Chalky Road

It was a road and that was all, but a road like thunder beneath a bleached grey above. And it was a car, the make and model obscured by time, that traveled down the road, maybe in search of something, maybe not, but certainly not in search of the brambled thicket that lined the road, Chalky road, a blurry grey path to nowhere. And, of course, it was gnarly and sculpted trees like the knees of an ancient witch, that clawed at the sky and twisted and writhed in a wind like a raging river.

But if you went a little further and looked a little closer, it was flowers, tiny prim white daisies and great lavender stalks. And it was a tree that bent over the path, crooked-backed like an ancient man. And it was a place where a little child might play, because the thick and leafy shrubbery was the perfect place to hide. And children might get lost there on purpose so they could find something, like the nest of a mother thrush or a litter of baby hares, fully furred but with eyes still shut tight.

And it was empty, so startlingly, differently empty, that you could crane your neck and squint and see the whole wide world. Blue mountains in the background, that touched wispy clouds that looked light as cotton candy and heavy as the darkness of midnight. It was so much. It was so little. It was the kind of place where your grandparents might live, or where Peter Rabbit’s second cousin once removed might have grown up. It was forever.

— Lucy Glueck, Hanover, NH

The challenge: Coordinates: Type these geographic coordinates into Google Map GPS Coordinates: 50.6578135 N, -2.404417999999964 E. Tell a story inspired by what you discover. You can also go to youngwritersproject.org to read Chalky Road. And other amazing writing!