In Case Of Rain

September 19, 2018Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Reflections, Writing Tags: 100WordChallenge, Abuse of power, Anniversary, Flash Fiction, Friday Fictioneers, Illness, Micro-fiction, Relationships, Short Story, Writing, Writing prompt 24 Comments

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

It was their anniversary, and once again he was late.

The office manager held him up for nonsense that could’ve easily waited for tomorrow. Mr. Billings often did so when Gary was in a rush. It was a cruel little game he played, knowing that with previous ‘insubordination’ records in his file, Gary could not afford even the slightest reprimand. No job, no health insurance.

His phone buzzed as he rushed to the restaurant. A text.

“Lost?”

Mary. Gary’s heart sank. He ran faster. His phone vibrated again.

“I’m under a blue umbrella. You know, in case of rain.”

For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers

Bedtime for Luna

September 5, 2018September 5, 2018Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Reflections, Trauma and Development, Writing Tags: 100WordChallenge, children, Difficult times, Flash Fiction, Friday Fictioneers, hardship, Micro-fiction, Separation, Short Story, Waiting 20 Comments

PHOTO PROMPT © Gah Learner

“So, remember,” her hand on the door’s handle. “Bedtime at 9, only one treat, brush your teeth.”

“And no opening the door for anyone,” he intoned.

At least it got him a smile. There weren’t many of them of late.

She tucked an errant lock of hair behind an ear and suddenly he couldn’t stand it.

“When will you be back?” He knew. He had to ask.

She glanced at the window. The court-order weighed heavy on her mind.

“When Luna goes to bed behind the mountain, I’ll be home.”

For the last time.

For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers

Gramma’s Right

August 29, 2018Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Reflections, Writing Tags: 100WordChallenge, All is possible, children, Fantasy, Flash Fiction, Friday Fictioneers, Mirror, Short Story, Unexpected 29 Comments

PHOTO PROMPT © Nathan Sowers

“You can come with me,” she insisted.

“Mazie,” I sighed. “You’re old enough to know not to take Gramma’s stories literally.”

The seven-year-old shrugged, and the new pixie cut she’d insisted on and which took away the curls I so adored, glinted in the light.

She glanced at the dilapidated building, then at me. Her face was inscrutable. Was she hesitant or exasperated? Perhaps both?

The moment stretched.

“Gramma’s right,” she sputtered. “You’re too stubborn for your own good.”

And she stepped through the mirror, onto grass, and disappeared into the shack.

For Friday Fictioneers: August 31 2018

Green Machine

August 10, 2018Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Funnies, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Writing Tags: 100WordChallenge, Flash Fiction, Friday Fictioneers, health, Junkfood, Just for fun, Resolutions, Siblings, Surprise, Wheatgrass 24 Comments

PHOTO PROMPT © Ronda Del Boccio

“Bah,” they taunted. “Your resolutions never last.”

She stewed.

When her twin brothers showed up for their monthly siblings’-dinner, muscles and righteous bravado rippling under too-tight shirts, she knew what they were expecting: Frozen pizza or boxed mac-and-cheese. The usual Candace-can’t-cook stuff.

They sprawled on her couch and let her putter in the kitchen.

“When’s the pizza ready, Sis?” Brian called. “We’re starving.”

She smirked. He and Bobby lectured her alright, but she knew they secretly looked forward to their junkfood fix.

“Oh, no pizza,” she brought out the shot glasses. “Wheatgrass!”

For Friday Fictioneers, August 10, 2018

Not All Is Lost

August 3, 2018Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Reflections, Writing Tags: 100WordChallenge, compassion, Creative, Flash Fiction, Friday Fictioneers, Home, Homelessness, Nesting, Practical solutions, Safety, Short Story 19 Comments

PHOTO PROMPT © Sandra Crook

They were always getting blown out of their homes. She couldn’t stand it. She knew how it felt to be homeless, especially for a youngling. And she’d seen the devastation of parents who’d returned to find some force had swept their babies off to unknown and worse places. She knew about being lost.

