Thursday 20 September 2012

MY FRIEND


Challenge No. 45  Friday September 21st 2012

Your friend could be a him or a her. Why do you hate them? What have they done to make you feel this way? Check out the Challenges Page for more suggestions...
Sign up for RFW latest challenge! Your story. Your poem. Your way. All we ask is that you keep it under 400 words and include a romantic element.
Challenge open to all! Just write your story/poem, post to your blog, copy the DIRECT link, submit your link at the bottom of the linky.
Linky will close Sunday evening AEST time. Contact Denise at den.covey@gmail.com if you have any problems linking.
Read/comment on as many entries as you can over the weekend. Return on Wednesday for the Wrap Up post and mini critique on all entries.
Now go write!

HERE IS MY ENTRY:

MY FRIEND

We weren’t from the other sides of the tracks but were brought up in different ways
She came from a large family with brothers and sisters and a dad long gone away
We hit it off from the first moment we were introduced by our respective partners
She had her own family with two little ones running around corners and counters


I’d drop in to see you after work and you’d immediately stop your chores
We would sit at the table and chat away over the tea you had just poured
Discussions ensued about cooking the evening meals when the spouses came in
I wanted to be more adventurous so you gave me some curry paste in a tin

My job provided me with a freshly cooked lunch time meal so I started the preparation
My mother-in-law, who we lived with, followed her nose and joined me in the kitchen
She so adored eating curry having been reared in India as a young child in the 1920’s
Various improvements were suggested by her: some Vindaloo and some chopped chillies

Tears streaming down their red faces, coughing and spluttering, reaching for the tissue
I was sure I had poisoned them and vowed to never have curry again on my menu
I hated my best friend the next day when I regaled her with my embarrassing story
She laughed so much her sides were splitting, she spluttered, ‘one or the other but use sparsely’

She taught me to have fun when circumstances and money were so very tight
We played cribbage and gin rummy, backgammon and *Carrom throughout the night
I hated her when she beat me at the games; we were so competitive and loved to win
We played with gusto and spirit, laughing throughout; I loved her as a spiritual twin

I hated her for being loyal and staying with a husband who treated her like dirt
I hated her for saying ‘but he loves me’ as she washed the strange perfume out of his shirt
I hated her for following him to the other side of the country for a new start
I missed her company, her laughter, her joy in life when she had to depart

I hate the drunk driver who stopped her from living
I hate it that all these years later my heart is still aching

 Word count: 393

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrom

17 comments:

  1. Dear Sally,

    Oh my. This is a powerful poem/story about a friendship between two very different women.
    When you really have a friend, it hurts when it ends.

    I really like this theme of friendship. There are some very fine texts being written for it. Yours is one of them. Well done.

    Best wishes,
    Anna
    RFW No. 45 - 'Oh how I hate my beautiful friend'

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  2. Outstanding tribute to a wonderful and true friendship, and such heartache for the loss.

    So well done, this is superb! I agree with Anna this theme resonates.

    Excellent!

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  3. Hi Sally
    Oh dear, with the picture at the end you've made me feel that this is a true story. I hate drunk drivers. Either way, you've captured the love, hate relationship we all have on occasion and you did so with skill. Well done.
    Nancy

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  4. Very powerful and I like the idea of hating her for her own choices. Lovely friendship piece.

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  5. A tribute to a great friendship. The honesty in your lines shine through as much as it makes the heart ache in all the right places, Sally.

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  6. What a touching tribute to your friend and friendship! And such a unique take on the prompt...your piece made me feel warm and heartachy at the same time, especially the ending...

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  7. That's an interesting take on hate that is just the opposite--a deep, enduring friendship.

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  8. Wow. Deeply moving, heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time.

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  9. Sally, tears sprang to my eyes the more I read, as I feared what was coming was coming. A beautiful tribute to a true friendship which is so precious and rare. You'll never forget her, obviously. I won't now, either...thank you for sharing with us. What an honour.

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  10. That was so beautiful! Such raw emotion.

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  11. I was crying for this beautiful, well developed friendship long before I hit the last lines. Awesome to find someone so close to your heart you can love and hate at the same time. Such is the life of an endearing friendship - or any relationship. Love truly does find a way.

    Thank you for participating in RFW this week Sally.

    ......dhole

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  12. Well said, Sally. We can hate what our friends do but still love them. We're all imperfect that way. A beautiful tribute to your friend.

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  13. Heartbreaking. It sounds like there were so many words never expressed between the two of them (you?)

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  14. A Beautifully disturbing story. Love and hate do go hand-in-hand. How sad to lose such a soul/friend forever because of the negligence of a fool.

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  15. Oh there are simply no words.. first of all, you're one heck of rhymer! It seems to come so naturally and this is a wonderful story but with a tragic ending. My goodness. This also leads me to believe that this is based more on a true story, perhaps your own and if that's the case, let me say, how very sorry I am for your loss and if not, I apologize but people don't realize the extent of their mistakes and driving while drunk or under the influence is something that I do not tolerate or condone. There is simply no excuse for it. Call a cab! A friend. A parent. Have your fun but don't let it put another person's life at risk. This was very heart felt and I could sense the pain at the end.. the anguish and the heartache that such a tragic loss would bring.

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  16. Hi,

    Beautiful heartfelt prose and, wonderful tribute to a friend who deserved better than the gods saw fit to bestow!

    best
    F

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  17. Awe..! So sad. A lost friend even though friendship had gone sour. Some people you just do not forget that easily :D

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