Wisps of Gold

Posted on by Louise Bunting
photo-20160904121409530-1
Photo prompt – © Phylor

Wisps of Gold

Emily stood beside the piled leaves, peering around the garden for any that might have escaped her notice. It had taken far longer than she’d expected to scrape the mound together, each breeze threatening to undo her work, but she’d been determined to gather every golden scrap she could find.

“Well?” she called. “How’s that?”

A pale face peered from the darkness of the barn. An arm stretched out, finger pointing. “You missed some.”

Mummy would have been cross if she’d heard Emily’s words as she turned and saw the scatter of leaves newly tossed over the grass. “Damn wind – leave my leaves alone!” she shouted at the sky. As if in defiance, a fresh gust sent Emily running again.

She returned the final armful to the pile, and, grinning excitedly, ran back to her new friend. “Come on. Quick!”

With a whoop the pair dashed over the lawn, leaping into the crunchy heap in a shower of laughter, setting golden wisps to flight. Bathed in sunlight, Emily’s companion smiled.

And faded from sight.

Word Count: 175

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

wpImg

This post is for the Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers challenge, run by Priceless Joy. This week’s photo prompt was provide by Phylor. Thank you Phylor!

photo-20160502054347111

 

34 thoughts on “Wisps of Gold”

  4. Love the mystery you created Louise..but I also relate to the act of running through the pile of leaves…such fun….

    Like

  5. Childhood! Carefree and full of play. But that friend weighs on her conscience I feel….telling her what to and checking her actions. Love the mysterious friendship….another interesting story spin Louise!

    Like

  6. A lovely story of children in play…one may be an angel, or perhaps an imaginary friend, but it expresses the joy of childhood and how well they adapt and make things fun. Love it. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Joy. I’m happy for people to interpret the nature of Emily’s mysterious friend however they wish to. 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed the read.

      Liked by 1 person

  9. I hope Emily didn’t fade from sight as well! I liked the little detail of mummy being cross if she heard her little girl saying “damn” 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. No – just her new friend. 🙂 I’m glad you liked that line. I nearly had to cut it out when I was trimming down to the word limit, but I was determined to keep it in! Thanks for visiting, Ali. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  10. You really brought Emily to life in this story. It was like I could hear her shouting at the sky. And that ending! Spooky 😉

    Like

    1. Jumping in piles of leaves was a favourite game when we were kids. Watching your sister disappear would be rather scary… I’m glad you enjoyed the read. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  17. Very interesting story. Emily and her ghost friend, or just Emily playing with her imaginary childhood friend. Well written Louise!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Mandi. I’m glad you liked it. I’m quite happy for you to view Emily’s mysterious friend as whatever you wish. I always find it fascinating to see how different readers interpret things. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.