“The Time Is Now” Prompt:
This week… begin by writing an autumnal scene that takes inspiration from an especially seasonal image or sensation. Include contradictory elements in your scene, such as light and dark, soft and sharp, silence and noise, warmth and coldness, that are often a part of fickle fall feelings. Does the specification of this time of year bring up fresh realizations about any of your characters, or how they’re inclined to behave? Or could it propel you toward a different narrative mood?
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Bitterness hits my tongue first. Then, sweet milk with the tiniest hint of cinnamon and ginger. I shove my straw to the bottom of the cup, plunging it into the half-inch thick layer of caramel drizzle I paid extra for, and suck. The only way to enjoy a pumpkin spice latte is to add caramel. I heard my best friend’s voice in the back of my head.
Before she decided to go back to school—on campus for God knows what reason—we’d spend every Sunday morning in October drinking iced PSLs on black chairs under green umbrellas watching as people lived and moved, mostly unaware of us. Though, we would get the occasional head nod, wave, or “good morning” to remind us that we were not, in fact, observing invisibly.
Alone, it just feels awkward. So, I take my iced latte and sit in my car. The silence is comforting until beads of sweat begin forming on my forehead and I’m forced to reckon with the fact I have nowhere to go because I have not updated my Sunday routine. My choices are either roll down the window and let the outside in or crank the car, exit the parking lot, and drive to nowhere for the next hour and a half until my movie starts.
I attempt the window first, but it’s not much cooler outside. The fall breezes usually don’t kick in until November, so now it’s just hot and loud. I take another long sip of my latte, swirling it over my tongue before swallowing. It really isn’t that good. I crank the car and roll up the window while I decide whether I want to listen to a podcast, an audiobook, or music. I tap on an “R&B Christmas” station then pull out of the parking lot. Maybe next week I’ll try something with pecan and brown sugar.
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🖤
Christine Gabrièlle 
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