Gazing at my watch convinced me to stay inside this morning. The temperature is below freezing, and the wind chill is in the teens. This is not a day to consider opening the front door. Getting settled with a hot cup of coffee and my trusty Apple, I was looking forward to a productive day of writing. That is when the sound of something hitting the roof caused me to jump.
The coffee was dripping behind me as I ran across the floor to the window. The cold of the glass caused my breath to fog the view. I couldn’t see what was lying in the driveway. Clearly, whatever it was had first impacted the roof and then come to rest out there.
There was no choice but to open the door and enter the deep freeze. Oh sure, I could have left the item laying there till spring, but what fun is there in that? Besides, not knowing what it is would make this a brief post.
Suitability outfitted with the latest winter gear, I undid the deadbolt and made one small step for knowledge. With the ice crunching under my feet, I arrived at the object. A quick investigation determined a box addressed to Wile E Coyote in care of my address. Feeling somewhat put out, I decided to simply leave the box where it was, and if Mr. Coyote wants to get it, he will need to swing by and pick it up.
Turning to go back inside, I heard a horn sound followed by the sound of a panic stop. Looking down, there was what appeared to be a drawing of a roadrunner with a printed page from an e-mail in its mouth. Taking the page, I could see it was a prompt from Linda Hill. Here’s what it said. Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “page.” Use it as a noun or a verb. Have fun! If you want to join in this fun, go to Linda’s blog and read how easy it is. Here’s the link. https://lindaghill.com/2022/02/04/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-5-2022/
The horn sounded again, and with a swishing sound, the bird was gone.
Page by John W. Howell © 2022
“Don’t you dare leave us hanging like that.”
“Like what?”
“We want to know what’s in the box.”
“Who are we? I only see you.”
“Never mind. What’s in the box?”
“I have no idea.”
“Come on. You are writing this trash. Tell me.”
“You saw where I walked away, right?”
“Yeah, but you must know what’s inside.”
“I didn’t open it.”
“Arrrgg. Okay then. Let me ask a question.”
“Shoot.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
“Your question?”
“Why would you bring in something that was supposed to be delivered to Wile E. Coyote yet shows up on your driveway.”
“Simple.”
“Uh, go ahead.”
“It sets up a story for the next time.”
“I get that, but why can’t we have the story now?”
“No time. I ran out of available words. In fact, folks are starting to hit “like” and move on even as we speak.”
“What, folks?”
“Fourth wall, folks. Right out there.”
“OMG. I never saw them before.”
“Behave then.”
“H-how do we get out of this mess?”
“We get on the same page. You offer to buy the beer, and we exit stage left.”
“I’m buying.”
“Let’s go.”
“Don’t we need to do the soft shoe or anything?”
“You can if you wish.”
“No, let’s just go.”
“After you, my man. Page the bartender and tell her to set ’em up.”
“Page?”
“Never mind, I was just taking another kick at the prompt.”
