Writing Challenge Prompt #3 – “A blanket”
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Snow descended gently from the sky, leaving a white canvas on a quiet, calm sleeping neighborhood. A singular cream-colored house had the lights on. Inside, the recently arrived family was getting ready to settle down.
The mother, carrying a small bundle, waddled to the living room. “This place is cold! I’ll get the fire started,” she gently lowered the bundle to a yellow crib, “think you can find some old blankets while our bedsheets arrive?”
The highest room of the house lit up. A man moved a couple of boxes, bending down and waving his hands to clear floating dust particles. “Geezus, when was the last time someone was up here?”
“Ah, there it is!” he exclaims, lifting a box labeled blankets. Rumaging through the box, he pulls out a soft green blanket with a smile.
He moved all the boxes back to their places and walked down the attic. “Got the perfect one! Just need to wash the dust away.”
Anna leaned against the doorway of the laundry room. “What is that?”
The man looked up with a big smile, pressing the on button of the machine. “It’s my childhood blanket,” he responded, “it’s still in great condition too!”
The soft green blanket was a gift from his mother. It isn’t the one he was wrapped in as a newborn. That blanket had a terrible death between his baby shenanigans, along with his accomplice, his dog, Paw. He remembers being sad about his first blanket having to be stored away. Both were handcrafted and stored away for safekeeping.
“Is that the one your mother made?” his wife asked
“The one and only,” he responded, gently putting the blanket inside a net and into the washing machine. “I thought it was lost after college, and I’d have to figure out how to make one, somehow.”
Anna laughed, “Is it some sort of family tradition?”
“It is, mother or father,” he turns, leaning against the machine, “make a blanket for their kids and grand kids. Although I made one for my sister with the help of mum.”
The wife walks up to him and caresses his cheek. “I think it’s a good tradition. I would like to learn how to make one too.”
The husband wrapped his arms around her waist. “I will gladly teach you once our little one can sleep through the night.”
Thoughts on “A blanket”
Hello! Hope you guys enjoyed the short story! I will confess I did struggle writing something soft. Fluff, as many readers would call it. The writing challenge is exactly what I needed to pull me out of my comfort zone and try out new genres. I did enjoy writing this story; I just wish it was flufflier, but I couldn’t figure out how.
If you have any tips, let me know. Thanks! As per usual. No beta! Click here to read the previous story, and click here for early access.