Prompt: This week's folktales. Use one (or both, creating two different stories, if the spirit moves you) as a model for your own writing about a place or places you didn't want to go. (If you don't want to use the entire title in your writing, for the sake of clarity for others, please mark your writing as Folktale A or B.)
The sun rose on an ordinary day when the woman rolled over, peaked her eyes open, and said, “Body, should I get on up?” Her body ached, her joints popped, as if to say “no.” But, she got up anyway, pushing on. After a cup of coffee and a hot shower, she walked to the closet and asked her clothes, “Should I get dolled up today?” Her clothes hung limp, nothing jumping out, as if to say “no, not today .” But, she got dressed anyway. She thought maybe the red dress would bring some boldness. She took out her planner. “My schedule is packed, do I have to go to these meetings and do all this work?,” she asked the page. The scribble swirled as if to say “no.” She moved toward the car anyway. The button said “push to start,” so she did. Stopping at the gas station, she went inside to pay. The attendant greeted her and asked her about her day. “Oh, I don’t know,” she said, “My body aches, I had a hard time deciding what to wear, and I have too much to do. Do you think I should get on with it and just go?” The attendant paused, looked up, and responded, “What do you think you should do?” The woman’s eyes widened, she took a breath, and said thank you. She drove back to her home, sent a note to her coworkers, changed back into her pajamas. “You know what I need,” she said to herself, “a day of rest.”
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