Writing prompt challenge, day 1

Write a 200 word story in the epic genre. It’s about a desperate girlfriend and should include a time machine. Also use the sentence ‘Never.’ Bonus prompt: Your character is imprisoned. Source: thestoryshack

Lisa woke up in a strange room that she recognized, as if from a dream. It was a beautiful space, feminine and elegant in a way she aspired to be someday.

“Jared?” she called out sleepily, and then she remembered. “Jared? Jared?!” she sat up in a panic. “Oh shit, oh shit,” she muttered to herself. Where was she? And why was this place so familiar?

“Oh good, you woke up.” A woman walked in, and again Lisa felt a rush of recognition. “How are you feeling now?” the woman asked.

“Who are you? Where am I? And where is Jared? I need to find him, it’s important, I need to leave now -” Lisa felt incoherent in her anxiety and disorientation, the thoughts and questions came tumbling out before she could make sense of them. Jared. Jared. She had to find him, she had to go, that’s why she went in the first place, he was gone and she was looking for him, something happened. There was a door that only opened one direction, she followed him, and then? She knew she was missing something, and yet her mind was stuck. “I’m sorry — thank you for your hospitality. I’m Lisa,” she said, remembering her manners.

“I know,” the woman said, smiling.

“I — I need to leave,” Lisa said, her mind blurring and focusing, the memories starting to return. “I’m not supposed to be here. I was looking for someone in a different time. I need to leave now.”

The woman smiled again, and Lisa had the sense that she was looking in the mirror at someone older, and crueller.

“I can’t let you do that,” the woman told her.

Lisa felt her heart drop.

“What do you mean? When can I leave?” she asked.

“Never.”