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Sue Spitulnik

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The Black Eye Warning

Emma Blossom patted Rainbow on her head, then on the butt, a little too hard. The cat thumped her tail and gave the child a black stare. Emma ran to the kitchen, tugged on Tessa’s pants, “Gramma, Rainbow’s eyes turned black.”

Tessa looked at Emma. “Rainbow’s eyes turn black when she’s excited or angry. What were you doing?”

“Just pettin’ her.”

“Were you being rough?”

“Noooo.”

“Let’s go see.”  Emma repeated her movements, too young to falsify.

Rainbow lifted her head, eyes turning black. She jumped off the couch and ran.

“Emma, Rainbow likes pets, not smacks.”

“OK, Gramma.”

Written in response to Charli Mills April 17, 2023, prompt at Carrot Ranch Literary: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story of something/someone dark-eyed. What could be a dark-eyed situation? Or is it a dark-eyed beauty? A dark-eyed junco? Maybe it’s a futuristic piece of technology. Go where the prompt leads!

2

Off the Grid – Parts 2 and 3

The policemen, still in the car, looked at the growling dog. “You mind leashing that.”

“Beast. Heal.” The dog ran to the man and sat, quiet. “Stay.”

The police got out of the car. One said, “Are you a veteran?”

“Yup. One tour in Iraq and two in Afghanistan.”

“How about the dog?”

“Yup. Now he’s a stud to my ex- old-lady’s bitch. I take the pups I think are trainable, and she sells the rest.”  

“You have any visitors we might be interested in meeting?”

“At first.” He whistled one note. Three more dogs charged out of the RV.

***

The policemen flinched.

The veteran held his hand to his side, palm facing Beast. The three other dogs stopped short and sat behind Beast. “Folks don’t like my pack.”

“I can see why. Do you have permission to be here?”

“Yup. It’s my ex-in-laws property.”

“Can we look inside?”

“Nothin’ to hide. ” He added, “Beast. Down.” His dog and the three trainees hunched down.

One policeman went into the RV and soon came back out. “Looks good.”

The veteran smiled. “I could donate one of the pups to ya.”

“You would?”

“We’re on the same side, guys.”

3

Off the Grid

The policeman watching a monitor said, “Look at this.” The others gathered around.

A drone was crisscrossing a square mile of desert, and a large RV was visible in the southeast quadrant. They zoomed in on it. “Could it be the meth lab we’ve been searching for?”

“Don’t think so. There’s a word on the RV roof. Looks like VETERAN.”

“Who’s wants t’go’ for a ride?”

***

The police approached slowly. A dog ferociously announced their arrival. A man appeared with his hands outstretched. “Just me and my dog, existing. Don’t like people, guns, or drugs. Welcome to look around.”

Written in response to Charli Mills April 3, 2023, prompt at Carrot Ranch Literary: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a dog in the desert. Why is the dog there? Who else is involved? Is there a deeper metaphor you can make for the desert? Go where the prompt leads!

4

The North Cohocton-Atlanta School House

The  two-story combined-class schoolhouse

Stood from 1874 to 1969

The halls were boisterous until 1960

Then it was empty until torn down

My sisters attended there

But alas I was too young

I never had the teachers they adored

I only got to know the playground

That survived a few more years

The merry-go-round was twirled

The swings could be pumped high

The teeter-totter squeaked on

The ball diamonds were used

The tennis courts too

The teens gathered

Out of our mothers’ view

Finally, the implements removed

The playground became a field of grass

Where my memories are ghosts

This true story was written in response to Charli Mills March 13, 2023, prompt from Carrot Ranch Literary: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a place where children once played. It can be a field, a playground, or any place that attracted children to play. But now it is empty. Abandoned. Go where the prompt leads!

11

Create With Words

   The town fair invitation said all artists welcome. Come for the day with your wares, show off what you can do, teach by example, and leave others remembering your creativity.

    The potter came with her wheel and clay. A carver came with a piece of wood. A painter arrived. A jewelry maker and leather tooler set up. They all had the specialty tools only they needed. There were others.

    The literary artist brought a pen and notebook. She took notes while talking to each person as they worked. Later, with words, she described everything that had aroused her senses.

Written in response to Charli Mills February 20, 2023, prompt at Carrot Ranch Literary: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about what it means to be a literary artist. You can pull from your own experience, re-imagine the idea, or embody something else in a character. Be playful, go deep, and let your story flow. Go where the prompt leads!

2

The Maple Tree Speaks

I love you, Mother Nature, for you nurture me. You give me sunshine and enough raindrops so I can thrive. I happily talk to my family via an underground synapses system. My bare branches grow leaves in the spring so birds, bugs, and critters can make homes in me, and I can shade the humans who sit on the ground under me. My life cycle allows my green leaves to turn beautiful colors and float to the ground when the summer air chills. I can even withstand the storms of winter. I wish you could protect me from chainsaws.

Written in response to Charli Mills February 6, 2023, prompt at Carrot Ranch Literary: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story as a love letter to nature. You could reach back to more pastoral times of writing or enter into the future. Who is writing the letter — an ant or an aunt? Is it a lifetime of love or eons? Go where the prompt leads!

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