I don’t know why I was surprised every time love started or ended.
My first – age eighteen and doe-eyed for Billy who lived one farm over. We planned marriage after graduation, but in the fall of our senior year, Fay took him from me.
Next – Mr. Murrow, boss at the department store when I was 19. He made it his mission to have me. I didn’t mind him taking those pictures – until he sold them to Hustler.
I met Johnny after moving to New York City at age 21. He cleaned tables at a diner near the bus terminal. Johnny rocked my world and we moved in together. Soon Johnny had me doing special favors with men to help us pay the rent.
They always cried as the knife touched their necks.
Their last words were always, “I still love you.”
[144 words]
Merril is today’s host for dVerse. Merril says:
For today’s prompt, you must use the following line:
“I don’t know why I was surprised every time love started or ended.”
You are allowed to change the punctuation in the given line. This line comes from Jane Hirshfield’s poem, “I wanted to be surprised.” You can read the full poem here.
For some, there is a clear comfort in being a widow.
I thought hemlock is better than knives though.
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Not nearly as much satisfaction…
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3 for 3, dark tomes all. They make mine seems tame and lame. Did you first three agree to write in colluded darkness, or was it just happenstance?
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Blame the author of the line, she made us do it.
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That’s what I was wondering! 🙂
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🙂
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Darker and darker. I thought this was going to be a more…romantic? …prompt. Another nice twist.
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Thanks, Sarah. Maybe if it had been a warm and sunny day…
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I’m enjoying the darkness this evening! Knives, blood and bodies in the cellar are right up my street. I don’t like the sound of Mr. Murrow and him selling ‘those pictures’ to Hustler, Jade. It sounds like they all deserved it.
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Thank you, Kim. I’m sure they did.
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This one took an unexpected turn. Seems somehow fitting though.
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Thanks, Jane.
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Wow–I had no idea the line I selected would lead to all these murders. I’m glad they’re just fiction (I think).
I agree with Jane. 🙂
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🙂 Let’s hope so!
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Whoa! I never saw that one coming. Good writing, Lisa!
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Thank you!
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OMG dark per paragraph
Happy Monday
Much❤love
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Thank you, Gillena!
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Very intense and dark Li.
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Thank you, Sadje.
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You’re welcome 😉
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Wow. so far the first three I have read are all dark. Excellent Lisa!
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Thank you!
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You had me at “…knife touched their necks.” 😉
Your darkness is my kind of darkness.
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Thank you, Barry! I usually keep it locked in a trunk, aka Pandora’s Box 😉
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Ack! I am starting to think my post isnt what the prompt intended. One creature died, but normally. Smiles. Your writing is so good.
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LOL, Sherry! Thank you.
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Oy vey!!!!
(well done, though!)
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Thanks, Na’ama!
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🙂 spooky and disturbing as heck, but I have me a feeling that was the intent … 😉
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I call it catharsis.
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ha!
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Yikes! Sometimes bad characters come to a bad end.
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Very well-said, Lynn. Indeed!
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Quite a spell woven by both your narrator and your words (k)
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Kerfe!!!!!!!!!
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As I was just telling Jane, I finally have a working computer, but my learning curve for new technology is steep. Daughters are trying to help via phone and email as we are all staying put for the moment. I’m going to try posting later tiday.
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Good Luck. So glad you are back but this “social distancing” is getting old fast.
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It is indeed.
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This is now known as Macabre Monday! My blood curdled Lisa 😳
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I like the title you picked. It was a macabre convergence of tales for sure.
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🤣
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Wow, eerie! I love it! As long as it’s fiction!
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Fiction is a world where anything is possible.
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Yanno, Lisa… I can’t say I blamed her much for her… ahhh… disposal of these nefarious dudes. She’s not very good at picking them, is she?
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She was deceived as a teen by a cheater. She was trusting and deceived by a predator and a pimp. I don’t blame her, she was a victim of having admirable attributes that were exploited. Murder is fine in fiction, but there are never enough support services in place for the exploited to find safety. Education is the key to understanding the mechanics of sexual predators and other sexual exploiters.
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Of course…
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Woo… that one had no twist…just a left turn that never ended! It was good.
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🙂 So glad you enjoyed the story, Max. It was an exercise in venting that didn’t get me arrested 😉
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LOL… I enjoyed it…and it kept getting deeper.
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kaykuala
Love seems to always end with a loss of life and to think they could still utter their feelings at that crucial moment. Nice tale Jade!
Hank
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Hank, they were willing to lie one more time to avoid the end. Glad you enjoyed the story!
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Whew….I was really drawn in….and you slipped more and more to the dark side! Macabre!
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Lillian, thanks! I appreciate your reading and commenting.
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Bravo! I am loving these last-sentence twists!
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Thank you, Frank!
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😇
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