Heartbreak

This week’s word:  STEAM

Daphne kissed her parents goodbye before leaving them on the train platform and then reminded herself as she climbed the steps to the passenger car: Don’t turn around and look back; it will only be more difficult if you do. She had barely settled into a seat which she’d deliberately chosen that did not face the platform before the train began to pull slowly out of the station.

In her mind, she replayed all the events of the past few months: the chance meeting with William, falling in love with him, his marriage proposal, her heart being broken when she discovered his infidelity, the terrible argument that followed between them which led to their breakup, her search for a position as a schoolteacher in a place farther from home in an attempt to get away, and the acquisition of just such a position in California – all the way across the country.

For the first time in her young life of nineteen years, Daphne was going to be alone and she wondered for the first time in months: Am I doing the right thing?

And just as the steam from the engine was rolling the train down the track, so too were the tears from Daphne’s eyes silently rolling down her cheeks.

 

 

This post is presented as part of Five Sentence Fiction  

If you’d like to know more information about Five Sentence Fiction, please click here:

Five Sentence Fiction

 

Be Careful What You Wish For

It seemed like any other ordinary day as Amy picked up her mail. She found a small pink envelope tucked in between the bills. She noticed that it was handwritten and addressed to Ms. Amy O’Hara with no return address. Inside the envelope was a pink note card which read: Today you have three wishes. Be careful what you wish for.

How odd, she thought. It must be a practical joke.

Since she was a student at the local community college, her thoughts turned to the upcoming biology exam. I wish I didn’t have to take this exam today. Just then her cell phone rang.

“Hi, Sue. What’s up?”

“Amy, don’t bother going to class today.”

“But we have the biology exam.”

“No, we don’t. It’s been canceled. Professor Emmers called in sick and there’s no sub available. How about going to the mall instead?”

“Sounds great. Let’s meet at the food court in twenty minutes.”

“Perfect. See you then.”

Amy went to grab her keys off the kitchen table. Then she saw the pink note card. That’s right – three wishes. Maybe the first one was the canceled biology class . . . how silly! There’s no such thing as wishes coming true. It’s just a coincidence, that’s all.

“Hi, Amy,” Sue greeted her. “Can you believe the biology exam was canceled?”

“Yeah, it’s great. Let’s go shopping; I need to find some new jeans.”

“Okay, let’s try Janet’s Closet.”

“Are you kidding? Their jeans cost a fortune, although I did see the perfect pair last week.”

“Why didn’t you buy them?”

“I couldn’t afford it. I wish they were cheaper so I could.”

“Well, let’s go in and see if we can find something – you never know.”

As they entered the store, a sales person came over to greet them.

“Hello. May I help you?”

“I’m looking for a pair of jeans. Do you have any on sale?” Amy asked hopefully.

“As a matter of fact, we do. I’ll show you what we have.”

They followed her to the back of the store. She pointed to a rack that was off in the corner.

“These are all the jeans on sale today. Please let me know if you find something.”

Amy and Sue walked over to the rack. As they were looking through the jeans, Sue pulled out a pair.

“Amy, look. They’re perfect for you.”

Amy looked up from what she was doing and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Sue was holding the expensive pair of jeans she’d wanted. She looked at the price, which was cut down to 75% off!

“These are the pair I wanted!”

“Wow! You’re really lucky today, Amy.”

As Amy was driving home through the noon hour traffic, she couldn’t help but think about the mysterious pink card and the events that had occurred – the exam being canceled, the jeans being on sale – were those two of the three wishes? It certainly seemed that way.

But I can’t believe there’s such a thing as being granted three wishes. I’m a logical person, and it just doesn’t seem logical! But still . . .

Her thoughts were interrupted by a traffic jam. Sure enough, the cars were now bumper to bumper. The noon rush hour traffic had begun. Soon the cars were at a standstill, and Amy’s car was at the very back of the line, with no cars behind her. It seemed to her as though the line of cars in front of her were stretched as far as she could see and beyond.

If there was one thing Amy hated, it was rush hour traffic. She wasn’t a patient person, and soon she felt irritated beyond measure.

Are we ever going to move again? I’d really like to get home and get in some studying time. I know the exam we missed today will be given tomorrow. If I can get an hour’s worth of studying done, then I can sit on the deck and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Come on, come on . . . let’s get going! I wish someone would drive faster.

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind when Amy heard the sound of an engine racing. She looked in her rear view mirror and watched in horror as a black Explorer came speeding up towards her. Sitting behind the wheel was a man talking on his cell phone, and she knew he wouldn’t be able to stop in time.

Her final thought was: Be careful what you wish for . . .

