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christmas, curse, fiction, life, music, photography, poetry, snowflake, spirit, stories, witch, writing
Before Picture it & write get’s underway, Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! Vrolijk Kerstfeest! メリークリスマス! We hope everyone is having a great time with their loved ones. (Oh and I tried to write a Christmas contribution… but I failed miserably. I hope our contributors will have a greater Christmas spirit than I.)
I urge people to join in, comment with your paragraph of fiction to accompany the image. It doesn’t have to follow my story or reflect the same themes. It can be a poem or in a different language (provide a translation please :)). Anyone who wants to join in, is welcome. This photograph has been reblogged under Ermisenda on tumblr.
The witch cackled into the frosty night. The cold air blew her hair in all directions. Her near-translucent locks flailed violently. The tentacles of her hair bit and stung her pale white face. She spat into the bubbling cauldron. If they wanted to banish her from these lands, these lands which belonged to her father, they would have to do a lot more than beat her. The stench of blood tickled her nose. Ancient phrases escaped her lips in a murmur. She dipped her fingers into the frothing mixture before marking her arms and face. A curse would plague this land. She watched as the last ingredient, a single snowflake, fell into the concoction. Something erupted from within the cauldron and the liquid cascaded down the hill, weaving between the pine trees, searching.
– Ermisenda Alvarez
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Ermilia 
I always said that nothing says Christmas like a bubbling cauldron and a curse spilled up on the land. 🙂
“The tentacles of her hair bit and stung her pale white face.” I liked the Medusa image this created a lot.
Merry Christmas to everyone here at Picture It and Write!
Christmas Eve got in the way a bit, but here’s The Quiet Flight Home.
Sorry for not replying to your story yet, I didn’t see the comment needed to be moderated. Silly me! I have never tried to write a six year old but I can tell that I would struggle, your portrayal of a child seems so effortless and authentic. The daydream Annie has was seamless, one moment I was reading about the plane and then it changed and I was like ‘wait, how did that happen?’ Awesome transition! The opening paragraph was also rather epic, I could imagine it being narrated in the movie version of your contribution. 😛 I feel sorry for Annie though, her mother seems so cold, colder than the snowflakes. 😛 A lovely read, Anne! Merry Christmas or Happy Holiday which is the new ‘politically correct’ thing to say for the non-religious (if you are). Oh… I’ll stop rambling.
Haha, I waited up for this! ♥ …like a kid on Christmas Eve. Can I say that?
Mama? Wait ’til you meet Flower Anne’s Daddy. Grr!
I accept all denominations of peace, love and joy. ¡Feliz Navidad!
Hehe, that’s so sweet. I was so excited to see the stories when I woke up! 😀 Ironically both here where I am in Spain it doesn’t snow even though it’s winter. And where I live in Australia it’s summer in December. I’ve never had a white, snowflake Christmas but I’ve always wanted to. I hope to spend a white one in the Netherlands with my partner one year.
Oh no, Anne’s dad is worse? Grr! He’s a grizzly bear??!! Hehe, *sends peace, love, joy and a slice of cake* I’m feeing generous. 😀
Haha, I immediately thought, “The cake is a lie!”
I’ve grown up with green Christmases too, but had a couple of occasions, once in New York and once in Michigan, to see it decked in snow. It’s as spectacular as all the pictures suggest. The Netherlands sounds awesome!
My RL dad is a jerk face. I never talk to him, so I don’t dream about him much anymore and therefore I don’t write characters based on him often. I will, but not during happy holidays!
Jerk faces do equal = Grr. Exactly, happy holidays are meant to be happy! Oh wow, New York. That sounds like a dream come true… I’ll have to try and spend one in New York one year or at least see it in snow. Most of my favourite television series are based in New York (Yay for Friends and How I Met Your Mother!) and I always love the Christmas episodes. All snuggled up. I’m convinced! *Books the flight tickets for next year* To hell with the Netherlands, here I come New York! Haha.
Haha, thanks. I’m glad you think so. I included pine trees and snowflakes. How much more Christmassy can I possibly get? 😛
Oo, fun!
“…and I just feel it all so much in my bones! I just know I’m special, don’t you think so?” He glanced over at her, beaming at him, assured of her beauty and power over the male persuasion. The longer he was silent, the more difficult it was for her to hold her charming smile and bat her eyelashes – he could see the crack in the painting, the miasma of fear and self-loathing floating like a crown of thorns.
“Yep.” he drawled after nearly a minute. “You’re a unique little snowflake.”
Haha, I could hear Sebastian’s voice, “You got to bot your eyes like dees!” I totally forgot about snowflakes being unique.
Hey, Kaitlin, this was great. I loved this image ‘he could see the crack in the painting, the miasma of fear and self-loathing floating like a crown of thorns’. The snowflake quote for the ending was perfect. Thanks for contributing and Merry Christmas!
“That filthy old crone thinks she can scatter us.” Albrecht let the hammer swing loosely down to his side. It clanked against the armored plates encasing his legs. “Like vermin…” He snapped his fingers. Like white moths to an unseen flame, snowflakes began to swirl about his hand, collecting in his palm. He gently blew at the pile which had come to rest, revealing a book bound in leather and bone. He thumbed through the pages, stopped, and started to hum. The ground trembled as steadily, from the snow around the small hamlet, a wall of light rose upward and arched overhead shielding the town in a bubble of bright blue opalescence. The folk behind him gripped tighter their improvised weaponry – picks and shovels.
And from the burnt down wreckage of the old barn, just inside the barrier, the cauldron-beast laughed. It was already here.
This has just the right feel for the other end of Ermi’s cauldron curse.
