Welcome to the Picture it & Write creative writing exercise. I invite 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 (please provide a translation). Anyone who wants to join in, is welcome. This photograph will be reblogged under Ermisenda on tumblr and added to the Picture it & Write gallery on Facebook and Pinterest.
Please continue to write however you’re inspired, but add a tag to the beginning of your post if there’s mature content in order to keep Picture it & Write an engaging event for all of our followers.
One Tree Hill Screenshot. Original image found on BuddyTV.
“Melissa! What happened? Are you ok?”
“No,” she sobbed. “Leave me, leave me, leave me.”
Liam felt up her legs for broken bones. Nothing looked twisted out at unnatural angles and there weren’t skid marks on the road. His original fear that she’d been hit by a car slowly abated but he couldn’t find any explanation as to why she was crumpled in the middle of the street.
“She’s dead,” Melissa whispered.
The words hardly registered as Liam scooped her up. Earbuds fell from Melissa’s ears and they could both here a female voice speaking in level tones.
Liam slid his arms under her and carried her to the grass by the road. “Melissa, talk to me. What happened? Are you ok? Who died?”
Melissa sobbed, “Rue. They killed her. Leave me so I can cry over the death of fictional characters.”
-Eliabeth Hawthorne
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Ermilia 
How many times can one fail at this? The rain bit into my clothes, but I barely felt it past the pain. A man sat hunched over me, but I tried to ignore him.
“Hey! Why did you jump in front of my truck? Can you hear me?”
His hands were warm on the sides of my face. I hope he didn’t mind my tears. I looked to the left where his truck had slid off the road. I guessed he was going to care more about that in a second.
Someone came to a stop. I had to go. I had to disappear before anyone came.
I tried to roll over, but he pinned my shoulders to the ground.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he said.
“Get your damn hands off me.” My heart rate accelerated. Well it was good to know I still had one.
“Oh my God, I know you, you’re the–”
“Shut up. Did you call the cops?”
“No-I-I—“
“I’ll pay you a grand if you get me outta here.”
“You need to go to the hospital.”
“Take me to another town, and I will double the amount.”
He looked me over. I could tell from his attire and his truck he needed the money.
“Do you feel any pain in your neck or back,” he asked.
“No, just my left arm—“
“Hey do you guys need help, Should I call the police,” asked a woman who from the car. She had yelled from the lowered window of a shiny Bentley.
“No, we already did,” he said.
“Oh okay, have a good night,” said the woman. What an idiot. Well in my favor thank God she was an Idiot.
“I’m going to pick you up.”
I gritted my teeth and nodded my head.
“Don’t think you can just buy me off,” he said as he gently raised me, “After the hospital you’re going to explain everything.”
We’ll see about that.
—-Thank you for the great pic, I’ve re-posted this to my blog and pinged back here? I really like you story. Is rue from the hunger games by chance?? –Katy
Great piece. It leaves a little mystery as to how she keeps failing. Three different movie references popped into my head as I was reading. That one with Will Smith, Heroes, and the one with the father from Numbers. Suddenly the names of the shows elude me.
And yes, Rue from The Hunger Games. :D. Can’t wait for the last movie, the books are definitely some of my favorites.
Pingback: Another Failed Attempt | My Fictional Truth
First of all, love your short. Ending is stupendous.
My entry:
Dan crouched in the pouring rain, water droplets dripping off his nose and down onto his girlfriend’s face. “Melissa?” he said, cupping her cheeks gently. “Are you all right? What happened?”
“I’m fine,” Melissa said. “I was just thirsty, so I thought I’d pop outside for a drink.”
“You were drinking the rain? But we have like three cases of water from Costco. They’re taking up half the pantry.”
“Oh. I forgot.”
Dan sighed and shook his head. “And in the future, if you feel the need to lie down and drink water directly from the sky, you might not want to lie in the middle of the–”
The last thing either of them heard was the squeal of wheels.
Thank you so much. I have been known to shed many tears over fictional deaths. Sobbed like a baby when Rue died.
Your piece is so sad! It came off as though she had alzheimer’s or something, but the picture breaks that illusion somewhat. Chills. Thanks for contributing.
A very powerful ending evoking sadness beyond measure~
I like the ending of your story that introduces this prompt Eliabeth ~ Definitely a writers ending 🙂
Haha, thanks John. I hope to be a good enough writer that people will cry over Blind Sight characters someday.
Pingback: Picture it and Write~ KITH and KIN | johnandmargaret1607
Here is my take on the prompt for this week ~
https://johnandmargaret1607.wordpress.com/2015/01/18/picture-it-and-write-kith-and-kin/
That’s a really sweet sentiment. I’m lucky to also have siblings who stand by my side always.
I loved your short this week. I’ve been known to cry over fictional characters myself.
Here is my contribution this week.
http://www.imaginings.tk/2015/01/seven.html
Very interesting! I like that you took it out of the box.
Pingback: Runaway | Next stop: The End.
The rain fell in blinding sheets as I gently placed my hands around her head, willing her to wake back up.
I knew it was hopeless however. The water turned pink with my wife’s blood while around me protesters ran off into the night. What made things worse was that the police line stood firm, not even bothering to enter pursuit, they thought there single volley was enough.
We had thought we were going to change the world, that our banners and righteousness would beat the state and their guns. But as I lay there, watching my reason for living’s life ebb away in my hands. I knew how powerless we truly were, that our ideals couldn’t stand a chance against them, and that no ideal, no movement mattered to me as much as the woman I had just lost.
Very interesting twist as well. I hate how violent peaceful protests seem to be getting these days.
Pingback: Forgive me | Millie Thom
It was not a night for driving, especially with the atmosphere in the Lexus like ice. Stephanie just sat there, her eyes following the sweep of the windscreen wipers as he told her about Marcelle.
He had desperately wanted her forgiveness, her understanding. It had been a one-night stand after all, not some long-lasting affair! A few too many drinks with the lads, some licentious talk. Then those girls had come in, all short skirts and plunging necklines . . .
‘But I love you,’ Jonathan stressed, catching the glint of her tears in the headlights of oncoming cars. Her continued silence, combined with the frenzied sweeping of the wipers, was fraying his nerves. As they neared the junction with the busy road, the winking indicator displayed his intention to turn right. At a slight break in the traffic, he pulled out.
He didn’t notice Stephanie unclipping her seat belt, or reaching for the door. The first thing he knew, she had flung herself out. A passing car hit her . . .
‘Forgive me,’ he sobbed as the paramedics headed towards them in the glare of overhead lights.
‘And . . . cut.’ The director’s voice boomed across the set. ‘Take twenty. Then we roll on the scene in the morgue.’
What a wonderful way to turn a dark piece into one less shattering to the readers. I would like to hope that there’s nothing that would make me that desperate.
Thank you Emilia. Yes, I think the ending would have been a bit grim without it!
Wow! What a great build-up to the clever double surprise endings~ The film take and then the sad fictional trip to the morgue~ Well written Millie~ 🙂
Thank you so much for liking it, John. I’m enjoying these challenges – they really make me think. I can understand why you do them now. Reading the different responses is interesting, too. They’re all so different.
Yes they can be addictive Millie but I agree they are very good for practise as you never know in advance what sort of prompt will come up~ I am very impressed with your efforts ~ Well done.
Thanks, John. Coming from someone who’s done a lot of them, that’s a nice compliment. I like the surprise prompts, too. Nothing can be prepared in advance, which makes you really apply yourself to the task when you see it. Keep well, both of you.
Glad you both are enjoying them! We look forward to reading all of the submissions each week. Even we don’t know what will speak to us on the day.