Ada and Crazy Crow

a short story written for my own 10 Words I Give Contest

D O C U M E N T E D 

C O N S U M A T E

D E S S E R T 

P A I N T E D

S T I C K L E R 

P L A S T I C 

K I C K

C O P P E R 

C R O W

S P E C K

A gypsy named Ada was documented as being a consummate psychic.

She played violin and wrote the most beautiful lyrical ballads. She was

an artistic virtuoso. She'd paint landscapes on fallen feathers, rocks,

shoe bottoms, leather straps and even painted on the smooth sides of

chopped logs. This gypsy woman kept a crow as a permanent house guest.

Crazy Crow, or CC as he was lovingly nick-named, loved shiny objects,

especially copper pennies. He bore a white speck on his ebony feathered

chest that identified him easily among other crows that visited the

camp site frequently. Ada had found CC on a bed of fallen leaves under

a forest canopy. A nest toppled from a branch in a rain storm. He had

been the only survivor. They were inseparable!

Ada was a 'real kick in the pants' some would say, a real stickler!

Par for the course for a woman who was haunted by 

apparitions day and night. She always ate her dessert first

and would never be caught drinking water from a plastic bottle! 

Pocket change was earned by reading palms or 

communicating with the dead for heartbroken souls 

left behind, so to speak. The money she earned help 

sustain herself and her steed, as CC could

easily fend for himself when the bug bit him. 

Life as a gypsy woman was never boring, nor was it glamorous. 

With no electric, one had to be inventive and resourceful. 

There was always a sense of freedom, even if some didn't take 

to kindly to gypsies passing through their neck of the woods. 

Most, however, treated her with no disdain and she 

lived harmonious with nature.

(pure fiction)

2017 tls - wicahpi iyozaza

Author's Note

http://www.writerscafe.org/contests/10-Words-I-Give/53864/

Reviews

[barleygirl]

First let me warn you, I'm not a fan of 10-word exercises & I'm also not a fan of writing contests. I just wrote & posted a poem making fun of your 10-word contest, even tho I understand why writers enjoy these & they are indeed popular. With that said, this is one of the strongest 10-word challenges I've read simply becuz you have a storyline that feels like it's independent of the words you are trying to incorporate. There are a few times the story veers in a manufactured way to incorporate certain words & this is what I do not like about these contests. It's like reading a word in a poem that's clearly only there becuz it rhymes, not becuz it's truly integrated into the message. Despite my critical way of seeing these efforts, you have done one of the best ones I've ever read becuz your story is full of interesting & fresh details (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[emmajoy]

A delightful story - has a myth-like tone - plus is a very smooth and clever way of placing your 10-words.

[Wicahpi]

Hi Emma, thank you for your kindness in review & for your time. Blessings