I agree with Anne. My favourite phrase was this ‘Like white moths to an unseen flame, snowflakes began to swirl about his hand, collecting in his palm.’ Stunning. You have a knack for creating rich descriptions that captivate. Thanks for contributing, Kyllan, and Merry Christmas!
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I got wild with this one: http://terri0729.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/would-her-revenge-befall-this-weeks-picture-it-write/ Hope you like 🙂 Merry Christmas!!! Peace, love and joy, Terri
Hey Terri! I liked how you took my contribution and developed the story further. I thought this was lovely – ‘As outside the snow/the dying ground did kiss’. The images you chose to accompany the text are stunning, where did you find them? Merry Christmas!
Thanks for the compliment and I got those images from dreamworlds.ru, they have some great stuff there – check it out. Merry Christmas!
“Every snowflake is a soul – a person.” she whispered, starring out into the night. We stood together, noses pressed against the glass, breathing clouds of condensation. “And with every flake that stacks against another, we are reminded what the world would look like if we’d all just get along.”
I snorted. “And what would that be?”
She looked away from the window, and gave me a tired smile. “Christmas.”
That’s so sweet and touching … and has this sad aura to it!
I’m with Eliza. That’s sweet and touching.
I also agree with Eliza. The sad aura makes the story more striking I think, poignant. The ending is great, it delivers the impact that the story needs. Your use of dialogue feels authentic which is great. Thanks for contributing and Merry Christmas!
Nice work, loving the depth 🙂
Snow, a hand laid insistently to silence the street, to make the world shapeless, to pick out the moving shapes of deer, each crystal unique, perfect, cruel.
I like the hand metaphor, like a sculptor frustrated with the clay. Very powerful in few words again.
Beautiful. The idea of snow as a hand to ‘insistently’ silence the street is fantastic. The use of listing at the end is also brilliant. Merry Christmas to you Kvennarad, may we keep receiving your great short pieces.
Done! http://masochisticqueen.wordpress.com/2011/12/25/__-picture-it-write-11/
Wow, this one was a bit spooky! Loved it! 😀 I liked how the snowflakes had an ominious feel to them in this story, like they were messengers of bad. This phrase was fantastic ‘The wind outside was howling haunting Christmas carols Jacinta couldn’t recognise’. You communicated Jacinta’s feeling of worry, anxiety and fear really well. I felt on edge while reading it too. Thanks for sharing this great story Eliza! Merry Christmas to you and I hope it’s a calm, peaceful and happy one. 😀
Ooh yeah! I liked the carols too! Tried to picture the winds howling Baby It’s Cold Outside.
The world trembling,
shaking like an earthquake
People look up in surprise,
Snowman holds on tight
to his broom.
Snow is falling in the lake.
childs eyes widened with hope,
and laughter fills the room.
As i set down, our little snowglobe.
Fire crackling and sparks fly without a sound
I wish you all a merry christmas, let’s make hope travel around.
Hey there, Otheus! What a great concept, a snowglobe! I loved the opening line ‘the world trembling’ and to finish the poem with ‘as I set down, our little snowglobe.’ I say yes to hope travelling! It has many people to inspire. Thanks for sharing your poem with us, vrolijk kerstmis! 😀
I like the crackling fire complementing the cold of the snow in the picture.
Like children we danced without care
Our faces turned up to the air
Whirling about
Tongues sticking out
To catch tiny snowflakes there
So cute! Adorable. Great work. 😀
“We wish you a merry Christmas…”
The carols waved in the air past me. The voices hung to me.
I could not bear it anymore. I quickened my pace. The dark forest welcomed me with its creepy trees and low branches. The song could not reach me there. I was then too far away from the town.
I suddenly wanted to run. And so I did. I flashed through the dense woods like lightning. I was too fast. I broke branches and plants and maybe even small animals along the way but I was not the least bit hurt.
I was way too strong.
I was a vampire.
And I was young… and dangerous.
I halted. Snowflakes shyly began to fall. I caught one on my hand. It did not melt. I was as cold as it was. Its crystals feebly shone and I watched, amazed, how such a small fragile thing could be so beautiful. If only I could be like this.
My hand violently crashed it as my fingers recoiled into a fist.
But I was not a snowflake.
Merry Christmas to you too! 🙂
Hehe! Once an evil nymph always an evil nymph! I like the role-reversal, so even though it’s dark, it’s dark beauty.
Lovely. I liked how you included the snowflake, it was clever and powerful. I also liked how you added that the snowflake didn’t melt because the vampire was as cold as the snowflake, I thought that was a nice touch. A haunting and, as Anne stated, darkly beautiful. Thanks for sharing, evilnymphstuff, it’s fantastic! Merry Christmas 😀
My first go 😀 http://febuary2011.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/796/
What a fantastic pick-me-up story. That was lovely. Thanks Tanitha for sharing it with us this week on Picture it & write! I love the metaphor of the world being rewritten, the character being rewritten as it snows through the cleansing process. Stunning.
I love the newness written into your first PIaW piece. I hope it really will be a new year!
Frostbite’s nip
Is not quite enough
To silence the footsteps
Of a traveler
Long forgotten,
Long awaited.
An unwelcoming land
Behind and ahead,
He hangs his head,
And sings away the chill.
The wind will bite,
And try as he might,
He will not escape,
He knows his plight,
But frostbite’s bite
Might not have the might
To stop the venture
Of a lonely believer,
Who follows a star
Home
This Christmas night.
—————————-
Its late, but Merry Christmas all! I love all you writers dearly, I look forward to the upcoming Sunday =)
Joe
It’s never late! Christmas spirit lasts all year round. 😀 I hope your having a great end to 2011. I loved the imagery of a frostbite not being able to ‘silence’ the travelers footsteps. Very nice. Thanks for submitting this contribution to Picture it & write!