catnipoflife

Welcome to Free Write Friday. New here? Read the intro. Everyone else, let’s get started.

We had so much fun with the time & place prompt last week that I thought we’d have another go. Ready? Here is your FWF prompt:

It’s high noon. Sun blazing. You awake in a field and birds are pecking your skin… GO!

Day had begun no different from any other day. I knew at daybreak it was gonna’ be a scorcher. Weatherman had already predicted temperatures in the 100s and with little or no rain in sight that meant the heat would be relentless.

“Hey, Paw, are you going to ride across the fields this morning?”

“Yeah, son. Gotta’ check on the crops. Not much I can do but it beats just sittin’ ‘round.”

Grabbing my handkerchief from my back pocket, with a quick swipe across my brow, sweat drops saturated the tattered and worn cloth. It was only 6 AM.

Ol’ Sadie lazily trotted out of the barn with an expression (as far as mule expressions go) that indicated she did NOT want to leave the coolness of her shelter. She started with a whinny and ended in a hee-haw! With a quick toss of her short, thick head, her long ears flopped about swatting anything that dared to come near.

“Come on, Sadie. We need to get a move on before the sun reaches high noon and too hot to go anywhere. Don’t want to be out in the field for too long on a day like today. Bye, son. Draw a couple of buckets of water and gather the eggs while I’m gone. I’ll be back before noon.”

Of course, I did not make it back as promised. As I lay in the tall grasses of the field, thoughts shifted back and forth trying to grab hold of reality. What happened? A slight breeze tossed bits of dirt and particles about my face. With each sting, it felt like the birds were pecking away at my flesh. Hey! That is the darn birds!

Puzzlement engulfed any conscious thoughts as my mind tried to discern what did happen. With eyes barely open, I caught a glimpse of Ol’ Sadie ambling toward my limp body. All of a sudden she struck outward with her hooves in every direction. . .even sideways. . .even with her tail. Swish…down one! Whump…down two! This went on until the birds decided to give up feasting on any more of my fleshy morsels.

I had no clue how long I had been lying in the field but I could tell it was approaching high noon. Off in the distance, I could hear a voice shouting, “Paw! Paw!” Junior had become worried since I had not returned and took it upon himself to see if anything had happened. Good boy!

Ol’ Sadie started whinnying ending in multiple hee-haws with each sound wave from Junior’s voice. All I could do was look up into those sad eyes and smile. “Way ta’ go, girl! Maybe I will sign you up for the Little League!”

Check Out Other Contributions: I’m off to see what others have to offer and will return with the links. Here they are…really great reads! Enjoy!

Ms. Roberts says: