“Julia, Midori Lake, 1954”
taken May 2023
Portrait of a Lady: Julia, Midori Lake, 1954
Gerard and Rita had been married for 45 years when death’s scythe took Rita away from him. James and Marybeth, their children, lived in coastal cities on opposite sides of the country, leaving Gerard stuck in the middle in more than one way. With Rita gone, Gerard realized there was nothing but memories holding him here. Holding him back from living in the present.
The kids were surprised to hear that their father was selling their childhood home and moving into a one-bedroom condo overlooking Midori Lake. They also knew that their parents had spent a vacation there when they’d both left for college. James and Marybeth promised to visit during the week their father was moving into the new place, a month from then, which gave Gerard some comfort that he didn’t have to do it alone.
The most difficult part ahead of him was downsizing the two-story, three-bedroom house of possessions. He’d called the local, independent charity shop and arranged for them to pick up a load of stuff at week’s end. Going through the books was first. As Gerard had a habit of using dollar bills and photographs as bookmarks, each book he held had to be ruffled for loot. After an hour of ruffling, he had one box of “keeps,” three boxes of “gives,” twenty dollars, and a dozen photos.
During the second hour he came across a book, “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” with a photo of a woman in it. On the back of the photo was the name, “Julia” and “Midori Lake, 1954.” Gerard didn’t remember buying the book and did not recognize the woman in the photo. He did remember that 1954 was the year he and Rita had gone on vacation at Midori Lake.
Who was this Julia?
The following week, while going through Rita’s closet, he learned about Julia and the thirty year long love affair Rita and she had shared with each other.
[~340 words]
Fandango is the host of Fandango’s Story Starter.
This week’s Story Starter teaser is:
“He found a photograph of a woman he didn’t know tucked inside a book he didn’t remember buying.”
Tao Talk 
Nice take on the prompt, Lisa.
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Thanks, Jim :)
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Li, what an excellent tale you weaved with an ending I never would have expected. Great job and than you for contributing.
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Fandango, glad you liked the story. Thanks for providing me an opportunity to write more than 100 words :)
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Very interesting story Li
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Thanks, Sadje :)
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You’re most welcome
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That is one seriously haunting image. It’s beautiful but also unnerving because of how loudly it screams ‘ghost.’ ☺️👻😁
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Gia, I used the pic for a ghost story before. It does scream ghost, doesn’t it. I wonder if Julia still haunts Midori Lake? I wonder if he should move there now?
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All those words just made me feel uneasy, so the answer is yes, then no. 😁😁
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lol! Cheers, my friend!
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🤓🥂
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I love this! Great story telling!
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V, thanks much <3
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Am I understanding that this is how he learns his daughter is gay?
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No. We don’t know if his daughter is gay in this story. We may infer that his wife was in that she had a long love affair with Julia after their vacation at Midori Lake. Or… the wife had known Julia before then and suggested a vacation at Midori Lake to spend time with Julia? Thanks for wondering and asking the question, Liam.
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That’s what I thought initially but then I looked back and saw that the wife was named Rita and the daughter Marybeth so I was confused.
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Ah, now I see what you mean. I have corrected the name to wife, Rita, at the end. Thanks for catching that!
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Wow, talk about a surprise ending! Brilliant!
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:) Thanks, Steve. I got the names mixed up for awhile there but I think I finally got them all fixed.
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You’re welcome, Lisa. It’s a lot of characters to keep track of in a short time! 😅
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