From BR #70:
Triggers for September:
1. then there would be much laughter
2. we have no strength left
3. the night was the longest
4. I did not see them
5. a little angry and a little frightened
6. his bitterness knew no end
7. we need to know more
8. what is she doing here?
From “Ke Kahua o Mali’o”:
Kekoa strode qickly along the Koai’e Stream, trying to escape the words of his parents still buzzing in his ears.
“It is time you married,” his father had said.
He was not old enough, Kekoa had protested, and he had no home ready.
“It is time you married,” his mother had said. Her words were a command. Kekoa knew that his parents were looking for a wife for him at that moment, but she might not be good look upon.
He forded Hapalau Stream where it flowed into the Koai’e. Further up, he crossed over Ka-wai-iki and was not even aware his feet had gotten wet.
He came to Kala’aloa, where ferns grew that were gathered as an offering to Laka, the goddess of the hula. Here Kekoa picked three fronds and wove them into a circle. This lei he placed on a rock and said a prayer.
“Laka,” he pleaded, “let my wife be someone who will delight my heart all my life.”
Still caught in his gray misty thoughts, Kekoa continued up the valley. His foot slipped on a moss-covered boulder and he fell into the pond that lies at the foot of the Kamaliu Waterfall. He emerged blowing and puffing.
Laughted echoed from the surrounding rocks.
Kekoa looked around, ready to attack. But instead of someone he could fight, there was a young woman staring at him from a rock beside the waterfall, her mouth wide with laughter. . . .
Rules
- We reserve the right to remove content that promotes hate or gratuitous violence. Be respectful and courteous to others.
- All contest challenge entries must be submitted by the designated
- Enter as many times as you like using a trigger/prompt (this page).
- Contest Challenge entries can be prose (including short stories, nonfiction essays, or whatever you write), poetry, or plays -- or any type of hybrid writing you dream up.
- Every entry must have a title -- unless you choose to enter a haiku, in which case you can simply enter the word haiku in the title section.
- All content/entries should be original work. You retain ownership of your entries; however, we may ask to use them elsewhere on the site or on social media to help promote Bamboo Ridge and/or the Bamboo Shoots online writing community.
- Winners will be announced with all possible speed after the end of each month. Winners receive 10 Bamboo Bucks credit to spend in the BRP online bookstore. Bamboo Bucks have no monetary value outside of the online store.
- Entries may also be selected for publication in the regular Bamboo Ridge Journal. If your piece is chosen, the editors will contact you via the email address on file.
- Please note that you need not enter the contest challenge in order to post on Bamboo Shoots. You may post other writing if you choose. We welcome that here: Click this link to go to Shoot da Breeze.
This prompt is closed for submissions.