Saturday Centus is Mrs. Jenny Matlock's writing theme in which participants are asked to write a story with a limited number of words based upon a given prompt and are to keep the content and language PG (=decent enough for children to read).
This week's prompt is "The wall was built long ago".
Normally we only get to use 100 words (the name "Centus" means 100) but this week we are allotted up to 200 words besides the six words of the prompt! Yippee!
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Here is my text:
Ten-year-old Melany Turnbull had returned to England, after her parents had died of cholera in India. She came to live with distant relatives in a huge house with hundreds of rooms. No one seemed to care much about Melany, so she wandered alone to amuse herself. One day she discovered her invalid cousin, Cedric, in one of the rooms. He seemed to have lost interest in life. Melany thought that it might help him to breathe some fresh air, so she pushed him in his wheel-chair out to the rose-garden.
There was a wall on one side of the rose-garden that had a locked door. The wall was built long ago, at the same time as the manor. Melany climbed one of the apple trees to get a better look. She saw that there was an overgrown, neglected, but probably a once very beautiful, garden there. A secret garden. Cook said that her ladyship had loved flowers and that this was her own garden. When her ladyship suddenly died, his lordship was heart-broken and locked the door. He never let anyone in the garden again.
Melany was determned to see the secret garden and then show Cedric. But first she needed to find the key.
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Wordcount acording to WordCalc: 200
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Best wishes,
Anna
P.S.
This text is essentially a summary of the well-known children's classic The Secret Garden. I am not being very original this week. I am just taking this story as the starting point for this excerise. I have changed the names. They are not Melany and Cedric. I have the book at home, but I am too lazy to look up what their names are. I loved reading this novel. I read it first as an adult. I highly recommend it.
First Commenter:
xxx
To read other texts using this prompt, please go the this site or click on the image below:
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11 Comments:
Anna, Don't be so hard on yourself! These words are beautifully and lovingly strung together and evoke a feeling of peace and hope. I enjoy your work - very much.
Namaste.........cj
Outstanding job Anna !
I love your lovely words and beautiful treatment of one of my favorite books. I also enjoy a good cliffhanger and I am positive Mary and Colin would approve !!!
Such a difficult task to write from an existing story, and keep the flavor...well done !! Peace and blessings
I love this story, too, and I think your telling of it was in keeping with the original.
=)
I enjoyed it. I've never read the book. Maybe I should.
I love the way you summarized the book, and it's okay that it's not original. The key is in the writing and I enjoyed reading the little clip about the book. Thank you for sharing this. Keep writing.
Anna, you be nice to you...we all admire your writing.
I actually felt like I was settling into a good book, and then all the sudden it was over. I shook my computer monitor and no additional pages fell out to my dismay.
This was really well done. I love the pace and the characters in it.
Very, very good!
Well just from reading your text I'm interested in reading more. It sounds like a wonderful story. I think you did well.
I'm left wanting more. There's a peacefulness to this one, Anna. I always enjoy your writing.
Take care.
xoRobyn
This was always one of my favorite books, and I love your homage to it! Your creative use of the prompt was very enjoyable! Kat
I've always loved that story!!!
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