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A-Z Blogging: G for Gumdrops writing prompt

A-Z Blogging: G for Gumdrops

Writing prompt: GUMDROPS

Provided by: Anastasia V. Pergakis fellow participant of the A to Z challenge.Visit her! Thanks for the photo go to Rebeka Lambert.

Thanks to everyone who dropped me a prompt in the comments! Now I need R-Z!

Genre: Fiction/Flash.

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Eat your Wish, because you sure don’t look like you can write it.

I know, but it is a choice, silly. Pick a Gumdrop or a Pencil.

What do you mean you don’t like Gumdrops? All kids like Gumdrops. Are you sure you’re a kid?

Weren’t Fairy godmothers supposed to have softer voices?  Tired of the questions, Ana bit a gumdrop off the tree, not bothering to look at the colour she had picked, turning her face to avoid the sharpened pencil on which it sat.

Her stepfather gave her gumdrops whenever he was happy, and she always spat them in the dustbin, the darned salty-sour things.

But this one was different. So sweet it caught at her throat, binding it like her stepfather’s fingers. Fingers. Wish she had those instead of the twisted stump, maybe she could have held a Pencil, written her Wish. Or eaten her meals herself like girls her age. Or helped Mum around the kitchen, so she would have time to look for a job, or at least to look at Ana’s  face and not just her hands.

So, you want Fingers?

No. This time she won’t be confused. She swallowed the Gumdrop, and did not hear from the Fairy Godmother again. Not Fingers, not Friends, not even a Fairy Godmother. All Ana wanted was to go Far, Far away, and she was happy she got her Wish.

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I still need prompts for the rest of the alphabet, so keep them coming! I’m tweeting A to Z posts at #atozchallenge There is also the A to Z Challenge Daily with links to Tweeted A-Z posts over the last 24 hours!

Thanks and shout-outs to organisers Arlee Bird (Tossing It Out) , Jeffrey Beesler’s (World of the Scribe),  Alex J. Cavanaugh (Alex J. Cavanaugh) , Jen Daiker ( Unedited), Candace Ganger (The Misadventures in Candyland) , Karen J Gowen  (Coming Down the Mountain) , Talli Roland ,  Stephen Tremp (Breakthrough Blogs )


Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

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11 Comments

  • Your stories are nice to read. On another note, Gumdrops are so delicious but so unhealthy. Oh, how I wish I were still a kid to be able to eat them without any worries, lol.

    Thanks, Nicole. I like gumdrops too, though I have no idea where this story came from!

  • Oh such a deep, sad story – but a great one too! I’m honored you used one of my prompts and glad it helps you with this crazy challenge. I finally got my G post up, a little late but it’s still Day 7 so it counts! 🙂

    Thankyou for the prompt, and your kind words. I wish it weren’t so sad though.

  • Talei Loto says:

    I still like gumdrops! 😉

    I do too. Don’t know where this story came from.

  • Rhonda Albom says:

    Thanks for finding me in the challenge and sending me to your post. I love your style and your story. I really don’t know what to say about gumdrops. Sweet is better than salty. Wonderful G post.

    Thanks, Rhonda. This is one of the saddest pieces I have written. I hope you stop by the other posts as well.

  • Nate Wilson says:

    Wow, a kid who doesn’t strive for the social norm, and strikes out on her own path. Very nice, very unexpected. I wish Ana all the best in her new life.

    Stupid gumdrops.

  • Marinela says:

    Sad story but so beautifully written!
    Enjoyed your creative page here 🙂
    All the best
    Marinela x
    Short Poems

    Thanks Marinela, both for your comment and your visit. I hope you’ll come by again.

  • indigo bunting says:

    Oh, what a turn.

    And I hate gumdrops.

  • Siv Maria says:

    Completely enthrawled. Moral of the story? Gumdrops are bad for you.

    Thanks for stopping by. The story had no morals though.

  • Laura Eno says:

    Lovely story. I’m glad you let her have her own ending, sad as it may be.

    Laura, I tried every trick in the book to change the ending. None of it worked. I’m not sure where this girl came from, and I hope she is happy in Far Far Away. Thank you for your comment.

  • PencilGirl says:

    Oh! That is so, so sad.. A happy ending, that is so sad.
    Beautifully written. It appeals to the heart, rather than the head.. 🙂

    I’m afraid it is too sad. But no matter what I tried she did not want a different ending, so I was helpless. CHaracters are like that sometimes. Thanks for your lovely words.

  • Just love your writing!
    R-Rubies
    S-Slavery
    T-Trifecta
    U-Urbane
    V-Victorious
    W-Wanton
    X-Xerxes
    Y-Yearning
    Z-Zinfandel

    Thanks for the prompts! 🙂 Look forward to your posts as well!