Wednesday's Three Word Wednesday

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are gamble, omitted and temporary.
And in honor of Six Sentences – what can you say in six? – here’s a six-sentence story.

Homestead
It could have started as an outhouse, for all he knew – or cared; the shed had that old-timey construction where temporary meant to last 100 years of punishment on the prairie.
He’d taken it apart, carefully numbered the planks, noted where the square-head nails went, omitted the rusted tin roof, loaded it onto a wagon and pulled it to his little half-acre in the hills.
And thus began the modification from shed to living space.
He dug down into the rich, dark soil until he hit clay; he dug rooms, a root cellar and lined the dirt walls with straw bales and tossed the floor with tiny river cobble that made a satisfying crunch wherever he walked.
He reconstructed the shed over the pit (complete with new, galvanized tin) as a way of egress/ingress and maybe for esthetics, for all he knew; but it gave what he’d constructed below the surface a name – house, structure, home.
The whole enterprise was a gamble, he knew; winter would be tough here, but the salvation of his ravaged soul made all the sacrifice – the unending, wind-blown solitude – worth the day he’d got up from his corner office, ripped off the silk tie and walked the 1,600 miles to this grassy knoll.

Comments

PJD said…
Bravo! I have become a fan.
Anonymous said…
Nicely done, Thom! In six sentences, too. I like the phrase, "the salvation of his ravaged soul."
TC said…
I kind of thought perhaps it was going to be non-fiction for a little while...
Anonymous said…
I love the last sentence. Beautiful writing, glad I stopped by.
Joyce said…
What an awesome story in six sentences. I like it. :)
paisley said…
wow.. that was wonderful... and i can so identify with his need to be alone with himself...

i am begining on my third year alone in the wilds of west marin county california... i didn't build my own house.... but it ain't no deluxe accommodation either!!!

i really loved this... six sentences... who knew...
Anonymous said…
whada beauty... and tossed the floor with tiny river cobble that made a satisfying crunch wherever he walked.... for some odd reason this brought it all home for me...
Tumblewords: said…
I like him. Like him a lot. This reads as a possible reality! Nice!
Gemma Wiseman said…
Quite a powerful piece of writing! Especially loved "the salvation of his ravaged soul..."
Paisley, I was hoping you'd stop by, as you can relate actually what this guy is feeling. You all should try Six Sentences, I know Robert would be thrilled.

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