. More than a year had passed and still she had
not received any confirmation. The suspense was killing her, slowly but surely.
Girl’s eyes were brimming with loneliness.
“Don’t be sad, mama. If you want, I will send him to army. Maybe
he will find out something for us. Yes, he will.”
A tear was shining on her sunken cheek.
*********
Word count 99
A post for Friday Fictioneers on a picture post.
