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[a-burning-tale]

1st Writing Competition

Hello everyone! Welcome to the first writing competition between us, Kat and Tay! We will be basing our short stories off of the prompt above which we got from this blog: https://writingwithus.blogspot.com/

We are both starting our short stories at 18:30 our time, and will stop at 20:30. Hope you enjoy!

Kat’s entry 🌑 1.5k words:

“Of course I’ll be safe, Annie… Yes, yes, I know, I have you on speed dial… We clicked really well and-”

Three knocks sounded at the front door, alerting Rose to her company for the night. 

“Hey, I’ll have to let you go, he’s here… Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow, bye.” Rose closes her phone and does one last sweep of her look, smoothing down her midnight blue dress and fluffing her brown hair just enough for some extra volume. Exiting her room with a flourish, Rose sped walked to her front door, taking just a moment to calm her racing heart, and opened it.

Standing at the door, her date gave a shining smile and held out a bouquet of blue tulips. His black hair framed his face in natural layers, and his button up shirt and slacks matched her dress perfectly. He held out an arm in invitation.

Rose accepted the bouquet, and gave Colin an equally bright smile. She wrapped her arm around his after locking her door, and walked to his car. He opened her door, got into the driver’s seat, and drove them to the known high-end restaurant across town.

The two lovebirds entered and were given a window seat, courtesy of Colin’s extra tip for the seater. Once they had settled, small talk ensued, which then led into a deeper, more interesting talk.

“I personally love star gazing, the pitch black universe dotted with glowing orbs just fascinates me.” Colin’s deep and clear voice seemed to reverberate through Rose, causing her to relax. 

“I love the stars too, there’s something peaceful to looking up into oblivion.” Rose responded with a lilt to her voice, utterly enamored.

This is going so well, it seems he already knows me and we’ve only been here for 20 minutes.

“Did you know that I’ll actually try to count the stars sometimes? I don’t know why, I’ve been doing it ever since I was a child. If I was ever bored at night, I would climb onto the roof and try to count.” Colin let out a deep chuckle from the fond memory, looking up to Rose’s hickory colored eyes to find them shimmering with delight.

“It’s kind of pointless to count the stars, you know?” A giggle escaped her mouth at that as she reached with her left hand for her glass of water, her right hand resting on her lap beneath the table.

“It’s also pointless to count freckles, but I know you have 24 on the edge of your right hand.” A smile plastered on his face, he turned after his comment and spoke to the waiter.

Rose stopped, confused, and stomach dropping. As he was talking, she did a quick count of her freckles, not even knowing the amount.

There were indeed 24, but she couldn’t let her fear show, just in case she was over thinking the comment. She looked back up as he was turning back towards her, and forced a pleasant smile on her face.

“What else do you know about me?” Her voice was still normal, thank goodness.

“Well, I believe you told me your favorite color was green, right?” His smile never faltered, and she let out a light chuckle to make a mask of lightheartedness.

“Right you are!” But we had never talked about our favorite colors. “Can you guess my favorite animal?”

“Hm… a lion!” Another smile from him.

“Right again!” Oh my god, what do I do?

“I also would bet that your favorite season is winter! Did I get that right?”

“You did! Are you like, psychic or something?” What do I do, what do I do?

“I know right? It’s like we’re meant for each other!” His smile seemed to broaden more if possible. Rose tried to broaden her smile, but failed.

“I have to use the restroom real quick, I’ll be right back.” She gives him a quick, tight lipped grin, and walks away, phone in hand.

As soon as Rose entered the bathroom, she was calling Annie.

“You were right, he’s not normal. I mean, he knew my favorite color, my favorite season, my favorite animal. He knew how many freckles I had on the outside of my right hand, Annie. How does anyone know that? I didn’t know that!” Rose’s voice became hoarse, her breathing ragged.

Annie’s smooth voice came through the phone. “Okay, slow down, what do you need me to do?”

“I don’t know, call the cops, come pick me up, something. I don’t want to be alone with this guy again.” Tears threatened to spill, fear starting to overcome her.

“Okay, okay, I’ll call the cops and let them know, where are you right now?”

“I’m at the fancy restaurant across town, you know, the expensive one.”

“The Collar?”