 

 

 

 

The Last Goodbye

Megan’s heart ached as she watched the movers carry the last of the living room furniture through the front door of her great-grandmother’s house. The only people left in the room besides her were her older sister Beth, her mother, her grandmother Nana, and her great-grandmother, known as Granny Jo. A feeling of sadness hung heavily in the air, with the silence being broken only by the muffled sobs of Beth. Megan glanced at her mother and could see that she also felt it; her eyes brimming with tears.

Today was the day that Granny Jo was moving out of her house and into the nursing home.

Granny Jo was eighty-three years young – at least that’s what she said to anyone who inquired. She’d been living in the old house on the hill for the last fifty-eight years, and for fifty-two of those years she’d lived there with Grandpa Luke. Megan remembered Grandpa Luke vividly because he’d been such a character that he was difficult to forget. He had been tall and slim, with a full head of wavy white hair that never seemed to behave quite the way it was supposed to. Megan recalled the many times that Granny Jo would admonish him, “Luke, go comb your hair. It’s stickin’ out all over the place,” to which her great-grandfather would just grumble something unintelligible under his breath as he reluctantly shuffled off to do as his wife bid him. But he loved his wife and would do anything for her. He’d built her this house when they were newlyweds. He even put in a flower garden especially for her because he knew how much she loved flowers – lilies, chrysanthemums, morning glories, daisies, pansies – but especially the rose bushes.

Megan’s special memories of Grandpa Luke included sunshine-filled summers in the back yard when he pushed her on the swing which hung from one of the big apple trees, and of lazy afternoons lying on their backs together on the front lawn, trying to decide what kinds of things they imagined were being created by the white, fluffy clouds floating by in the blue skies overhead.

When Grandpa Luke died, her great-grandmother was taken by surprise. Never had she expected to wake up one day and find him lying cold and motionless beside her. She mourned her beloved husband for a very long time. Megan didn’t think she’d ever really gotten over Grandpa Luke’s death. Even now, Granny Jo still poured a cup of coffee for him every morning before she remembered that he was no longer there to drink it. And shortly after he died, everything began to change.

Granny Jo became more forgetful as time passed. There were instances when Megan and her mother would visit her, and Granny Jo couldn’t remember her name or her own daughter’s name. Sometimes she couldn’t even remember that they were relatives. One time she thought they were strangers who had invaded her home and threatened to call the police if they didn’t leave.

She also wasn’t taking the correct dosages of her medication. Either she’d forget to take it completely, or even worse, she’d take a double dose. One time Nana found her unresponsive and had to call the paramedics, all because she had double-dosed on her pills.

Then there was the time that she almost burned down her house. She’d been cooking on the stove. When she forgot about it, the pan caught on fire. It was a good thing that Nana had stopped by on her way home from church, or the whole house might have gone up in flames, and Granny Jo with it. Nana even had to call the fire department to extinguish the fire.

Megan knew that what her mother and Nana were saying was true. It was simply becoming too dangerous for Granny Jo to live alone. She probably would be better off in the nursing home where they could take better care of her and keep her safe.

But knowing what was right somehow didn’t make Megan feel any better. She only knew that the Granny Jo she had known and loved all her life was probably gone forever.

Megan also knew that she would never come back to swing from the apple tree in the back yard ever again. It was time to say goodbye to the old house on the big hill.

And in her heart, Megan also knew that she was saying goodbye to her childhood.

 

 

 

Writing 101- Day Nine: “Changing Moccasins – Point of View”

Day Nine – Changing Moccasins – Point of View:  

* Today’s Prompt:  A man and a woman walk through the park together, holding hands. They pass an old woman sitting on a bench. The old woman is knitting a small, red sweater. The man begins to cry. Write this scene.

* Today’s Twist:  Write the scene from three different points of view: from the perspective of the man, then the woman, and finally the old woman.

The Woman

It’s such a lovely day for a walk in the park with John. I’m so glad that he decided to take the day off to spend it with me. We both needed a day to just be together, to unwind, to relax, to… forget.

Spring arrived early this year, with warm breezes, gentle rain showers, and plenty of sunshine to help the flowers bloom and the buds on the trees to open. I can hear the birds calling to each other in the branches of the trees, their birdsong cheerful. It’s as though they’re saying: “Life is good. Be happy.” But that’s a lot easier said than done … 

Oh, I must shake off these thoughts. It won’t do either of us any good to keep thinking of what happened that awful day. I promised myself that I would not dwell on all that has gone before. It’s over now. I must be strong for John, for both of us. We must move forward.

The Man

Meredith seems happy today. And that’s a good thing. I’m glad. She’s been through so much. God knows we both have.

I wouldn’t have wished the last two months on my worst enemy. And why it happened to us, I’ll never know. God… why did it have to happen? Why? What was the sense to it all? I’ve asked myself this same question so many times, but have never understood. I know I’ll never understand. Not in a million years. If God stood before me right now and told me why I probably still wouldn’t understand. What did I ever do to deserve this? What did we do to deserve this? We’re good people. We work hard, go to church, contribute to our community. Don’t we deserve rewards instead of punishment? I just don’t get it. Why God? Why? 

