Prompt: Aubrey looked into the mirror, his eyes red and teary.
Courtesy: Nahim
Aubrey looked into the mirror, his eyes red and teary. This was his fourth time being caught in the crosshairs of relentless, tear-gas-trigger happy cops. The burn always felt the same, but after the second time you got over it. Or at least, you told yourself you were over it. Aubrey splashed cold water over his face a few more times; the cool soothed. Just as he was wiping his face, trying hard to resist the urge to rub his eyes, the bathroom door slammed open and he heard a herd of voices yelling. Aubrey quickly moved towards one of the stalls, afraid that the voices belonged to pigs wielding heavy batons and a license for impunity.
Before he could make it, his arm was grabbed and he was pushed down to the floor; his teeth hit the ceramic. He tried to yell and look up to identify the faces, but several hands were working to keep his mouth firmly enmeshed with the with tiled floor. He then a heard a voice from the near distance.
“Just do it now.”
The hands on his head and face slightly relaxed as they listened to what was being said, giving Aubrey the opportunity to move his right eye upward.
That’s when the first boot came down.
Contribute your own #Prompted below using the prompt above or submit one for me to play around with. Challenge yourself by not thinking and just letting your writing take you wherever it goes; try limiting yourself to 5-10 minutes and 5-10 sentences. And if you can’t stop writing, then don’t.
The Cool Table 
Aubrey looked into the mirror, his eyes red and teary. It wasn’t just the pain from the pulled muscle. He had practiced, worked, torn himself to pieces for months, looking forward to finally running the marathon. Even as his life had gone through its ups and downs, running had been his passion, his drive to make it through. And now, it was gone. Starting off the line, a wrong twist, a swollen foot, and his foot would not heal in time.
He cried for some more, waiting for the pain to subside. He would wait a day, perhaps have a doctor check it, get back to his life, and try again for the marathon next year, no doubt. But for now, his goal was done for, and he would cry for awhile.
Prompts:
Why was Paulina standing there?
With a smile on his face, Heinrich …. (insert rest of story here)