Clear, sharp, beautiful. The crystalline structure of a rock glints in the slanting sun, revealing symmetry and mystery. The crystalline structure of a woman’s face frames her remarkable beauty. The word itself attracts admirers.
Crystalline is the word writers played with this week. Stories emerged from the word’s beauty and grace, leading readers down many paths.
The following are based on the July 27, 2017 prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story using the word crystalline.
***
The Journey by Ann Edall-Robson
The freezing winter season turns my path into ice
Blankets of snow keep me safe in my place
Dislodged by the thaw and watery storms
Occasionally, I rest with the spring’s flooded debris
Waiting my turn to be unceremoniously flung adrift
Traversing the land between rain drenched banks
Travelling for miles only to stop unexpectedly
Laying for days on end or tiny minutes in time
I’ve rumbled and rolled, gathering speed in the flow
From the highest of peaks to the creek bed below
Cousin to crystalline, gold, sandstone and shale
We’re gathered together in bunches along sandy shores
###
Crystalline by Pensitivity
The advertisement said they could do this, though it wasn’t cheap.
Alighting from the taxi, her initial impression was uncertainty, but hugging her precious load to her chest, she entered the building.
The cost of five thousand pounds almost took her breath away, but it would be worth it as she would be able to carry her love about her person forever.
She selected her preference and was told to collect it in seven days.
The end result was fabulous.
Her father’s ashes were now in the crystalline form of a man-made diamond in the pendant around her neck.
###
Pyrite Sun by Robbie Cheadle
The elderly vendor, his small stall heaped with colourful rocks of all shapes and sizes, smiled. He was delighted by the boys interest in his wares and was happy to let them examine the rocks they showed interest in. Willy liked the crystalline formations. Craig, of course, was always fascinated by the unusual and he was entranced by the Pyrite Sun. He held it up and it glinted in the sunlight. Mom looked on with pleasure. She knew that this would result in her having to buy both boys the rock of their choice but their enthusiasm pleased her.
###
Darling Crystalline by Norah Colvin
Her mother wanted Chrystal; father, Clementine. Calm registrar decided: Baby Crystalline.
Parental spats continued as Crystalline grew up. Never in agreement, it made her so messed-up.
Crystalline retreated, spent days all on her own, searching by the water, for brightly coloured stones.
She gathered a collection that healed her aching heart, ignited self-compassion and made a brand-new start.
Believing stones worked magic, curing each and every woe, she took the heart stones with her, wherever she would go.
She shared their healing powers, with any she could find, she told them “Pay it forward. She became their darling Crystalline.
###
Crystalline by D. Avery
She laughed. “What do you mean you love me? We just met.”
“Yet I’m madly in love with you.”
“What do you love about me?”
“The way you talk. I love the clarity of your thought, that sparkle in your eyes. I love the lustre of your smile.”
“You talk like a geologist.”
“And I’ve found a jewel. I’m in love with you.”
“You don’t even know my name.”
“So tell me.”
“Guess.”
“Ruby. No, it’s Gem, that’s what you are.”
“No, and no. Not Ruby, not Gem.”
“Tell me.”
“My name is Crys.”
“Crys?”
Short for Crystalline.”
“Aha!”
###
Silent Lucidity by C. Jai Ferry
When I was five years old, I unscrewed the metal-topped beer bottles for the neighborhood adults gathered on our porch. The crystalline liquid fueled their ingenuity, and they solved the world’s most pressing problems with a flair and finesse that would be the envy of any statesman. I listened in awe, unscrewing more metal tops while detailing the numerous points in my head that I was anxious to contribute to the discussion. But as the twilight emerged and darkness deepened, the neighbors wandered home to their dirty dishes and unpaid bills, leaving me alone to contemplate my unspoken statecraft.
###
My Crystalline Complexion by Jeanne Lombardo
The sales associate was all of 20.
“I just want some eye cream,” I said.
“I have the perfect product for you,” she enthused. “The Gone in 60 Seconds Instant Wrinkle Eraser.”
“C’mon, nothing is going to erase my wrinkles,” I said.
“This one will. With all-natural sodium silicate, it instantly erases fine lines and wrinkles. It’ll provide that little bit of a ‘lift’ you need.”
“Hmmm” I said, my skepticism deepening the frown between my eyebrows.
“Really, I use both the eye and the face cream in the line. I’ve been told I have a crystalline complexion.”
###
Crystalline Clear by FloridaBorne
“Is that Crystalline?” Josh asked. “I ordered you not to…”
“You’re clear as glass.”
He scratched a spot on a head full of luscious black hair and asked, “Huh?”
“You proposed to me twice. I said no.”
