*This post was intended for yesterday, to go up when I got out of work, but a friend decided to have a shin-dig and so, alas, it is being posted today instead. You’ve got to love WordPress’s ability to save drafts for later!
I have continued to “take it easy” a little bit lately by skipping yet another post yesterday, but I’m starting to think a good portion of it is simply getting into the habit of not writing my posts, so I’m hoping to break that a little. Today is definitely an easy one to do it with…it’s Friday! I didn’t get a chance to post a flash fiction prompt last Friday, which is all the more reason I wanted to make sure I managed one this week. I actually look forward to Fridays for the flash prompts everyone posts; it’s just that March has been a very odd month for me so far.
I feel I’m getting a great charge back, though, which is exciting. I even had a pretty great dream last night that might make a good story today. It was a blend of a medieval and Victorian England world, the result, no doubt, of too much Game of Throne, finishing a Discworld book, and reading through a book about Charles Dickens, but it was a lovely and exciting world that got me through last night’s slumber. In the dream, the story focused around a man trying to barter with some group, details still undefined, but they would not take gold or any other form of currency. So the man ends up giving them his daughter, and the story branches out from there into the impenetrable mists that remain several hours after waking. It could be an interesting project to tackle in the upcoming days, and it’s just really exciting to have inspiring dreams again.
And now, on to the flash fiction! As much as I love Five Minute Getaway as a source for prompt pictures, I think I’m going to switch my resource over to PhotoBotos instead. They offer a wide range of breath-taking photos from a variety of photographers and, even better, I’ve seen them go around a support a great many other WordPress bloggers. I’ve even found a few new awesome people to follow from their website, so I’d like to take the chance to honor them and thank them for their great posts by turning to them for my fiction prompts.
Here we go. The concept is simple: take the photo below and see what you can come up with as a little flash fiction story! I did an “about five minutes or so” rule of thumb to go with the Five Minutes of the Getaway, but I never really stuck to that much. If you’d like to use the prompt yourself, go for it! Share it here or in your own journal or whatever you’d like to do with it. Below is my own contribution, as well.
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(Photo courtesy of PhotoBotos, by Charlie Stinchcomb)
As they cautiously drifted down the long walkway, she drew herself closer to him, clinging tighter to his arm. She tried not to think about where they were. She tried not to think about the setting sun and the encroaching darkness, the fact that the golden colors of the sky would soon turn to red the color of blood, saturating into the gentle sloshing waters below them. She tried not to think of the watchful eyes above them in the towers, though she couldn’t keep her eyes from drifting upwards, worriedly, as they passed underneath the occasional structure that jutted out over the long and narrow road over the sea.
“Just keep your eyes forward,” he said quietly, whispering in her ear and giving her another reassuring squeeze. “We’re almost there.”
“What if we don’t make it?” she whispered back and, though her voice was low, it was wrought with distress. “What if they stop us?”
“Then they will find all of our papers in order, apologize for the necessarily inconvenience of a check, and let us be on our way,” he said, so plaintively that it made her feel a little bit upset, but they continued walking. Though she knew the other side was getting closer, it felt as though it was still a million miles away, and her eyes still drifted worriedly up toward the towers, catching the glint of sun on their metal guns and weapons as they passed under.
So she took his advice and she turned her eyes forward, concentrating on the line where the land gently began to slope up from the ocean. There, she would find her new beginning. There, they would be able to seek out their happiness and a new life in the mysterious land that was calling to them, leaving their old lives behind them, beyond the long, narrow bridge they crossed now. But as they get closer and closer, a sudden thought of dread struck her. What if, instead of trying to keep people from getting in, the guards were actually there to ensure that people didn’t get out? It was a ridiculous thought, a random thought, but as it entered her head, she felt her heart quicken and her breath catch. She shook her head slightly, and focused on the end of the bridge and the start of their new lives.
****
Feels like it could be the start of something more!
Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to give a quick shout-out to Robin Coyle, my most recent subscriber! Thanks for following along, Robin! Good to have you aboard.
L.S. Engler 