The Dream Salesman
Midweek Pick-Me-Up #10, guest prompt
It’s the last Wednesday of the month and we’re sharing a guest short story - again by John. He just finished his freshman year in high school. Congrats, John! He’s so fortunate to be a part of an innovative school format (The school is public and a part of the Issaquah School District). On Tuesdays and Thursdays students don’t go to school but work with mentors and learn on the job.
For your amusement, I wrote to the same prompt last week. Read Love Every Crumb here. Next Wednesday there won’t be a prompt, but some big and exciting news instead. Stay tuned!
Join me in congratulating John in the comments bellow! I will share those with him over dinner in July. Finally, if you or your child wish to work with me, please get in touch. I love the work.
Enjoy!
His voice had never sounded so cold. He glared at the dream salesman with fury in his eyes. “Fix it,” he said. The salesman looked nervous, as this had not been in any of his training. The man's son lay curled up on the ground crying. An empty bottle of happy dreams lay by his side. The boy was just 5, and his mind was not strong enough for a single sip, let alone a whole bottle.
The dream salesman picked up the bottle and pointed to a 'keep out of reach from children' sticker on the back. “Look here,” he said, “You were supposed to keep it locked away, not leave it out on your kitchen counter.” The man's eyes burned red with anger. He grabbed a bottle from the dream salesman's cart and smashed it on the ground. Clear liquid flooded across the concrete, and wisps of white steam rose above.
“You're going to have to pay for that!” The man kicked the cart over. The salesman lunged to save the bottles but they slipped through his arms and spilled across the sidewalk. A vile stench arose as the dreams mixed to form a wretched cocktail of sorrows and delight. In a fruitless effort, the salesman tried to scoop the spilled dreams back into his cart, but they dripped through his fingers and stained his shoes.
You have just read the series Midweek Pick-Me-Up. Always on Wednesdays. Always written to a prompt (in bold), in 5 minutes or else the screen goes blurry. An edit here, an edit there, and now it’s yours to share.
"the salesman tried to scoop the spilled dreams back into his cart, but they dripped through his fingers and stained his shoes."--What a wonderful visual this is, I'd love to put it on the big screen!