Saturday 4 April 2015

D is for Debouch


For this year's A-Z Challenge I have selected a word from the dictionary for each day and written a story around it with a 100 word limit. For extra interest I have chosen words that are unknown or unfamiliar to me. All definitions are from the Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus 2007 Edition. Today's word is Debouch.

Debouch: Emerge from a confined space into a wide, open area.

Clara debouched herself from the cupboard and stretched. Where were they? This had been the longest game of hide and seek ever.

She wandered around, calling out for her brothers and sister. Her tummy twisted itself in knots. Had someone stolen them? Outside, nobody was on the street. What if the entire human race had been wiped out? Actually… maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. She could do what she liked for a change.

Clara went outside to investigate and yelped as her siblings leapt at her.

“Clara, you’re too easy!” howled her brother as they doubled over in laughter.

39 comments:

betty said...

Glad to hear the entire human race was still intact :) Hope Clara remembers this for the next time they play together :)

betty

Click said...

Hehe, aw, that was sweet.

We don't have a TV and live out in the middle of nowhere so I often joke to my husband that the human race could be wiped out and we'd know nothing about it!

Cait @ Click's Clan

Sophie Duncan said...

Nice insight into a child's thoughts about the world. I remember being up in our house when I was little, it was big and if you were right at the end of the house in the bathroom upstairs, you had to go the entire run of the top floor to get to the stairs and down to where company might be - it could feel very lonely for a pre-teen and I remember having similar momentary thoughts about there being no-one left but me. :)
Sophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles
FB3X
Wittegen Press

JeffO said...

Debouch has a great sound to it, doesn't it?

Michael Abayomi said...

I can't help but laugh at that first sentence. That is one word I am probably never going to use in my writing, but I am still glad for the opportunity to learn something new.

Annalisa Crawford said...

I've had that feeling of everyone dissappearing - I was outside in the middle of a road, and even the birds had vanished. I had that same panic/curious feeling.

djinnia said...

So much like how my brothers would torture me as a kid. :)

Christine Rains said...

Fun and silly! And that's a neat word to say. Have a great Easter!

Chrys Fey said...

Debouch is a funny sounding word. I almost can't take it seriously. lol

Cute story. Very well written.

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

Cruel brother! :) I have never heard this word before - debouch ... it's a bit too close to debauch for comfort ;)
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

They caught her unaware!

J.L. Campbell said...

And to think she thought she'd been hidden away for long.
Congrats on the new book!

Anonymous said...

Clara needed to learn that time goes by much slower when you're sitting in a dark cupboard, waiting to be found!

~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

loverofwords said...

Loved the end, thought it would be different!

Keith's Ramblings said...

Oh Clara, just when you thought you had the world to yourself! By the way I recently learned that the term for a 100 word story begins with D - It's drabble apparently!

Debbie D. said...

For a brief second, I thought you were going to talk about "debauchery", but this was fun too. ☺ Clara is obviously given to over-dramatization and I'm sure she's relieved the human race is still intact. "Debouch" was new to me, and here I thought my vocabulary knowledge was superior. Nice one!

Trisha said...

Haha, yep - just wait around till they get impatient and come out of their hiding spot! ;)

That's a new word for me too.

Tyrean Martinson said...

Oh, those brothers. :) I'm glad the human race is still around.

Jennifer Hawes said...

That would make for an amazing story. She emerges from the cabinet to find everyone gone!! Love it:)

Cortney Pearson said...

That is a great word--new to me! And cute little story too. :)

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Nick - I don't think I know debouch .. but playing hide and seek was fun (at times!!) .. and hiding somewhere out of the way - where no one looks was always disconcerting .. love the prank they pull on Clara .. cheers Hilary

T. Powell Coltrin said...

I love love love this theme. I wish I would have thought of it. Debouch. I must use this word the rest of this day.

J E Oneil said...

All these words, sometimes I wonder where you find them!

Cute story :)

Rhonda Albom said...

Great use of a new word. It reminded me a bit of the movie Home Alone.

Mary Aalgaard said...

Awesome. April fool's prank, no doubt.
Play off the Page

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Don't all kids like to hide in the cupboard. And play there.

AJ Lauer said...

Oh, hide and seek.. Always so many opportunities to sneak up on people when they can't hide anymore!
Fun theme :)
~AJ Lauer
an A-Z Cohost
@ayjaylauer on Twitter

Heather R. Holden said...

Love today's story! So cute. I got to learn a new word, too! :)

Anonymous said...

Another new word to file away! Thank you!

Liz A. said...

I bet she gets them back. Later.

Liz A. from Laws of Gravity

Nick Wilford said...

Betty - She's the youngest sibling, so she's always getting pranked on. I know, I am one!

Click - I'd like to be in the middle of nowhere. But no TV would need some adjustment.

Sophie - I know, it's a funny feeling a lot of us have as kids, I think.

Jeff- It does! I'm going to use it often.

Michael - Thanks. It would stick out if you came across it in a book, so maybe that's why it's obscure.

Annalisa - Sounds spooky!

Djinnia - Yep!

Christine - Thanks, you too!

Nick Wilford said...

Chrys - Thanks! Yeah, it's a funny little word.

Natasha - I hadn't thought of that!

Alex - Cheeky boys (and girl).

Joy - It probably wasn't that long, but it feels like it alone in a cupboard!

Patricia - Exactly.

loverofwords - Thanks!

Keith - Thanks! Good word for D - some of mine are under 100 so I haven't been too strict.

Debbie - Another debauched reader! Thanks. I think she is given to flights of fancy.

Trisha - A classic trick.

Tyrean - Me too!

Jennifer - Thanks! It could have been Narnia-esque, taking her to an alternate world where we are wiped out.

Nick Wilford said...

Cortney - Thanks! I definitely like new words.

Hilary - Thanks! That's the other thing - choosing a place that's too good. Then everyone gets bored and goes away.

Teresa - Thanks so much!

Jeanne - In the dictionary!

Rhonda - Thanks. Good comparison.

Mary - Probably!

Susan - Cupboards are magical!

AJ - Thanks!

Heather, Lilian - Thanks!

Liz - Hopefully.

Yvonne Ventresca said...

Fun story!

Yvonne

liz young said...

Brothers! I had two so I know what they're like. Debouch - I thought I knew that word but actually I was thinking of debauch. One letter can make a lot of difference!

Anonymous said...

That's a great new word for me, thank you! And a fun story to boot. :)

Jean Davis said...

I was kind of hoping this was going to take a dark turn, but light and cheerful is probably much better for Clara in the long run.

Shell Flower said...

Debouch is one of my favorite words. Hahaha, and Clara will learn patience someday.

Holly Jahangiri said...

Sounds like many hide and seek games I remember from childhood!