Weekend Freewrite - Single Prompt (Challenge Mode!)

Martin's hands shook as he set the carton of cigarettes down on the desk. He knew he couldn't smoke while in the office, but just holding on to one of the cigarettes helped to settle him slightly.

Dr. Ramirez cleared his throat and Martin twitched slightly, startled by the sudden sound.

"Sorry, Doc. I just...I don't even know where to begin."

"It's quite alright, Martin. How about you begin with what you were doing just before the events began," Dr. Ramirez encouraged.

Martin took a shaky breath, then said, "I was just painting my kitchen. You had said, last time, that a change of scenery might help with my mood, so I thought some fresh paint would be a simple way to start."

He suddenly realized he had been nervously bending and twisting the cigarette as he talked. The paper had torn and exposed the tobacco, releasing the smell from within. He looked at Dr. Ramirez apologetically and placed the broken cigarette onto the desk before continuing.

"So there I was, painting my kitchen, when suddenly I hear a cracker pop outside."

"A firecracker?"

"Yeah, a cracker. So I think to myself, Who's lighting crackers in front of my house in the middle of the day? Well, I open the front door and get ready to yell at some rowdy teenagers, but there's nobody there. And that's when I..."

Martin hesitated. He knew, knew what it was that he had seen, but saying it out loud...that would make him sound crazy. Hell, maybe he was crazy.

"Go on," encouraged Dr. Martin, scribbling a few notes.

Martin's voice shook slightly as he continued, "I saw a wild pig running down the street, followed by a blue elephant and a purple pheasant. It's the medicine, right? I'm hallucinating, right?"

Dr. Ramirez stopped writing and took in a breath, preparing to speak, but was interrupted by a loud POP! outside the window. The two men looked up just as a wild pig, a blue elephant, and a purple pheasant emerged from a shimmering green portal in the middle of the road. The trio paused briefly, looking a little bewildered, before the elephant and the pheasant began chasing the pig down the street.

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Note: This was so much fun! Continuing my challenge from last week, I took all of the prompts from the week (as well as the single prompt for today) and created a story that used them all. I also allowed myself extra time, as I've learned it simply takes longer to create a cohesive story from multiple prompts. If you're looking to challenge yourself, give it a try!

As always, thanks go out to @mariannewest for providing these daily prompts. Today's single prompt can be found here and the 3-part prompt can be found here.

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Image sourced from Pixabay.