Hanging by a Thread

I am not certain where the picture by Sandra was taken. It looks like Charmouth on the south of England. The area is also referred to as the Jurassic coast because of the large number of fossils found along the foot of the cliffs. Thank you Sandra for reminding me of my holiday visit. (From Sandra’s page, she tells us the picture was taken at West Bay, Dorset).

As always, thank you Rochelle for posting this week’s prompt, please click on her name to join the party. More contributions of 100 words stories can be found HERE.

PHOTO PROMPT © Sandra Crook

Hanging by a Thread

We holiday every June in Charmouth, to sunbathe on the beach. On the cool days, we walk along the cliff tops or among the costal rocks looking for fossils.

We call the seagull Freddy; he knows when we buy chips and circles around waiting for a chance to swoop and steal. To annoy Charlene, Tom threw her chips into the air. She stormed off up the path.

I am patient with Charlene, her teenage tantrums, her fussy eating fads, her blackmailing, and exaggerated modesty in the caravan.

‘Do you think she will really jump?’ Tom laughs.

I run after her.

Sibling Rivalry

Looking at this week’s photo prompt, I can only imagine how uncomfortable the owner of the discarded boot must have felt.

Thanks to Rochelle for posting and encouraging us to write our 100 word stories. Other contributions can be found HERE.

PHOTO PROMPT © Starsinclayjars

Sibling Rivalry

How could you, Sonia?

Sorry Anne, I only took it off to scratch my leg.

The support boot was brand new. 

Wilhelm distracted me and offered to push me into the library.

Do you know what it costs?

Wilhelm suggested we go hill walking this weekend.

I’m not buying you a new one.

He made me laugh. Really, in my wheelchair, I said. 

Are you listening to me?

Stop fussing. Wilhelm promised to take me trekking once my ankle has healed.

Well, look after yourself this weekend.

Anne! Why?

Wilhelm is taking me sightseeing and to a show in Paris. 

Comfort Labrador

The picture this week from Dale gives me the impression of a dark, foggy morning as we wait for the day to begin.

This prompt for Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle, click on her name to visit her site.
You will find more story contributions by clicking on HERE.

Comfort Labrador

The fluttering of anticipation somersaulted around Mary’s stomach like acrobats.

He had promised to make her happy and to love her to the end of the Earth.
Perhaps he can’t climb over the horizon, or is he lost in Lilliput, again? 
She trusted every word then, his smiles, and hugs; running home from school because of the news.
That day, a dark, claustrophobic fog descended and strangled hope forever. The Mad Hatter raced and gibbered inside her soul. She slashed and tore, but darkness gripped tighter.

The doorbell rang. 
Her comfort Labrador, Ben, had arrived.
“My dad’s name.” She cried.

Southern Warmth

Hi Bill, your picture prompt is a great picture and gives me the idea of a wild retirement of wandering freely, and seeking the warmth of sunshine and pleasant folks.

This prompt for Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle, click on her name to visit. You may find lots to interest you. More story contributions from the group’s story writers can be found HERE.

PHOTO PROMPT © Bill Reynolds

Southern Warmth

The pioneer spirit rattled around, and I couldn’t shake it out my head.
I guess Grandpa’s stories of his prairie wagon days conjured my yearning for the open road.

After my retirement handshake I bought a Pickup and hauled a trailer all the way down to New Mexico fleeing the wintery, Chicago smog.
I couldn’t stay after my sweetheart succumbed to the city’s grime.

On the way I met a wandering soul who laments to my clumsy chords.
At night, we huddle watching Venus floating between Leo and Gemini.

She is called Louise, an oblivious blister in this imperfect world. 

Grandma’s Legacy

Thank you, Rochelle, for the memories your picture this week has stirred. I am sure we all have many items in the attic or at the back of the garage that were once loved but are now forgotten. Eventually, they end up in junk shops because we think ‘someone’ may find it useful.

Click on Rochelle, to discover the background of Friday Fictioneers. More 100 word stories on this photo-prompt are available HERE.

PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Grandma’s Legacy

The musty smell of antiquity evokes my engrained fear of Grandma Louise. I see a porcelain pan, and I retch. Mornings, I had flushed grandma’s contents down the outside toilet. 

