Frog

A story and a challenge to my writing colleagues

Photo by author with permission of artist

As Carmen sat on her bed, she imagined she saw the frog jump from the hyper-realistic pencil-crayon painting she had bought at the art show the week before. It wasn’t until it landed with a croak on top of her television on the adjacent wall that she realized she hadn’t imagined it at all.

She grabbed her phone and snapped pictures of both the frog and the now bereft-of-frog painting seconds before the amphibian returned to its frame.

As a croak that sounded suspiciously like laughter came from the painting, Carmen checked the photos. Both were blank. The frog jumped.

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This story is based on a prompt Justin Deming included with his story Priorities:

Look around your immediate vicinity. What’s within arm’s reach — or at least in the same room as you? Incorporate three of these items/objects in a story. For an extra challenge, give yourself a specific word count of 50 or 100. Happy writing!

I took up the challenge and the three objects I chose were my bed, television, and the pencil-crayon painting of a frog that I did indeed buy at an art show—from my dear friend Ana Tirolese (Love you, Sis!). She is one of the most talented visual artists I know. You can see more of her beautiful work on her website. I noticed when I went to grab the link that one of the paintings in her banner is a ladybug. I own that one as well!

Now I want to throw out the gauntlet to my writer friends. Complete Justin’s prompt in exactly 100 words and add one of the elements from my story (or another story based on the prompt) and add a fantastical element. You can publish your story through Fiction in 50 or your own publication. Either way, please let me know where to find it so I can read your take on the challenge.