Story A Day In May - Story 23

The Missing Stuff

by J. Smith Kirkland

He took the note from his coat pocket. The instruction were clear. He had to collect the three item by 6pm, and take them to the person that wrote the note. The ramification for not completing this task was not spelled out in the note, but it didn't have to be.

It was colder than usual for this time of year. As he moved down the sidewalk, he noticed he was not the only one affected by the cold. everyone was bundled up in thick coats and gloves. Too cold for normal civilities. People just rushed passed without smiling or even nodding.

He knew where to get the stuff, and navigated he way through the crowd in the establishment towards his goal. There seemed to be more people there than usual. Or maybe it just felt that way because he was in a rush and they all seemed to be getting in his way on purpose.

Once he started looking around, it didn't take him long to realize he was not going to be making his purchase there. Something was off. All these people. He didn't like it. He made his way to the door, trying to slide past the door guy without appearing too obvious.

He knew a guy over on Main Street that would have the same stuff. And maybe without all the people.

He walks in and addresses the guy he knows, “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Look, I need this stuff.”

He showed John the list.

“Sorry man, can't help you.”

“But what am I supposed to do?

“You should have been here yesterday. Look, there's a place on Shallowford. A guy I know there says you might be in luck. Just walk up to the door and tell him I sent you.”

He found the place. Little building with a sliding glass door. A guy hanging out in the doorway. He took a breath and walked towards the door. There was a man that got there before him. He heard the man say he wanted the same three things. He would have thought nothing of that if this were not the third place he had been to. This seemed like more than a coincident.

He wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but he heard the man say, “Yeah, the weather app says the snow will probably his around midnight. The roads will be bad in the morning. You know they'll close the school.”

So that was it. Snow was predicted, no wonder he can't find milk, bread, and eggs.

The guy at the register replied, “You know they will. I heard it may be 1 to 2 inches. But at least you can make french toast in the morning.”

The Prompt

Write outside your comfort zone with a random genre, weather type, and errand. (see below)

When you are stuck for new ideas, working from specific suggestions can open up new possibilities. They can also take you out of your normal way of working and help you explore different approaches. You never know what sort of story will result.

Roll a die for each category. (Don’t have a physical die? Google can do that for you.)

Then, write a story in your genre, with the particular type of weather and errand.

(Bonus: choose a favourite childhood character as your main character.)

Genre

1. mystery
2. romance
3. fantasy
4. political satire
5. science fiction
6. thriller

Weather

1. snowstorm
2. light rain
3. heat wave
4. extreme cold
5. strong wind
6. sunny and warm

Errand

1. buy groceries
2. return library books
3. make a bank deposit
4. pick up a child from an extracurricular activity
5. deliver a birthday present
6. renew a piece of government identification