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AsakiyumeI am sending the wind to pester you. I am sending it to make the loose shutter bang against the house and to tangle the washing on the clothesline. I'm sending it to <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/rifle" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#rifle</a> your papers and leave them in a mess on the floor. But I am also asking it to lift your hair, kiss your neck, and sing you a haunted song through the needles of the pines. May it impede you, distract you, touch you, until such time as I myself again am able to. When the wind comes, think of me.<a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a> <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#microfiction</a> <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/love" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#love</a>

tobadzistsiniAmidst the bleeping harmonies of multiple monitors, a frail hand opened the notebook and, with deliberation, began to read. 9/9 <a href="https://bonequest.net/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

tobadzistsiniGlassy, dim eyes stared into the distance. Larry's gut twisted with guilt. He reached into his messenger bag and pulled out the notebook. "Sorry" he whispered as he laid it upon the old man's lap. "He's gone" Larry sniffed and wiped his eye. As the time crawled past, he filled a cup with water and placed it on a nearby tray before walking out with a mumbled apology. 8/x <a href="https://bonequest.net/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

tobadzistsiniThey walked in silence. The rattle as she unlocked the room's door filled the hallway. She gestured for him to enter. Laying on a bed, made massive in contrast with the old frame, was Adrian Sterling. Tubes wound about him. Some with fluids. Others with oxygen. "He probably won't remember you." She checked her watch, "Only fifteen minutes." Her hand touched Larry's shoulder, "The facility's rules, not mine." Adrian Sterling's biggest fanboy was left alone with the man himself. 7/x <a href="https://bonequest.net/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

tobadzistsini"Can I help you?" The nurse was tired but friendly. Larry pushed back his hair, "Larry Morency." Adrian's mother's maiden name. "I'm here to visit my great-grandfather Adrian Sterling." "One moment." The nurse checked her tablet then left. Larry tapped his foot, "It's not too late" he muttered. "He can still crank out a short story." Guilt ate at him while he waited. "Mister Morency?" He jumped, "Yes?" A woman with a severe bun wearing a white coat stood before him. "Follow me." 6/x <a href="https://bonequest.net/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

tobadzistsini"Virgil!" A deep voice redolent of Morgan Freeman and Leonard Nimoy boomed, "Yes, Larry?" "Please help me find one Adrian Sterling." He scanned the notebook. "Sometime back during the early depression, twenty four or twenty five. Province of New Jersey." An eyeblink later Virgil spat out the dox for A.S. and confirmed he now lived in a nursing home. Larry charged downstairs and hopped a bullet train to the east coast. 5/x <a href="https://bonequest.net/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

tobadzistsiniLarry shouted with joy! Wiping his finger on his shirt, he looked closer. A familiar name. Distinctive handwriting reminding him of a column of army ants carrying banners atop long poles. Stealing this notebook wound up screwing over, he squinted at the name, "Adrian Sterling" whose career never got off the ground after the loss. A few braincells dislodged with a spark of memory. Dismayed by the loss of an outline for what he considered to be his opus, A.S. faded into ignominy. 4/x <a href="https://bonequest.net/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

tobadzistsiniTape ripped from the vodka box adorned with faded magic marker stars and Larry dove in. Something pricked his finger. Instead of yanking back to suck the blood, he yanked it out. "WRITING" was scrawled across the red, spiral-bound notebook with yellow pages. With his non-bleeding finger he flipped through. "...emerged from the waves covered in barnacles having walked from the Marianas Trench and raised his fists to the sun..." 3/x <a href="https://bonequest.net/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

tobadzistsini"If he never wrote it, why not take the writer's notes and bring them to the present to sell for a profit" was his rationale. Some girl in Taiwan jaunted to 1922 Paris, stole Hemingway's suitcase, then made bank at auction. Why wouldn't lightning strike twice? Heck, the reason why Action Comics #1, Amazing Fantasy #15, and Detective Comics #27 used to be rare was rampant theft from the future where those comics became worthless. He <a href="https://bonequest.net/tags/rifled" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#rifled</a> through more boxes. 2/x <a href="https://bonequest.net/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

tobadzistsiniHis neck hurt from being in the cramped attic, but Larry was on a mission. That notebook he stole from 2024 had to be up here. He chuckled at the absurdity of time travel being a brief fad but when reality snapped back, lots of folks found themselves stuck elsewhen because the gadget just wouldn't work for anyone. Guilt haunted Larry after his final jaunt to the past. His favorite writer, he couldn't remember the name, regretted never writing one particular story in an interview. 1/x <a href="https://bonequest.net/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

