This week’s prompt was to write a story about this house that Robbi drew. “Who lives there,” we asked? “And what are they up to?”
Kids, of course, had all sorts of ideas.
Tyler
Hotel Hojel Hodel…Hotomb
Inside the house there is a person. It’s supposed to be a sturdy hotel and it’s still sturdy. But there are no houses around it because it’s a really hot place there. Only grass and some stuff can grow. The guy’s name is called Cornfellow because he eats a lot of corn. Cornfellow actually really really really really really loves corn. He grows a lot of corn, but he’s eaten it all so there isn’t any more. Cornfellow is the only one left inside the city. Cornfellow doesn’t have any pajamas, so at night time he’s all naked. There are windows, but at night they are all shut. Also, he’s not potty trained yet!
I just love the idea of a naked, incontinent character named Cornfellow, and I might consider stealing it if Tyler weren’t a kid. But he is a kid. And stealing from kids is so mean. Darn it.
Spencer
The person who lives in this house is Michael John. He is about to go in the war. He has a shield and a sword. The house is really old, but the windows and fence are broken because he’s practicing fighting with his sword. He has lots of blankets so at night time he’s warm. The war is inside China so he’s going to take a boat to get there. Before he leaves, he’s going to blow up his house so nobody can live in it and no bad guys can go in it when he’s gone. When he comes home, he’s going to have to rent a new house!!
Wow, Spencer. This Michael John character of yours is a complex fellow. Not only is he so committed to his swordcraft that he ruins his fences in order to improve his skill, but he’s so dedicated to keeping bad guys from enjoying the cozy confines of his home that he’s willing to annihilate it. This is my kind of hero. I predict that my grandchildren will play with Michael John action figures made by Hasbro.
Alden
Butterflies and Ladybugs
Once upon a time, there was a butterfly house that had lots and lots of butterflies in it. It had a lot of ladybugs, and a lot of butterflies and ladybugs. They liked to play together and they went to the park together and they played on the playgrounds and they liked watching their lava lamp go. And they also liked watching their disco ball. And their house was rainbow sparkly with diamonds, and they had diamond dreidels. Nothing bad happened, and a lot of things good happened.
After reading Alden’s story, I can’t just tell whether or not there are a lot of butterflies in this house. Regardless, I would like to spend some time in this house. Between the lava lamp and disco ball, it sounds like a lot more fun than sitting here in my desk chair with my bowl of cold oatmeal.
Kato
Once upon a time, there was Kato and Alden living in a house and they were grownups, but they weren’t alone, because they were grownups. There was Papa and Mama there to take care of them, and Augie was still a baby. We played freeze tag all together. That’s all.
The logic in this story is unassailable. And so I will not attempt to assail it.
Travis
This is the home of a person which everyone in town is afraid of. Why? you may ask. The reason for this is the townspeople believe she is a witch.
This is because it seemed as if she could speak with the dead, ghosts that only she could see.
Whenever she went into town, people hid in their houses and lock their doors. One day she had had enough. She went into town and knocked on a door. The butler came to the door and… literally shot up through the roof as he screamed. After that, she decided to go home.
That night, the townspeople gathered at the town hall. “What should we do about the witch?” said one. Another shrugged. “We could put a fence around town” said another. “That would take too long, “said the first. “We could get rid of her,” said another. “That wouldn’t be very nice “said the first.
“Why don’t we make friends?” suggested the second speaker. Everyone agreed.
They went to her door and asked her if she would join the town. She said yes, and day by day they moved her house. By the end of the week they had moved it into town.
She actually helped them a lot. For example, she taught them more about their ancestors by talking to their ancestors. And they lived happily ever after.
THE END
Am I the only one who is wondering about that poor butler and hoping that he has really good health coverage? All those splinters…
More to the point, Travis has shed light on the solution to the many problems that plague our contemporary world: we need more witches. In addition to restoring ancestor relations, they could amuse us by offering broom rides. And this awful shortage of black cats could be ended in a heartbeat. I smell a campaign platform for 2016. Who is with me?
Emiliano
The Tale of Nowhereseville
Once upon a time, there was a house. Its location is in the middle of Nowheresville. People say ghosts live there. But from what I’ve seen, it’s not deserted.
You might ask, “If other people say that nobody lives there, why do you say differently?” Well, I’ve seen an old creepy looking lady rocking back and forth in a rocking chair on the front porch. It was so creepy (which I think you figured out by know) I told everyone in town that I just saw a creepy old lady on the front porch of the deserted house! Everyone followed me to the “deserted” house. When they saw the front porch, they thought I went mad. They said there wasn’t anybody there, and that this whole scenario was like The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Everyone left and gave me a dirty look.
Then, I thought to myself, what if I was just seeing things? Just when I was about to leave I turned and there she was! The old lady was right there, staring straight at me! She gave me a wicked wink (which was very creepy if you asked me). I ran towards her to see if she was real, but when I got there she had disappeared and the door creaked open. I felt like I was being sucked inside. I struggled to run away but before I knew it I was inside and the door slammed shut.
I ran to the door and tried to open it. It was locked. Then I ran back and whacked my shoulder into it, but I still couldn’t get it opened. It was very dark inside. I walked a couple of steps and then I tripped. I noticed that the thing I tripped on was a flashlight and I used it to guide my way (how convenient). I heard some wood creaking and started to think that if there were ghosts here, I was toast.
I decided to stop thinking about ghosts and focus on my main problem: the old creepy looking lady and how to get out of this place! “I wondered why she winked at me,” I thought to myself. What if there’s a reason? I was the only one who saw her. I found a room. The door was hard but I was able to open it. Inside it was pretty dusty so I sneezed a lot. Then there she was, sitting at a table and asking me to come over. I walked toward her.
“Have a seat young man, it’s time for tea”. Turns out her name is Susan Phillips. Her family used to spend the summers in this house a long time ago. I asked her why she was still here. She responded and said, “I am not alive anymore. I am a spirit.” I got goose bumps. Turns out she was lonely and just wanted some company. She said the house will disappear in a couple of months. I told her that if she was able to keep this house here I could come every other week to visit. She said it would take hard work but she would try to keep the house. Then we heard a rumbling. It was coming from outside. The townspeople of Nowheresville were coming with a crane that had a wrecking ball attached to it and were going to destroy the house! I asked her how we were going to stop them. She was very calm for some reason. Her response was, “They will never reach the house.” I looked out the window and when I thought they were about to come near the house, they only destroyed their vehicle and bent the fence. She giggled and we cheered with our cups of tea! From that day on, I came to the deserted house every other week because of the promise I made to her. And believe it or not we made a close bond.
THE END
Thank you, Emiliano, for such a well-crafted and interesting story. First you scared me, then you intrigued me, and then you made me care. You are a very capable narrator indeed. My favorite part of your story is when our hero and Susan Phillips cheer their good fortune over tea after thwarting the would-be wrecking ball crew. I love it when men bent on destruction are given their comeuppance (which means, in case you do not know “a well-deserved punishment or fate.”
If, after reading these rousing tales, any of you is thus inspired, Robbi’s painting is up for auction on Ebay. Bidding ends at noon on Sunday.
As a note of warning, though. There may be a witch inside. Or maybe a ghost. Or possibly butterflies and ladybugs.
No one knows for sure.