Hi guys! Today, my sister M and I are making stories for three three word prompts, and at the end, you get to decide which you like better. I’m really excited for this. We have very different writing styles, and it’ll be interesting to see the differences between the two. We got the prompts from a random three word prompt generator so it’s unbiased. My stories will be in normal font, and hers will be italicized.
Prompt #1: Hope, lion, table
Attachments
It had stood the test of time. Throughout generations, the lion statue sat on the small table in the corner. Though this could not be true, it was said that the stoic lion’s expressions changed depending on its mood.
There was only one who believed in the lion. She had been told stories of it’s former glory, and had placed her hope in the stone figure. Taking him as her friend and confidante, she whispered stories to him, lingering in the corner to sit in their shared silence.
As the years went on, the girl no longer visited her friend. Instead, the lion watched with a creased brow as arguments took place. The girl often escaped to her room in solace, abandoning the lion, and subsequently, her hope.
The people left, packing up their belongings in a flurry of tears and anger. Finally, the girl remembered her once close friend and shoved him in a box, alone.
There he sat, as years and years went by. He traveled from house to house, until finally, he was remembered. The girl, a woman now, eased him out of the box, eyes glistening with tears as her memories flashed back.
Slowly, she reached over and passed him to the child beside her. The child immediately latched onto him, pouring her hope into him as her mother once had, claiming him as her friend as the lion smiled back.
M’s story:
The senior lion at the Metropolitan Zoo lay on the operation table.
“Is he going to die?!” asked the zoo manager worriedly. “He’s our signature animal here. One of the oldest lions we’ve had!”
“There is hope for him yet,” the zoo veterinarian said calmly. “Though it is rare for a lion of his age to survive this illness. As you said, he is our oldest yet.”
“Ohhhh.” the manager heaved a withering sigh as the vet said this.
“All we can do now is wait,” the vet led the manager to the chairs at the side of the room. An hour went by. Two hours. Three. Then five. By this time the manager fell asleep, as did the vet.
Then, a groan sounded in the soundless room. The old lion rose from the table, wearily leapt down, and nudged the legs of the humans. Waking with a start, both humans let out a cry of relief.
“It’s a miracle! A pure miracle!” the vet shouted happily. The manager just stood there, a smile on his face, speechless.
The senior lion had done it again.
Prompt #2: Patience, fox, explosion
Open Your Eyes
The fox smirked, staring at the progress of the plan that took many years of patience to bring to life. The workers never knew he was there, though he was the mastermind behind the whole operation.
No one knew who he was, or that he had anything to do with the vengeful plot. He left notes, sending money and instructions to the workers. They didn’t know what their work was being used for, otherwise they wouldn’t have done it.
Waiting in a silent alley nearby, he watched as the final pieces were put together.
“Three, two, one.”
The world exploded in a shower of color, painting the sky in vibrant colors, rejuvenating everything in sight. Panic ensued as everyone thought it was a bomb. Stilling, they looked around them in amazement, realizing that the explosion had opened their eyes to the wonder of the world.
The fox slinked away, smiling as his work was done.
M’s story:
There was a fox. There was an accident. There was an explosion.
A fox was hunting for food when he came to a mining site. Curious, he wandered closer and went underground. There, the fox saw a hoard of humans running towards him, making loud annoying human noises. Ugh, so loud. Haven’t they ever heard of peace and quiet? The fox thought, scoffing. Obnoxious humans.
After they ran past him, the fox wandered toward the place they were running from. He went into an offshoot of the tunnel and saw a pile of something with fire on the ends. There was something suspicious about it so he started to back away.
Soon, there was a huge boom and the fox yelped with fear, the tunnel collapsing all around and on him, pinning him to the ground.
***
“Be patient. If you rush you’ll just set us all back,” the commander of the crew of fifteen men spoke to them, annoyed. One of the men had removed a rock only for more to fall into the hole he had just made.
A few hours later they had removed all the rocks and started to remove their equipment. With it was a fox, unconscious and bleeding.
“Quick! Get it to the vet! I think there’s one only15 minutes away. Hurry!” The commander ordered some of the men to take the fox to the van and then to the vet’s office.
Thankfully, the fox healed but was left with a permanent limp in his left hind leg. And PTSD.
Prompt #3: Sacrifice, computer, attic
Stronger
“Here he is.” I said the words calmly, with a lethal edge to my voice, seemingly impassive. I dropped the body down, releasing myself of his weight.
“It’s him or the computer.” The figure stated, vile intents visible in their wicked voice.
“Give me the computer.”
Their eyes widened, shocked at my choice. They thought I’d go for him just because he’s my friend. The computer is too important to be lost. If I let them win, they’d have the ability to ruin the world, all from this dingy attic.
This attic, where I had once met my benefactor. Where I had first met him. Where we had grown up in peace until they marked me with a vendetta.
Many years ago, I sat in the drafty attic in the middle of winter, shivering. I was being watched. I could feel it. The viewer looked at me, realizing how much I had aged being in such desolate conditions. Hidden in the shadows, they thought “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” as they stepped into the light.
Everything started then. I grew up and became what I am today, for better or for worse. Now it’s time to forget. It’s time to change my past, and beat them for once and for all. Not just that, but to conquer myself as well.
M’s story:
“You will have to make a sacrifice, Elijah Byrd. It is the computer or your life.”
Elijah rolled his eyes. “Come on, dude. This game sounds stupid, not fun. It’s so unrealistic, and I hate that kind of stuff.” He crossed his arms and half-glared at the figure across from him.
They could be a boy or a girl with their shaggy hair and black ski mask and matching whole bodysuit. But they had a reason for this: they had scars on their face so they hid it; they were training for some kind of fighting which explains the whole bodysuit.
He saw them for the first time at the school playground all alone. Pitying them, he invited them over after school.
At his house, the figure said they had made up a game. They would set up an obstacle course in Elijah’s attic and at the end there would be a table to put his computer on. If he didn’t get to the table within seven minutes, the attic would swallow him whole. Currently the stranger was trying to convince Elijah to go through with it.
“What part do you have in this game?” Elijah was curious.
“Na, don’t worry ‘bout that. It’ll be enough fun watching you struggle through the obstacle course. It’s fine.”
Finally Elijah gave in, got his computer, and started through the obstacle course with the stranger watching. He got through the obstacle course and begrudgingly put the computer on the table.
“Alright, you happy? What’s my time?” Elijah was itching to get his computer back.
“Didn’t I tell you? You have to get back to the beginning too,” the figure smirked. “Time’s a-ticking.”
Groaning, Elijah started jogging through the course again, this time without his computer. Finally making it to the end, he exclaimed, “Done!” and turned around.
But the figure was not there. They were long gone. And so was the computer with all the criminal records and connections. You see, Elijah Byrd was a hacker working for the government even though he was just in middle school. And now he was in big trouble.
Book Bliss 