The writing prompts were:
[A story revolved around the following two words: "overlook" and "water".]
by
for her contest Marvelous Tales #20.
I woke up when it was still dark outside and checked the clock.
5 am.
I bolted awake and cursed for sleeping through the alarm yet again.
I rushed to the closet, got dressed, visited the bathroom and stormed out the front door. I had to be at the bus station at 5:10 am.
Still breathless I picked up the microphone and wished the children good morning, followed by some trivia about the town we were visiting. It was a typical medieval town built along a river with streets so narrow you could barely walk through them.
Upon our arrival we were immediately greeted by a castle overlooking the town of Tranbür.
The bus stopped just outside the old wall before a drawbridge.
We were to walk over the river, through the many streets and make our way to the castle.
We waved to the guard to lower the drawbridge and began our march toward the town centre.
I was already across when I heard a loud scream, followed by a splash.
"Timmy!"
The children gathered at the edge of the drawbridge and pointed at Timmy being dragged by the water current.
The guard sounded an alarm which further increased the panic.
There was no way to reach the river and help him. The riverbank was practically vertical.
We helplessly watched Timmy leave our sight and listened to his screams becoming more distant with every second.
"How do we save him? What if the worst happens? What do I tell his parents?"
These were all thoughts racing through my mind as I was trying my best to calm down the others.
"Do something!" Mary yelled at me.
I didn't know what to say. There was nothing I could do.
I looked toward the guard atop the watchtower and he waved at me to come closer.
I made my way inside the city walls and the guard told me they have an extraction point about 500 metres from here and that Timmy will be just fine. He told me to calm down as this wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
A moment later his walkie talkie made a static noise.
"The child is safe. Over."
I could feel my body relax in an instant.
"Copy that. Over."
The guard then pointed to his left; "Just follow this street to the police station and a guard will meet you there."
»Thank you! A thousand times thank you!«
I waved to the group to follow me and explained to them that Timmy was safe and sound.
Timmy ran toward us as soon as he saw as and we had a long group hug.
He looked up at me as if trying to apologize.
"I must've overlooked the step."
"It's okay, Timmy. You're fine. Everything's okay. Let's get you some dry clothes, shall we?"
I took him to the nearby clothes shop and we got him something dry to wear. He didn't look like a fashion guru, but at least he was dry.
We then set our course toward the castle as we originally intended.
We sat down at the top of the hill and had lunch together, overlooking the town of Tranbür.
I knew I still had to tell his parents what happened, but I was just grateful he was safe.
All is well that ends well.
The end
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- #19 - A struggling door-to-door salesman takes things one step too far
- #20 - A love story about a war veteran
- #21 - The red star
- #22 - A terminally ill child wishes to meet a villain