On September 20, 2024, I entered the 1st round of the 3rd annual competition of The Rhyming Story Challenge 2024 for the first time.
#RhymingStoryChallenge
I was given the following criteria:
Genre: Horror
Theme: Time flies
Emotion: Trilled
Time: 8 days
Length: 750 words maximum
This is what I wrote:
The Shipwreck
The genuine Black Pearl
Synopsis:
This is a tale of Staicee, written metaphorically of a genuine black pearl, whom all men ignore because they do not recognize the natural pearl from all the fakes. She is thrown overboard and lands in an old, abandoned wooden shipwreck, but one man recognizes her as the real thing and dares to dive into the sea to rescue her.
The Shipwreck
Staicee is buried inside this petrified old wooden shipwreck. She is a precious stone, a genuine black pearl, that usually shines brilliantly, radiating honesty, integrity, compassion, sensuality, sexuality and passion beyond any man’s dreams.
However, this authentic gem has been thrown into the depths of the deep, dark sea where light no longer shines, and she is trapped between the infernal doors of hell.
It is easier for everybody to ignore Staicee and play the treacherous games these individuals love to play amongst themselves to penetrate their innermost desires, like sharks bypassing the smaller catch for something seemingly much better.
Thus, the jewel is left panicked, trembling and left behind waiting for somebody to recognize her, her pain, her excitement for life, and her desire to find a friend and lover.
The intriguing clownfish with gorgeous white and orange stripes swims past Stacie, laughing at her, and lays thousands of eggs on the hard rock beside her.
The nervous but curious miniature Pufferfish balloons three times its size with spiky spheres when he swims by Stacie.
The challenge of finding this exceptional crystal lost in the ignored shipwreck begins by going deep into the sea, identifying this humble jewel, and sensing that she has been seriously hurt.
Staicee needs to be lifted and carried to the surface to once again breathe the air that has given her life, to feel the intense sunshine that warmed her body, to see the cascade of flowers that brought incredible colour to her emerald eyes and finally she wants to smell the wonderful fragrances abundant on earth.
The problem is that the misplaced pearl has been encrusted deeply into the corroded ship in its disintegrating rubble, the addition of waste, and the growth of coral embedded in her.
Time is running out for Staicee. She is trapped like the little black widow spider who helplessly tries to escape his big mate after creatively finishing his mating service.
Now, only a small spec of brightness shines through the darkness at the bottom of the sea like the dullness of a flashlight as its battery slowly fades away.
Suddenly, a mysterious and discerning diver surpasses all others by recognizing that he has found a natural sparkler amidst an overwhelming selection of fake stones.
The daring diver chooses to go deep into the sea like the striking lionfish that is naturally and physically protected from his predators because of his amazing hues of red, orange and yellow free-flowing venomous tentacles layering him.
The bold diver begins his first responsibility by steadily and cautiously chiseling at the debris to free his startled but astonishing jewel from the hideous wreckage surrounding her.Â
Once freed from the ruin, he proudly carries Staicee to the surface, along with the heavy, hard-crusted dirt that remained fixed to her slender form.
The diver speaks to her with his soft, seductive voice. He gently caresses the precious stone, and as he talks, the tough crust surrounding the small gemstone tenderly dissolves.
The exquisite pearl values encountering a smart, honest diver with integrity, compassion, sensuality, and passion.
Because of the smoothness of the fearless diver, the radiant gem enthusiastically transforms into the alluring woman she desires to be because Staicee believes she has found a man who will truly appreciate the woman within her as both a friend and a lover.
"But was he?"