"What Happens Next?" 😯 - Counting Sunflower Bouquet Petals
Hello writing community 😊,
‘What Happens Next?’ is an interesting forum activity where you get to choose how a situation turns out! The rules are simple:
We would provide you with a situational prompt.
You would reply to this post with a creative ending of your own in response to the situation given to you.
Prompt:
Today is Anne's first day working at her head office. Donnie greeted her and handed her a bouquet of fresh sunflowers with the note saying, “Congratulations on completing your WFH internship and moving here, Anne. Count the petals while trying to remember your achievements so far!”. When she walks in with Donnie, people notice that she is a new employee and introduce themselves. Anne was surprised by the welcoming culture and felt valued. After reaching her table, she stared into the bouquet and read the note. Then, she started to ponder, “The flower has so many petals.”
What happens next when Anne tries to count the petals while reflecting on her achievements?
Get together to create as many alternate endings as possible! (Parallel universe, who? It’s Content Subcommunity universe!) Please make sure that your entry is not more than 800 words.
If you want to get tagged for more ‘What Happens Next?’ prompts, reply to this post with “Tag me!”. We will add you to the taglist for this activity! Feel free to tag your friends and have fun exploring alternate endings with each other!
If you have any questions about the series or wish to submit some prompts feel free to drop a message to @bestBraveheart57 or @Clarisse29
Taglist: @Barltik2065 @ShyCecropia @ScorpiaD @MusicLeigh @Torean @Ashnugget @Inara752
Before you go!
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@bestBraveheart57
The bouquet was quite large, and each sunflower had quite a lot of petals. Anne figured she was supposed to use one of them, so she started to think.
First, she noted her accomplishments of passing the wfh internship, of moving to a new city, of landing the internship in the first place. Then she went on to note how she had the courage to end a relationship she wasn't happy in, in being closer with her friends for it, of ending things on a friendly basis. She went on to note a number of other accomplishments from the same year until she finished the flower.
She found herself reaching for the next one, noting a number of previous accomplishments, feeling better about herself. This went on and on. For a moment, she had an awareness of the fact that no one seemed to be approaching her, but she pushed it aside.
Before she knew it, she was on the tenth flower with quite a lot of flowers still left, and she was starting to remember accomplishments that were totally forgotten, as if she was back in her life several years ago. It didn't make sense, but it was as if the flowers were taking her back in time, and past forgotten accomplishments were flowing rapidly into her mind like a river, as if they had just happened.
Ten more flowers in, she was trying to stop, to take a break, anything, she was getting frightened. She just couldn't stop. Her eyes were starting to strain as she tried to close them. It felt like it was happening more rapidly. Petal after petal, memory after memory. She was back in her early childhood now. Moving back into her toddler stage, she didn't like feeling like she was in the mind of a toddler, yet her accomplishments from that time felt just as good. It was feeling better and better.
By the time she was done, her eyes closed automatically and started to water, and she wept, consumed by waves of happiness, nostalgia, and bewilderment. She found a hand on her shoulder bringing her out of it several minutes later.
Everyone in the office was above smiling at her. They explained that her menial counting work she had done in her internship was just a test. Donnie's job was counting and putting together the accomplishments in everyone's life. She would be working in his department, doing the same thing, but would be to color the petals based on the emotions that people felt from their accomplishments.
Anne was taken aback and felt like it was a prank, but they just told her that she had a lot to learn. They brought her back to the office. Donnie was friendly, and they hit it off immediately. They went to the window, and Donnie showed her how to see the people down below - to really see them - and she quickly started to understand... this job was going to come naturally to her.
@Torean
Torean, I'm glad you got what I envisioned. maybe we share the same thoughts. I like how Anne actually make efforts to count the petals despise many of them. I am so glad she start by counting her bold choices to moving in and looking it on positive outlook. Leaving relationship and closed-friendship is a thing.
How she able to remember her toodler memories and flooding out her mind by waves of happiness, nostalgia, and bewilderment. It's make a turning point of the story. Like, mission complete.
As closing, you still able to bring awareness to the office. Colouring petal as the emotion people feeling. Watch over the windows and "really see" people. It's amazing and exceptionally warm place to work. I am also so glad Anne seems comfortable too as it going to come naturally to her.
This will be my favorite first character on the series. I hope to see your writing again on next week ^.^