“Yes! Yes, The Collar!” Rose practically screamed.

“Okay, Rose, listen to me, you have to go back out there and pretend everything’s okay. Right after I get off the phone with you, I’ll call the police and have them bring you home. I’ll be waiting there, okay? Just stay calm, and don’t let him know you’re onto him, got it?”

“Yeah, okay, I can do that.” Rose took a few deep breaths, preparing to go out again. “I’ll see you later.” And the call disconnected.

Rose looked in the mirror, touched up her makeup, and went back to the table.

“Sorry that took so long! I guess something I ate yesterday didn’t settle too well.”

Colin’s face turned into one of confusion.

“I didn’t think you ate anything harsh yesterday, just some light pasta and garlic bread?” Colin’s emerald eyes bore into hers, a genuine question, waiting for an answer.

“Something could’ve been bad in the ingredients…” How? He couldn’t have known that. I didn’t send any pictures. I didn’t talk about what I ate. How?

“Oh well, at least you had a good night with your book and all. I know how much you enjoy relaxing after a long day with a few chapters from your favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee is a stunning author.”

Rose could feel the color draining from her face, and apparently Colin noticed too. He started stammering.

“I- I know because your friends told me!” Liar. “You know- Annie! She told me!”

Rose heard the sirens first, and noticed red and blue lights out the window.

“Annie doesn’t know you, doesn’t have your number, or have you on any social media. I’ve also never mentioned Annie to you. How do you know all of this?” Rose’s voice turned cold and sharp, and her hickory eyes dull. 

“No-no, that’s not at all how it is. You’re taking this the wrong way. I’m just that good at guessing!” Colin looks at Rose, desperation in his eyes. 

Rose keeps her stare dull.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Colin’s voice becomes unnervingly calm, dark even. 

Rose glances down out the window, checking on the status of the policemen. She sees them parking, and decides to make her escape.

Quickly getting up, she grabs her belongings and moves to get away from the table. Colin’s fast however, and grabs her left wrist in a death grip, trying to pull her back to him.

Rose swivels over her left shoulder, and slams her flattened hand into Colin’s throat, causing him to release her wrist and go into a coughing fit. She hurries off out the door, and finds the officers just outside the restaurant entrance. She immediately introduces herself.

“I’m Rose, my friend Annie called you because of the guy I was on a date with. He’s right over there. Please, get him away from me. He’s crazy. I’m pretty sure he’s been stalking me. He knows my nightly routine, what I ate yesterday, stuff he shouldn’t know. I don’t know how he knows-”

“Ma’am, it’s alright, we’ll take care of it. Do you have a way home?” The policeman spoke to her while his partner went to confront Colin. His gentle face helped her calm her racing thoughts.

“No, he drove me here.”

“That’s alright, we’ll have another officer drive you home. Your friend told me that she’d drive to your house and wait for you there.”

“Yeah, that’s what she told me.”

“Good. Now let’s get you outside and away from him.”

Colin’s screaming echoed in the hallway, and slowly faded the farther away Rose and the policeman went. 

When the two reached the police cars, Rose was greeted by another two officers, a man and a woman. She was ushered into the car before Colin came out, in hopes that he wouldn’t see her. 

He didn’t notice in his frenzy.

The police officers entered the car, and drove her home, exactly to where Annie said was waiting. Rose hopped out of the car, thanking the two for getting her home safely, and ran to Annie, desperate for the touch of a trusted person.

Annie held her until she let go, looking her over for any injuries. When she was satisfied that Rose had received none, the two walked into the house, Annie speaking to her.

“Let’s give you a proper date now. I’ll make you some pasta, I already brought over some wine - red moscato, your favorite - and we can get some garlic bread going. Sound good?”

Rose looked at Annie with a smile.

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

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Tay’s entry ❤ 1.3k words:

It was the perfect night to finally take the most beautiful girl in 12th grade, Heather Farley, out on a proper date. She has a perfect frame, which she complimented with a cute sunflower dress and sandals. Also, her eyes are the deepest shade of blue that almost make her irises disappear. She is a new student, and seems to have every class with me. In fact, that is how I first noticed her. She became my lab partner for Chemistry and saved me from mixing the wrong substances that would have had the school smelling like gym socks for weeks.

