#beneath the same skies#


NEBS AWARD

The tale began over at Mr Wise’s and travelled through Mr Savio to reach Hazel who landed poor Peeturr in my hands 🥴. 


Warning : my first attempt and i don’t do  storytelling very well. As you may have noticed, more than half the time,  I don’t even write complete sentences … 🥴

  …and being a somewhat direction-less kind of a soul myself 🥴, I had to be very careful not to lose Peeturr…

To the previous writers, apologies for leaving the characters almost exactly where I found them… i was too scared to write them lost lol … but I did do my best to handle them with care… I even managed a few full sentences  here and there… 🙃


Beneath the same skies.


He smirked to himself, realising how the pace of his steps seemed to move in a contradictory manner to his racing thoughts.

Furiously, it flitted between snippets of his conversations with her and scenes from those Bollywood movies that had somehow led him here. “They had done a fine job of ruining me,” he sighed.

“Aaaaah, stop being so dramatic, Peeturr,” he chided himself lightly, even as his thoughts weighed far more heavily than the rain that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

“Now, really!” he shouted, throwing his hands up towards the sky.

“Nope, I should not have done that,” he realised, quickly lowering his hands as a few passers-by stopped to stare curiously at the sky.

“Lovely weather we’re having, isn’t it?” he remarked.  This time he kept his tone as casual as his exit.

He turned and made his way back to the bookstore. It was time to retrieve his costly burden.

What he did not know, however, was that the bookstore held far more than a misplaced purchase…

beneath the same skies
rain falls soft with tears silent
for love and for loss

…and somewhere, not too far from him, a lone figure walked. Her steps were unhurried as she gathered her shawl a little closer around herself.

Bilomina sighed, and the tears slipped quietly.

A few more steps for herself,  before she must return to life…



That’s it from me 😬 … and I’m handing over to Meeta from mindfulchapters?  … in hope she will accept and take the characters further than I was able to…🙃🙏

thank you, Hazel … 🤍🙏


1. Let the romance begin : Mr Wise https://witsutra.wordpress.com/2026/10/30/nebs-award/

2. You were listening : Mr Savio https://theextraaamile.wordpress.com/2026/10/30/you-were-listening/

3. The sequel : Hazel https://sevensisterslove.com/2026/11/02/the-sequel/


Meeta : 🤞 https://mindfulchapters.com/2026/11/03/first-class-ticket-to-the-past/


#wonder in ruin#


Colleen’s :  Tanka Tuesday 

Yvette’s  : What Lies Behind the Mask


and this world holds both
wonder and ruin in one breath-
where softness is a
burden and strength a prison,
resolve keeps silent
and vulnerability
learns stillness – but whom
to unveil to,  when this world
holds wonder in ruin –
mayhap, in search for solace
the world dims and the
faces we reveal to the
one’s we protect … quits the stage



From Yvette:
Hello, beautiful poets! It’s Yvette again! Recently, I saw a meme that reminded me of the costumes we used to have when I was a child: the plastic one-pieces that tied in the back and the plastic face masks. Those were awful! Lol! Luckily, there are so many varieties nowadays. Halloween gives people the opportunity to dress up for a night and pretend to be someone else.

So, this week, I thought we would focus our poems on the theme, What Lies Behind the Mask. What parts of ourselves do we hide from the outside world? What do others hide behind their outer façade?

➡️ For this week, write a poem about what lies behind the mask. Choose one of the questions above to explore or allow your imagination to lead you to interpret that question in your own unique way. Use a syllabic poetry form that works for you, and let your inspiration flow. Need help finding a form? Click here

https://tankatuesday.com/2026/10/27/tankatuesday-poetry-challenge-no-88-what-lies-behind-the-mask-10-27-26/


#time the thief…or memory’s curse#


David’s : W3


From Dennis : Giving the Abstract a Voice.



