This is tough. I just had to try it myself.

I'm not sure whether I meet the ten second rule or not. Tell me what you think.....under ten seconds? Do you get it? Pretty flimsy characterization, I suppose. Let me know.

Rita showed up at the club and watched from the edge of the dance floor. Jacklyn was dancing with whoever wasn’t too intimidated to bump and grind with her. She could count them on one hand, but it was a stretch sometimes. Then she saw Rita. Jack’s smile warmed, shone across the room. She followed it and extended a hand to Jo, who shook her head just a little.

“I don’t.” Rita said distinctly, leaning to Jack’s ear to be heard over the pulsing beat, and motioning to the dance floor. Jack looked perplexed and shook her head.

“Then why did you come?” Jack asked as she stepped close to Rita, so she could rest her hand on Jo’s shoulder and her lips brushed Jo’s ear as she spoke.

“To see you.” Rita spoke firmly and clearly. Jack was please to feel herself blush.

“You like to watch me dance?” She asked. Rita nodded. Jack beamed then turned to returned across the dance floor.

Across the room, Helen sat with her friends, pretending not to watch. Jack went back to their table for a swig of soda. She stepped between Helen’s legs, and bent over to get her drink from in front of Linda, who sat across the table. After emptying the glass down to the ice she turned into Helen’s arms and sat on her lap. She rested for only a moment.

“Come ‘ere.” She said. “I want you to meet someone.” And she took Helen’s hand and lead her around the room to where Rita stood. “Helen, this is Rita. Rita, Helen.”

I'll bite too.

Rosarium

I filled my lungs with air and dived back under the surface of the cold murky water. Jojo was still stuck in the car. I knew time was of the essence, the longer he was without oxygen the higher the chance of long-term brain damage, not to mention hypothermia and possible death. There’s the car, barely visible, to much debris in the water, plus the turbidity caused by the storm. I grabbed the door handle, braced my feet on the side of the car, and pulled with all my might, still stuck. I muttered a quick prayer. I needed air so I bobbed up to the surface, gasped for air, and screamed to God for help.

I did a summersault and headed back down. Finding the car yet again, I braced myself and yanked as hard as I could. I felt a slight give and then was suddenly propelled backwards as the door exploded open. I swam back towards the car, grabbed at the seatbelt clasp, it released. I wrapped an arm around Jojo. We went up as fast as possible to the surface. I got his head above water as far as I could and swam faster to shore than I thought possible. I laid him down on the muddy riverbank and began CPR while wondering how I’d call 911 with my cell phone submerged under six feet of raging river. Between rescue breaths as I pounded his chest I prayed like I hadn’t prayed in years. Suddenly we were bathed in light from above.

ETA - comments welcome

Andrea's head turned, and suddenly she saw him across the crowded room. He was standing next to the bar, joking with Matthew. There was a girl next to him - blonde, blue-eyed - with her hand on his arm. He was looking away from her. Somehow that was comforting to Andrea. His head turned, his eyes locked with hers, and a familiar shot of electricity coursed through her body. She still wasn't over him.

"Andrea? Are you coming?"

Susan was on her other side. Andrea cast another look at the bar. He was gone, though the blonde was still there, batting her eyes at Matthew.

"Yeah, just let me get my purse."

O.K., here it is, weighing in at a round 100 words: "Roth and the Shawl"

A gift given on demand, is not really a gift. She smiled in consolation unwrapping it. The shawl he had stolen from his sister was stained by the sin, embedded in the diagonal stripe woven across its center. She thanked him and went on with the ceremony. A pen from Loris. A painted thimble from Suz. Arnel had found a wind-worn stone and had set it onto a piece of leather, on a thong for her to wear. She thanked and praised them for their good taste. After saying goodnight, her fingertips brushed across Roth's head. It began to pound.

Argh! carolsue!

Is it only in my part of the world, but there seem to be more than the usual broken hearts at this particular moment (thankfully I am witness and friend, not owner to them). I'm afraid that time is more precious and neccessary than rings in terms of long-term love, heh?

