;Twist.That.Idiom!..level2

[pretzel]

Take a common saying or idiom and write a small piece with it as the theme. BUT don't use the accepted meaning. You can use the literal meaning, or put a twist on it.

SAMPLE IDIOM; "A picture is worth a thousand words"

[kin]

I think I'll steal Pretzel's sample idiom. An idea hit me over the head, and I must have it.

And I'm just going to warn y'all: most of my Karma Shop pieces are going to be in second person. I prefer third, normally, but with the new ToS, I don't want to risk any names/original ideas. Please and thanks bear with me,
--Kin

You sit rocked back on your heels, staring at the canvas. Each stroke was painted lovingly, painstakingly. Colors stand out boldly from one another, bright yellows whooping and crying for attention, subtle grays nodding cooly as the eyes passes. Hot-headed reds brashly announce themselves while blues are draped mellowly over the taut fabric.

This project has taken you months to make. You scoured your entire home for the perfect scene, nearly stalking your friends and family at some points. Eventually, you fell back on old family photographs. There's one that caught your eye, and demanded to be painted.

So, you obeyed. You picked up a brush and a multitude of paints, arming yourself with weapons of irrefutable strength, no matter what others say. A canvas as large as your bed and twice as wide stood pinned to the wall by zealous thumbtacks, white soldiers standing at attention and battling gravity.

You examined the photo closely, until you knew its every detail by heart. The dimple in your father's left cheek, the flyaway blond hairs dangling in front of your little brother's eyes. Your mother stands behind them both, laughing; you are the photographer, shadow leaping into the scene.

It all began with a stroke of the brush, a simple green line. It multiplied, and became another simple word, beloved and special in its simplicity. Summer. You count each one as you paint it on, some tiny and cramped, some stretching tall and proud, visible from across the room.

Despite what all the greats have claimed, despite that famous saying: a picture is worth a thousand words, you manage to fit far more into it. You put a loving family, a happy memory, an immortalized set of precious faces. And for those sticklers who must abide by-the-word, you proudly displayed the final count: well over ten thousand words went onto the canvas.

[/size]

[frosty]

A SHOT IN THE DARK

It was well past midnight. The darkness loomed threateningly in front of you, yawning an eerie moan as it glared at you with hungry eyes. Something was in there, you knew it. You could feel it stirring in the depths of your soul. It was waiting for you, as it had been for twenty-three years. It was waiting, ready to throw fistfuls of nightmares in your direction.

Fear was consuming you, eating away at you until there was nothing left. The endless thrumming of your heart echoed throughout every fiber of your being, the hammering gradually increasing in decibels until every sound was blocked out. What was lingering in the shadows? That was a question that had haunted you all your life, but no one could ever answer it.

Nothing else was near, nobody human was around. The clouds had blotted out the moon, the fluffy mass of air grinning down at your with an evil expression plastered on his face. Previously, a moon beam had shone a single shaft of light that had permeated your fright. It had managed to light a fire in your heart, spoon-feeding hope to your spirit. But the night had chased it away, striking terror into it as it fled the scene.

Now you were truly alone.

You could've been standing there with the wind singing through your hair for seconds, days, or even years. Time seemed to be at a stand still, or at a light speed lapse. Your simple mind couldn't comprehend the nonexistent scene in front of you.

A break in the clouds allowed the moon to gasp, exhausted, through the thick air. It had only been present for a second, but the light had hit at exactly the right angle. Something silver gleamed in your pocket. You knew very well what it was. Blood fed through your veins violently, rushing past with such pressure. Adrenaline fueled every action as you reached for it. The metal was cold to the touch, chilling you to the bone. Staring a hole right through the darkness, metaphorically of course, you lifted your arm until it was perfectly perpendicular with the ground you graced.

Heaving in a breath of liquid fire, you pulled the trigger.

I stole your idea with the second person, Kin. ;D[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]