I wander junk markets conflicted with angry and fond memories, to relive my chaotic childhood. The Bible that bruised my skull, the flea infested shawl for winter huddles. The horn handled stick with which Grandma beat sense into me.
In a cruel way, she was loving and kind, and a penniless old hag with an infectious laughter that endeared forgiveness.

She left me a landscape, a ‘Constable’. 
Thank you, Grandma.

Teddy is Alone

My first thought on seeing Roger’s photo prompt for Friday Fictioneers this week was to ask; where are the children?
Okay, it looks as if it has been raining and I expect all the mums have kept their little darlings indoors to remain safe and dry.

Thanks to Rochelle for keeping our ‘fictioneering’ challenged, click on the name to reach her site. Many more stories for this week’s prompt are found HERE.

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

Teddy is Alone.

The siren screaming across the town became a daily ritual and, below in the bomb shelters, families huddled. The children sang songs and played board games until they fell asleep.

Katrina couldn’t sleep. She was worried about the play park. Yesterday was the first time she climbed, swung, and slid with her friends as mum laid out a picnic on a bench.

‘Mum,’ she said. ‘Mum, Mum.’ She shook her mother awake.
‘Please, sleep, darling.’

‘But Mum… will they bomb the playground?’
‘We’ll go tomorrow. Do you need the toilet?’
‘NO!’
‘It’s okay, Katrina, we’ll find Teddy in the morning.’ 

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.

Eco-System Revenge

This week’s Friday-Fictioneers photo-prompt from Trish Nankeville is of wonderful flowers, which I understand are native to Western Australia. My first impression was that they were inside out, as the external stamen give the red bulbs the appearance of pin-cushions. Thank you to Trish for the picture and, as always, thank you Rochelle for bringing such interesting subjects to our attention.

More story contributions are available to read on this link HERE.

PHOTO PROMPT © Trish Nankeville

The Eco-system Revenge

The marauders striped the apples and pears from his garden. They mocked his flowers. Pretty useless, like you old man, and they kicked and stamped on him before they left.

Ceres looked up and saw his bees among the stamen of the Hakea. He smiled. Venerated for his knowledge, he had regenerated an eco-system of life into a dead planet. But his Earth’s wisdom seemed forgotten as a myopic dictator took control of Centauri which retarded into a dystopian panic.

Tomorrow, he will seal his eco-bubbles and order the Mantis to eliminate all humans and grind their bodies for fertiliser.

Mo Tong Lai Cha 無糖奶茶

Thank you, Brenda for a wonderful picture of the variety of street food. I can recall the smells and the atmosphere. It is a lovely photo-prompt posted by Rochelle to challenge our writing for Friday-Fictioneers. More stories are ready to be read HERE.

PHOTO PROMPT © Brenda Cox

Mo Tong Lai Cha 無糖奶茶
(Tea, Milk No Sugar)

My shirt clung to my skin as I weaved down Yau San Street, and I knocked against a basket of squirming snakes. The warm aroma of peanut oil drifted among whiffs of cooking chicken; salivating, I ignored my hungry protests.
First the deal.

I saw her. Mai Ling sucking noodles, and she nodded.
‘Lai cha mo tong.’ She ordered for me. ‘Milk in tea, so British.’

I covertly slipped the passports into her bag, as a loose noodle struck her nose. 

I twitched towards the observers.
‘My bankers,’ she said. ‘Drink your tea.’

A smile, a gold tooth. Money transferred.

They Grow So Fast

Thank you, Rochelle, for one of your water colours as our Friday-Fictioneer prompt. I can recall when I was a child of the days running through the soft surf and collecting shells. Scrambling over rocks and poking around small pools was also lots of fun. 

More stories from the group can be read HERE.

Photo-prompt from Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

They Grow So Fast

Jessica was fearless.
At three she ran into the sea, and I had to rescue her from the pounding waves.
You never told me it was salty, she had said.

At four, she fell off the donkey.
It was my fault. I should have told her she was too small to be a jockey.

At ten she climbed the fifty-foot cliff face.
My heart raced. Get off I screamed. You’ll fall.
She laughed.

At twenty, she is sailing solo across the Atlantic.

These shells soothe my apprehension and remind me of our fun times.
Oh, Jessica, you grew so fast.