Was It Worth It

FFfAW Challenge – Week of September 13, 2016

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Priceless Joy

WELCOME !

82nd Challenge

Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers

Week of 09-13 through 09-19-2016

Guide for Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers

1. A prompt photo will be provided each Tuesday to be used as a base to your story. Please include photo prompt with your story.

2. Linking for this challenge begins on Tuesday and runs to the following Monday evening.

3. Please credit photo to photographer.

4. The story word limit is 100 – 150 words (+ – 25 words). Please try and stay within this limit.

5. Pingback to the challenge post in your story's post.

6. This is a flash fiction challenge (stories in 100-175 words or less) and each story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Therefore, no serial (continuation) stories. They become too complicated for our readers.

7. Add your story to the InLinkz Link-up (Blue Froggy button). If you need link-up instructions, please email me at mepricelessjoy@gmail.com.

8. Please keep stories below R rating.

9. Please respect the diversity of our readers and writers in regard to race, religion, and life style choice when writing your stories.

10. Remember, half the fun is reading and commenting on each other's stories.

This week's photo prompt is provided by Jade M. Wong.

WAS IT WORTH IT?

It was so beautiful the way it sparkled on her finger.  She knew she was signing her life away but she didn’t care if he was going to buy her jewellery of this quality.

Helen watched her friend get married.  She watched her friend bring up children.  She watched her friend hide the tears.  She watched her friend pretend.

She watched and waited to catch her friend when she fell and she did fall hard.  Picking up the pieces of her life Helen’s friend still wore the ring on her finger.  It was loose now and often disappeared under her finger.  It had lost its sparkle as well.  The gleam had gone from its many facets.  The gleam had also left Helen’s friend.

Was it worth it?  Helen asked her friend.

With eyes that glistened with unshed tears her friend said, yes, of course it was.

Helen didn’t believe her.

Word Count: 150

THE DECISION

WEDNESDAY WRITERS

This week the lovely Debb of Inner Sunshine 
http://www.innersunshine.net/2016/09/02/writing-prompt-for-wednesday-september-14-2016/

has given us a new prompt  for this week.
One story on two unrelated photos PLUS use the five words given. (The standard has been to write on one photo with using the five prompt words; for this week we are adding one more picture to the mix.) new kind of prompt!  For this week we will write one story on two unrelated photos PLUS use the five words given. (The standard has been to write on one photo with using the five prompt words; for this week we are adding one more picture to the mix.)

coronation  + flood  + insult  + pin-up  + suicide

THE DECISION

Sitting on top of the world, the wheel stopped spinning, the chairs waved gently in the breeze.  Antoinette looked up, shading her eyes from the brightness of the sky.  She remembered his insult as he climbed in the rocking car, after they’d queued up for two hours when she had chickened out of getting in the enclosed, tiny space and being lifted high into the sky.

Rob might look like a pin-up movie star but she was beginning to realise looks weren’t everything.  In fact she wondered why she was still here.  She turned away from the crowds still lining up to enjoy this experience as she tried to stop the flood of tears she felt threatening to fall down her cheeks. 

Antoinette pushed her way towards the public conveniences and hoped that they would be empty so she could cry her eyes out in peace.  There a young girl was leaning against the wash basin, her eyes were red and weepy.  She caught Antoinette’s look, lowering her lashes and hiding her feelings.  The poster on the wall she’d been studying mentioned suicide and how their organisation could help by talking to them confidentially.

Antoinette smiled at the young girl, who gave a watery smile back, nodding her head in acknowledgement.

Melting into the crowd Antoinette decided she would go back to the hotel instead of waiting for Rob.  He could find his own way back especially after those nasty words he had thrown her way a couple of hours ago. 

The hotel room was a calm haven, decorated in peaceful, serene colours with beautiful prints adorning the walls.  Antoinette laid on the bed thinking, her eyes taking in the babbling brook on the painting hanging on the opposite wall.  She wished she was there, somewhere in the countryside, small mountains in the distance, clear water running over large boulders.  She could almost hear the rippling water, tinkling lightly as it sought its way to its destination.

