“The New Road”
Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!
Prompt: Jelly.
Grump walked down the street, each footstep sending echoed vibrations through the ground. His balance was quite good; in fact, everyone’s balance was quite good having lived here their entire lives. The ground wobbled slightly under his feet. Luckily, the ground had been trodden down enough so that it was more stable. Unluckily, Grump was headed to the newest patch of road that was just in the process of setting. The newer patches were the most unstable, being the softest, and took days of cold to fully set so that it could be stepped on.
Grump waved at everyone as he passed; his personality was in fact a complete contradiction to his name. He was known in his small town as the most joyful and pleasant individual to be around, and he often joked about his own name, saying that he made it his personal mission to uphold the contradiction that he was so well-known for.
He eventually had to begin using his arms to help him balance as he approached the construction site. As the head of the construction company in charge of this stretch of road, he visited every day to make sure that the progress was on track. The new patch was still setting, after having been warmed to a liquid the day before. Unfortunately, the heating process also affected the surrounding roads, causing instability leading up to the new part. However, on the upside, the joint between the new and old sections would be completely invisible; the melting would perfectly meld the two pieces together.
Final Comments: I’m not really sure if this came across in the story, but I imagined Grump as a gummy bear living in a completely gummy world…
Overall Rating: 😄