week 15 contest

[Outlast]

Once upon a time four storytellers entered into battle each mustering all their powers of literary persuasion to prove that THEY deserved to lead the legendary Mage's Circle. They hurled great tales of frustration, mystery and heartache up to the air, one paladin even invoking the name of the sacred groundskeeper to aid in her cause, while another bemoaned the many fabled shortcomings of Prince Charming.

But as was foretold by The Fates a true champion at last emerged from the battle! The other combatants nodded approval as the magician was summoned from their midst holding a magical flask full of cryptic coffee over his head in victory!

The Fates handed the enchanted pen to The Merry Prankster and directed him to take his place as the leader in the upcoming battle!


Merry Prankster please post the new sentence for week 15!

[Merry Prankster]

Thanks Outlast----an imaginative, well-conjured announcement.  Before providing the sentence I will explain the Maxwell House Coffee reference.  Margaret Hamilton, the actress who played Westy, did a series of TV commercials for Maxwell House Coffee later in her career.

This week's sentence:  With trembling hands she opened the envelope. (You may substitute "package" for "envelope" if you so desire.)

[Snowbird]

With trembling hands she opened the envelope.   His name was on the return address and the address was where they had lived together.  Two torturous years!  It had seemed like a lifetime.  She thought she was free of him so what could have happened?   How did he know her address?  Immediately after she had fired the gun and felt his pulse to make sure he was dead, she had fled and she didn't even know where she was going.  If he was actually still alive how did he find her this quickly?   

[Outlast]

With trembling hands she opened the envelope... 'STOP MEDDLING OR ELSE!' the note threatened in mismatched letters which had obviously been cut out of a magazine. Hmm. Magazines. Surely that in itself was a clue and the postage-stamp on the front featured a cardinal. Another clue. She sniffed the glue on the exposed corner of the envelope. Hmm. Nothing there. She gave the area a quick lick. Yuck this was definitely a cheap envelope. The good ones never taste that bad. She rather thought the criminal must buy the same brand she did. She examined the note more closely and found a slight yellow stain on the bottom left corner. After another quick sniff she decided to lick this as well. Hmmm. Mustard. French's. Another clue! While she was licking the mustard she happened to notice a bit of small print that was showing through the 'M' in meddling. She carefully peeled the letter up and turned it over to see what appeared to be part of an ad for anti-wrinkle cream. Now that was a clue indeed! She smiled and tucked the envelope into her purse. Then she marched down the sidewalk and walked right up to her neighbor's door and rang the bell... cheap envelopes. Messy mustard fingerprints. Wrinkle cream. Cardinal stamps... there was only one old bat in town that matched that description. Her sister Karen who just so happened to live next door. "Stop meddling" indeed, she muttered, "The day a woman can't pester her sister about keeping her garden tidy without getting threatening notes in the mail", not to mention the gnomes she'd found in compromising positions on her very doorstep... she paused mid-thought to exclaim, "I can't believe that penny-pinching ninny wasted a whole postage stamp on a letter that was only going next door!"

[trouble405]

With trembling hands she opened the envelope. Things like this just don't happen to people like me, Rebecca thought.  When she answered the knock at her door, little did she expect to see a mail service delivery person! She signed her name to the registered receipt and accepted the envelope. Now she knew it was going to change her life. She had submitted her manuscript months before expecting the usual rejection letter. The return address confirmed this was from the publishing company. As she finally opened the envelope her eyes grew wide! Inside was a contract, a plane ticket and a check!! They wanted to buy her book and to speak about adapting it for a screen play!!  Rebecca danced with glee with tears in her eyes!  SHE WAS AN AUTHOR!!