I found this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that I have been hiding from even my close friends, in fear they would just turn it into another ‘hot spot’ for making out and talking about that season’s team making it to State. It has an open terrace in the back, lit up with stringed lights and lanterns at each table as soon as the sun goes down. They mostly serve finger foods, but what I go for is my favorite milkshake. I have it down to a science really; you have the chocolate ice cream of course, with two shots of espresso, chocolate chips, whipped cream and two cherries (that I let sink to the bottom to soak up the flavors).

As Heather and I are walking from the bus station to the restaurant, she gingerly slides her hand into mine, and she visibly seems content. She casually leans her head on my shoulder as the restaurant comes into view.

“Wonderful night, don’t you think Alex?” 

I smile and answer. “It sure is Heather. Are you ready to eat at the best place on earth?”

“‘Best place on earth, huh? You seem pretty confident that I will like this place.” She softy laughs and suddenly lets go of my hand. “Race you to the front door.” No sooner did those words escape her mouth that she already had a huge gap on me. Being the fastest runner in our school’s division, it was effortless for me to catch up to her.

As we both tried to catch our breath, she squints at me and says, “You could have at least let me win, Mr. Track Star.” We both laugh and I apologize. We calm down and smooth out our clothing and walk to the door. Before I can open it, my phone starts to go off. I quickly scramble through my pockets but realize that it was just my friend calling and not my mother. 

“Is everything okay, Alex?” Heather asks me. 

“Oh! Ya, it’s just my friend, Tyrone. He probably forgot to do his homework again. Would you mind going in and getting us a table, I don’t get service in there.” She looks a bit upset but then her expression quickly changes, and she happily nods her head and walks in. I walk to the side of the building and answer my phone.

“What do you want, Tyrone? I don’t know if you remember, but I am on a date.” I say with a little bit of edge in my tone.

“Awe, come on man! I was just checking in on you, you never know with these girls. Besides, you never told me which hottie you were going with, just wanted to make sure I didn’t call my man’s date for a night cap.” You could hear him pause for a moment before he completely busted out laughing. “As if I have any girls’ number. But, no, for real, who is the lucky girl?”

“Really funny man. And I did tell you, but you were too busy looking at yourself in the mirror after practice. It’s Heather Farley, the new girl in our grade.”

There was a pause and then, “Wait, there are two Heather’s? The only Heather I know is the one who seemed to have some work done or finally knew what make-up and shampoo were over the summer. Same Heather who hasn’t shown up for her classes all semester.”

Confused I start in again, “That Heather? I haven’t seen her yet this year. I thought she had glasses, this Heather doesn’t have glasses.” 

Tyrone scoffs, “Dude, I don’t know. I guess just see what her deal is. She might be trying to be someone new, re-inventing herself. Hey, the guys just got here. Don’t have too much fun!” With that, my phone goes black, and I roll my eyes. I smooth out my hair one last time and smell my breath before going into the restaurant.

As I walk in I see the hostess playing a game on her phone, so I look around for Heather and immediately see her sitting in the terrace area. I waved at her and gestured to the hostess, who had finally looked up, that I was headed outside. She nodded her head and gave me a menu. Once I walked back outside to the terrace, I noticed that Heather was actually sitting in the exact spot that I always sit at when I come here by myself.

“I thought this would be a good place to sit at. Perfect for our first date, don’t you think?” I simply just nod and sit down. 

The waiter comes out and instantly recognizes me, “I assume the usual, sir?” As if I was going to order anything else.

“Yes, please! Thank you.” I hand him my menu, and then he looks at my date.

“And for you, young lady?” I look at Heather, and it doesn’t even look like she has looked at her menu. 

I quietly whisper to her, “It’s okay if you need more time.” She smiles and shakes her head. 

“No, I am ready. I will have the rye turkey sandwich with mustard instead of mayonnaise. The pickles and tomato slices on the side. And for my drink I would like a chocolate milkshake.” The waiter looks at me with what I assume is the same look of confusion that I must have, seeing how that is exactly what and how I order my meal. Then she continues, “Actually, I would like to modify that milkshake. I would like two shots of espresso, chocolate chips, whipped cream, and two cherries please.” Then the waiter smiles and looks at me as if I was a master-mind. 

