50 Words
Survival
Thrifty words theme challenge #13: Survival
It is 6:00 am as I sit down to write. I can smell the dregs of merlot in last night’s wineglass.
I feel the pinch on the sides of my tongue as my mouth begins to salivate. I panic a little.
Does this mean I’m an alcoholic? Because I crave the taste of wine in my mouth before I’ve even had coffee?
I don’t think so. I believe society forces its norms upon us. We feel shame at things we do simply to survive. I am reminded of a famous quote by a famous Welsh poet.
“An alcoholic is someone you don’t like who drinks as much as you.” — Dylan Thomas
During this unusual time in our world’s history, many of us have engaged in behavior we wouldn’t were we not locked down, in quarantine, unemployed, or furloughed.
Some mornings, I pour myself that glass of wine. Why not? I don’t have to drive anywhere. And it helps me get through the day. Rather than addiction, I like to think of it as survival.
I am, however, an addict.
I am addicted to caffeine, nicotine, and sugar. I used to be addicted to heroin and meth. I’ve had a bit of a rough go in my life and used escape as a means of survival. I still do. Only now, I eat and read, or eat and write, or eat and drink. You see the pattern. I do these things to survive.
This Thrifty Word Theme Challenge #13: Survival I would love for you to take a look at all the unconventional ways we, as humans living in a concrete jungle, survive. Dig deep.
Survival. 50 words. Go!
As always, here are the submission guidelines.
Remember, in order to be considered for the challenge, you need to write exactly fifty words (contractions such as ‘you’ll’ and ‘y’all’ count as one, as do articles ‘a’ and ‘the’ ‘and all 23 auxiliary verbs ‘am’ ‘is’ ‘are’ etc. Hyphenated words count as one word.)
Please use the kicker 50 WORDS and ‘Thrifty Words Challenge #13: Survival’ as your subtitle and submit by 12 pm EST / 5 pm BST on Friday 28th November. All stories submitted by the deadline will be released the following morning at 6 am EST / 11 am BST.
A reminder: we will only publish one story per author to the roundup. If you submit more than one story, it is most likely that the first story submitted will be chosen for the roundup.