*writing practice prompt: write a short interaction between two people that shows a shared history."
They lived in a small house, in a small town, with their small lives, but the fickle summer wind had other ideas.
“Agnes come quick.”
“What is it?”
“Come quick, you won’t believe this.”
“What Bess, what is it?”
“It’s a baby.”
“A what?”
“A baby, Agnes. You know a BABY.”
“Yes, I know what a baby is, Bess. What’s it doing here?”
“It’s in a basket. Someone must have left it here.”
“Well, where do you think it came from, Bess?”
“Where do any babies come from Agnes.”
“You know what I mean, where did this baby come from?”
“I don’t know, Agnes. Who would have left a baby here?”
“You didn’t see anybody?”
“No, I didn’t see anybody. Just the basket, I thought Biddy was leaving us more vegetables from her garden, not a baby.”
“You think Biddy left us a baby?”
“Don’t be silly, Agnes. Where would Biddy get a baby from?”
“I don’t know. You’re the one who thought she left it.”
“NO I thought Biddy left us more vegetables.Do keep up.”
“Well what are we going to do with a baby, Bess?”
“I suppose we should take it out of the basket.”
“You’re not suggesting we keep the baby? What are we going to do with a baby?”
“We can’t leave it here Agnes, it’s a baby. I’m sure someone will come back for it.”
“Bess you can’t just take in a baby, it’s not a stray kitten. Do you have any idea how much work a baby is?”
“Yes I know how much work a baby is, I’m not daft Agnes. What else is there to do? We can’t exactly leave the poor wee thing out in this heat. She’ll die. Do you want that on your conscious? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather meet St Peter without having to explain why I let an innocent babe die for want of a little care.”
“Heavens, Bess I wasn’t suggesting that at all. I may be a cranky old woman, but I’m no baby killer. Best get the wee one in the house then. I’ll see what I can rummage up to feed it then we’ll call the proper authorities and see what is to be done.”
“Her.”
“What?”
“Not it, her. She’s a darling little girl.”
“Sweet Mary and Joseph, I know that look. You’ve gone all soft already, I’ve never been able to talk you out of keeping any of God’s creatures once you’ve got that look. Come on Bess, let’s see what we can do.”
(I rather like the story that is forming here, so many questions in my head that I want to have answered. I think I'll keep working on this piece and see where it wants to go.)
