For those just tuning in, this challenge is about taking a story idea from bare bones idea into a fully fledged story by writing consistently every week day for fifteen minutes. The sentence I end with on one day, is the sentence I start with on the following. Part one was Bob’s story and has nothing whatsoever to do with the story below. Part Two follows a character named Penelope. I have a few basic sentences to act as road marks on her journey. I am loosely calling that an outline. We will see where she ends up by the time the story is done. For now, we start Part two of the 2025 Fifteen Minute Writing Challenge.
Day 45: Penelope blinked and read the passage again.
Penelope blinked and read the passage again. ‘My body rejected the idea,’ Penelope repeated slowly. She recalled the sensation she felt in the parking lot. She planned to walk to the front cart return and deposit the cart before leaving the parking lot but she couldn’t make herself go in that direction.
“My body rejected the idea,” Penelope said. Eager for more information, she turned back to the page. In her journal Amelia reported taking the right trail and enjoying herself.
‘I suppose I simply needed the fresh air,’ Amelia said. “It is a pity though as the longer ride caused me to miss quite a great deal of excitement. I reached home later than usual and as is my habit I went in to fortify myself with tea and a biscuit. I found that somehow the tea had been contaminated. Cook, anticipating my arrival made the tea at the normal time and in the usual manner. When I was later than usual, she deduced I had taken the longer path and poured it out for herself and the housemaids planning to make a fresh pot for me when I arrived. All three, the cook and the two housemaids were taken violently ill. I returned to the house just as the doctor arrived. He happened to be in the district and came more quickly than anyone could have expected. It was a fortuitous event as had he arrived any later, there is the possibility one if not more might have perished. As it is, they will be abed for a while as they recover.’
Penelope frowned. While the cook and others getting sick wasn’t something Amelia associated with her odd feeling about taking the longer path, it reminded Penelope too much of the grocery story. In the events of the contamination, Amelia seemed to have forgotten the odd feeling at the split of the path.
Penelope continued to read and found that Amelia only remembered the incident a few days later when something similar occurred.
“Went visiting to Emily’s this morning. It was at mother’s insistence. Apparently Emily’s mother thinks that I have been slighting in maintaining our acquaintance. Emily and I have never been close friends and in fact I often fine her somewhat tiresome. However, my brother’s birthday celebration is set to be the talk of the county and as her mother hopes Emily will be invited as one of my friends she is anxious. I reminded mother that Emily was already on the guest list and she could just as easily have shared the information and spared me an afternoon of listening to Emily waffle on but I was told I must go.”
Penelope smiled at the irritation etched in the words.
Ten til Midnight 