Day 78: 5 Minute Freewrite - Prompt: pen (by keangaroo)
The bull watched from his pen, metal ring gleaming in his nose, and she imagined her hand grasping that ring, her legs moving back, the massive bull following her lead, wherever she cared to go.
But the snuffles and snorts and hoof stomping reminded her that old man Hocamp's bull was as impossible as the Hocamp men. She, however, was unlike the Hocamp women, the wives and daughters of three generations in Pheasant Valley.
She walked to the house.
The phone is ringing
It was Mrs. Smith, aka Hawkeye. Hocamp's bull escaped the pen. Look out, everyone!
"Margaret," her mother shouted as she slipped out the door. "You'd best stay right here. Never mind the garden or the chickens."
She didn't mind them. Nor the kitchen, nor the chores, nor her mom's anxiety about every little thing. She minded the idea of that bull, running free.
Camera in hand, Margaret ran to the end of the driveway, which T-intersected with the gravel road. To the west, that red barn, the barbed wire, the bull pen.
Thumping, thundering, the hooves kicked up a cloud of dust. Cats hissed and ran up trees. Margaret stood, then remembered Kenny Hocamp telling her the secret to surviving in a bull pen was to lay low. Crouching, she took aim in the grassy shoulder of the road. The colossal black Angus loomed into view, closer, closer -- would he really not smell her, not see her?
"Margaret!" he mother screamed.
Click. Click.
Margaret focused on the massive head and round eyes. The thick, gleaming ring that passed, almost within reach, if she were quick enough--but strong enough? One-hundred-pound Margaret, holding back a half ton of bull?
Click.
The bull charged by, amid shouts and panicky cries from neighbors, while Margaret captured the beast in a little Kodak Instamatic. All 24 shots were used in less than five minutes. Mom would have a cow, wasting a whole roll of film on that, but Margaret had caught the bull.
Thanks, @mariannewest for the prompts and encouragement for your freewriters!
Prompt: pen
Set your timer for 5 minutes
Start writing
Use the hashtag #freewrite
Publish your piece (include a link to this post if you wish)
Copy and paste your URL into the comment section of the prompt post.
Pixabay images
Silhouette of Torero I loved seeing all over Spain, by MargaritaMorales
Margarita Morales Esparza • Valencia/España
Bull being led - by Jai79 | Schweiz
What a wonderful story. I'd use a camera with a large zoom. 😁
Thank you! and Good point. In the five-minute time limit, the young heroine knew little more than I did at her age, which was back in the days of that little pocket Kodak - and what horrible pictures it took! - but that was early 1970s.
"Mom would have a cow, wasting a whole roll of film on that" LOVE IT!!!
I love reading the freewrites to see how differently everyone interprets the prompts! Great post!
Brava Carol! What a terrific twist 🎉❤️
Did anyone read "pen" as something other than a writing implement? Did I miss something? I heard "pen" and thought first of fighters (boxing, WWF), then bulls. I'm an English teaching major and writer - who used a keyboard, mostly, not pen.
Yes, this was my first post, my foray into the daily 5 minute FW prompt.
And now that I'm looking at others' work, I'm thinking "damn"
You all are too good!
I'm gonna fix my typos, dammit
I refuse to be penalized for lousy typing skills.
I love that you took the pen to mean an enclosure! Do you remember when the little plastic wheel on those instant cameras would get stuck? Glad that didn't happen to little Margaret! 😁
You remember the pocket instamatic! oh my!
The wheel getting stuck... are you talking about the disposables?
I'm thinking early 1970s Kodak, and "Instamatic" may be the wrong word, but hey, in a five-minute freewrite, we get what we get, and it is what it is. :-)
Thanks for reading and commenting, @brisby!
(Dinsdale!)
Ha! I tell my kids, "You get what you get and be grateful for it!" In my mind the "whirr" was the cranking of the plastic wheel...😏 After looking it up, I do remember my father having the "pocket instamatic", although I don't think it made a whirring sound. (I wasn't allowed to touch his cameras. Little Brisby had a curious nature. Things were sometimes disassembled and not properly reassembled.) 😂
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWboDgjMeBfmJPfKHQaxm1F8Ng9ywRHjBQbvTsDJK75uA/image.png)
It impresses me how this was coming out from the "pen" prompt..very original and well written. I liked the use of the clicks between the narration.
Today I wore on my face a @mariannewest mask and - trying to reproduce her charming voice - I'm happy to proclaim that on this weekend you have the following options!
You have the choice of a single prompt: https://steemit.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/weekend-freewrite-1-6-2018-single-prompt-option
Or you can get adventurous and weave three 5minute freewrites into one story starting with this prompt: https://steemit.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/weekend-freewrite-1-6-2018-part-1-the-first-sentence
Thank you for the kind words, and the links!
Awesome story, I really enjoyed it :)
I'm fairly new to freewriting so it'd be awesome if you had some time to check out my latest post :) https://steemit.com/freewrite/@mel1ss/day-79-prompt-books-5-minute-freewrite-challange
Thank you, and yes, I'll check out your post, too!
An inspired use of "pen," I love that aspect of word prompts.
I wonder, did Margaret want to catch the bull, or did she desire its freedom. Did she want to catch him while it was in the pen because ownership of the bull would give her power?
I wonder.
She caught him, she did. But where did that leave her? With a permanent mark of power, at the very least, showing she has tamed the impossible. But to tame it would defeat the purpose. So I wonder. To capture, but not to tame.