“If I ask you again and you say no, I’ll walk!” he said with a scowl. “And I expect a key to your place…”
“I have a job and own my home. You don’t. What I lack in my life is a man who respects me. Goodbye, Josh. Is that crystalline enough for you?”
I turned away from him, never looking back.
###
Tralucent Trauma? (Janice vs Richard #16) by JulesPaige
Unlike a bull in a china shop, anger and rage permeated
every nervous pore in Richard’s body. Vacant eyes stared
at the salvaged offal staining the shine of the celadon bowl
of the animal he had just dissected. His shoulders sagged
as just the hint of abashedness tried to surface. His trenchancy
returning as he carefully placed the clippers on the tarp covered
table. He thought he would ‘read’ the offering after setting fire
to it.
Richard wanted crystalline clear directions of what to do next.
Would he, could he destroy the only thing that had once loved
him?
###
Clearly a Party Site (from Miracle of Ducks) by Charli Mills
Danni crouched and considered the crystalline structure of the rock in her hand. The lab had scoured Kansas clay from its coarse features. Pink. Granite. Not the Woodland sandstone hearth she had expected to find at this depth. What did it mean? She glanced at the identified bones – beaver, deer, elk.
“Dr. Gordon?” One of the Lawrence students approached, sweaty after a humid day of trowel-work. “Wanted to invite you to a pig roast this weekend.”
“Pig roast?”
“Yeah, my uncle’s a pit-master”
“A pit…It’s a pit not a hearth! Ha! We’ve discovered a thousand year old BBQ site!”
###
Homecoming by Liz Husebye Hartmann
Deep winter, full moon, subtle rhythm of skis hissing through snow just-crystallized after a day of drifting flakes. No firm path, just skirting the deep wood where nobody with good sense enters after dark.
She liked to live on the edge.
Cutting across the meadow towards cliff’s edge, she changes her stride for deeper pack. Ahead, her hut will be warm, sweet with the scents of tea, and pie made from autumn’s bounty—once she reanimates the hearth. The moon sparkles crystalline off the fjord’s open water.
Shucking skis, she sets wards around the perimeter. No surprise visitors tonight.
###
Unnecessary by Jane Dougherty
She was reading through the works of Thomas Hardy, revising and updating. It was necessary if the next generation was to understand anything of the classics. Dark was normal, clinging smog, algae in watercourses, puddles of rainwater, mirror shiny with petrochemicals. The world of the classics had gone; even their words were slowly leaking away as they were no longer needed. She was just helping the process along. It was her job.
The cursor stopped. She frowned. Crystalline. A rapid search told her what it meant. Her frown deepened. She extracted the word. No adjective needed. Water was water.
###
Replay, Rewind, Repeat by JulesPaige
While change is the only real constant – I will have my words
in books that I can hold. I may be unschooled amid classical
writings – but I will wonder books stores with shelves of sheaf’s
that behold the hidden truths in poetic wrangling… And if I
am to be consumed by those waves of words I shan’t ask for
water… just specks… the kind one needs to make words
crystalline, even if only briefly imagined in my dementia.
Imogene’s specks were thick to magnify print. Reading the
classics with dementia was like reading them for the first time
everytime.
Dark of Winter by D. Avery
People said that they walked on water that winter. Because everywhere was frozen water. It came down as freezing rain and remained frozen, encasing the countryside in a glassy sheen. Rain would be followed by a cold spell, with never any snow to soften the bleak monotonous gray. It was a winter of impossible travel, of long days stuck inside, of boredom and its attendant drinking and tempers. It was a winter when heinous occurrences, mute secrets, were blamed on the entrapments, the relentless icing.
She wished the crystalline memory that gripped her still, frozen, would shatter, would melt.
###
Blind Dreams by Bill Engleson
The sun is so bright.
Against sensible advice, I stare into its brilliant firestorm.
The shock is immediate, I am blinded yet see the careening crystalline future, colors rampaging off into fireballs, shimmering delights chewing away at any clarity.
I see all.
I see nothing.
My kaleidoscope eyes twinkle in the darkness.
My mind’s eye remembers all.
I have visions, you know.
Sightless from the laser sun scorching my eyeballs acinder, images as clear as irony feast on my memory.
I walk the night.
It is as if it is day.
And lo, it is the sun, so bright.
###
Bit by Bit by Reena Saxena
Life has been an uphill struggle for me. Reality does not match my ambitions, and the causes are not always external. I need to develop a success mindset.
I battled with my genetic makeup, acquired personality traits and my reactions to the world, based on cumulative experience. Altering the crystalline structure that shapes my personality appears to be a life-long task.
The new signals that I send out, draw a certain response from others. If it is not favorable, I revise my strategy and recreate myself again.