Okay. Meredith says we have to move forward. I know she’s right. But it’s so hard. I keep seeing his face, his smile. I keep hearing his laugh, and the way he used to call me “Daddy.” How can I move forward when all those things keep spinning around in my memory? Maybe if I hold Meredith’s hand a bit tighter I’ll feel better. There. That helps.

Who’s that? I wonder if Meredith sees that old woman sitting on the bench over there. She kind of reminds me of my grandmother. She used to spend hours sitting in her rocking chair, always knitting something. She said it helped to pass the time. Oh my God… that looks just like his sweater… (sob) please God … no … (sob)

The Old Woman

A beautiful day, a beautiful day. God’s in His heaven and all is well. Knit one, purl two, knit one, purl two. Oops, dropped  a stitch there, go back and pick it up. Must keep going … idle hands are the devil’s workshop.

Oh, my. Look at that lovely couple entering the park. He’s so tall and dashing and she’s so slender and beautiful. Just like a prince and his princess. I’d say they look perfectly matched. Oh, and they’re holding hands, just like a couple in love should do. 

Oh dear, but something’s not quite right. I can see that from here, that’s for certain. Hmm… what is it about the two of them?

Ah yes, I know what it is. They have a look of profound sadness on their faces. She’s trying to hide it a lot more than he is, though. But she can’t fool me. Oh, no. Something very sad has touched their lives, something that is going to take a long time for them to get over, that’s for certain. They’re going to need each other now more than ever. Yes, that and the tincture of time will provide healing for them.

What’s that now? The beautiful lady is embracing the handsome man. It looks like she’s comforting him. How lovely. That’s right. Make him feel better. That’s good, very good. I’m glad she knows what to do. Oh, look. They’re leaving the park now, probably going home. I hope they’ll find solace in each other’s arms.

Oops, dropped another stitch. Go back and pick it up. Knit one, purl two, knit one, purl two. Must keep going … idle hands are the devil’s workshop.

Writing 101- Day Five: “Be Brief”

Day Five – Be Brief:  

* Today’s Prompt: You stumble upon a random letter on the path. You read it. It affects you deeply, and you wish it could be returned to the person to which it’s addressed. Write a story about this encounter.

* Today’s Twist:  Approach this post in as few words as possible.

It was a crisp morning in October while I was taking my usual morning walk down the trail which led to the river when I saw it lying there among the multicolored leaves which were strewn across the path. For some unknown reason, I looked down saw what looked like a carefully folded piece of paper partially hidden by the leaves of gold, orange, red, and brown which were strewn across the path. It read: 

Darling,

Please forgive me for everything I’ve put you through. I love you with all my heart. Because of this, I”m ready to change, just as you asked.  Meet me at the bridge on Friday at midnight. If you decide that you don’t want to spend the rest of your life with me, then I don’t want to live without you. If that is the case, remember that I always loved you.

Always and forever yours,

Robert

A chill came over me as the realization dawned on me what Robert meant when he wrote that he could not live without his “darling.” I began a frantic search for an envelope so that I could send the letter to Robert’s “darling,” but to no avail. Finally I had to resign myself to the fact that there are just some things that I could not change, that I had no control over, and I could only pray that Robert was safe on this October day.

The Broken Promise

This week’s word:  VINDICTIVE

 

As Marie slowly made her way up the seemingly long path that led to the Blackwell Manor looming large before her, the events of all that had occurred approximately sixteen months before whirled through her mind, precipitating a flood of painful memories deep within her.

She had been faithful to David Blackwell for five long years; as a matter of fact, she had been the very epitome of love, generosity, kindness, patience, honesty, compassion, commitment, thoughtfulness, understanding, selflessness, goodness, and above all, fidelity. She had given everything of herself to him, never expecting anything in return, except, of course, for the promise of his love and the promise of a gold wedding band around her finger.

And he had made that promise to her, proposing to her on a beautiful, warm spring day in May, even getting down on bended knee as he said those four little words she had been longing for him to say: “Will you marry me?” and they had been so happy together until the day when Susan Martin showed up and their lives were changed forever.

Susan Martin was nothing but a home wrecker, as far as Marie was concerned, and had ruined everything by splitting her and David up, breaking their engagement, and claiming David for her own; and now all that Marie could feel was nothing but contempt, and frankly, she wasn’t really sure what she was going to do once she entered Blackwell Manor and stepped onto the scene of David’s and Susan’s engagement party . . .

 

 

This story is part of Five Sentence Fiction.  

 

If you’d like to know more information about Five Sentence Fiction, please click here:

Five Sentence Fiction