Flash fiction - Life's Crescendo

Writing prompts take you in all manner of directions. What appears to be a happy prompt by the prompter can be cut into sad little pieces. Or a mysterious line for some turns into a romantic comedy for others. This week over at Julia's Place, I went in the opposite direction to what prompted the prompt by Julia. Here's my offering including the words, whenever I hear it I think of you. 

Life’s Crescendo

Those last days, you clawed onto life. Rasping through an unimaginable pain, your skin translucent I didn’t know where the sheets ended and you began. You, shrunken to something else. Gone. Broken-hearted, that was all I could see afterwards. I stood on our cliff, looked out into nothingness. Inched forward. 
     But the bandstand threw me a life-line. Those notes, the interruption of the trumpets like a shock to the heart. The crescendos made me look up, into the blue, the light. I stepped back, let the wind and your music carry me back to life. Now, whenever I hear it I think of you and I see sunshine. 

100 words + prompt

Click on the 100WCGU icon to read more entries and enter.

Silent Sunday 26-01-14

Flash fiction - Joined in Holy Matrimony

This week over at Julia's Place the prompt is a good one: ... it was just a sea of faces ... I'm not sure where this story came from at the start, but let me know what you think. Click on the 100WCGU icon to read more takes on the prompt or have a go yourself.

Joined in Holy Matrimony

Standing in front of so-called friends and family, she glanced back. She felt nothing, just the desire to run. To her, it was just a sea of faces and they didn’t matter. Except one. The one who was going to shout out, to save her, to embarrass her briefly and hide her away. And then give her all the happiness he owned. 
The priest continued, mentioned something about God’s work in bringing them together. She stifled a laugh. The man next to her, a rock, eyes down.  
The priest asked the question. Silence. 
Her heart burst. This was it. Say it! 
She turned around.
He was gone.

100 words + prompt

Silent Sunday 19-01-14

Flash fiction - Rescued

Finally! Some time to write 100 words for Julia's Place and the 100WCGU. It's a wintry prompt over there this week as the UK needs some warming up (saying that, Luxembourg does do). We had to include ... tea, coffee, hot chocolate or... in 105 words. Here's my story:

Rescued

I think I was breathing. It hurt, my body catching up with the change in temperature. Lights, red faces, hats and scarves and wool everywhere. They sat me down, unlaced my boots. My feet dislodged; my toes stubborn and black. I was too cold to shiver.

“How long you think he’s been out there?” Hands shed the layers of ice on me. I sat numb to my hours lost in darkness.

“What shall I get him? Tea, coffee, hot chocolate or…”

Blood rushed to my heart, pumping; I raised a hand. Silence. Faces craned. “Yes?”

Through a snowdrift in my throat: “Whisky. No ice.” 

Click on the link to read other entries or have a go yourself. I'm off for a cuppa... 

Silent Sunday 05-01-14

I'll have a P please, Bob

Happy New Year! Real people as well as Google and Microsoft tell me it's 2014. Wow. Brilliant. I never know which year it is. Students yell at me most weeks: "Um, Laura, it's not 1998" or "2003 was ten years ago" but at least for today, the second of January 2009 2014 I have it right. 

The first challenge over at Trifecta this year is a three-word new year's resolution. The prompt for this week was inspired by Michael Hess and his own three-worder, Just Be Nice. I love his sentiment, although I hate the word nice. Resolutions so far vary from the personal and prescriptive to the godly and sci-fi. It's all good. Some resolutions are words to be broken, others are fiction to be realised. I love them all from the inspiring to the downright stupid. It's always interesting to see what importance flows from our minds at the start of a brand new year. Like this one, 1991 2014.

So, onto my three words. I was thinking about a friend today while I came home on the train and how we have this running joke that she loves all foods beginning with P. Peas. Pizza. Pies. Pomegranate. Somehow, these thoughts got mixed up with my wishes for the year, which turned into verbs and so my new year's resolution for 2006 2014 is a field of Ps:

• Procreate (I hope my mum doesn't read this or she will not stop banging on about it)
• Publish (Like most people who write)
• Participate (Don't be a bystander)

Resolutions are hard. If they were easy-peasy we wouldn't even bother doing this. Have fun sticking to yours. I'll have a P, please, Bob (Thanks, Blockbusters fans). 

Click on the trike to read more entries in this week's Trifextra Challenge and vote on your top three.