Bit by bit, I put
myself together to break,
then reassemble again.
###
Crystalline by Michael
It was her crystalline features that first attracted me. She commanded a room, she had beautifully defined facial characteristics that held you in awe as you took her in. Everything was not only in proportion but you moved from one to another spellbound, from the shape of her nose to her mouth that you just wanted to kiss, to her eyes that looked into your soul and you knew you could engage with into whatever eternity she took you.
But when she spoke the allure of her voice was captivating, she took your breath away, and you welcomed it.
###
The Diamond by Susan Zutautas
Brilliantly shining
From reflections off the sun
Displays all colors
Are all manifestly
Stunning picking up spectrums
From the world over
On one knee he kneels
Placing it on my finger
Will you marry me
I look at the rock
Mesmerized by its beauty
Tears well in my eyes
He looks on nervous
As he awaits my answer
Praying I say yes
How could I say no
I love him with all my heart
Yes I’ll marry you
Crystalline beauty
Forever on my left hand
Till the day I die
Impenetrable
Proposal of a marriage
Like the diamond rock
###
Marriage Guidance by Anne Goodwin
Leaving the divorce court, Jack crossed the road to the pub. His sister was a good listener but, having helped him pick up the pieces after three failed marriages, her patience was wearing thin. “You keep ending up with women who are just like you,” said Jill. “But sometimes opposites rub along best.”
“I should look for the ying to my yang? But I’m Mr Average. Everyone shares my tastes.”
“I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine.” She beckoned to a woman who’d been leaning on the bar. “Jack Spratt meet Crystal. Crystal Lean meet Jack.”
###
As Transparent as the Water by Joe Owens
Justine could not pry her eyes away from the crystalline beauty before her. She stood inches away from the lapping waves wishing she could see into Tim’s heart as easily as she watched the tiny seas creatures playing in the waters here. But his heart was guarded because of his past.
She knew she could help him, when he was ready to let her. But when that would be was what gave her pause. In her gut she felt like he was worth the wait, but every voice around her said different.
She alone had to decide.
###
Crystalline Confusion by Kerry E.B. Black
Doriya squinted into the crystaline globe, willing her gypsy blood to interpret the nothingness within. Her client chewed her lower lip, dark eyes wide in a too-pale face. Designer purse.
Manicured nails, but terrible skin and teeth. A gold heart locket about her neck. Doriya ignored the silent ball and relied on body language. “You’re nervous.”
The client blinked over-large eyes. “Do you see him?”
Doriya nodded. “He’s handsome.”
The client jiggled her foot. “Yes. Will he propose?”
Doriya frowned. “Sorry, no.”
The client’s cheeks colored, and she left. Doriya’d provided the wrong answer if she wanted a tip.
###
Mother Lode by D. Avery
“Shorty’s got rocks in her head.”
“Yep, it’s become purty obvious. Goin’ on an on ‘bout rocks all the time. Rocks in her head, alright, and in her pockets, in her saddlebags. She’s always gatherin’, seems like.”
“Our tumbleweed’s become a rock tumbler.”
“That phrase weren’t too smooth, Kid.”
“Well, I’m in a hurry, itchin’ to do some minin’ of my own. There’s 24 carrot gold in these here hills.”
“Jest remember, Kid, glitter ain’t always gold. Me, I’m jest gonna ride under the crystalline sky, enjoy a gem of a day.”
“That’s minin’ too.”
“Yep, Kid, it is.”
###
This week brought out much word play and punning around, but this is a seriously fine collection. I’d say that I knew you’d do a great job here, Charli Mills, but don’t want you to think I take you for granite. But yeah, you did this right, just as last week you got the pie right. (wait for it)
You’re just too clever for words! 🙂
Ha! Thanks for not mistaking me for schist, D. It’s always good to work with fine specimens when compiling a collection. Thanks for your shiny contributions and pun play!
It’s always surprising the vast diversity of the written word when given a prompt to follow. Excellent compilation, as always.
The diversity evolves out of creativity, showing us all how important each contribution is. The collection magic is always my favorite part. So good to have you ride this week! Hoping all is well in your Canadian wild west.
What a great collection of gems, Charli. I like the way you finish each compilation with Shorty’s story. It’s always a fitting ending.
Thanks, Norah and also for your insights on agates. Now I can’t stop thinking about hunting opals! The Ranch Yarns are a fun punctuation to the collection.
You’ve got me thinking about hunting for opals too. What fun to do it together!
The Kid does a good job with those yarns she spins.
Thanks, Norah and also for your insights on agates. Now I can’t stop thinking about hunting opals! The Ranch Yarns are a fun punctuation to the collection.
To be sure, to be sure! 🙂