Ah, this is so, so lovely! Thank you!!

Write something that catches even myself by surprise. It doesn't have to be something I'm already working on, could be something entirely new. I just want to really push my writing this year and be fully open to new ways of expressing my thoughts and ideas creatively. Be bold & honest. #WriteCBC

The Christmas tree in the James Street Bank twinkles violently.
A blow-up Santa stirs: “Happy Holidays!” Jingle Bells starts.
“You turned off the second alarm yet?” Ray whispers.
“Almost.”
He keys in a code: “But you studied the footage?”
“What do you think?” says Gabby. The vault exhales.
#WriteCBC

Thanks Ally! It’s a great task!

The rock face towered above me. I traced the cold surface; crimson seeped into the cracks. Tang of iron in the air. The snap of a twig behind me. I almost slipped on the moss. Eyes darting up, a murder of crows scattered overhead. #WriteCBC

The wind swells outside, heavy with change. I find the green box in my dresser upstairs and clasp the silver ‘L’ pendant around my neck. Dina walks in and immediately notices, “Cute,” she says. I flip it over - Love E. “I don’t wear it much anymore,” I say quickly, hoping she won’t ask. #WriteCBC

A sharp knock. Eleni flinches. “Always something being delivered to this bloody house,” she mutters, unlatching the door. Sea air rushes in. A woman, hovering on the step: “Hi, I used to live here - 20 years ago.” Eleni hesitates. “Right, want to come in?” Funny - she’s certain no one else ever has.

Ducking under the hanging basket, the limbs of a deceased plant claw at my head. I turn the key; in the air is burnt cheese and candle wax. A painting of a man dancing in rainbow robes hangs opposite, hypnotising yet frightening. Each floorboard creaks. The terracotta walls go up and up. #WriteCBC