I love the way you weave a story.

Jessi

Are dreams that never come true really lies? He lay there, struggling to inhale. Some music softly played. "Standing on the shoulders of giants leaves me cold" Those words from R.E.M. seemed perfect. He was cold and tired from the journey called life.

He had been a giant himself, a man who learned to move mountains and shake the trees. Now laying in a dream he felt her moving under the covers next to him. He knew she was a dream; she wasn’t really there.

Gathering his courage he moved his hand to the right. He felt her there slightly moving and a sweet sigh escaped her lips. He felt her soft skin wrapped around the smooth curve of her hip. It was not a dream and yet it was his dream.

The sky was a murky gray peeking through the window. In the cabin even murkier, shadows moved slowly on the pine log walls. He closed his eyes, trying to remember who and where he was. He could not remember any clearer than the shadows that mocked him why she was there.

He slowly fell back into a deep peaceful twilight sleep finally believing in his dreams. Finally feeling the dream he never could really believe. Finally and peacefully drifting away, her hand in his, he heard the words “Standing on the shoulders of giants leaves me cold."

Bobby paused to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He knew if any of it dripped into his eyes it would make his task a hell of a lot harder. Shifting the butt of the rifle a little tighter into the soft part of his chest he steadied himself and gazed down the long, black rifle barrel.
"Okay", he whispered. "Stay focused." He tried to slow his breathing. He knew that if he got too excited, too impatient his aim would be off.
His target moved into view. Bobby tried to track it with the rifle but it seemed that no sooner had he lined up the shot, then the intented target moved out of sight. He'll be back, thought Bobby, Just have to wait.
No sooner had the thought left his mind when the mark came back into view. Fixing his grip a little firmer, Bobby gently started to squeeze the trigger. He tracked the target from right to left and just as it seemed he would again be eluded Bobby completed the squeeze and the bullet was loosed. In the blink of an eye the target was down, taking the bullet in the head.
Bobby let out a long, satisfied sigh and as he lowered his rifle he could hear the stall owner call out to the passerbys "Come on up folks, shoot a duck and win a prize!"
"I'll take my prize now," said Bobby. "Your duck's dead!"

Okay I'm in

A Quiet Walk

Walking beside you, feeling your warmth, your touch, the look of wonder and hope in your eyes as you look up at me makes me desire to never let you go. The intimacy of that moment in time, arms about each other, peaceful and relaxed, brings a deep sigh of content from my heart. I cannot remember the last time I felt such a moment of peace; was there ever a moment like that before now? Surely, I do not know.
The feel of you in my arms, holding you close to my chest, the silken caress of your hair, the savor of your lips a delicacy, your tender embrace comforts my soul. Holding each other affectionately, wanting every moment to last forever. How my heart longs for you, no longer an ephemeral thought you are ever-present in my mind now. I can still see the smile of your eyes, the glow of your face lighting up even the darkest day; you are radiance itself to me.

I'm new to this forum and decided to finally post. So... here is what I did for this:

The leaves rustled with the wind's delicate fingers combing through them. Slashes of sunlight penetrated to the forest floor here and there, highlighting fleeting glimpses of fauna in motion. In the distance, birds clicked their mating calls and were answered with almost identical sounds. A squirrel darted up a tree with its booty in hand, proud to store something away in its alcove.

Samantha smiled through the fading pain. There was at least some solace in what had come to pass. There would be beauty enveloping her in its tender embrace. She swallowed back the lump in her throat. Thick iron greeted her senses. In a body going completely numb, there was at least that feeling.

The squirrel scampered down the trunk of oak and stood on a nearby rock, staring at her. It tilted its head one-way and then another before leaping from the pedestal and gradually tiptoeing towards her form. Its tiny black eyes watched her face before turning to the fallen tree trunk crushing her hips and abdomen. There, she ended at the tree began. When it looked back, her hand had stilled and her eyes stared unblinking at its tiny face. It tilted its head to the side one last time before darting off in the direction of more fallen booty.


(Edit: Fixed some formatting and word usage because the forum didn't like it)