FFfAW: The Weight of Duty

Posted on by Louise Bunting

This post is for Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers, a flash fiction challenge hosted by Priceless Joy that asks you to write a piece of flash fiction of 75-175 words based on the photo prompt below. This week’s prompt was provided by momtheobscure. Thank you momtheobscure!

photo-20160502054404966

The Weight of Duty

Ieldu stared at the ruins on the cliff’s edge, once familiar tendrils of guilt twining into his thoughts. The absence of the stone figure caused his heart to clench. He drew a breath, forcing calm.

He’d always known it would someday happen. The elements had wreaked havoc on the giant for centuries unending; the last storm had dealt the final blow – timeworn stone crumbling into the ocean below, destroying the structure it supported. Even miles distant, Ieldu had felt the collapse of the World Bridge. As Guardian his task was clear.

This time his brother wouldn’t be present to take the weight of duty upon his shoulders. The image of Torr’s form expanding and solidifying into rock as he performed the ancient magics, anchoring the World Bridge into material reality, had haunted him for centuries. Last time Ieldu’s stupidity had caused the damage but Torr had paid the price. 

This time the duty was his alone.

“No brother,” a long silent voice said. A hand gripped his shoulder. “This time we do it together.”

Word Count: 175

To read the other entries, click the little blue frog.

wpImg

Hello everyone! 🙂 After having had a month mostly away from my blog for CampNano it’s good to be writing flash fiction again, although I have to admit that after a month of novel writing fitting this into 175 words was even harder than usual. I’d hoped to post it on Wednesday but, as you can probably tell from the fact that it’s now Friday, it just wouldn’t cooperate!

 

I look forward to visiting everyone’s blogs and catching up with you all.

photo-20160502054347111

19 thoughts on “FFfAW: The Weight of Duty”

  1. The thing about family is that a lot of times, one person incurs a problem foolishly and it becomes a burden to others as well. Your story represents the support that family members give each other.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Ali. I’m glad you like it. I was tempted to leave it with a darker ending where he does just take his brother’s place but I thought I’d be nice and have him reunite with Jorin instead. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Do I have it right, Louise, he is going to become the stone statue that holds up the bridge since the old one fell into the ocean? And, the brothers are going to fix it together? I read it several times but I’m having a hard time understanding.

    Like

    1. I was worried that it might be a little confusing – it was a hard one to fit into 175 words. You’ve got it pretty much right, though. The previous statue was his brother and when it collapsed he was released from it. Ieldu expects to take up the duty, thinking his brother is completely gone. Jorin joins him at the end, though, and tells him they’ll fix it together. I really wanted a lot more with the brother at the end but simply couldn’t fit it in. I’ll lengthen it if I decide to include it in the flash fiction collection I’m putting together for sale on Amazon. 🙂 Thanks for visiting, PJ.

      Like

Comments are closed.