“Fran, get over here.”  I grabbed Pete’s hand before his chubby fingers scooped more.  “Your son is playing in the kitty litter again!”

 He was heavier than expected.  Amazingly, he didn’t flinch or wiggle as I carried him, arm’s length, into the kitchen and plopped him onto a chair.  His grainy hands smoothed with two swipes of wet paper towel.  What was taking Fran so long?  I opened the cabinet underneath the sink while keeping an eye on Pete and dropped the paper towel in the waste basket.  No Fran yet.  I paced to the refrigerator and back again to the kitchen counter. 

Pete’s big eyes followed me.  “Don’t touch anything.”  I said as an afterthought.  I stared at him as I passed and wondered, what was going on in that head of his?  Those giant calf-like eyes glided left then right with my pacing.  His face showed no expression.  What could a little kid like that be thinking?  My mind journeyed back in time.

There it was.  The sandbox.  I stopped pacing.  I saw it, unchanged by the years.  Exactly as it looked back then, wooden cover and all. 

That sandbox lid opened memories.  The warmth of the sun back then and the color of my dress.  Pale pink.  I smiled, seeing in my mind, how my anklet socks curled at the top with a tiny pink line swirling the edges.

And I remembered the bottom porch step of the big white house on the corner.  How it gleamed white and its wonderful warmth in the afternoon sun.  I remembered the sound of my mother’s soft knocks at the screen door and I saw a hazy face of my first friend. 

“This is Karli,” my mother had told me, pulling gently at my wrist, lifting my arm and tugging all the way to my socket until I’d stood.  Her fingers guided my shoulders toward the girl who’d clattered down the steps.  “Why don’t you and Karli play in the yard?”

I’d stared at Karli.  Probably in the same way Pete was staring now, at me. 

Like little homing pigeons Karli and I headed to the swing-set where we swooped back and forth through the air and touched our toes to the sky.  Dizzy, from our game of who could kick a cloud, I collapsed, not having kicked one cloud, exhausted, onto the wooden cover of the sandbox.  Karli plunked next to me.  We giggled in long spurts, swatted passing flies, and chattered about what next to play. 

I returned to the swings and the top of that sandbox every day for over a week.

Then, one bright afternoon, I rounded the corner of Karli’s house and headed toward the swings.  I jerked to a stop at the same time my mouth gaped open.  Against a backdrop of crystalline sky and sparkling noontime sun the sandbox lay open.  Its wooden lid had been tilted against the swing-set’s dark blue poles and not four feet away, inside the sandbox, was the most glistening, magical mound of white I’d ever seen.  Not even Cinderella’s gown glittered with such brilliance.

I sifted white sand in my hands.  Light bounced from its tiny pebbles.  It flowed through my fingers with soft silky sensations against the skin.  My eyes closed.  I breathed in the scent of sun and smiled. My shoes slipped off with a quick kick on each heel and soon my toes dug deep into cooler sand below.  It was glorious.  I didn’t join Karli on the swings that day.  I didn’t come up with a single idea of what to play.  I didn’t budge.

As I lay in bed that night I imagined its white ghostly beauty under the moon.  I dreamt of that sand. 

I rushed back to Karli’s yard the next day, legs spinning like The Roadrunner in Saturday morning cartoons.  But the dream was gone, the lid back on. 

For days I begged Karli, please, have someone lift the cover off the sandbox. 

And then, one day, again there was white sand glinting with sunshine!  I sank into its softness, scooping warm sand, and poured glittery handfuls over my knees.  Karli balanced on the sandbox and slapped at her legs.

“There's too many flies out today,” Karli said, kicking at another one. I happily sifted shining sand.

Strange, how clear it is in my mind, even now.  The blue of the sky, the billowy white of passing clouds, the smell of sun on grass and the buzzing sound of unseen things, the worn wood creak of the sandbox, the light against pearled sand, and the unblemished bounce of my young heart.

“I know what to play,” Karli had said after a long silence.  “We’ll take turns skipping around the sandbox and when a fly comes by we have to throw sand at it.  That’s the rule.”

It sounded fun.  And we stayed at the sandbox.

“I’ll go first,” Karli said, cupping sand.  She skipped around twice before a grainy blast hit my shoulder. 

I shrieked to my feet.  “Did you get it?”  She clapped yes with her hands.

Karli settled like a cat on a cushion into the white mound.  Legs tucked under she laid her palms flat on the sand.  We both giggled as I skipped.  I couldn’t believe my luck!  A fat low-flying suspect showed up. The biggest fly I’d ever seen.  It hovered in front of Karli.  I had to be fast so I flung the white sand as hard as I could throw.

Karli covered her face and wailed.  Cries hiccupped out of her.

“But, the rule was…”  I was confused.  I’d hit the fly.

Karli screeched for her mom.

 .

