When the postcard arrived, she laughed and tossed it into the junk bin without bothering to read the details, “You are cordially invited to attend . . ” was all she needed to see, being cordially invited to anything was near the bottom on her list of things she enjoyed, right under jumping out of a plane without a parachute; besides, there wasn’t even a return address – which usually meant junk.
Three days went by without her giving so much as a passing thought to the postcard laying atop the annoying pile of credit card offers and home mortgage refi pitches waiting to be shredded, but then a second invitation arrived.
This one was fancier than the last, the soft, paper linen envelope held a handwritten summons, the gilded ink danced across a clouded vellum insert, “Your presence is requested . . .”, it almost felt like a crime to discard the lovely solicitation into the bin, but she did.
Two more days came and went, as did curious thoughts about the odd invitations, not curious enough to need satisfying though, get-togethers, no matter how appealing the request was presented, held no desire for her; but still, there where those curious questions festering in the back of her mind.
That evening a third envelope arrived, this one in a plain, standard size business envelope, her name centered and typed with commercial precision, no return address, the equally plain white paper inside simply stated, “This is your final notice, please arrive promptly at noon tomorrow.”, the finality of the tone unnerved her, she retrieved the other invitations and scoured them for more information, there wasn’t any to be found.
Six days had passed since the first cryptic notice had arrived, noon came and went, the time between each tick of the second hand on the clock became slower and slower with each movement; the knock on the door came like a sonic boom to her psyche – standing in her doorway was a dapper gentleman, a three ring binder in one hand and an elegant walking cane in the other, “I’m sorry to bother you at home, ma’am, you really should have sent an RSVP . . .”
This is my third Six Sentence Story, and I have to say, this link-up has become one of my favorites! Each time I read the cue, I have no idea what to write, so I just don’t think about it and start.
What comes out is kind of cool, it gets me inspired to write for the day, which usually lasts throughout the week. I admit to the liberal and questionable use of commas throughout my six sentences . . . brevity in the written word is something I am seemingly incapable of, and being limited to six sentences has forced me to embrace the run-on, rambling writing I so often beg writers I critique not to do.
Thank you, Ivy, for this wonderful link-up!
Six Sentence Stories is a weekly writing prompt hosted by Ivy on her blog Uncharted, this week, the cue was home.
Click the pic to join in and share YOUR six sentences!
The Qwiet Muse 