Prompt:
It has been quite an exciting day so far, but now you're exhausted. However, you decide on walking home because it's nice outside. A few paces down the street, it starts pouring rain. You run to the nearest bus stop for cover. There is only one other man waiting for the bus. He is standing perfectly still, and you can't quite make out his face from here. Only one question enters your mind: Who is that man?
Feel free to take this prompt wherever you like! Anything can happen, so long as you write it! Who is this man? Is he nice? Is he your neighbor? Is he rude? Is he weird? What does he look like? Does he talk to you? Does he follow you onto the bus? What happens? Link or write your stories in the comments. To comment from the main blog, make sure you click the title of this post - that should take you to a new page where you can comment.
Recently I've been listening a lot to the Welcome to Night Vale Podcast. To be honest, the man in the tan jacket was my inspiration for this prompt. More about Night Vale here, if you're interested.
-Johanna :)
Who is that man? I wonder as I watch him stand perfectly still. He doesn't even seem affected by the rain, so I'm worried that he may be some sort of evil being. There's no way that anyone human could remain so unnerved by buckets of water pouring down on them, and this man shouldn't be an exception. And yet... there he stands, without any signs of liveliness.
ReplyDelete"Excuse me, sir," I say, seeing if he'll respond to my voice. Nothing.
"Sir?" I begin poking him, hoping that I can obtain some reaction. However, it's impossible to know whether his facial expression is changing, as his entire head is obscured by the large fedora resting atop it.
I decide that in order to identify this man, I need to be able to see him clearly. So, I take a step forward and turn my head so I can see his face.
I almost jump back in fright when I see the front of the man's head. His face is horrifying... or should I say, his lack of a face. He has no features whatsoever. No eyes, mouth, or nose... just empty blankness.
It take a few seconds before I realize that this "man" isn't a demonic spirit after all... he's just a mannequin, dressed in the latest fashion. In my relief, I don't even stop to think about what a mannequin is doing out in the middle of the sidewalk. Instead, I notice that his plastic-like skin is dripping with rain and wonder how I didn't notice it before. How could I have mistook something so fake for something so real?
As the bus pulls up, I realize that these are all questions I can ponder once I'm safe and dry. So I step on the bus, pay my fare, and watch through the window as we leave the mannequin behind.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThere was a hideous typo, okay? In case you were wondering why I deleted my previous comment. Anyway, we need more people posting their stories! Honestly, it's kinda sad how devoid of life this blog is. Please submit more stories (I know everyone's busy, but try to manage it) because if not, you'll soon be hearing from the Sheriff's Secret Police. Thanks, and good luck writing.
DeleteWrite, write while you still have hands with which to write. Write...
Aside from myself and another fellow, one who wore a hoodie shadowing his face, the bus stop was deserted. Adjusting my umbrella, I pulled out my IPod, scrolling down my play-list until I hit a song at random. As Queen began blaring from the earbuds, I noticed that the fellow beside me did not have an umbrella. On closer inspection, I realized that the water droplets simply slid off him, as though intercepted by some thin force field that coated him like a bizarre skin.
ReplyDelete“Just waiting for the bus in the rain, huh?” I muttered, lowering Freddy Mercury's divine voice as I expected a response from the man. He simply bobbed his head once.
I shrugged and assumed the man just didn't want to talk since most people don't like to talk to strangers. Then again, I sometimes felt as though everyone was a stranger. But maybe that was just my excuse to not talk. Maybe that was just my excuse to cringe beneath my bed as I taped out the same message over and over again in the middle of the night, waiting, and hoping that someone would receive my plea for help, even though I'd never send it.
I continued to be lulled by the melodious sound of Queen, soon forgetting that the strange man stood next to me. However, I was soon yanked out of silently singing along to Another One Bites the Dust when I felt the man tap on my shoulder.
“Yes?” I asked politely, putting the song on pause. I stared into the black hole beneath his hood, but saw only infinite inky darkness. The man spoke no words and simply stared at me, or at least, I assumed he did as I now had the odd feeling that he didn't really have eyes. I don't even think he had a face. A sense of dread began to creep over me as I could not tear my eyes away from the maw of his hood, shivers running down my spine as the void stared back at me. Millions of eyes stared back, an entire universe gazed upon my terrified face, the vast cold emptiness was not empty as I had initially thought, but inhabited.
Yes, I could feel it now. Beneath that hood dwelt billions of creatures, all different, but all hungry. The man inched forward ever so slightly, until I could hear him breathing. All the creatures that were him were breathing at the same time, slowly building up to a deafening growl. Rooted to the spot, I could only wait in terror as the creature of creatures approached me, possibly to devour me and add me to his collection of monsters. The man pulled down his hood...
“Hey, I just wanted to tell you that Totoro thinks your shirt is cool,” said the man, who turned out to actually be a teenage girl, inflated due to her baggy clothing.
“Oh, thank you,” I said. Another One Bites the Dust continued playing, though I had no recollection of unpausing it. Actually, judging by how the song had progressed, only five seconds had elapsed. I found that strange since I was certain that that could not be wrong, but Queen soon drowned out my worries.
“Here comes the bus,” said the teenage girl, pulling her hood back up and once again taking the appearance of a sinister man.
Sure enough, a bright yellow bus pulled up and a woman with frizzy red hair opened the doors.
“Afternoon, Ms. Frizzle,” said the girl.
“Afternoon. Will Totoro be coming on this adventure to see if mountains are real?” asked the woman, who was apparently named Ms. Frizzle.
“Yup, if that's okay. Can you see him?”
“Quite clearly, but I hope you did not scare the other young lady there by talking to Totoro. She probably can't see him.”
“Nah, she's been listening to music. She has no reason to be afraid,” laughed the girl, boarding the bus.
“Wrong bus,” I muttered to myself as the bus drove off, leaving me alone in the rain. But oh, how that girl was wrong. I had every reason to be afraid. Even now, alone in the rain and waiting for the right bus, I felt very afraid. I wasn't afraid for myself though, I was afraid for everyone else. They had every reason to be afraid. Luckily I didn't have time to dwell on my fear as the right bus finally pulled up, and I boarded.