Tidbit Tales

minor musings, tiny tellings, and short story snippets on the daily.

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

Like the other #beleaguered villagers, she faced the #sombre reality of this war while shielding its horrors from little minds that could reframe it.

The bruises on the bodies were simply #blueberry stains. A #scathing remark from one of the soldiers was merely a joke.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

Her #desk was marred with grooves as her pen slashed over wayward papers. She couldn’t #draw quickly enough to keep pace with her racing thoughts.

In her mind, the #stage loomed larger, brighter under the #tight deadline. Frozen dancers awaited her vision to adorn them.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

A #dish of melted icecream sat half forgotten in her lap. Her #headphones barely muffled the music pulsing in the summer air.

From her #lawn chair, resting on the patch of grass covered by the sprinkler, she could #direct the neighbor boy’s mowing with a manicured wave.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

She had taken to the #highway with a full Coke, half tank of gas, and not one #goal in mind.

At some point, she passed a #windmill and old wagon. Later, the road ahead turned to cobblestone. As the sky grew darker, the landscape grew older, and she left her time behind.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

He watched the toddler spill her mom’s fresh #mocha all over the food #court table. As the sticky liquid puddled, he grabbed his mop and headed over.

The frantic woman was near tears, but the gratitude in her eyes made it feel less like a #chore and more like a service.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

Tripping over #gnarled roots, she pushed herself up and fought through the dense #bramble. Just one more #scrape, another #plop of blood in the dirt; she could take it.

She heard the #foreboding whinny of a #horse nearby; its rider searching for her with sightless eyes.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

The sunny afternoon was ideal for a lazy #bimble in the garden. When the gunshot tore through the summer air, it hung overhead like the echo of a #thunderclap.

It was #hubris thinking he’d be safe at home. The good luck slipped through his fingers like his life’s blood.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

@jamilynewriter thank you!

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

Her deft paws placed the apple #crumble on the #nettle tabletop. With a soft #twinkle, her lightning bug awoke as a neighbor arrived, an elderly frog who tended to leave a #gloop of algae on her daisy chairs.

She enjoyed the company more than a mouse liked a tidy house.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

Her power wavered, for a breath, on the #penultimate pirouette. Perhaps it was some #nonsense like regret over injuring her predecessor. Maybe the weight of her own vanity atop her #scrumptious sugar #plum tutu.

But the #ballerina steeled herself. She must be on pointe.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

Her husband’s droning throbbed #between her ears as she stumbled to the garden. His #psychoanalysis of her choices and thoughts was a sting without balm in her waking life.

As she opened the gate, the humming of her #bees rose up like a wave to muffle her buzzing brain.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

Pulling up her fur collar, the woman caught a whiff of granny’s perfume. Old finery let her #hobnob with the same aristocrats who had betrayed her house.

The memory made her #livid, but her closed smile was demure. Soon, she’d bare her new fangs and #eviscerate the lot.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

“#Jaanu, darling, dearest.” All terms of endearment are far too tame when he thinks of her. He ponders the truest way to #woo her, concocting grander declarations of fealty.

But his love is #mercurial. Her mood ever-changing as she tosses his vessel across her vastness.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

Three poodles waited at her feet, while #oodles of oddities spilled from an upended tote beside her. She hoped #maybe a few treats had not yet been reduced to crumbs at the bottom of the bag; no such luck.

Without rewards for good behavior, #shenanigans weren’t far off.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

She’d been plotting her #escape from the gated #community for weeks. Her children said her fears about the organized lifestyle were #premature misgivings.

A large “No Dead Ends Here!” sign was displayed at the gate. She found more threat in that #pun than her neighbors.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

Behind the wear of #termites and saltwater, the old manor had #personality. It wasn’t #fate, but the dried ink of a long-dead, distant relation’s will that summoned her.

Any warnings fell on #deaf ears. All her life, she’d sought family, even if they were #haunting her.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

The partially #damaged storefront remained the best-looking building on the block. Its owners were #resilient, patching the spiderweb cracks in the windows with bubblegum.

In the alley, some #punk redrew their street art, honoring last year’s #atrocity in the old mines.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

Clouds of old blood, like #brown jellyfish, muddied the deeper waters. The prince’s #rebellion had taken their world by storm, dragging every corner of the ocean into the dynasty dispute.

A lone rider pulled his giant #cephalopod to a halt, searching for any survivors.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

Amidst the crowd’s #cheers, she sought to find his voice. The parade moved at a pace that invited fleeting engagement without prolonged contact. She was not meant to #be too accessible.

A red #flower was thrown onto the dais; she grabbed it before the guard interceded.

#vss365

[Tidbit Tales @TidbitTales]

The #duality of the ocean felt stark in the afternoon. His arm dangled off the #raft, chilled by the bracing cold of the water, in contrast to the blistering sun.

Night brought relief from the heat with circling terrors of the dark. The prospect of death was #sweet now.

#vss365