What was she going to do now?  They had another week together on this holiday but she really didn’t know whether she could keep it together and pretend anymore.  She nodded to herself.  These few days had been rather an eye opener and she couldn’t pretend anymore that she really was going off Rob.  His company was grating on her nerves.  Last night in the hotel restaurant he’d made stupid, crass remarks about the Coronation Chicken that was on the menu.  Laughing loudly about the name.  She ordered it to spite him and thoroughly enjoyed every single bite. 

She thought about the young girl she’d met earlier in the day.  She thought about all the things that made her unhappy.  She thought about all the things that made her happy.  She thought long and hard.

She packed her suitcase, took half of the holiday money from the safe, thought about leaving a note, decided against it and made her way to the nearest railway station.

Word count: 492

TOO OLD

Sunday Photo Fiction – September 11th 2016

September 11, 2016

AuthorBy Sunday Fiction

Posted in Photo Fiction

The idea of Sunday Photo Fiction is to create a story / poem or something using around about 200 words with the photo as a guide. Please try to keep it as close to the 200 words as possible. It doesn’t have to be centre stage in the story, I have seen some where the placement is so subtle, the writer states where it is.

Once you have written and posted your story, please add the link to the inlinkz froggy icon below and add it to the collection so we can all have a read. Click on the links above. The main object is to have fun. 

TOO OLD

War is here again.

Mary wept her heart out when she heard the news.  She was too old to go through this again.  She worried about her children, her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren.

Would they survive? 

Would any of them survive?

How did the talks break down? 

So many questions she had.  

If she could she would bang the leaders’ heads together.  She would give them a right old talking to.  This was the trouble these days – the leaders were all men.  Now if there were women in charge things would never have become this dire.  It would have been stopped before it started.

Mothers and wives know how to step in and diffuse situations before they erupt in to such violence.

Violence doesn’t solve anything. 

Nobody would listen to her now. 

The carers in the home thought she was a sweet old lady who wouldn’t say ‘boo’ to a goose, little did they know what she did or what she was capable of.  The subterfuge, the lies, the heart-stopping moments when she thought she might be caught.  On many occasions she had saved the day. 

She was still bound by the Official Secrets Act. 

Word count: 197

HOPE

Sunday Photo Fiction – September 4th 2016

September 4, 2016AuthorBy Sunday Fiction.Posted in Photo Fiction.

The idea of Sunday Photo Fiction is to create a story / poem or something using around about 200 words with the photo as a guide. Please try to keep it as close to the 200 words as possible. It doesn’t have to be centre stage in the story, I have seen some where the placement is so subtle, the writer states where it is.

The main object is to have fun.

Here is the link if you want to join in.

https://sundayphotofictioner.wordpress.com/2016/09/04/sunday-photo-fiction-september-4th-2016/

HOPE

‘There is hope,’ he said as he embraced her, enfolding her body into his arms, gently squeezing her against his chest.  She inhaled his smell, the roughness of his tweed jacket, she felt his heartbeat, steady and strong.

Not for us, she thought.  I don’t want this anymore.  How can I tell him it’s over?  I’ve got to move on. I’ve got to flow strong like a river, pushing past barriers and gates.  Taking the sludge and slurry of my life, dumping it, leaving all the negativity behind.

‘We will get through this,’ he murmured into her ear.  ‘We will.’ 

His strength and determination had got them through a lot in their life together but 25 years later, the kids had left.  They had their own lives and only visited when they wanted something, usually money. 

He gave in to them.  He bailed them out many, many times. 

Now she needed to persuade him that she was moving on.  She would invite him to join her on this journey.  She wasn’t hopeful he would. She couldn’t see him upping sticks, leaving it all behind, the comfort and security but she hoped against hope that he would. 

He did.