​She’d used to swim it. Many times. To the small island and back, carving waves in the frigid waters while carving her muscles in the process. There was a rhythm to it.  And a goal – beat her last swim time.  Some days were hard. Some days she’d climb from the water, smiling as it felt so simple.

But sickness changed everything. Cancer changed it even more.

Nathan brought chairs to the water’s edge, thinking that being near the water it might bring comfort. It didn’t.
​
So, she stood, stripped her clothes, left her watch, and went for one final swim. 

​(100 Words Exactly)

Feed me comments, please! I'm STARVING!! :) 

Through the cracked windshield of the old Station Wagon, I stared at them.

Reminders of what had once been – Mark’s famous BBQ Sunday’s; Theodore driving his motorized “big boy” truck with pride on his young face; and baby Hannah cooing and playing in her bouncer, hardly a fuss.  

A happy life, I suppose. That’s what I was told anyway. Aren’t you happy?

But today felt different. Very different.

Lighter. Lighter than I had felt in years.

​So, I smiled.

Then, I wiped the blood from my face, laid the revolver on the passenger seat, and put the car in reverse. 

​(100 Words Exactly)

Comments feed my soul! Feed me, Seymour! :)

We lay next to each other
on our sides,
our faces within inches,
heads on pillows.
No words spoken - no need.
Our eyes
and tight lip smiles
say everything. 
Limbs tangled together.
Skin against skin. 
Our bodies radiate natural heat,
​a not-so silent steam between us.

It showed up on the porch
in a brown Amazon box. 
The label read:
To Angela
From "Your Secret Lover."
Exciting! 
He placed it under the Christmas tree
as is. 
No wrapping. No bow. 
He'd never done this before
and I was touched. 
How thoughtful.
Christmas morning came.
The brown Amazon box last. 
A smile on my face. 
Until, I held up the book inside titled
"How to Organize Your Home."
He couldn't be serious.
It made no sense.
The more he explained his reasoning, 
where he heard about the book and author - on NPR -
I realized, the book was never for me.
He'd bought it for himself.
Much like many of the gifts he'd given to me over the years. 
But this one, he needed very much (thank god, this time) - 
the man was, and most likely still is, a mini-hoarder.
Worst gift ever. 

Rag Tag Tuesday Prompt: GIFT

​Another prompt, another spiral. Join me in the comments :)

"Amaze, Amaze, Amaze!" 

My eldest boy and I listened to the audio book, "Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir and narrated my Ray Porter (incredible) and then we wore matching movie-related shirts (he's a sport) and sat in the D-Box seats to see the movie when it first released. 

We loved both! Loved the audio book and loved the movie. Mostly, I loved bonding with my grown boy in this way and him humoring me with matching attire - what a great man! 

Just like Rocky, I felt, "Amaze, Amaze, Amaze!"

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Amaze

I wrote this for you. Yes, YOU. So please say hi.

No one forced me to eat this way.

I chose it almost ten years ago for health reasons.

Hell, I nearly died, sucked away from this life by a nasty case of sepsis. So, I embraced vegetarianism and haven’t had an issues since.

Has it made going out to eat with my meat-loving friends and family difficult? Very much so, but I make do.

I’m not a pushy vegetarian, “Pick a place I can eat, you jerks!”

Instead, I sit, eat my bowl of veggie soup, plate of black olives and pickles, and watch them crazy carnivores go to town.

​                                                                   (100-Words Exactly)

Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Read more stories based on the above photo prompt HERE

Go ahead, interpret this story in the comments. I definitely meant whatever you think I meant :) 

Smiles and warm boutique shop banter. A gold picture frame? A pretty antique bowl? A knick-knack or two?

She collected and displayed her wares on shelves, tables, and walls in the main street store. Pretty and quaint. ​Quite the delight to townsfolk and traveler alike.

Yes, she had plenty of trinkets to purchase – a little something for everyone.

“Do these actually go to anything?” The young woman held the painted keys, turning them over in her delicate hands. “Or are they purely decoration?”
​
Smiles disappeared as the owner weaved her fingers together. “It depends on what you’re willing to know.”

(100 Words Exactly)

​Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields.

For a moment I was hopeful that I could proudly display the flag again.

Because in the most recent years, the flag had been taken over by a certain demographic on the back of their jacked up trucks, tattooed on their chests, or draped over their shoulders as they rushed the capitol.

But there was a chance, a new hope, that the flag was going to become a flag for everyone, like it once had been, before it started to morph and stand for something slightly different. 

The flag now caused you to doubt if we all believed the same any more, and instead of uniting, had seemed to do the opposite by dividing.

So, yes, when there was hope, I was excited and ready, flag in near hand! 

But alas, divided we still stand and my flag is still hidden for fear someone might lump me in the wrong crowd. 

Six Sentence Story hosted by Girlie On The Edge

I learned a new word today - 
pogonip - 
yet once I knew its definition
I realized it's possible to know something,
something very familiar,
even if you didn't know it had a fancy name. 

Glassy crystals on trees, 
hushed frozen foggy breath, hanging in the air,
everything dusted in frosty white. 
Each step crunching fragile blades,
simple sounds echoing, seemingly much louder
along nature's frigid exterior. 

I've seen it, I've experienced it, I've walked among it. 
But I had simply called it, "Too damn cold." 

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Pogonip suggested by Martha Kennedy 

Ooooo...I live off comments! Please let me know you've stopped by. Feed my heart :) 

He raised the glass of juice to his mouth, but stopped, and set it back down next to his coffee and breakfast. After a minute of adjusting everything and making sure the lighting was right –“Natural light is superior, Grandpa.” –he used his phone to take a sixty-second video.

“I don’t understand why anyone finds this interesting,” he had said when it first began. “Seems ridiculous.”

“You have almost a hundred thousand followers, Grandpa. You’re viral! They love you!”

Social media was stupid. Real stupid.
​
But he videoed his meal, told a story, and loaded it to the Tiky-Toky app. 

​(100 words exact)

Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Read more stories based on the above photo prompt HERE