PHOTO PROMPT © Brenda Cox A lump of dirt presses into Mei’s ribs. Slabs of sunlight between the alley shed’s slats light strips of her hollow-cheeked face as she curls behind old tires. What will Jinn, her ten-year-old son, scout out and bring back to her today? Jinn comes home late after scavenging dumpsters and…
Category: Friday Fictioneers
#FF — read the fine print
The fog has rolled in. Forever summer has ended. I watch sunset through calcified memories captured in a warped globe of fragility. “Martha!” I am shaken from reverie. There is an urgency to Fred’s voice that makes me hurry my slipper-padded steps to the back bedroom. Fred has fallen. There’s visible swelling on his forehead…
#FF — The Middle Ground
PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot Unless you live in our ‘hood or do business in it, you avoid it. It’s a place that makes the news, which always tolls loss. It’s a place where you either huddle behind deadbolts or play hard in the streets. Few walk the middle ground. Barry arrives at nine sharp…
#FF — Town Hero
PHOTO PROMPT © Sandra Crook i. Locals learned historical context of the rubble in grade school. As adults it meant a draw for a dependable stream of tourists who came to visit, gawk, selfie-snap, overeat, and buy made-in-China souvenirs to take home to their envious families. Woke marketing recast it in an ugly, oppressionistic light….
#FF — Tenth Anniversary
PHOTO PROMPT © Bill Reynolds Today is the tenth anniversary … of her leaving. He’s not sure why he’s programmed his phone to beep for it every year. It’s not as if he doesn’t have a reminder each time he steps outside or looks from his northern window. Mary was in the barn, brushing Jinn….
#FF — One Glass of Wine
PHOTO PROMPT © Fleur Lind Half of Mina’s friends cautioned her to decline the prize and the other half didn’t. She had entered and won WBLD’s limerick contest, where a home-cooked dinner was first prize. The Count, a national celebrity in Transylvania, hosted a knockoff version of “Kitchen Nightmares” where all recipes included fresh kill….
#FF — Baby, Please Come Home
PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson Fred began locking his phone. He stopped coming home after work and didn’t tell Delia why. He would sneak in late. During shared meals, the most he would speak were monosyllables. Months later, a group of Delia’s co-workers invited her out for drinks. Jimmy, the known tomcat of the office,…
Tao-Talk 