family

A Family Gathering

/ afairymind / 10 Comments

Family Group

laughter

and camaraderie

found throughout the ages

amidst the love of

family

Family 2

Those of you who’ve followed my blog for a while may remember that I used to regularly join in with the One-Four challenge, editing a picture in four different ways over a month. Unfortunately, the challenge changed from being monthly to being quarterly, and the month when it was running always seemed to clash with NaNoWriMo, when I was off the blog, writing.

Family Vintage

This picture – taken at Lincoln Castle this summer, during the joust – just screamed out for multiple edits. As I’m sure you can imagine, I had great fun playing around with it.

Family Group Painting Framed

I’d love to know if you have a favourite version.

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TLT: Memories

/ afairymind / 15 Comments

 

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Photo prompt © Christian Widdell via Unsplash

Memories

“We’d spend hours down here, remember?” she said, gazing across at the familiar view, her memories dancing as ethereal spectres upon the sports field.

They’d been such joy filled hours, packed with fun and games: skipping and jumping and turning cartwheels; running until breathless, before tumbling in a heap on the grass; vibrant laughter strengthening their bond even further.

Her brother didn’t answer – he hadn’t been able to since the accident – but she could see the spark of happy memories cavorting behind his eyes, too.

This post is for Sonya’s Three Line Tales. This week’s prompt is by Christian Widdell, via Unsplash.

FFfAW: Waiting for the Light

/ afairymind / 14 Comments
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Photo prompt © Footy and Foody

Waiting for the Light

Tamrir huddled in the darkness, willing the minutes to slow their passage as he awaited the coming dawn. His sister’s weight pressed reassuringly against his side, and he hugged her close.

The night had been long. Ridiculously so.

“Is it time yet?”

He started, not having realised Ameyi was awake. “Nearly,” he said. “See how the sky’s getting lighter. The sun will be here soon.”

“Do you think it’ll have worked, Tammy?”

A wry smile twisted his lips. “I suppose we’ll know, soon enough.”

“I’m scared.”

He wanted to reassure her, to tell her everything would be fine, but that wasn’t the truth. And they’d made a promise to always be truthful with each other.

“I know. Me too,” he said.

The light was growing steadily brighter. Soon they’d find out, one way or another, whether the injected serum had healed them of their vampiric disease. If it hadn’t…

At least the rising sun would be a beautiful sight, even if it was the last thing they’d ever see.

Word count: 175

To read the other entries or to submit your own, click the little blue frog.

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This post is for Priceless Joy’s Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers challenge. This week’s prompt was provided by Footy and Foodie. Thank you!

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FFfAW: The Search

/ afairymind / 13 Comments
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Photo Prompt © Pamela S. Canepa

The Search

“They were around here somewhere. I swear!” Tynen scrambled recklessly over the rocks ahead, peering into each nook and cranny with almost feverish intensity.

Velana followed at a slower pace, choosing each footstep carefully as she climbed the craggy slope. “No one’s found any in years, Ty. Admit it – you imagined ’em.”

Her brother glared. “No. They were here.”

“Well they ain’t here now.”

“They are. We just need t’ keep looking.”

Velana rolled her eyes but followed Tynen further up the craggy slope. Grandma had told her to follow the brat, so follow him she would.

“I dunno why you’re so bloody excited, anyway,” she said. “It’s just a mushroom-”

Tynen turned, waving his arms extravagantly as he teetered on the edge of a rock. “But it’s not ‘just ‘a mushroom’, Vel! It’s the most delicious mushroom ever. You’ve never tasted anything like Grandma’s mushroom soup!” He returned to his hunt.

Velana shook her head and stomped in his wake.” Food!” she said in disgust. “Why’s it always about the bloody food?”

Word Count: 175

To read the other entries, or to submit your own, click the little blue frog.

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This post is for Priceless Joy’s Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers challenge. This week’s prompt was provided by Pamela S. Canepa. Thank you, Pamela!

I’ve actually had this written for several days, but I wasn’t sure whether or not to post it. Whilst I like the interplay between the characters (they were very enjoyable to write), I find the story itself just a little ‘blah’. I decided in the end that I may as well post it. I’d love to know what you think.

FFfAW: Waiting for the Returning Tide

/ afairymind / 20 Comments
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Photo Prompt – © The Storyteller’s Abode

Waiting for the Returning Tide

“Suzy would’ve loved it here,” Janet said, her gaze fixed on the panoply of vessels bobbing idly in their moorings. “She was always fascinated by boats. Do you remember? They filled the bathtub!”

“I remember.”

“She was such a happy child. And that smile was so infectious. But she was always so desperate for adventure.” Janet halted, ‘if-onlys’ running through her mind as she listened to the seagulls cry. She sighed. “I should never have let her learn to sail.”

“I doubt you could have stopped her.”

“I could’ve tried.”

She lapsed into silence. Peter remained, a reassuringly steady presence at her side.

“We should head back,” he finally said. Rising, he offered her a supportive hand. “Visiting hours start again soon.”

“Hmm. We can tell Suzy all about our outing.” She took a last look at the boats before turning away. “Do you think she’ll ever wake up?”

“We can only hope, my dear.” Peter squeezed her hand as they walked back towards the hospital. “Suzy would say that, eventually, every tide has to turn.”

