006 - Prompt

[stardoll]

Here's another good suggestion, this time from albijuli: playgrounds!

If you live Stateside, have a happy Memorial Day!

Comments

Japanese playground

[mordantmind]

(thanks for another fun prompt!)

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At night, at first glance, it puts you in mind of a small desert-- an expanse of flat and featureless beige. As you move closer, you notice tiny sneaker marks here and there, and long stroller tracks.

Some rusty play equipment stands in the shadows close to the fence. The arc of a climber that might once have been blue rises out of the dirty sand, the layers of paint on its rungs corroding into weird patterns like gray-green tie dye. Nearby, a yellow slide dingy with dirt and mud has gone the color of a mid-August sunset. At the bottom is a too-deep puddle.

One plastic playhouse stands a short distance away, with an open door at one end and two head-sized holes meant to be windows. The color has faded to a mash of white and ghostly pastels; the bulging eyes of big-headed animals and pudgy clowns stand in relief, outlined in grime.

On the other side of the fence, a flickering streetlight barely illuminates the scene. Near the base is a shrine to Jizo, protector of children in the underworld. Offerings of toys and candy lie at the feet of the statue. Beyond that, the sleeping neighborhood.

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(crossposted from my page)