Five minute free write - Mason Jar

So, that feeling of a cold coming on yesterday

Has blossomed into an actual cold. Head feels kind of stuffy, but, whatever, that's not going to keep me from this morning warmup that has become so familiar to me. While having my coffee outside the shop during my daily morning meditation of reminding myself who I am and why I'm here I said to myself, 'whatever @mariannewest puts up for her Five minute free write I'm gonna make it sci-fi.'

Why do that? Challenge. I tend to write about the same thing, just in different ways, and instead of just letting myself sit, I wanted to force myself outside my comfort zone. Maybe I'll choose comedy for tomorrow. Now that would be a stretch for me, hehe. Throwing on some music, I sat for a minute and thought. It didn't take me too long.

This was what I wrote...

---

Securely fastened in place

The small mason jar rested against the cold metal wall. Dark brown mud, mixed with specks of white rock. A dash of muddled color on an otherwise spotless wall.

A man floated nearby, just looking at it. Eyes open, focused, but his mind elsewhere. Thinking of a place far, far away. Of a time long, long past. Years had rubbed off the edges of memory and all that remained was a golden yellow.

Warm, brilliant, filled with life.

There was so much that had happened. So much, so quick. A planet on the brink of so much, both good and bad. A bright star, a rock covered in life. But, then, everthing had changed.

Millions of miles away from the place he once called home, he remembered. A frantic rush by a species who had realized too late their mistakes. But, in that dire time they had come together to make one last stab at survival.

All that remained of that insignficant hunk of dirt

That used to fly through the endless reaches of space was this small mason jar. In another time it might have held preserves, sweets, something to make children smile. Now it held the last memory of a place that no longer was.

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The inspiration for this write

Comes from my love of sci-fi and a deep yearning desire for our species to be more than the greedy, self-centered creatures we seem to have become. The idea of a lone figure standing watch over a ship that contains the future of everyone is not a new one, but I think a powerful one. For me, I like the point that even as we are rocketing into the future our minds should still take into account the past, and hopefully learn from it.

I hope you enjoyed this little piece of writing. And, if you're interested in writing, give the Five Minute Free Write a try. It's intimidating, it's scary, it's really stressful. But it's like working out. In the the end you'll love yourself more for doing it. And the more you do it, the better you'll get at it.

No one starts at perfect. Even the best writers. We're all at different points on a path that has no end :)

Michael

if you're wondering. the cover shot was taken during the big fires in the hills of CA in 2016

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