Līgo Haībun Challenge – Confusion

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The Līgo Haībun Challenge is set every week giving either an image or a word/phrase to set a short story or poetry to and ending with a Haiku. I am still not good at this, but I am getting there.

If you want to know more about it, then visit the judges Nightlake, Pirate and Penny.

The choice this week is Haze or Monsoon. I decided to use both.

Monsoon Haze

The air was stifling as she opened her canteen of water. She did not know how she managed to arrive there. The last thing she remembered was parking the car. She drank deeply, her thirst quenched for the time being.

There was a house in the distance. She could only just make it out in the haze. This appeared to be the only building in the area. She found it odd that there no others. The bottom of the house shimmered and the ground looked wet.

Every step she took the further back it appeared to move. She was having difficulty moving now; her legs were like weights. The house stopped moving now, the front door almost in reach.

Then the rains started. It started so fast, and the clouds seemed to appear out of nowhere. Within seconds, her hair was soaked, her bathrobe was heavy, and pulling her down into the bog that tried sucking her feet down. The monsoon made every step more difficult than the last and the rain forced her down. She reached the door, opened it, and pulled herself through. There was no floor and the handle came off in her hand. She slipped forward and fell into the darkness and she screamed at the inevitability of death.

sleeper awakens
jumping helplessly in her seat
nightmare abated

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27 thoughts on “Līgo Haībun Challenge – Confusion”

  1. Alistair this was a great story- one of the judges wanted it in for mentions, but I unfortunately am dogmatic – the writing is superb, just am looking for a personalised experience as a haibun -please please keep at it, when it clicks you are unbeatable.

    Reply

  2. Wow! Great story that really pulled me in wanting to get to the next line and then the surprise well written haiku.

    Reply

  4. Oh, have I been there! Not fun. Worst though is when you think you’ve woken up, but you haven’t.

    I like the haiku because, well she’s still around!

    Reply

    • Thank you Jules.

      I remember once, I woke up and thought I had dyed my hair. So I went and looked in the mirror, and I had. Then I woke up and had to check, and I had. Then I woke up, and had to check, even though this time I knew I was awake, and I had. Then I woke up. This time I knew I was truly awake, and knew there was no way I had dyed my hair, but I had to check anyway and it was the normal colour. It’s odd how clear that was. A dream in a dream in a dream in a dream. Sounds very much like Inception – the film with Leonardo DiCaprio 🙂

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      • I neverd did see that film. There were others similar though – like the guy who could dodge bullets they looked real slow coming at him…I think there were two or three of them. I think the last one had Morgan Freeman as the bad guy doing the weaving of time. That’s all I got – I’m just not good with movie titles or actors names.

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    • Thank you Penny 🙂 I enjoyed creating this one. Just adding bits randomly as happens in a nightmare. I wonder how many people worked out it was a nightmare before reaching the end

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