Can you tell Bobby?

Friday Fictioneers’ photo prompt this week raises sad past memories, but life goes on.

Thanks to Rochelle and to Jennifer Pendergast for the picture.
Click HERE for more contributions from the group.

PHOTO PROMPT © Jennifer Pendergast

Can you tell Bobby?

Bobby is so happy, colouring and drawing.
We go to the park to walk Baxter and let him off the lead, and they chase each other around the swings.

Julia would take them walking in the woods or play catch around the garden.
Bobby has grown so much since then.

The picture of Mummy’s car is on display; she would have cried.

I gave Bobby her favourite chocolate.
She’ll share it out when Mummy comes home, she said.

I hide the picture of Julia, smiling, with the MacMillan nurses holding her hand.
Gone forever. 

How can I possibly tell Bobby?

Adrift in my Mind

Friday-Fictioneers

Thank you to Brenda Cox for this week’s photographic prompt. As always, the challenge for the Friday-Fictioneers is to produce a 100-word ‘novel’ out of thin air.

Looking at the picture, I sensed an isolated group adrift at sea, or a tourist trip on a raft and a setting for an oriental film.

Thank you to Rochelle for hosting the prompt. Click on her name to visit her home blog. You can read other story contributions by clicking HERE.

PHOTO PROMPT © Brenda Cox

Adrift in my Mind

Yesterday, I saw a mermaid preening sea algae from her hair.
No one noticed. Sitting on a protruding rock, she beckoned me with a seductive stare.
I said nothing.

At sun rise, dolphins and the mermaid surrounded our raft.
I pointed, but the others saw nothing and laughed.

That evening, I meandered along the shore with the waves lapping over my feet; thoughts of the mermaid tumbling in my mind.

The breeze carried her enchanting voice, and I waded out to stroke her hair.

She snatched and held tight as we kissed.
Gasping for air, I fought and struggled ashore.

What’s the Matter with Charlie

Charlie

What’s the matter with Charlie?
The days are never the same
There is always a serious problem
And everyone else is to blame.

What’s the matter with Charlie?
All the food has lost its taste
Dinners are manic and chaotic
Vegetable curry goes to waste.

What’s the matter with Charlie?
Restless nights with swollen feet
Midnight snacks of pickled eggs
Moody and lethargic, half asleep. 

What’s the matter with Charlie?
Headaches sever, sometimes, maybe
I’ll be glad when this problem is over

and finally!

When Charlie has her baby.

Photo from Pixel By Ron Lach

Time Thaws the Torment

I became immersed in silent peace with Dale’s photograph, along with its seasonal touch of the inviting Christmas tree lights. The picture shows a thaw in the weather and a respite from the hard frost; but for how long? Winter can be mild or hard, and in the Spring, we forgive the past harsh weather as the appearance of flowers lighten our mood.

This week, I have taken my inspiration from Franz Kafka.

The German novelist Franz Kafka writes about his father in “Letter to My Father.”

“What was always incomprehensible to me was your total lack of feeling for the suffering and shame you could inflict on me with your words and judgments.” 

Thank you, Rochelle for this week’s prompt for Friday Fictioneers, other stories can be read HERE.

Time Thaws the Torment

I took the shortcut from the railway station along the path I used twenty years ago.
It was then I vowed never to return, but here I was.

Sat on my heavy rucksack, I looked across at the place, my childhood home once full of boyhood adventures.
I loved this country and our family’s farming life.

Come home, my mother said. It’s Christmas. He’s gone, bless his soul.

Was it him who drove me away, or my stubborn pride? A lifetime of agony and tormented pains.

Forgiveness lightened my backpack as I strode with definitive certainty.
I had returned home. 

Love-soaked Honeymoon

Thank you, David, for your photo prompt for this week’s Friday Fictioneers. I can imagine sitting in the hotel having breakfast watching torrential rain thunder down outside and thinking -it looks like another day at the indoor pool or playing cards. So much for a day on the beach-.

Check out our host Rochelle’s site and other 100 word stories HERE.

PHOTO PROMPT © David Stewart

Love-Soaked Honeymoon 

Olivia screamed in laughter as they dashed through the rain and fluttering confetti into the limousine. Everyone cheered from under their umbrellas.
Their photographer abandoned the garden and riverside shots instead took indoor pictures around the reception hotel’s flora.

They left promptly, only to be delayed at Gatwick before their flight took off to Antigua for ten days on hot Caribbean sandy beaches.

Constant lashing rain from the tail end of hurricane Fiona kept the newly weds tucked up in the honeymoon suite.
‘I’m sorry about the rain,’ he said.
She kissed him. ‘It’s my fault for marrying you, Noah.’

Family Seance

Friday Fictioneers.

