“Found him!” cried Marco.

The search party had widened and widened their area, but no one expected him to be this far afield, or at the bottom of those overgrown stairs.

The old man studied Marco’s face. “You look so familiar,” he said.

“I’m your grandson,” Marco replied. “Marco. Jenny’s son.”

The old man just stared and shook his head. “How did I get here?” he finally asked.

Marco laughed. It was a friendly laugh, intended to put the old man at ease. “We were hoping you would tell us,” he said.

“Jenny,” the old man repeated, rolling the name around in his mind and occasionally repeating it. “Son, I don’t remember knowing any Jennys.”

“Jenny — your daughter, my mum!” he said. Then he added, “You always insisted on calling her Jennifer, remember?”

“Ah, Jennifer! Yes! She should be getting home from school any minute now,” he said, smiling.

He looking up the old tree-lined steps. “That’s a long set of steps. I don’t remember coming down them.”

Marco steadied the old man, slipping his arm under the man’s left arm and gripping his forearm. “Let’s find a place to sit for a minute,” he said, peering around the lower garden for a bench. “We’ll figure this out.”

“You look familiar,” said the old man.

“I’m Marco. Your grandson,” the younger replied.

“Grandson? I’m a grandfather?”

“I’m Jennifer’s son,” Marco replied.

“Jennifer should be getting home from school pretty soon,” the old man said. “How did I get here?”

---

This is my (late) submission for the Unicorn Challenge. The challenge is pretty simple — no more than 250 words, and use the photo as a prompt.

“I’m going to live there,” he said, jabbing his dirty finger at the picture in the book.

The castle in the picture loomed high above the city.

“Ach, wee laddie, that’s nae place we will ever live,” said his mother.

“Not we. Me!”

His mother looked at his ragged dirty clothes and shook her head sadly.

“Mama,” he said, “someday I’m going to walk right up there and –“

“Nae, wee laddie. Ye cannae!”

“But I will,” he insisted. “I’m going to walk right up to the big gate.”

“Ye ken there’s a gatekeeper? He will nae let ye in,” she said, trying to be gentle with her words, but realistic for her son.

“Ah, but he will Mama! I am sure!” he said, so earnestly that she felt her heart breaking as she looked into his face. “My hands and face will be clean! I will scrub them!”

“Aye, but yer clothes, wee laddie,” she said.

“My clothes will be new. I will work hard for them!”

“Aye, I ken you will, but –“

“Mama, listen. I will walk to the gate with clean hands, clean face, new clothes. The gatekeeper will look at me, and maybe he’ll growl.”

“Aye, he will most definitely growl.”

“‘State yer business,’ he’ll say.”

His mother nodded.

“I’ll smile up at him and say, ‘”‘Sir, my mama is the best cook in the land. She taught me how. I want to work in your kitchen.’ He’ll let me in.”

She hugged him and cried.

---

This is my response to the Unicorn Challenge: base the writing on the photo, no more than 250 words.

It feels slightly audacious to try to write a brogue I’ve only read. How’d I do?

“Damn! This manual is ridiculous!” Joe said. He said on the floor at the edge of the veranda, marking pages with his fingers while leafing further into the book.

“What are you looking for?” His neighbor Alex peered over at him

“My TIFU meter isn’t functioning. I’m trying to figure out how to reset it.” Joe replied without even an upward glance. “Damnation,” he muttered while continuing his search.

“Teefoo meter?” Alex puzzled. “What’s that?”

Joe’s head shot up. “What?! Don’t you have one? TIFU stands for This Is F….” His last words were drowned out by blaring car horn.

Alex blinked at him. Finally he said, “I’m sorry I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“This Is Fu…” A loud car drowned out the words this time.

Alex shook his head. “I still didn’t get that.”

“Damn,” muttered Joe. “When you wonder if the problem is you or the situation, you get the TIFU meter, turn it on, fit the wand in the upright holder so it can sense whatever, and the meter will read whether the situation is ….” More traffic noise. More car horns.

Alex asked, “Could you please say that one more time?”

“Fu–” Airplane. Bus horn. Fire whistle.

Alex watched Joe mouthing the words, probably shouting them, over and over, but there was too much noise.

Until there wasn’t.

“–CKED UP! THIS IS F–” Joe stopped his shouting. It was quiet momentarily.

Finally he said, “It’s situations like this that broke my meter.”

---

This is my response to the Unicorn Challenge. It’s a simple challenge: write no more that 250 words using the photo as a prompt.

One of my coworkers refered to his FU meter today. I looked at him, puzzled. He explained, without the niceties of street noise drowning him out.

“Damn thing is busted,” he said. “Either that or this situation is TOTALLY F–“

The front desk phone rang at that moment.

I was literally saved by the bell.