She was going to stop it.

At least for them.

Surely if she built it, they will come.

She kept checking and almost despaired, but one morning … there they were.

“Welcome home,” she whispered to the first eggs laid.

For Friday Fictioneers, August 3, 2018

Mendel’s Messengers

July 27, 2018Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Reflections, Writing Tags: 100WordChallenge, Acts of Kindness, Elders, Flash Fiction, Friday Fictioneers, Helping hand, Revisiting, Short Story, Synchronicity 11 Comments

PHOTO PROMPT © Ted Strutz

She waited.

Three teens passed, faces glued to lit screens. One murmured “sorry” when he almost bumped into her. He didn’t look up.

A mother hurried in the direction of the car park, harried by a whining toddler.

Long minutes passed. She’d walked from the bus and her legs weren’t what they used to be. She leaned onto a lamppost and closed her eyes.

“Ma’am?”

A bearded face leaned toward her. Another man behind.

“Will you help me cross the street?”

“At your service!” Both men offered their hands.

She smiled. “Mendel sent you. It’s what he used to say.”

For the Friday Fictioneers Challenge

A Global Warning

July 18, 2018Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Reflections, Writing Tags: 100WordChallenge, Climate Change, Flash Fiction, Friday Fictioneers, Future, Global Warming, humanity, Mother Nature, Short Story, Warning 20 Comments

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

They said it would get warm, but they didn’t say how quickly or how relentlessly. He thought it would take decades.

He was wrong.

Trees still foliaged but most other plants withered. Same for people.

It killed the young, old, weak, and callous. The talking heads had babbled about it before TV stopped. They couldn’t justify cooling the studios when the grid struggled to air-condition hospitals. Not that the latter did much good.

He sighed and retreated from the window. Ignored his daughter’s empty bed. They were warned. By the time they deigned to listen, it was already too late.

For the Friday Fictioneers Challenge

Her Golden Child

July 14, 2018July 14, 2018Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Photography, Reflections, Writing Tags: 100WordChallenge, 3LineTales, Buddhism, Flash Fiction, Letting go, Loss, Monk, parenting, Poetry, Prompt, Short Story 2 Comments

photo by Sharon McCutcheon via Skillshare

He’d always been her golden child, born after years of sorrow.

He’d always been her precious jewel, the promise of tomorrow.

He’s gone to take the saffron robes, been hers only to borrow.

For Three Line Tales–week 128

Doctored

July 12, 2018Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Muse and Flow, Reflections, Writing Tags: 100WordChallenge, Flash Fiction, Friday Fictioneers, Halloween, Photo prompt, Short Story, Spooky, Twins 24 Comments

“I am not dressing up as a doctor!”

Twins or no twins, he’d had it with his sister deciding their costumes. He’d been Prince Charming, Prince Un-Charming (consort to Princess Uglyanna). He’d been Mr. Smee. He’d been a screw (guess who was the screwdriver), a nail (yep, Maya was the hammer), a flower (to her bee). And those were the less embarrassing ones.

“You could be an evil doctor imprisoned by an eviler scientist,” she enticed.

“In your dreams,” he replied.

She grinned. “Or in yours. As in, literally. Tonight.”

For The Friday Fictioneers Challenge

Best Foot Forward

July 4, 2018July 4, 2018Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Reflections, Trauma and Development, Writing Tags: 100WordChallenge, 4th of July, Anthem, Flash Fiction, Friday Fictioneers, Independence, Resilience, Short Story, Veterans 22 Comments

Mom always told him to put his best foot forward.

So he did.

He pulled it off and placed it in front of his wheelchair. It was the shorter prosthesis, the one that didn’t need straps around the hip to secure and the one he could even put a bit of weight on. Well, on good days, at least.

A sigh climbed in his chest, but he shook it off, took a deep breath, arranged the cardboard sign, and began:

“Oh say, can you see?…”

For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers Challenge