Shoutout to @MEmbergerauthor on twitter for the word prompt! The 20 minutes is from the moment I jot down the first word till I write the last. I’ll sit and consider the theme and the visual imagery for some minutes beforehand, oftentimes googling images of the word.
“Keep looking!” the girl says. “This only happens once a year.”
“What if it smells like rotten eggs?” the boy asks.
“You’re so dumb. Why would—”
“No, hear me out. What if—”
“Look, look!”
The bulbous pod of the cactus pops open, orange and white petals peeking out. The Queen of the Night only blooms once a year at midnight. The boy and the girl have waited for this.
When the flower is full, the girl raises her hands, grinning toothily, and slaps her palms together, crushing the flower. They both laugh, tasting the smell of crushed petals.
Photo credit – Diana Cochran Johnson
A.R.Frederiksen 