“What’s happened?  Is anything wrong?”  It startled me for a moment to see Fran in front of me, leaning in close to my face. 

I quickly turned to wipe the corner of my eye. “Oh, hi, Fran - no.  Nothing.  Feels like sand in my eye.”

Fran lifted Pete off the chair.  “Sweetie, get a toy to play with in the car.”

When he returned Fran lifted the toy from Pete’s hand.

“Oh dear, where’s his head?” she smiled and held up a headless action figure.  “We’ll glue it back on later, okay sweetie?” she said, placing the toy on the counter.  “They sure don’t make things like they used to,” Fran laughed and shook her head.  “That’s the third one this week.”  She patted Pete on the back.  “Go on, honey, pick another one.”

I felt a sudden tinge of sadness. 

Not for me.  I never saw Karli again.  Or that beautiful sand.  I’d figured out, years later, that her mother wouldn’t let her play with me again.  But that wasn’t it. 

I felt sad for Pete.  For his memories.  Would they be of headless molded-plastic monster chunks and a white tiled kitchen?  In Pete’s world there was no back yard.  The sun came in only through a window and his version of a sandbox was piled high with kitty litter. 

Pete ran back to Fran with a purple and orange faced monster peeking out from folded fingers.   A cat slunk into the kitchen behind him.  It sauntered to a spot of sunlight on the tiled floor and settled back on its haunches with a wide yawn.

I felt better somehow.  At least Pete had a playmate.  It was a beautiful cat.  Velvety black except for a spot of white on its nose and splashes over every paw.   It watched from a distance.

“Let’s go,” Fran said, scooping up Pete in her arms.  “Ugh!  You’re getting so big!” She kissed his face.  “They don’t make little boys like they used to!” 

We stepped into the apartment building’s hallway and I mentioned we should stop at the park before going to the mall.  Fran nodded agreement and turned to close the door.  Pete struggled in her arms and pointed to the kitchen.

“Snowshoes!” he cried out. 

“No, honey, the cat stays behind.”

RATE THIS BRANCH!

Author guidance for This exercise

Since this challenging other authors business seems to be working so well, I thought I’d start another one. But this one is for short stories or scenes. Or, for the sake of a better title, story fragments.

They can be as conclusive or inconclusive as you like. It might be a complete short story in itself, or feel more like an important page torn out of a novel. It’s up to you! Oh, and you can write in any genera.

Basically, you title the branches following yours, first with the name of the author you want to write them, then the first sentence of the story fragment they are going to write.

ADDED NOTE: Look, if you have to write 2 sentences, go ahead and make it two sentences... I'm getting tired of comma splices. *grin*

ANOTHER NOTE: I just did some spring cleaning and got rid of all the stories that have been done from my list of challenges. Hope that helps.

Please try to make your sentence interesting… but I guess I shouldn’t be stating the obvious. Like in the poetry battle, I encourage you to include one branch that is for anyone to write… but it is not necessary.

-FogCat-

Challenges:
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19857
Kevichella
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19885
Savetheunicorns
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19890
Miki-deMillion
Moonwalker
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19941
Wyattaapr
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19949
Uselessness
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19913
anyone - I love protagonize..
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19856
The Mist
_______________________________
http://protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19984
BARomero
Raindance
_______________________________
http://protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20044
Tasha Noble
olius_brightwell
_______________________________
http://protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19964
Uselessness
anyone - America is useless.
_______________________________
http://protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20067
theinbetweenspace
Ridculy_Calvert
_______________________________
http://protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19959
Redhat
anyone - And so the nasal, So-Cal Blonde's voice intoned from behind me: "Jake Gyllenhaal. He really looks great. He's ripped... and then there's Matthew McConaughey..."
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20045
anyone - I floated and flew jubilantly in the sky; the breath of autumn whispering to me with every whipping twist and turn. -LairdTom

anyone - Isn’t the prospect of self discovery so grand and teeming with intricate possibilities?
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20075
anyone - "But it just tastes so wonderful," she said, obviously confused at my disgust.

anyone - I used to love looking at roses, but after that day I just cannot bear them.
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20005
jacobite30
slightlyodd
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19985
Eloosive
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20006
anyone - "It's not a tree it's, like, my soul."
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20186
anyone - I'd never killed anyone before, so I wasn't prepared for the force of emotion that came over me as he dropped to the ground. - done by bluejay

anyone - "Well, promises are meant to be broken," she said with a smile that did not quite reach her eyes. -SaveTheUnicorns
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19948
anyone - "What do you mean, you don't like the name JohnPaul George Ringo De Luca?"
THX0477 -done
ElshaHawk
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20284
Jait
Olius Brightwel
anyone - Frankly, I still don't understand where she found a badger this time of night, let alone how she coaxed it into a Teletubbies costume.
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20181
TheRiverTalker
CheshireGrin
anyone - "The key could not be used..."
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19995
DarkliquidTomu86
anyone - He was faced with a choice: get on the train back to Darwin, or jump in front of it. It wasn't that hard a decision to make. He jumped.
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19977
anyone - But at least now I knew that no tear had been shed in vain to reveal a promising rainbow.

