SC111-Has it really been a decade?

Time for Jenny Matlock's Saturday Centus.The prompt this week is: 'Has it really been a decade?'

Number of words: 100 plus the 6 words of the prompt. 106 total.  Style of writing: Any  Pictures: Any you want to share.


“Has it really been a decade?” he asked while brushing and braiding my long hair. I wondered why. I was thirteen. I knew what a decade was.

I didn’t remember Mama but Paul talked a lot about her. He asked me to call him Paul since Daddy made him feel so old. He would always laugh when he said that.

We moved around a lot but that was okay. “It’s just you and me, kid," Paul always said.

Learning a new phrase that morning, Age Progression, I stared at myself on the milk carton.

Then Paul asked, “Kitten, are you ready to play our little game?”

SC 110...A Writing Prompt

She married young and she married “up” as they call rising above your present condition. Her parents agreed. Instead of providing a dowry they were given one.

It was a whirlwind courtship.

Alone except for her new strange husband in a large mansion, everything most young girls dream about.

The nights were not what her mother had told her.

She found her solace outdoors and with the horses.

The husband was not pleased with her newly found distractions.

In bed he softly said, “You could have had it all.” His large hands closed tightly around her neck. Her last sight was insanity in his eyes.

Click the picture.

Join the fun with Jenny.

SC 106 Moon Madness

Jenny's prompt this week is: "Cream together butter and sugar..."

Number of words: 100 PLUS the five words of the prompt for a maximum word count of 105

Style of writing: Any
Pictures: As many as you like

The family curse…moon madness some called it or Wolf Time.  Name it what you want, it didn’t change.

Every generation one of us was affected by the moon.  Badly.  The curse did not leave us.  Each generation we waited to see who would hear the moon’s call.

Years ago the affected person would just be contained until the moon changed.  Our secret was kept.

Great Granny knew the magic of herbs so she discovered a combination that curbed the madness.

We use an old family recipe. Cream together butter and sugar, dried Wolfsbane, flour and eggs and bake.

During the full moon we eat cookies.

Jenny's Prompt

Ms Jenny at Saturday Centus offers us a writing prompt each week.  They are challenging.  Many weeks I have to dig deep.  This week was easy,  a hundred and five exactly.  I think I have mother issues.  Mother has been long gone but she is still with me, bless her heart.

The prompt this week is: "Why oh why oh why..."

Number of words: 100 PLUS the five words of the prompt for a maximum word count of 105
Style of writing: Query

I’ve never felt talented or special. There was always something wrong with everything I did. Didn’t you know how hard I tried? Did I ever come close to making you proud?

I suppose I should thank you for giving me this drive to always be better, ever striving to be the best at whatever I tried to do.

“No job is worth doing if you don’t do it right.” I’ve heard that a thousand times.

Now I am an obsessed adult still trying to please my mother. Mom, why oh why oh why could you never just once say, “Good job. I’m proud of you.”?

Jenny...

Jenny likes to play.  She gives us writing challenges each week.  Stop by and check out every one's take on this week's prompt.  I'm living the dream, man...

Here are the rules:  Number of words: 100 EXACTLY including the 5 words of the prompt.
Style of writing: Any so long as the total word count is EXACTLY 100 words
Pictures: As many extra pictures as you like.  Link back to Jenny at Saturday Centus.

The regular restrictions apply: PG, no splitting of the prompt, play nicely and visit the other entries, any style or genre of writing you prefer.

The cows are out, the fence is down, something pulled the hair out of a cow’s tail.  The mower won’t start and the grass is growing high where the cows don’t eat.  The hungry ticks are out and the wasps are flying.  The chickens pooped on the porch again and the pup has gathered things to chew. 

The spring water is sweet and I still live free.  The rain has renewed the rooted things and cleared the air.  No matter how much work there is, things always seem to balance out here At The Farm.

I’m living the dream, man.

Saturday Centus...

The prompt this week is:  It was only ninety-eight cents...

Number of words: 98 EXACTLY including the 5 words of the prompt.
Style of writing: Any so long as the total word count is EXACTLY 98 words

I borrowed Ms Jenny's picture.

Saving up, she raked Mrs. Abernathy’s yard for a quarter, walked Joe’s dogs for ten cents and picked bugs from the garden for a penny a piece only finding seventeen. She kept counting, hoping she’d earn enough.

Mr. Watson paid her twenty-six cents to weed his flowers.

It certainly was hard for a seven-year-old to find work. On her last day, she washed a car for twenty cents.

Rushing to the store the porcelain figurine remained, a gift for Mom. Money was counted. It was only ninty-eight cents. The shop keeper never mentioned the item was one dollar.

Saturday Centus...On Tuesday Night

The picture has absolutely nothing to do with Saturday Centus by Jenny Matlock.  Jenny likes to present a writing challenge each week and see what we can do with it.  I'm always more than a day late and a dollar short...but I get there.

This week's challenge was 106 words including the phrase "the chair dominated the small room".

THE CHAIR

The owner had died but the memories and the chair remained. How many times had we sat in that chair being punished for some indiscretion, for some faux pas, we had no clue we had committed?

With Mother gone, we had moved in. Why not? We’d paid our dues.

It was time to break the chain. This had gone on too long. The legacy of the chair must be stopped here…with us.

The chair dominated the small room and it beckoned with a promise of pain.

We remembered Mother smiling when she placed us there.  Instead of destroying the evil, smiling, we announced, “Time out!”

Autobiographical Saturday Centus On A Monday

Born, loved, married, loved and living.

Saturday Centus with Jenny Matlock, extremely challenging.  Your life in only six words!  I only think in sixes now. Thanks a lot, my dear Jenny!

I Remembered…Saturday Centus

Every week, we get a wonderful prompt from Jenny Matlock.  These stretch our imagination but limit our words.  It’s fun!  Stop by and enjoy some talented writers, counting those words.

This week’s prompt was “The wedding was at the firehouse” using 106 words…I made it!


Planning to get married since spring, the dry weather came.  That didn’t stop her dreaming of a beautiful wedding dress, flowers and walking down the great hall in her childhood church.

Something always seemed to get in the way, mostly fire.

The date was set, the plans laid.  Dressed to the nines, just one hour before the blessed event.  Tending to last minute details, the pagers went off!

The church was on fire!  Donning her turnouts, she and the rest of the volunteers fought the losing battle with the blaze.  The church was gone.

Never one to give up, the wedding was at the fire house.

Saturday Centus…A Day Late

The dark stranger entered the dance hall.
The silent, patient type, he waited.
Our eyes met, we looked away,
both interested, but too shy to act

His toes tapped to the R&B.
I swayed, where I stood,
in time to the waltz.
We could both feel the attraction.

The night moved on, as they always do.
We held moist glasses with cold drinks,
sneaking glimpses at one another
as we both avoided the dance floor.

Slowly he moved toward me and spoke,
”May I have this dance?”
Displaying his badge,
the mysterious stranger in my arms whispered,
“We both know where all the bodies are buried.”

I keep forgetting about these fun writing prompts at Saturday Centus.  Join the fun and the challenge.