Thank you to Bradley for a lovely peaceful post-card picture of Hawaii. I can imagine the words, ‘I wish you were here’, written by him while spending a holiday break and enjoying the scene.
More Friday Fictioneers stories can be read HERE.
Adventure Beyond the Horizon
I feel the morning peace and warmth of spring, and tranquillity of the waves lapping in the cove. Yet!–it is the horizon that torments me. I am jealous of the floating clouds flying free through the sky from over that line of no return.
My father scrambled up this beach in rehearsal for hell on earth, and I cannot imagine the exhilaration of soldiers disgorging from landing craft and speculating with death, with unwavering conviction.
My inertia wallows on this soft grass as Isabel’s ultimatum invites me to decide.
In solitude, I seek courage to cross over the line.
James McEwan 
Sometimes, this sort of courage can be dangerous.
Hope all is fine at the end.
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Anita, thank you. I have tried many times to comment on your site, I have sent one today. However, mostly it fails, I can not seem to work out what is wrong. I enjoyed your Curly Hair Girl story.
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There’s a lot going on in this, and yet you marshal all the pieces without a hiccup
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Thank you. Being conflicted can focus the mind for inspiration.
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Dear James,
There’s so much going on in this piece. You put it all together beautifully.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you.
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It’s hard to imagine beautiful places being hell on earth. It seems against the laws of nature.
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It takes humans to turn the beauty of nature into a mess. Thank you.
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I don’t think anyone, least of all young people of today, can imagine how it felt for those young men to swing into action.
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Different social pressures in those days. Thank you.
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Over the centuries so much blood must have soaked into sand as people defended or assaulted territories.
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,and washed away by different versions of history. Thank you.
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And we think we’re having it bad right now.
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Confliction is painful if you don’t decid and take action.
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Well done, James. There is much here, indeed.
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Thank you. A decision to be made.
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what’s he waiting for? just say, yes, dear, and be done with it. 🙂
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Inspiration.
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“My inertia wallows” is a wonderful turn of phrase. I wonder what “Isabel’s ultimatum” is about? You have my curiosity going. I like how his mind wanders over that beautiful landscape and transports him to his father’s war time acts of bravery.
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Perhaps, he wants to travel and Isabel wants to get married and settle down.
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We all have such a line. Few dare to cross it.
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I think they call it, “burning your bridges.”
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This is beautiful, so well done.
I think if Isabella needs an ultimatum and he thinks these thoughts, then crossing the line would be a huge mistake.
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I wonder where the problem lies? Thank you.
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I like the way you’ve constructed this story. Your protagonist is beating himself up a bit isn’t he? I have a simultaneous feeling that I wish he’d make his mind up, and a desire to know more about him. I wonder if Isobel feels the same?
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I think we all have moments in our own life trying to decide what is best for us or else best for others. He has to decide. Thank you.
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there are always lines to be crossed, real or imagined
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So true, thank you.
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This was beautifully written, James.
Ultimatums are never good. Of course, if he is always complacent, he will never go anywhere, either!
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Well if you can’t please yourself, who can you please? This is a universal problem many people face. Thank you.
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Indeed. 🙂
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A brilliant description of inner turmoil while leaving the cause ambiguous. Big decisions, change can be scary.
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Inner turmoil can cause inertia, action is required. Thank you.
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Ah, he’s a complicated fella, ain’t he? I wish him freedom and a bit more formulated form than that of passing clouds … 😉
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If he wants to travel, then go. Will Isabel wait for him? Or does she want to control him? Thank you.
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Who knows, eh? Our human complexity is what makes stories so rich! 🙂
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It seems that he’s going to let his ‘wallowing inertia’ rule him and give in to Isabel’s ultimatum. He should rally some motivation and see what’s over that horizon before he loses his chance.
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Yes, he needs to find some courage and self-confidence. Thank you.
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A different kind of bravery. The land has seen it all.
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So many feelings in this piece! Peacefulness, calmness, then it turns darker…So much in so little words.
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Thank you.
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Lots of threads to pull on in your story – perhaps he’s a man on the threshold of a new life but too timid to take the first step. I loved his envy of the clouds.
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Being indecisive can keep people awake at night. Thank you.
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Love the idea of the protagonist being jealous of the clouds floating freely through the sky. What a contrast between his state of mind and that of the soldiers with unwavering conviction! Beautifully written.
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