For this week’s 15 random words I’m using:

• 2 words that were left in the comments of last week’s post:

peanut – mermaid

• 13 words from https://www.randomlists.com/random-words:

thaw – side – laughable – paint – forgetful – stare – zonked – five – furry – closed – farm – yawn – untidy

I switched random word sites because the one I’d been using was giving me duplicates. Above are screen prints of the words it gave me (I had to get them in 3 batches because otherwise they were covered by ads).

Below is the story scene I wrote using these words. It’s another Adventures with Harrison and Mason episode, flashing back slightly to add to their recent Hawaiian vacation.

 

“What is that?” Harrison asked, pointing toward the ocean. He actually knew what it was but wondered what his son would come up with.

Jaxon turned to look, then stood to stare at the spot where Harrison was pointing. “I think it’s a mermaid. What do you think, Pop?”

The little boy turned to Mason, lying on a towel with his eyes closed. “Aw, Pop’s zonked.”

Mason rolled to his side then sat up and stretched, unleashing a wide yawn. “I’m awake. Where’s this mermaid Daddy spotted?”

“There!” Jaxon aimed a finger over the water.

“I don’t see it.” Mason shaded his eyes and craned his neck.

Harrison coughed. “It’s…uh…whale-sized, so it’s hard to miss.”

Mason laughed. “I see it, now. Kinda big for a mermaid. Maybe it’s a Kraken.”

“Yeah!” Jaxon bounced. “That’s even better.”

“Hmm, not for the people on that boat over there,” Harrison said.

“Think it’ll eat them?” Jaxon asked.

“Speaking of food…” Mason patted his belly. “Is it time to crack open that picnic basket yet? What did you pack?”

It was laughable how easily Jaxon was distracted. The “kraken” forgotten, he knelt at the basket and opened it. “Five peanut butter sandwiches and a bunch of furry lychees.” He turned to Harrison. “Are those from that farm we went to yesterday?”

“Orchard,” Harrison replied. “But yes, so they’re pretty fresh.”

“Did that jug of juice thaw?” Mason asked. He’d suggested they freeze it so it would keep the rest of their food chilled and still be cool to drink by the time they wanted it.

Jaxon hefted it up and swished it so they could see. There was still a frozen chunk in the middle, but plenty was drinkable. Rifling through the basket, Jaxon asked, “Where’s the cups?”

Harrison slapped a hand to his forehead. “Nuts, I’m so forgetful today.”

“No problem, hun,” Mason said. “We’ll just pass the container around.”

Just as well, as that would fit with their generally untidy and wrinkled appearance. It was their last day in Hawaii, and they’d misjudged how many outfits they’d go through. Harrison and Mason were both wearing shirts they’d had on the previous day so they’d have something clean to put on for the trip home tomorrow.

“Yeah! We can chug out of the jug,” Jaxon added.

Harrison laughed. “This has been a great vacation. I’m going to miss Hawaii.”

“It’s paradise,” Mason said. “What was your favorite part?”

“Volcanos!” Jaxon exclaimed.

“Beaches, beautiful blue water as far as the eye can see, fresh fruit, flip flops every day, palm trees, so many stars visible at night, snorkeling.” Harrison sighed happily. “I could go on and on.”

“You paint a pretty picture of it, that’s for sure.”

“How about you, Pop, what’s your favorite part?”

Mason grinned widely. “Everything you both said, of course, but I think seeing the huge smiles on your two faces was the best part for me.”

Once again, because I can’t resist a good challenge, I’ll take the first 15 prompt words given to me in the comments, below, for next week’s Flash Fiction Friday post. One word per commenter, please. I’ll make up the difference using the random word generator site if I don’t get 15 here.

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