On July 12, 2024, I wrote the 1st Round Assignment of the 2nd Annual 500-word Fiction Challenge.
Ninety-five groups will participate in this assignment.
I was given the following criteria:
Genre: Sci-Fi
Action: Declining an invitation
Object: A fishing pole
Time: 48 Hours
Length: 500 words maximum
This is what I wrote:
Synopsis
This is the tale of a young girl who yearns to explore the depths of a lake or ocean. Her aspiration came true as she transformed into a mermaid.
Adele is a 9-year-old girl with blonde straight hair, living with her father, stepmother, and younger sister. She lived a seemingly normal life, but her father was an abusive alcoholic. Instead of playing with other children, Adele went fishing and hunting with her father.
Adele's father, Joseph, built a wooden boat for four people, fishing gear, and camping equipment. They always wore life jackets due to the unpredictable weather on Lake Athabasca in Uranium City, Saskatchewan.
During a month-long camping trip on an island in Lake Athabasca, Adele prepared freshly caught trout or pickerel by scaling, gutting, and cleaning them. She cooked and ate the roe in a frying pan over an open fire and smoked the fresh fish.
The last time Adele went fishing, her fishing pole didn't reach far enough out, and as she maneuvered around an island, she ended up hooking it onto the island itself.
Adele lost her hook on that island. Her father, in a fit of rage, struck her across the face with his fishing rod, leaving a permanent scar on the left side of her face.
Adele liked fishing but not with her impatient dad. She feared storms and big fish dragging her into the lake. She wished she could decline but had no choice as a child.
Reeling in a trout or pickerel was thrilling as they leaped out of the water, fighting for their lives. One had to hold on tight and slowly reel them in.
Watch out for the Sucker Fish or Catfish. Beware - when ensnared, it exerts immense weight and has the potential to drag you beneath the water's surface.
Adele caught a gigantic Catfish. She knew this instantly when the Catfish pulled hard enough to drag her into the lake and down to the bottom with him.
Adele used to dream of exploring the depths of a lake or ocean, and now that dream has become a reality. She never fantasized or dreamed it would be this way.
Adele watched as the catfish swam along the bottom of the lake, its tail swaying back and forth. She marveled at the variety of fish and green vegetation surrounding her.
Adele befriended the Catfish, and she named him Wally. With his long whiskers, Wally resembled a cute cat. Wally taught Adele how to breathe underwater.
Adele carefully removed the hook that was caught in his lower lip.
One morning, Adele woke up to find she was covered with green fish scales from the waist down and had a tail.
She moved through the water like a mermaid, her tail undulating like a dolphin's. Adele was thrilled with the metamorphosis.
Adele is very popular among the other fish and has received many dinner invitations.
Recently, she met up with one of her favourite fish, the Red Lionfish, which is known to be very poisonous.
The Red Lionfish invited her for dinner, but she declined, fearing that she might end up on his dinner plate.