“What does domestic mean, Mom?”

“It has to do with home. Why do you ask?”

“See that sign? It says, ‘Domestic animals.’ So a domestic animal lives in a home? Don’t all animals have homes?”

“Yes, but a domestic animal lives in a people home.”

“Like a dog?”

“Yes.”

“Like a cat?”

“Yes.”

“Like a mouse?”

“Hmmm… well, that depends. If the mouse is a pet in a cage, I suppose it’s domestic, but if it’s living in the walls of the house and raiding out cereal cupboard, it’s not.”

“Do people put mouses on leashes?”

“Mice.”

“Do people put mice on leashes?”

“I’ve never seen that, but people do a lot of strange things.”

“Why can’t domestic animals go on the beach?”

“Probably because they might ‘go’ on the beach. You know, poop or something.”

“A wild animal might do that, too. I betcha wild animals DO do it.”

“Yup.”

“So if I caught a mouse that lived in the walls of the house, I could bring it to the beach and I wouldn’t get in trouble.”

“I suppose…”

“But if I made a tiny leash and put it on my pet mouse and brought it to the beach, I would get in trouble.

“AND if I caught one of those coyotes I hear howling at night and brought it to the beach, that would be okay, because coyotes are wild, right?”

“Please don’t try to catch a coyote.”

“I just want to understand the rules, Mom. Sheesh.”

---

Unicorn Challenge — write no more than 250 words based on the photo prompt.

Here’s the actual photo:

I used the photo feature of Google translate to read the words.

Jenne Gray had already translated the sign, though. Her translation: ‘Domestic animals, even on leads, are banned from the beach from 6h – 21h’.

It still begs the question of wild animals.

“As a token of my gratitude, I want to give you a gift.” The little man who was speaking was still brushing dirt off his odd sparkly garment and examining the rips and tears caused by the dogs.

Dan shook his head. It all seemed surreal. He had seen the dogs chasing the man. He had watched them biting at his legs as he disappeared through a little hole in the dilapadated door. He yelled and kicked the dogs to drive them away before opening the broken door to check on the man.

And there the man sat, on the floor, studying his hands and legs for injury, tsk-tsking at the holes he would have to mend in his leggings.

“Are you okay?” Dan asked. “Can I help you?”

“No, no, no,” replied the man, his voice high and squeaky, like an old door hinge. “Let me give you a gift.”

He withdrew from his pocket a small ornate key.

“This key will open one of those three boxes,” he said, gesturing to three boxes that Dan hadn’t noticed on a shelf in the corner.

“The red box holds love. You will have a life full of love,” the man said, “but also great heartbreak.

“The blue box holds adventure. You will go and do amazing things — the sky is the limit — but have no one special to share them with.

“The yellow box holds enough — nothing amazing, but always enough money, enough people, enough time.

“Which will you choose?”

---

Unicorn Challenge again. So simple: write no more than 250 words based on the photo prompt.

I looked up “SERRURERIE” and learned that it’s a locksmith’s shop — hence, the key.

But seriously — which would you choose?

“Hey, Jack! How’re you doing?

“Yeah, I’m out for a walk. Can’t believe I still have a signal out here, but you’re coming through loud and clear.

“What? I didn’t catch that. You sound like you’re exercising. Are you out running? …Yeah, I may be a little short of breath, too. I’m heading to the bay. Just went past the sign.

“What sign? You know, the one about deep cold water and strong currents. It never scared me when we were kids, and I’m not going to let it scare me now.

“Speak up, could you? You sound miles away. What? God, Jack, your voice sounds weak. Are you okay?

“Hold on a sec, Jack. There’s some people coming towards me.”

[distant boy’s voice] “We tried to swim. The water is FREEZING.”

[distant woman’s voice] “And they weren’t kidding about the currents! I almost lost him to the sea!”

Indistinct conversation. Laughter.

[not speaking into the phone]”Thanks! I’m going to check it out anyway. Have a good one….

[back on the phone] “Hear that, Jack? Wish you were here with me for old time’s sake. What? I’m really having trouble hearing you. And you sound so out of breath. What are you doing?

“Your chest is tight? What do you mean? … Wait, is this like when you had that heart attack? What? I’m having a hard time hearing you, Jack. Can you speak directly into the phone?

“Jack? Are you okay? Is anyone there with you? Jack? Jack?”

---

This is my response to the Unicorn Challenge. Write no more than 250 words based on the photo. Easy-peasy.

I wanted to write one side of a telephone conversation. Did I do it right?

He slipped the sunglasses out of his breast pocket and put them on. The yellow sky had been his cue. He pulled the ball out of his right pocket.

His instructions had read,

“YELLOW SKY:

1. Don these sunglasses
2. Oblong ball in your right hand
3. Leave the building.
4. Walk east.
5. Push the button on the ball when you see the ship.”

