Promptvent - Day 17

25 days of winter prompts to thaw your writers (ice)block - and this year it's all about being Cozy.

Hello and welcome to day 17 of Promptvent!

If you’d like some wintry musical inspiration whilst you write, why not try listening to ‘Mulled Wine Vibes’ by Milli Davis in ‘Mulled Wine Mood’, on Spotify.

Listen to me read the guided invitation via audio below or if you prefer to read the transcript, that is also available for you underneath the audio.

Welcome back to our Promptvent village advent calendar where you find yourself standing once again before the cozy Christmas window.

Bundled up in your warm woolen mittens and thick scarf, you are eager to to know what wintry word of the day awaits you. What world will you step into and discover today? You lean closer, and can feel the eagerness in your fingers as you pull off your mittens and reach for the iron latch on the window, lifting it with care.

You are looking at a cozy shabby chic bar with a huge bar counter made out of wood and covered in festive laurels. There is a jazz band on a low stage at the end of the room playing smooth easy-listening jazz. There are small round tables with red velvet chairs dotted around them, with low light ambient candles on each one. There are huge rustic barrels stacked up behind the bar counter that the bartenders are putting glasses up against them, and drawing amber, burgundy and blood orange liquid from via small taps attached to them. On the counter there are smaller versions of the barrels decorated with fairy lights, with chalk signs on them, they read ‘Mulled Cider’, ‘Mulled Wine’ and ‘Mulled Mocktail’.

You lick your lips and can smell the apple, citrus and spices dancing around the room. A bartender waves at you from the window and asks, ‘What can I get you?’.

All of a sudden the red wreathed door to your left slowly opens, inviting you further. You step through the door, stamp the snow off of your boots and hang your winter coat up on a golden brass hook. The warmth of the room is very welcome to your rosy cheeks and cold nose.

You head over to the bar and choose your favorite mulled tipple and stay to watch the bartender skillfully maneuver around with your steaming drink, adding cloves, orange slices and spices to your exact taste. The Jazz Band begin to play some soft Christmas music that features the deep bluesy notes of a saxophone. You take a sip and feel the sweet and fruity concoction slide down your throat. Heaven.

You turn and take a seat closer to the band, with your Mulled drink. You can feel your shoulders sink down your back and you sway gently to the music, feeling your brain begin to empty of anything else apart from the immediate sensations you are experiencing. You begin to think of how many hearts and hands are warmed with this spiced treat, every year, how many people stand over their stoves, stirring carefully so as not to burn it, and adding a little more sugar to taste. You think of all of the mulled wine shared with friends and family at this time.

Suddenly a bartender comes over with a menu and places it on the table in front of you. You open the menu out of curiosity and notice yours is blank apart from one word written in cursive script at the top.

It reads: MULLED

A pen is attached to the top of the menu. You smile and take the pen. You take one last sip of the zesty warm liquid, enjoying the feeling of your head getting a little fuzzy. Then you pick up the pen - and you write.