Fall Frenzy 2023 -- Pepo's Escape

 

Pepo's Escape

By Elizabeth Muster

Word Count 200

Pepo and the other pumpkins gathered among the hay bales behind the shed as Gourdon took his place upon the stump. Pepo admired the self-proclaimed leader, who was ripe with knowledge and brandished with cuts and bruises. Pepo was the youngest and smallest, and unsurprised when the others voted him to go into the pie this year. 

As the others returned to the patch, Pepo hid among the hay bales to hatch an escape plan. Pumpkins turning into carriages only happened in fairy tales. Just when Pepo thought his anxious insides would turn to mush, the boy came  with his bag of newspapers. He spotted Pepo, picked up the pumpkin, and placed it, too, into the basket. Pepo bounced along until the bike stopped at a house where the boy handed Pepo – and a newspaper – to a pretty, pig-tailed girl. 

Overjoyed by the present, the girl went inside and got to work. The strokes of her brush tickled Pepo’s thick skin. When she sat Pepo on the front porch, he felt ridiculous with his new goofy grin, wide eyes, and crooked nose. But despite it all, he straightened his stem a little taller. He had escaped the knife twice today! 

 

Valentiny 2022

I'm pretty PROUD of my little story for Susanna Leonard Hill's 7th annual Valentiny story. I've never seen a story about a conversation heart -- especially not one that doesn't have a message...YET.  

 Pinky’s Message

By Elizabeth Muster   

WC 210

Pinky wasn’t like the other conversation hearts in the box. In fact, she was starting to wonder if she was a conversation heart at all. All the others had a message – she didn’t. 

When Blue squealed, “CALL ME!” Pinky didn’t say a word. 

“Come on. Why won’t you talk?” 

Pinky just shrugged. She liked calm and quiet. Blue and the others were loud. 

When Yellow offered HUGS, Pinky shook her head. 

“We could be friends,” Yellow said. 

Pinky couldn’t explain why, but she wanted her space. 

Pinky scooted to the opposite cardboard corner, drawing pictures in the sugar dust 

until Purple stepped in the middle of her art.

“BE MINE!” Purple said. 

Pinky didn’t know what to do. She definitely did not want to be around pushy Purple.    

“BE MINE!” Purple said again. “Come on, Pinky. You don’t want to be alone on Valentine’s Day, do you?” 

“ENOUGH,” said Pinky.

Pinky’s voice startled Purple. It even surprised Pinky herself.

“What did you say to me?” asked Purple. 

“ENOUGH,” repeated Pinky with power. 

Purple stomped away.

Relieved but shaken, Pinky penned the word across her front in red ink. 

She had had ENOUGH.

Pinky wore her new message proudly. 

It was calm and quiet but strong…just like Pinky.

She was ENOUGH.

 

For this year's Halloweensie contest, Susanna Leonard Hill's mandatory words were glow-in-the-dark, goosebumps, and goodies. So I kept going with the alliteration and came up with a little something. Enjoy!

 It’s Halloween (WC 95)

As autumn arrives

Apparitions aren’t afraid

Of the afterlife anymore.

Aha!

It’s Halloween.

Cadavers cackle

and corpses creep

From cemetery crypts.

Keep calm!

It’s Halloween.

Demons in the darkness

And devils in disguise 

Dredge up dreadful deeds.

Don’t despair!

It’s Halloween.

Glow-in-the-dark goblins

And ghosts in gowns

Give goosebumps, not goodies.

Goodness gracious!

It’s Halloween.

Mummies masquerade

In the mysterious moonlight

Among a mausoleum.

Oh my!

It’s Halloween.

Scary skulls 

And spine-chilling specters

Startle superstitious spirits.

So spooky!

It’s Halloween.

Terrible tricks

And terrific treats 

Thrilling times on the thirty-first.

That’s a wrap!

It’s Halloween.