anyone - I'm just your typical teenage girl who believes that unicorns are real. -done by Rewrite
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20285
ChackaTreatmentFOOL
anyone - "I wouldn't be so angry if you had gotten here quicker!"
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20330
DriudX
anyone
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20188
Moonwalker
anyone - Spring had come, at last, to pluto.
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20079
Seldom
Anyone - What do you think it will like better. Cat food, or dog food?
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19891
anyone - Mike stood proudly in the doorway - he knew he made that tutu look good.

anyone - I woke up in a muddy field, wondering how I got there.
_______________________________
http://protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20383
anyone - The wind rippled over the sill surface of the ocean and the scene faded.

anyone - And so I stayed up all night because I was afraid of what would happen if I fell asleep.
_______________________________
http://protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20187
anyone - I wasn't sure how to react - I'd never been robbed by a mime before.

anyone - Martin the monkey ate his banana and plotted the zookeepers demise.
_______________________________
http://protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20498
thebetweenspace
_______________________________
http://protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20588
anyone - of silence and other words

anyone - run kid run
_______________________________
http://protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20004
anyone - "They're everywhere," he whispered in awed admiration.' -done by fencepostsflying

anyone - Greatness doesn't come to those who wait, you have to take it for yourself.
_______________________________
http://protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19887
anyone - She bent over his ear whispered is it dead yet?

anyone - It happened in Vegas and wouldn't stay there.
_______________________________
http://protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20514
anyone - But I was told that I didn't need a Visa!

anyone - Let's pretend we're dead... No, lets make a lot of noise.. No, don't run! Wait for me!

anyone - You're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't.
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20499
anyone - She picked it up and shook it but the sound wouldn't go away.

anyone - He crossed the road just as a car came whistling around the corner.
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/19945
anyone - This wasn't the first time he'd accidentally walked into the women's bathroom.

anyone - Jack was the three-time limbo champion of Honolulu.
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20586
anyone - "Scream because it makes me smile."

anyone - "You call that a corpse!"

anyone - "Bring you your dead, it's lunch time!"
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20818
anyone - The trees swayed in the distance.

anyone - My cat rolled on his side and closed his eyes.

pensandfeathers
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20190
anyone - in spite of its odd beginning, the weekend with my parents went quite well.
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20052
anyone - Damned if you do, decapitated if you don't.

anyone - I'm not sorry.
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20625
anyone - "take a deep breath," Sandra stated.

anyone - She never expected what was going to happen next.
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20198
anyone - The truth is, I love and care about my teachers more than my friends.

anyone - What Elssie came, my whole life changed for forever.
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20304
anyone - "How far does the blanket of the sky outstreach, and how long does the earth keep turning?" the boy asked me.

anyone - "Well, I hate to break it to you, but we don't live in a handicap-accessible world," the man said icily.

anyone - "Have fun in the insane asylum, you crazy little lunatic!" the mean boys shouted after me.
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20132
anyone - People see what they want.

anyone - Everyday I wrote in that room, the cat's noises in the alley [were] my only company.
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20396
anyone - Oh goodness me, here has the time gone!

anyone - Sarah was drowning in a sea of read balloons. With a gasp of air, she started herself awake.
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20359
anyone - if you're not going to eat that would you mind passing it over here?
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20735
Tasha Noble
Ireneintheworld
anyone - "Setting fire to the curtains had not been Melvin's original goal."
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/21132
Emmyful
kwatz -done
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/21724
anyone - He had seven bullets in his back, knife wounds all over and a hatchet in his head. He was dead.
nickb
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20074
AnaCristina
CheshireGrin
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20134
anyone - I soon found I had entered the wrong taxi.

anyone - The surface of the lake began to bubbled and froth.
_______________________________
http://protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/21722
anyone - Quick, pass me that flowerpot, I feel sick.

anyone - I wouldn't do that if I were you, young man. You'll go blind.
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/21939
anyone - People over fifty shouldn't browse craigslist.

anyone - A cat jumped on my lap, which wouldn't have been unusual except I was flying a plane at the time.
_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20131
anyone - If THIS was what was in store from me, there was no way I was sticking around.

anyone - Callum cried himself to sleep that night, and every night following, for almost two weeks.

anyone - She wouldn't stop screaming and I couldn't understand why.

_______________________________
http://www.protagonize.com/story/story-fragment-challenge/20197
anyone - I saw this on TV once.

anyone - For a B movie actor, Brad thought very highly of himself.
_______________________________

updated Jul 28 '09 by FogCat