Tag: Friday Fictioners

Flash Fiction, tutto e niente

letting go

Tina Stewart Brakebill

“Well, that’s that,” Joe said as he reached for my hand. Staying silent, I let the distance between us widen.

Trying again, Joe confidently declared: “It’s the best thing for him.”

“Don’t spew that party line crap at me! This isn’t how things were supposed to go.”

“For heaven’s sake, Lisa, it’s a day cruise for singles! You’re not launching him onto an ice float to die!”

“I’ll be sure to remind you of that when it’s your mum’s turn.”

“What … no … she … hrmph.”

Magnanimous in victory, I grabbed his hand. “I know. Letting go is hard.”

boardwalk-peter-abbeyPHOTO PROMPT © Peter Abbey

Thanks for the photo inspiration to Rochelle’s Friday Fictioners

Flash Fiction, tutto e niente

Floating (Again)

Tina Stewart Brakebill

In honor of Fandango’s Flashback Friday, I re-offer this piece of flash from November 3, 2018!

Lucy stared at the board. Letting her mind drift back to childhood. Chin resting on the table. Watching her grandfather play. Try too hard and it went fuzzy. Like a picture with the autofocus off. But if she just let her brain float sometimes she could recapture that moment of joy. When it all made sense. When it was fun. Before. Before she was a novelty. Before she was girl genius. Intellectual heir to Hawking. Right down to the chair. But today it remained fuzzy. The timer ticked. Counting. Days. Weeks. Months. Years. She stared at the board. Floating.

black and white game match chess
Photo by Breakingpic on Pexels.com

Cover Photo Credit: Jeff Arnold

Written for Friday Fictioners

Word Count: 99

Flash Fiction, tutto e niente

An Impromptu Decision

Tina Stewart Brakebill

It had been an impromptu decision.

A be in the moment, what could possibly go wrong, you only live once, I’m not THAT old, you’re not the boss of me kind of non-decision decision.

The kind that had ruled (or almost ruined if you asked her) his life until she came along. No. This couldn’t be on him. Surely an alarm would have gone off.

No. Not his fault.

As the water crept closer, he tore his gaze away from the gushing pipe. Put on his game face. She’d be back soon. And this was definitely not his fault.  

anne-higa

Image credit: Anne Higa

Thanks to Fandango’s FOWC wonderful word prompt of IMPROMPTU and Anne Higa’s great photo prompt, I’m back to Rochelle’s Friday Fictioners Challenge after a long absence!

Flash Fiction, tutto e niente

a better day

Tina Stewart Brakebill

Some days were better than others. He’d leave the house. Buy groceries. Walk in the park. Feed the squirrels. Try to go on without her.

But most days were bad. On those days he’d stay in bed. Thinking only of her. Hurting as badly as he had that first day without her.

And then there was today. The anniversary of that terrible day. 365 days of pain. And planning. Now it was time.

He imagined them. Walking hand-in-hand on the boardwalk. Oblivious to his pain.

Reaching into his bag, he smiled. Today was going to be a better day.

steeplechase

Photo Prompt © Roger Bultot

I swear this started out as a sweet story but at about word 63, it turned … well, I’ll let y’all be the judge and end it for yourselves. What’s he reaching for?

Thanks, as always, to Rochelle’s Friday Fictioners Challenge for providing inspiration.

Flash Fiction, tutto e niente

2020 Strikes Again

Tina Stewart Brakebill

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

I had imagined this moment so many times.

Written stories. Blogged my theories. Argued with reddit idiots. Once I even tried to paint a picture.

And almost every night I dreamed about it. Beautiful dreams. Colors swirling. Humming anticipation. And me in the center of it all! Bathed in light. Me!

CHOSEN. Because I believed. Because I never lost the faith.

Instead, I’m watching from the sidelines as this drab gray lump tonelessly utters the most banal phrase possible: “Take me to your leader.”

Ha! Joke’s on it.

2020 really is the worst!

sarah-potter-pic

Photo courtesy of https://sarahpotterwrites.com/

This photo instantly reminded me of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Add in the constant disappointments of 2020 and Fandango’s FOWC  (TRITE) for which I subbed in banal because I liked the way it sounds 😉 and you get this 100 word story for Rochelle’s Friday Fictioners Challenge. 

Please enjoy.