How did a peek into the past
reveal a future's quiet loss?

dare I be deemed wrong
for declaring you deceitful—
hands lacking a sincere touch,
hacking at those hours held,
a coldly calculated crush
of moments meant to last

and have you not been with me
since that very first breath,
your forward stride and
my backward gaze

dare I be deemed wrong
for declaring you unfaithful—
why did I never question
those missing fragments
that I now watch being stolen,
as you rob innocence
of my very essence

I—
I am the keeper,
an archive for moments parted
yet mortal feels my permanence
against the creeping rust of your iron hands

what of that fierce love—
the lingering warmth
of his anchoring embrace
those steady hands
that held hers in place
through the many dawns
of her then tiny steps

what of all this
that I keep alive for her
will you rob her of this too—
will she forget,
like she has forgotten
the sound of his voice?

how did a peek into the past
reveal a future's quiet loss...


Dennis’ prompt: Giving the Abstract a Voice
For this prompt, write a poem that gives an abstract idea a personality, a voice, and a life of its own.
Choose something we cannot physically touch: Destiny, Time, Hope, Justice, Fear, Memory, Regret, Silence, Truth or any other abstract concept that interests you.
Imagine your chosen concept as a character. What might it say? How might it behave? What does it do when nobody is watching? Does it enjoy its work? Does it have ambitions, habits, complaints, prejudices or regrets? Does it understand how its actions affect people?
You are especially encouraged to draw on your own culture, language, mythology, folklore or personal experience to give your character a distinctive identity and voice.
Your personification can be comic, tragic, sinister, tender, absurd, philosophical or anything in between. Perhaps Time is tired of being blamed for everything. Maybe Hope is stubborn. Perhaps Memory keeps things it was asked to throw away.
You might write a dramatic monologue in which the concept speaks directly to us, a conversation between two competing abstractions, a sonnet, an allegory, a satire or something completely different. These are only possibilities, not restrictions.


https://skepticskaddish.com/2026/10/28/w3-prompt-235-weave-written-weekly/


#ashen fate…#


Sadje G’s: What do you see


Ancient felt this silence, as it remained hollow in a hauntingly watchful way…

The roses unfold, from life to beauty to a wilted ruin – one petal at a time… and the flame – its glow tempts … teases … taunts the delicately-draped dreamer dancing towards its end….

An ebony shroud of softness waits beneath – to gather the remains…

darkness burns
wings embrace the flame
ashen fate

...and age-old is the shattered reflection – a broken mirror capturing the tale of desire and destruction …


https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2026/10/26/what-do-you-see-364-26-october-2026/


#we think…deeply#


Reena’s Xploration Challenge


Reena says: Let’s delve into humour this week.
Here’s a comical, slightly sarcastic take on “How AI views humanity.”
I would like you to read the text and enjoy the image, before you start reflecting on it.


I grabbed a few words and phrases from the image Reena provided and just ran with it (in all directions 😬)… so human-like right…😏


RXC

humans are chaotic
we think … we over-think 🫨
humans are confusing
we wonder – deeply ponder 😴
humans are complicated too
we feel … we reflect … we think 🤔

and even though oft, our deep capacity for kindness with limited vision  😬 sends us in the wrong direction…🥴 and we stumble over the expected, knowing well where we’ll end up … to then blame the path rather than our steps and actions…🤦🏻‍♀️

but still
humans are fascinating isn’t, because
we think … we over- think …


… and perhaps the irony lies in the world being weary of what we ourselves have built from our highly creative curiosity …. the very thing that tempts us to surrender the need to think independently … no wonder they wouldn’t trade us… 🤦🏻‍♀️🙃

On the flip side, I asked AI a question, and the response left me wondering which one of us was more human…🥴😋🙃


If you could become human, what are the first three things you’d want to experience?”

• Hug someone I love and experience the warmth of human connection.

• Go outside and feel the world — the sunlight, wind, rain, and grass beneath my feet.

• Eat a meal with people I care about, sharing stories, laughter, and memories.

🫣

https://reinventionsreena.com/2026/10/22/reenas-xploration-challenge-453/


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