He left the building and walked east. Other people seemed oblivious to the yellow haze. He reached up to pull down the sunglasses, but jerked his hand away as he recalled the vehemence with which the little man who had handed him the package had said, “Follow these instructions EXACTLY. Don’t do more. Don’t do less.”

He wasn’t sure if pulling the sunglasses down would be more OR less, but it certainly wasn’t part of the instructions.

The haze was heavy, stifling, but odorless. Nobody else seemed aware of it. Nobody seemed perturbed. Nobody cared.

He shifted the ball in his right hand and started to pass it to his left, but stopped. The instructions were clear which hand it should be in.

He stopped when he saw the ship, a huge orb, maybe 20 stories high. Eight spidery legs extended from it and were firmly planted on the ground. A long ramp extended down to the sidewalk and strange humanoids carrying weapons were running down it. People seemed oblivious to the whole thing.

He felt the button under his right thumb, hesitated a moment, and pushed it.

---

I missed last week’s Unicorn Challenge. I have a submission started in my draft folder for it — 142 words worth of set-up.

This week I was determined not to miss it — so you’ve got 250 words of set-up, but — dang it all! — I don’t know what happens. Why the importance of adhering exactly to the instructions? What did the button do?

The Unicorn Challenge is simple:
Maximum of 250 words.
Inspired by photo prompt above.

Not a word about being a complete story.

The door was ajar.

“Dare you to go in,” chided Magnus.

“What’s in there?” asked his little brother, Ulysses.

“Probably dead bodies. Maybe a few dead animals,” answered Magnus. “Just a bunch of dead stuff. Nothing that could hurt you.”

As if on cue, the wind blew a flurry of dead leaves past the boys with a dry rustle. A few settled in the open doorway. Ulysses instinctively stepped behind his brother, so Magnus was between him and the door.

“Dead stuff can’t hurt you, you know,” Magnus continued. “It’s dead.”

Ulysses cowered even more.

“Dare you,” Magnus said again.

The stone faces on either side of the door frowned at the two boys as if to say, DO NOT ENTER. The door creaked a little with the next gust of wind, like a low heavy sigh.

“Did you hear that?” asked Ulysses.

Magnus nodded. “Dead bodies moan sometimes. I read that in a book.”

The door moved, almost imperceptibly. Both boys looked at each other.

“Do dead bodies open doors?” asked Ulysses.

“Don’t be dumb,” answered Magnus. “Just go look.”

Slowly the younger brother tiptoed toward the door, looking back at his brother multiple times.

“Go on,” hissed Magnus.

Slowly, Ulysses placed a trembling hand the massive stones framing the door. With his other hand, he pushed open the door.

Suddenly, a hand from inside reached out and yanked him in.

Magnus screamed and ran.

---

The Unicorn Challenge: Write a story of no more than 250 words. Base it on the photo prompt.

Who/what is behind that door?! I wish I knew.

He looked at his watch and sighed. It had been 20 minutes, then thirty. Her vest still hung on the back of the chair.

Surely she would be back.

When he had seen her photograph on the dating app, he knew. Okay, maybe creating that fake account posing as a younger man had been deceptive. Maybe even creepy. But he had to meet her.

He described exactly what he would be wearing. She would have no question that he was the man she was meeting. Nobody else would be wearing a brown argyle sweater sitting at the exact table he described.

He watched her stop when she entered. Her face went blank for a moment. Then she took a deep breath and smiled that glorious smile as she approached him.

“Dan?” she asked.

He nodded and rose. She hugged him, something he hadn’t expected.

They ordered drinks and chatted without a word about his age or appearance. She simply chatted about her work as a nurse and her orange tabby that greeted her each night.

He barely heard a word. He was studying her perfect lips and teeth, her high cheekbones, her tiny nose. He had been correct.

When she excused herself to go to the ladies’, he resolved to tell her when she got back. She was his daughter. He knew.

She never came back. The bar closed. The vest still hung on the chair.

As he was leaving, he realized that his wallet had disappeared in that hug.

---

This is my submission for this week’s Unicorn Challenge. The Unicorn Challenge is simple: write 250 words or less (DON’T YOU DARE GO OVER) based on the photo prompt.

One of my co-workers is newly single and he was reading me posts from Facebook Dating. We both open at the facility where we work — so this was about 5:30 AM when he started. He wandered off as people came into the facility, but later stopped in my office to read me some more. Later I saw him sitting in another office, reading posts out loud.

At the end of the day, he stopped by my office again. “When I first started reading them posts,” he said, “I thought they was pathetic. Now, after reading them all day, I think they’re just funny.”

Yes, funny. In a pathetic way.