Fall Frenzy 2021

Thanks to Kaitlyn Sanchez and Lydia Lukidis, I wrote a little something for this year's Fall Frenzy. This piece is very different from what I usually write. But like me, it's short and moody -- ha, ha.  It's based on this image:

Halloween- Credit: Samantha Hurley / Burst

The Tortured (WC98)

The tattooed arm lunged through the darkness wielding a rusty blade.

The man dragged me across the field and into the abandoned shed.

My scream was lost in the pitch-black night as his knife dug through my cranium

-- deeper and deeper -- into my soul. Time after time, he jabbed through my tough exterior,

spilling my guts onto the splintered table. Then he deliberately carved out my eyes and slit

my nose. One by one he knocked out my teeth.

Fortunately, I felt no pain, even as he set fire to my body.

Halloween is torture for a pumpkin.  

Henry Hedgehog Finds a Home

Mix 'n' Match #1

 https://susannahill.com/2021/05/10/here-we-go-again-mix-n-match-mini-writing-challenge-take-2/

Mix ‘n’ Match #1

Henry Hedgehog Finds a Home

by Elizabeth Muster

Used to Henry liked to roam

Now he wants a comfy home.

First he met some porcupines.

They looked like him with their spines.

“We’re much bigger, can’t you see?”

“So you don’t have room for me?

Can I sleep here just one day?

I’ll curl up out of the way.”

When night came he left again

At a barn he wandered in.

“Who might you be?” asked the horse.

“Henry, a hedgehog, of course.” 

“I know some hogs. Come with me.”

“We aren’t the same. Can’t you see?”

“While you’re here, eat fruit with us.”

“That is nice, so I won’t fuss.”

Down the hill he found a plot.

Leaves, branches, the perfect spot.

In the soil he burrowed deep.

Eighteen hours he did sleep.

After ‘while he found a mate

Six weeks later there were eight.

Henry would no longer roam.

He had finally found his home.

Beach Clouds

 Mix ‘n’ Match #5

https://susannahill.com/2021/06/07/2021-mix-n-match-mini-writing-challenge-week-5/

Concept = Weather

Location = Beach

Beach Clouds (WC 235)

By Elizabeth Muster

When we came to the beach, I hoped it would be sunny every day. But there were always some clouds in the sky.

On Monday, there were thin, white clouds. Mom called them cirrus clouds. Even though it’s warm at the beach, she said cirrus clouds are made of ice crystals. It looks like someone painted them with a thin brush of white paint onto the bright blue sky. It was a great day to be outside. 

On Tuesday, there were big, puffy piles of white clouds in the sky. Big brother says these are cumulus clouds. They are made of warm air and water droplets that reflect the sun. He says there will still be good weather today.

But on Wednesday morning the clouds were dark grey. We could not go to the beach because there was lightning, thunder, and rain. Dad says weather like this comes from nimbus clouds. They are a mixture of warm air and cool water. We stayed inside and watched movies and played games. 

On Thursday morning it was hard to see the beach through the fog. Big sister says those are stratus clouds that happen when the air gets warmer. Eventually the thick blanket lifted and we could go play. I was glad since today was our last day of vacation.

As we drove home on Friday, I watched out the window for the different types of clouds.

Little Star with a Big Attitude

 Susanna Leonard Hill's

Mix 'n' Match #4

https://susannahill.com/2021/05/31/2021-mix-n-match-mini-writing-challenge-week-4/

Little Star with a Big Attitude

by Elizabeth Muster

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Hey, who are you calling little?

I’m not little. Blackberries are little.

I rival the size of your planet, Earthling.

How I wonder what you are.

What am I? What are you?

I’m simple. Hydrogen and helium.

You’re bunch of mixed up elements.

Up above the world so high.

True. I’m light-years away from you.

Even a spaceship couldn’t reach me.

I’m so much farther away than the moon.

Like a diamond in the sky.

Okay, I get it. I light up. You don’t.

I’m not a gem in a necklace.

I shine because I'm nuclear.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

All right, all right. I twinkle. I’m a star.

Sing a song about me if you want.

But if you want a wish, go pluck a daisy.