Today I’m looking after my middle nephew, who is quite an extraordinary child. Strong, speedy, inquisitive and bright, he’s endlessly hungry for adventure. That’s him in the red jacket, negotiating a climbing frame.

Here he is making friends with a pair of girls who apparently got the same memo as him about wearing red.

In his effort to make friends, my nephew used to attach himself to other families he encountered, and sometimes even follow them out of the park.

It reminded me of someone who once told me about how they took a gaggle of their children’s pals out for a birthday treat, then got back home to find out they’d somehow ended up with one extra…

Use that as the conundrum for a new short story.

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com to let me know. With your permission, I’ll publish it on SkyLightRain.com.