For the third time, I hefted the acceptance letter.
A robin’s chirp drew me to the window. The fledgling perched on the edge of the eaves, the last of the brood. You can do it. Fly. It flapped its wings, practising.
The toaster popped.
‘Breakfast is up,’ said Mom.
I kissed the letter.
Afterword
The mission was to write a story of exactly 53 words about ‘potential’.
There are so many possible directions to take such a prompt.
Potential energy came swiftly to mind. For example, a person a balancing a valuable object (phone, family heirloom, take your pick) or holding one out of a window (maybe, say, a TV).
Another idea was a short piece around trying to win over a potential customer. I pictured a funny or awkward initial interaction lead by a waiter or member of a call centre.
But the story that won my imagination featured a young person with a bright future. Also weaving the bird in within the word count was a challenge, but an enjoyable one.
At what age did you leave the nest?
Photo attribution: thanks to The Dark Queen on Unsplash.