This piece was written for OLWG#147
The moon and the Milky Way provided a lot of light, more than she thought there would be. Sophie continued moving along the rutted fire road. She talked to herself and kept putting one foot in front of the other.
“This would be easier if the sun was out,” she announced to a large Cholla that she passed.
The jumping cactus did not respond. Sophie plodded ahead, snubbing the antisocial Cylindropuntia fulgida.
Soon a dark form rose alongside the road not too far ahead. “Hey,” Sophie hailed the newcomer, “Do you know how a cactus laughs?”
The large Yucca that was emerging as she drew nearer laughed out loud, “OMG, Sophie,” the plant spoke with only a mild accent, “I know this one. He escuchado esto antes. You can do better than that.”
At the edge of the road, Sophie spotted a wide round cactus with long heavy spines shaped like fishhooks. “Hey you,” Sophie addressed the Ferocactus wislizeni, “Do you know why life is like a cactus?”
“I’ll bite, why?” the stranger replied.
“Because around every corner, there’s another prick!” Sophie snorted when she laughed at her joke.
“I guess, I should have known that one,” the cactus grinned. “You’re a long way from home Sophie, it’s nighttime and you’re barefooted. What’s going on?”
Sophie smiled and knelt next to the barrel cactus, only then did she notice that he was surrounded by family. Including, she assumed, his wife and children. “I could tell you but I don’t want to frighten your kids.”
“Don’t worry about the kids, Sophie. Most of them are sleeping anyway.”
“I ate some of your kind today.”
“Ahh,” said the barrel, “You’ve been playing with my cousins, the Peyotes”
“I have indeed.”
“Are you going home now?” he asked her. “Let me arrange an escort for you.” He stretched upwards as far as he could and howled.”
The prompts were:
- I don’t mean to laugh out loud
- deep down, I guess I knew
- thirty miles of bad road
tnkerr-Writing Prompts and Practice 
This is one trip I do not for a second envy her. Yuck. Me and hallucinogens do not get along.. Made for delightful reading tho….
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“Because around every corner, there’s another prick!” – Did you come up with that pun on your own? Because it’s fantastic.
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I didn’t make that one up. I think it’s something my grandfather, and probably my father too, used to say. I’ve heard it all my life.
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Still, excellent use of it!
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I think we’ll all end up hallucinating if we continue to go stir crazy.
Didn’t get out much because of rain yesterday and two stops different grocers on the way home from people who we’ve already been in contact where in mild deluge…
I did have three weird dreams last night – thankfully I don’t remember much of them upon awaking. Though the theme seems pretty much the same …escaping from dread.
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