This week’s prompt of oil lamps brings back the times I did not trim the wick properly and ended up with soot inside the glass. Done the right way, the lamp gives off a wonderful glow and as you huddle around it for a little heat and comfort, you can’t help wondering what is lurking in the dark corners of the room.

Visit the Friday Fictioneers host, Rochelle, by clicking on her name. More stories from the group (why not join in) are available HERE.

PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Family Seance

On the first day of Autumn, our family traditionally holds a thankful togetherness around the oil lamps. A reminder of a humble journey from the harsh dust bowl to our prosperous orange groves.

Grandma told me she burned down the old house, spat in the wind and kicked the foreclosures man’s arse. On the edge of a prayer, she drove their wagon west with a broken husband and a deserted, pregnant daughter huddled among the measly fodder.

Today, I sit holding hands with Dorothy and our children as we remember their spirits and hear inspirational laughter from our wonderful grandmas.

Orbiting the Moon

After reading Linda’s (Granonine) story on Friday-Fictioneers I recalled a piece of poetry I wrote sometime ago, for a specific reason.

Let me know if you enjoyed reading it or otherwise.

Photo from Pixabay.com

Orbiting the Moon.   (James McEwan)

Mother stood gazing out of the window
As I walked along the gravel garden path.
She looked through me as if I was hollow.
But I smiled and waved. I saw her laugh.

We sat on the veranda having tea with scones.
She asked where I had been all these years,
Were you lost in space searching for stones?
I can’t remember, she said and wiped her tears.

I passed her the album, pictures of our family. 
My children as babies then going on to school.
Who are these people? I can’t see them clearly,
Ah yes, she said, your father. The stubborn fool.

We walked to the park and sat by the lake.
She told me she was proud of her beloved son,
The first Scots astronaut who promised to take
Her sightseeing to the stars and orbit the moon.

Is it time to go? she said and held my hand.
I pulled up the blanket to fend off the chill.
How long will it take and where shall we land?
She rested on my shoulder and slipped away,
So peacefully, and silent.
Like the sunset sinking behind the hill. 

Dream with the Stars

Thank you Rochelle for keeping the Friday Fictioneers community inspired to write our set of flash fiction. The variety of stories presented (click HERE) indicates the wide imagination that prevails among us.

This week’s photo-prompt of a stone-walled barn by Lisa Fox, indicates a certain pride by the builder.
I can imagine the rustic lifestyle and a storage barn for animals or just chopped wood.

PHOTO PROMPT © Lisa Fox

Dreams with the Stars

At first it was a small dirty cowshed.
At night, we would look through the holes in the roof to find Betelgeuse.
My twin sister, Annabelle, dreamed she would be rich and live in a chateau.

This made father laugh. When he rebuilt the barn, he declared it the castle of Queen Annabelle.
Hold on to your dreams, they will come true, he declared to us.

We held hands beside the barn and remembered father’s words.
‘His spirit is the inspiration of my dreams,’ said Annabelle. Her diamond rings glittered like Orion’s belt, but this barn was still her castle.

Hide and Seek

Thank you Rochelle for your choice for this week’s Friday Fictioneers prompt. It is a playful looking picture from Dale and shows the mischievous nature of kittens.

More stories can be read by clicking on the link HERE.

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

Hide and Seek

Susan fell off her tricycle and scraped her knees. She said it was because she had no friends, so Grandma found her a kitten.

Kitty followed Susan everywhere, and they played hide-and-seek. Kitty couldn’t count to ten. She always waited until Susan crawled behind some furniture, then dashed to surprise her.

Kitty hid in the darkest places and little Susan didn’t like that.

The bookcase was musty, but she followed Kitty in and became trapped among the pages of an encyclopaedia. Kitty kept watch while Susan journeyed through a magical adventure and made lots of friends.

No one found Susan.

Crocodile Love

This week’s picture by Penny appears so peaceful and allows the mind to wander in those warm summer afternoons.

Yet, as I discovered in Roaring Creek Belize, swimming in the water attracts all sorts of creatures, like little fish that nibble and bite!

More from Friday Fictioneers here.

PHOTO PROMPT © Penny Gadd

Crocodile Love

‘There’s one. Oh, it’s gone.’
The crocodile dived, creating a cloud of silt.

Caroline detested John’s profession of photography.
He stopped her from going to the golf course with Jenny. Lovely, soft Jenny.
You’re my wife, John had demanded. Together, we are going croc hunting.
Yes, their problem; together was everything he ordered.

From the boat, she trailed her hand in the water and thought of Jenny.
Sweet, warm-hearted Jenny. Oh, the bliss, when she massaged her legs and kissed–.

‘Look, another one.’ He leaned over the side, snapping away.

‘Careful! You’ll fall in.’ She grinned, rocking the boat.