“Really cute you two, but you could have saved me some time by just asking for double. Your milkshakes will be out soon.” Then he walks off, as I continue to sit in confusion.

I look over at Heather, and she is looking up at the night sky. “How do you know what I order here?” 

She smiles and doesn’t answer my question. 

I ask again, “How do you know what I order here, Heather? I always come here by myself. So how do you know?” 

Again, she does not answer my question. She slowly looks at me and says, “You know, I love watching things, watching people. I even like counting the stars.” 

I am completely dumbfounded at this. “It’s pointless to count stars.” 

She quickly looks at me with a serious expression. “It’s also pointless to count freckles, but I know you have 24 on the edge of your right hand." 

Thinking she is just messing with me, I scoff. “Good one, Heather.” She laughs and looks back up at the stars, staring at them a little too intently.

Thinking nothing of it, I casually look at my right hand and somehow end up counting the freckles I have never counted before. . . 

22... 

23... 

24. 

I freeze. I look over my hand as if it is hiding more freckles from me. It feels like someone turned on the A/C outside because my body is littered with goosebumps. 

I look at Heather again, and see her staring straight at me. 

“I told you.”

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Let us know in the comments who won this time! We appreciate those of you who have supported us thus far, and we hope to see more of you within the coming weeks. Stay safe! Don’t die! And make sure you know how many freckles you have! 

-Tay ❤

-Kat 🌑

[a-burning-tale]

What content should we post?

Kat and Tay here! We want you all to be included as we grow together as a community, and that includes giving us ideas on what to post. We want to have many different kinds of posts on here, including but not limited to writing competitions, audios of our wacky conversations, maybe even pre-recorded videos of our chats, etc.

This is where you come in, we would appreciate topics and ideas for future posts. We want to steer away from controversial topics, however we are not completely against including them in our content. We are open to multiple different suggestions, and we will try to get to each and every one of them.

Be looking forward to a more constant upload schedule, job situations have kept us from starting strong with that. Bear with us 🙌 we’re trying to make this as painless as possible. 

As of right now, we have a few ideas that we will be using until we have more of a following. Our first idea that we’ll do is a writing competition. We’ll pick out a writing prompt together, and will write a short story in a limited amount of time, and then let you all decide who’s the winner! 

Again, we’re open to suggestions, don’t be shy! We’d love to hear any that you can think of! We hope everyone had a happy holiday season and that everyone is in good spirits. You’ll be hearing from us soon!

-Tay ❤

-Kat 🌑

[a-burning-tale]

Meet the Writers!

Hi, there! I’m Kat, one of the two writers on this blog. We’re here to tell you a bit about ourselves. There’s not much to know about me, I have two dogs named Hades and Athena (and before you guess, yes, I am a nerd when it comes to Greek mythology), but I’m more of a cat person. I love baking desserts, so far I’ve been able to bake any recipe put in front of me EXCEPT for frosting, I can’t make it for some odd reason. I’m very much a music lover, I played clarinet in high school, and now I listen to just about everything; I specifically love alternative and hard rock music, but I have songs in every genre that make my heart sing.

And I’m Tay, the chosen one on this blog. I’m a dog person, but don’t tell Kat. 🤫 You’ll find that, like Kat, I have an upbeat personality, and I love mythology stories. If you’ve ever seen a marching band, I was killer at spinning cymbals in the drum line (don’t worry, I didn’t actually kill anyone, Kat got closer in color guard). I’m a tea connoisseur, and can make some mean chocolates. You’ll find that, whenever I’m posting, there will be puns every other sentence with no shame. I also hold the world record for being able to quote every Disney movie, so come at me! ❤

We met through work, our love for books drew us into a conversation at lunch. Ever since then, we’ve been basically inseparable, talking about our passions for writing our own books, but never actually starting them. We decided then that we would keep each other accountable during the process of writing. In the first few days, we actually found out that we gave good feedback on each other’s books, and decided to start working together to create what we hope to be masterpieces. 

We want to thank all of you in advance. We know this will be a long and tedious process, but with your support, we know we’ll be able to get through it. ❤ If you have any questions for us, don’t be afraid to ask! We’re willing to answer just about anything (except for spoilers 🤫).

-Tay ❤

-Kat 🌑