Umm
30 Dec 2018Today’s prompt: “Write a scene where the only spoken dialogue is ‘Uh-huh,’ ‘Umm,’ ‘Urrrr,’ ‘Mm-mmm’”
The young woman in the black robe with the red lining picks up a small, awl-like instrument. “Umm,” she says, then glances to her mentor, a wizened old man in an identical robe. He remains silent.
The young woman cautiously holds the awl level with your eyes, the point about two inches away from your left eye.
“Mmm-mmmm!” you say through your gag.
The young woman looks at her mentor again.
“Mm-mmm,” he says, shaking his head.
The young woman lowers the awl to your throat. She palms the handle, making ready to stab with it. She looks again at her mentor.
“Mm-mmm,” he shakes his head again.
She lowers the awl again, this time to where your hand is strapped to the arm of the chair. She raises an eyebrow and looks at her mentor again.
“Uh-huh,” he says.
Her delicate fingers take yours for a moment, then insert the point of the awl below the nail of your index finger. You breathe deeply. Her left hand holds the awl in position. She draws back her right hand, then smacks the palm against the butt of the awl’s handle.
“URRRR!” you scream through the gag.
The woman looks at the man again. The old man nods his head and smiles his approval. He then points his finger at the next item on the table, a cage with a rat in it. Atop the cage sits a bowl with a knife in it.
You look at the table. It’s covered with a wide variety of objects.
It’s a long table.
The woman places the awl gingerly back on the table, and takes the knife out of the bowl.
It’s a long night.