2023 Get Started Right Writing Challenge: Day 5

Welcome to the fifth day of the seven-day Get Started Right Writing Challenge! Time's definitely running out to get caught up (but you can still try); find the first day's challenge here.

For the fifth day, write for at least 15 minutes. After all, this is a writing challenge. You can write fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or whatever strikes your fancy. And as with earlier this week, you don't have to finish whatever you start or even be happy with what you write. Just write.

Not sure what to write? Here a few prompts you can peruse for ideas:

So find a good starting place, set your timers, and get writing...and share what you write in the comments.

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"The Box," Robert Lee Brewer

Nobody saw who dropped it off, but it didn't take long for people to start noticing it was there: A giant box with the word "DANGER" painted on each side of the box without any other explanation, including no mention of who the package was for nor who it was sent from. And with it being delivered in the middle of the town square, it was up for debate who should even be responsible for the package. 

Some folks thought it must belong to one of the businesses; others thought it fell under the purview of the parks and recreation department; and Old Man Anderson said, "I reckon it should be the mayor who handles this kind of thing." Of course, Mayor Thompson wanted absolutely no part of handling the box and questioned from a distance whether it might contain something nefarious, like a bomb or malleable circus clowns.

Finally, Agnes Montgomery threw up her hands and exclaimed, "No woman can count on a man to do nothing worthwhile," before walking up to it and knocking on the outside of the box. "Somebody fetch me a crowbar."

A few minutes later, after one of the Johnson daughters disappeared and reappeared with a pry bar, Agnes started working on one of the edges of the box while Mayor Thompson stepped behind a park bench and Old Man Anderson shouted, "You show 'em, Aggie!"

After what felt like an age (though was actually only about 15 minutes), the lid finally popped loose, and everyone standing in and around the town center exhaled. Agnes peered inside and started to make a sound that was difficult to decipher as she bent over holding her stomach until it became apparent she was laughing quite hard until Mayor Thompson finally stepped out from behind his bench and yelled, "Well, Agnes, what is it?"

But Agnes was laughing so hard (with tears streaming down her cheeks) that she couldn't answer him with anything but a wave of her hands.