Scholty1970@Pixabay.com.

This flash fiction story is for Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #8.

159 Words

We were the first to arrive at the hall that was adjacent to the church. The room looked cold and gloomy but then again it was a gathering place following a funeral. Black tables and chairs sitting on a beige-like slate floor. No bright colors to be seen anywhere. Depressing, pure and simple. There were plenty of windows to let in the outside light, which was the only positive part of the room.

“You look like you’re surveying this room to re-decorate it”, Meg said.

“I could do so much to make this room look cheerful and full of life, I replied. Just because it’s a hall used mainly for funeral receptions doesn’t mean it has to look so dreary”.

“Yes, it is bleak, it doesn’t make me feel welcomed at all. Frankly, I can’t…

This short story was written in response to What do you See Challenge.

It was their second anniversary since Meg and Ian started dating and Ian was so happy when he saw the look on Meg’s face as he handed her this beautifully wrapped gift.

“Happy Anniversary, Meg. I love you more and more each day that passes.”

“Oh, Ian, I feel so bad, I didn’t get you a gift, but I did plan a romantic dinner.”

“You know me, I love to eat, so dinner is perfect and I’m sure it will be delicious if you’re making it. But first open your gift and I’ll pour us a glass of wine.”

Meg slowly unwrapped her gift and when she opened the box she was delighted.

“How on earth did you know to get me this.”

“Well I had a little talk with your mom and she told me…

This poem was written for I Write Her Weekly Haiku/Senryu Challenge #21.

Full moon, eerie night

Mesmerizing, rolling clouds

Hearing shrieks through gloom

©Susan Zutautas 2019

It’s ridiculous, I know, but an incident that happened when I was young continues to keep me from climbing onto a horse’s back. I love horses. I love watching them – from a distance. I love their natural grace and beauty, their soulful eyes and flowing manes. I love watching them gallop or munching on tender grass.

When I was little my father taught me how to feed a horse an apple. There was a neighbor who would turn his horses loose in the field next to ours. (We lived in rural Newfoundland and kept chickens and a cow, but never once did we own a horse.) Anyway, I digress. The horses were beautiful but I was nervous because they seemed so big to me – I was just a bit of a child at the time. But I remember the delight I took in feeding one an apple. Sadly…

“He was my first love,” she said with a faraway look in her eyes. The silence grew, lengthened, as I waited and wondered. Her fingers played with the delicate chain she wore around her neck. I thought she’d forgotten me.

She smiled a half-smile as she finally turned to me. That was fifty years ago. He always held a special place deep in my heart,” she paused again, quiet, reflecting, still. Reliving a past I could not fathom and dare not intrude upon even if I could.

“Our parents said we were too young,” she continued, “too young to know what love is. But we knew, we both knew. I remember … It was such a tender love, almost, well, spiritual. We were so young, but we knew what love is,” her voice trailed off once again as she re-entered…

This is my latest travel blog, first published by WHISPERINGWANDERS2017 on 23 October; apologies for the delay in sharing.

Guernsey has to be one my favourite places and if you’re thinking of visiting, take a look at a few things which might interest you while you’re on the island.

 

Guernsey is situated off the coast of Normandy and is the second largest of the Channel Islands. It is roughly 24 square miles in size and has a population of about 63,000. The largest town is St Peter Port (‘Town’) which has a variety of shops and a picturesque harbour. The Channel Islands were the only part of the UK to be successfully invaded and occupied during the Second World War.

We flew from London (Gatwick) to Guernsey (La Villiaze) on a smallish propeller driven plane. I’m not a great flyer and was terrified as we boarded but the cabin…