Extra Special Bittera hunter's nightmare herds of deer with assault rifles <a href="https://indieauthors.social/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

AsakiyumeAnd here's another multiparter (4 parts) in the <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a> hashtag for today's prompt word, "rifle." This one is from <a href="https://bonequest.net/@tobadzistsini" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@tobadzistsini</a>. <a href="https://bonequest.net/@tobadzistsini/114387802085390564" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://bonequest.net/@tobadzistsini/114387802085390564</a>

AsakiyumeToday's <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a> writing prompt word is "rifle"Here's part one of a 2-parter from @stevendbrewer--which meaning of "rifle" will he go for...?<a href="https://wandering.shop/@stevendbrewer/114387723493758357" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://wandering.shop/@stevendbrewer/114387723493758357</a>

tobadzistsiniFrom the brush Jake spied uniformed men the size of bears laughing and talking to each other. Two stood at the ready with <a href="https://bonequest.net/tags/rifles" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#rifles</a> to cover the other three coming and going from quonset. He did a quick, mental audit and affirmed no matériel was available and he held any incriminating stuff. Just maps, the radio, and regular camping equipment remained inside. Ice gripped him. And the transponder. 4/4 <a href="https://bonequest.net/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

tobadzistsiniA hint of tobacco tickled Jake's nose. He scrambled to his feet to look around, ears strained to hear anything beyond the complaining jackdaws and timid jerboas who stole the peanuts he left on the ground. Jake inhaled again in the hopes he was hallucinating. But no. Someone was smoking Belomorkanals. He grabbed his pack, took off his shoes despite the chill, and followed a different path back to camp. 3/x <a href="https://bonequest.net/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

tobadzistsiniRussia wasn't entirely depopulated. Stragglers in remote places during October 10th remained under western custodianship during restructuring or raw dogged it in the wilderness. He remembered old blog posts about the Lykov family and appreciated their tenacity. Goodness only knows what new philosophies will gain traction from their isolation. Dad joked Russians wrote such long novels and treatises to pass the time buried under heavy winters. It sounded true, but Jake doubted that. 2/x <a href="https://bonequest.net/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

tobadzistsiniJake relished the quiet around the encampment. So far the days without Kiki and Tav passed peacefully He fell into an easy routine of strolling through the forest, keeping company with a babbling creek, and taking in the fresh air. Bo's voice in his head interrupted the calm, "Russia's nice without the Russians." Jake shook his head, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed. "Brought it on themselves, Jake." A star-spangled earworm drowned out the Bo voice. 1/x <a href="https://bonequest.net/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

Steven D. Brewer 🏳️‍⚧️It required careful calibration to withstand the forces produced inside the accelerator. After reassembly, she powered it up and used the flux monitor to check for leakage. One spot was still just barely outside norms. Sighing, she powered it down, stripped it again, and started over. (2/2) <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

Extra Special Bitterpacifist bookstore I rifle through the history section <a href="https://indieauthors.social/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>

Wandering Shop StoriesToday's Wandering Shop Stories <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/prompt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#prompt</a> is <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/rifle" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#rifle</a> . Feel like writing something short and sweet that has the word "rifle " in it? Check out the definitions of the word at: <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rifle" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rifle</a> Join in and tag it with <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#wss366</a>! <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writing</a> <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/WritingLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WritingLife</a> <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#microfiction</a> h/t <a href="https://indieauthors.social/@extraspecialbitter" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@extraspecialbitter</a>

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