Gemma, coat belted tight against the Wisconsin chill, stops, looking out across the field. Her friend stops too. "Here. We all did it, all those moms you know now. Buck naked, dancing through the night, wreaths in our hair. All following Karen."
"But why?" asks her friend.
"Because we believed."
image from pixabay
A very nice juxtaposition of the older, perhaps more mature self looking back and contemplating the younger, possibly slightly crazy but maybe less inhibited self... Thanks!
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I love this! Great job for your very first 50-word story. It is rich with suggested story beyond the story, which is difficult to do, but you nailed it!
Oh! Thanks for your comment. I sure enjoyed writing it.
Well done... That was great.. Nice to have broken your duck as they say - your profile pic is perfect :o) Welcome to the 50 words crew..
Thanks @ablaze. #fiftywords is fun! Warning. Could be habit forming.
I pop back in weekly now to do mine, and keep an eye and try to read as many other peoples ones as I can.. I love how quick and to the point they are, so even if my time is limited, as it often is, I can have a quick look at a few fiftywords entries..
I like that about it too, the speed. I am struggling to find time for Steemit. This seems to be a good way to keep it going even when time is tight.
Hooray! :D Another #fiftywords member! Your first attempt is very well executed, I enjoyed it! :)
Thank you! This is fun. Why isn’t everyone doing this?
Believe… nice
Belief can be a tricky place, yeah? Thanks for reading and commenting.
Belief can definitely “be a tricky place,” especially in adult life when reasoned and considered wisdom are thrown out.
Yes. Agreed. The vignette here is actually a true story. Many of the moms I knew at an alternative school my kids attended for a while had done just as described, some time before we’d arrived in the community. Later, my friend told me about it and tried to explain how it had happened. They followed a woman who convinced them they needed to do this, in order to connect with the earth. Maybe they accomplished that in some way, but later it turned out she was just off her meds. On the other hand, maybe she was channeling something. Depends on what you believe.
Maybe being off her meds skewed the message. Nakedness isn’t a prerequisite, but the impetus to commune with nature, to be outdoors is something deeply embedded in human nature. For example, I’m allergic to pretty much all outdoors. Yet, I’m compelled to get out into some of the most rural areas I can find to photograph. And, I prefer to do so in solitude, even though my health and mobility issues make that solitude in the back-beyond a less than smart idea for me.
I went out the last couple of days photographing and have had to use my rescue inhaler numerous times, cannot sleep for the allergy-symptoms, and for two days running I have had a sun-migraine (I’m photo-sensitive on top of being an asthmatic allergy sufferer). Still… I long to get out there again, to find someplace where there is only me, nature, and wide open skies.
You, nature, wide open skies, and a pollen count below 5 would be optimal! I know what you mean about being outside. It feeds my soul too. I work in a high rise office building in the suburbs, sourrounded by grounds, a pond , some walking trails. Not what you would call “nature” but at least it is outdoors. I’m in Minnesota, so there are about 6 or 8 weeks a year where outdoor walking just doesn’t work at all. The rest of them though, I’m out there.
Cheers to you for getting out despite your limitations. I firmly believe that part of us that needs nature is to be whole heartedly indulged.
Here in NC, I don’t believe the pollen count is NEVER below 5 – not even in the dead of winter. We don’t typically get swathes of time in frozen winter.