Welcome to the fifteeth edition of Friday Night Write!
This week's song was chosen by pensmith J.B. Lacaden. 
The Challenge
- 1 Song
- 60 Hours
- 500 Words
The Basics
- New prompt posts at 12 pm pacific on Friday
- Listen to the songs HERE.
- Let one of them stir up a story
- Post your story (or story link) in the comment box below
- Submissions open Friday @ noon EST and close Sunday @ midnight EST
The Details
- The music is merely the catalyst for your muse.
- The story does not have to contain any reference to the song.
- The story you create is entirely your own and Sweet Banana Ink makes no claim to it.
- You are encouraged to post your story on your own blog as well as posting in our comments box.
NOTE: We are currently running amuck without a judge and writing just for the fun of it!!
Questions? Give us a holler via email (sweetbananaink@gmail.com) or twitter (@bullishink). We look forward to writing alongside you this weekend! Can’t wait to see what stories are stirred up!
Alone Again Naturally
El rolled over, looking at the bedside clock wearily. She wasn’t surprised she’d been asleep scarcely an hour. She never seemed to sleep very well in Johnny’s lumpy rectory bed. While he might have committed to a life of deprivation, she certainly hadn’t.
She arose, trying not to wake him. Fumbling in her bag, she located the crumpled pack of Mayfair’s and her matches. She was just lighting up when he spoke.
“El, how many times have I asked you not to smoke in here? I’ve meetings with the bishopric this week and it wouldn’t do to have my home smelling of cigarettes.”
With a derisive snort, she rounded on him, “John Francis Xavier McKenzie! We’ve been having it off like crazed bunnies every Friday night for a year and you take affront at a bit of smoke?! Buy a sodding can of Oust and be done with it!”
Sighing deeply, he sat up, “Eleanor, must you use such coarse language? You know how unaccountably….fond I am of you. Though loneliness has led me to compromise my vows, I am, still and all, a priest. I must conform to the tenets of my faith, as best I can, or lose all I am. You must understand that by now.” His expression bespoke unassailable sadness and he couldn’t meet her gaze.
“You’re “unaccountably fond” of me, is it? I wasn’t aware rogering a woman so roundly she walks odd the next day was characterized so. I’m ever so pleased you are “unaccountably fond” of me.” Her contempt hung palpable in the air.
His voice broke as he looked up, “Eleanor…El…we can’t go on like this. My foolishness places us both in peril of eternal damnation. We must make a clean break before the burden of our sins grows too great to ever undo.”
It was her turn to tear up then. “Johnny…you know you’re the only person in this world shows me any attention…any…love. What shall I do? Back to watching my mates go off to their suburban palaces while I die a little more inside each day? And you? Back to nights of darning socks and writing sermons no one even listens to? I can’t…don’t ask me…”
“El, it’s what we must do….all we CAN do. I shall miss our time together but it simply must end…here…now…tonight.”
Without another word, she dressed and walked through the silent church to the side door. “When you see me next, Johnny, remember it was your doing…not mine.” He watched as she vanished into the darkness, nearly calling her back but unable to do so.
Rising from the graveside, Father McKenzie closed his prayer book. El hadn’t been exaggerating her lack of support. Not a single mourner had appeared for the service. Though the investigators stated all evidence indicated Ms. Eleanor Rigby had accidentally drowned that night, he returned to the rectory and sat alone with the sure and certain knowledge, had his soul not been forever damned before, it most definitely was now.
500 words @klingorengi
I should have screamed, “Don’t touch me!” I should have pushed her away. I should followed through on my threat to never talk with her again. I should have listened to the voice in my head that screamed, “She’s dangerous!”
Hell, I told her that. When I decided to talk with her again. “Do you have any idea how dangerous to me you are?” She laughed that unforgettable laugh of hers. And I felt so stupid. So silly. At the thought that she could be dangerous.
Damn her, and her smile, like the sun on a summer day. I had no defense against that. Damn her and her deep blue eyes. Filled with a simply joy at just being alive. Like a moth to a flame. A deer caught in her headlights.
I should have stayed alone, kept my distance. Everything had been safe. Secure. Every day was the same. Every week. Everything centered around work. It was all I had. All I was. My family needed me to work. My wife depended on me to bring in my paycheck. We had bills to pay. College tuitions. Car payments. The house.
I was just a normal guy. Going to work every day. Doing the job. No dreams. No goals. Ignoring the world. Hell. I knew I was miserable. Isn’t everyone? The guys I worked with always said, “Yeah. The job sucks. But it pays the bills.” And, “You have to just suck it up. And do it. Even if you don’t like it.”
And then, she came along. And I stopped going to work for the paycheck. Going because she was there. And she was alive! Real! And I was that guy stuck in the desert, looking for water, just to stay alive. Seeking an oasis amid the sandstorms, and the endless dunes, and the scorching heat.
She was that oasis.
I never would have touched her if she hadn’t touched me. And I never did kiss her. Never would have either. I would have torn my heart out to keep her safe. To see her smile. To look into her eyes. To hear her laugh. Until she came along, I’d never realized how alone I’d become.
I can’t forget the day I got my Network+ Certification. Everyone was happy. Saying, “Congratulations!”, like they were supposed to. Not her. She smiled and looked at me with those deep blue eyes of her. And the next thing I knew, her arms were wrapped around my neck. And I’d wrapped mine around her in response.
She woke me up! And no matter how much I want to. How hard I try. How much people encourage me. I can’t go back. I can’t.
I can’t be normal again. I can’t be like everyone else again. I can’t be dead inside.
I should have listened to that voice in my head that screamed, “She’s dangerous!”
496 Words
@LurchMunster