Word Count: 175

To read the other entries, or to submit your own, click the little blue frog:

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This post is for Priceless Joy’s Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers challenge. This week’s prompt was provided by me. It was taken in St Ives, a seaside town in Cornwall that I visited last year. If you’d like to know more about St Ives, my mum, Millie Thom, wrote a post about the place that you can find here.

FFfAW: Silenced

/ afairymind / 22 Comments
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Photo prompt © Mike Vore

Silenced

It seemed an age since music had last filled Abigail’s home. The piano remained covered: its melodies smothered by leather; its keyboard untouched. But it hadn’t always been so.

Once, joyous refrains had resonated throughout the building. Music had been her life. Her passion. And Robert’s, too. Their skillful playing had filled concert halls around the globe. Their life together had been a blissful perfection made only sweeter by news that she was pregnant.

Until tragedy struck.

As she’d knelt at Robert’s graveside, the music in her soul had faded into silence. She’d withdrawn from public performance, devoting herself to the raising of her newborn daughter. It was seven years, now, since she’d last played.

Which was why it was so unusual to hear music drifting up the stairway.

“What do you think, Mummy?” Lucy called, her fingers dancing over the keys. “Miss Elliot say’s I’m a natural!” The joy in her daughter’s expression stirred something vital within Abigail, drawing her towards the piano.

Maybe the music in her soul wasn’t completely silenced, after all…

Word Count: 175

To read the other entries, or to submit your own, click the little blue frog.

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This post is for Priceless Joy’s Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers challenge. This week’s prompt was provided by Mike Vore. Thank you Mike!

 

 

FFfAW: Happy Families

/ afairymind / 23 Comments
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Photo prompt © Singledust

Happy Families

It was supposed to be a celebration.

David drummed his fingers on the tabletop as his siblings exchanged barbs. Couldn’t they make an effort to get on? Just one evening was all he asked for. But no – they couldn’t even maintain the facade of a happy family for a few hours. He gritted his teeth.

He’d planned the meal so carefully. The table had been booked at their favourite Chinese restaurant – the one they always visited for family occasions – and he’d persuaded everyone to attend. Attendance, though, did not mean cooperation.

Jenny’s hand came to rest upon his, her gentle touch stilling his fingers.

It was his eldest brother who noticed first, falling silent as his gaze fell on the ring. One after another the others followed suit.

“You’re engaged?”

“Yes. But that’s not all.” He placed a hand on Jenny’s still flat stomach, and his family erupted into excited congratulations.

“I don’t know why you were so worried,” Jenny teased.

David rolled his eyes. “How do you feel about our baby being an only child?”

Word count: 175

To read other stories or to add your own, click the little blue frog.

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This post is for Priceless Joy’s Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers challenge. These week’s prompt was provided by Singledust. Thank you for a great prompt, Gina!

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TLT: Picture-Perfect

/ afairymind / 11 Comments
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Photo Prompt – © Grant McCurdy

He’d wanted a picture-perfect life: a happy family and well paid job with all the perks. Instead, young voices argued yet again while bills piled high. He sighed as gentle hands massaged the stress away, accepting reality – his life might not be picture perfect, but he wouldn’t change a thing.

This post is for Sonya’s Three Line Tales Challenge. This week’s prompt was provided by Grant McCurdy.

FFfAW: Preservation

/ afairymind / 32 Comments

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Preservation

Loreli scratched at her temples where the threads made contact. After nearly twenty years of treatment she should be used to the sensation by now, but they still made her skin crawl.

After all, while she knew she’d visited the clinic for years, it wasn’t as if she could really remember it…

“How much longer?” she murmured. The doctor would hear, no matter how softly she spoke. Each sound within the room was caught by the sensors, just as every pulse of energy along her synapses was caught by the threads, copying her memories into crystal storage.

“Not long. You’ve been active this week, I see.”

She had. Her sons had visited, their young children in tow. Loreli smiled at the thoughts and feelings dancing through her mind as she lay back.

The session could continue as long as necessary.

The details of her own boys’ early years had been lost to the initial ravages of her illness. Through the crystal and its itchy threads, at least her memories of her grandchildren’s childhood could be saved.

Word Count: 175

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This post is for Priceless Joy’s Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers challenge. This week’s prompt was provided by Jade M. Wong.

FFfAW: Time to Reconnect

/ afairymind / 18 Comments
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Photo Prompt – © The Storyteller’s Abode

Time to Reconnect

She hadn’t written to them in far too long.

Back in the early days, Felena had penned letters weekly, though each one had simply been added to the stack in her drawer. Eventually she’d forced herself to stop. She’d needed to move on.

It was now over a decade since anything had actually been delivered to the house.

Felena read through her words for a final time before sliding the page into the envelope, the familiar address setting memories dancing through her mind. She’d been so young back then. So wild. And carefree – until her mistakes had caught up with her.

That final missive to her parents had been tear stained and smudged as she’d explained the reason for her decision, her apologies profuse. She’d known her actions had brought them pain. Plus she’d left them with a heavy burden to bear.

But now it was time to reconnect. Her years within the temple, hiding behind concealing veils, were over. She needed to see her son.

Even if he had no idea who she was.

Word Count: 175

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

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This post is for Priceless Joy’s Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers challenge. This week’s prompt was provided by me.

The photograph was taken at Warwick Castle, and is of part of a display with waxwork figures showing people from around 1898. At this date a party was held that was attended by the Prince of Wales, Albert Edward (who later became King Edward VII), and a young Winston Churchill. The woman in the picture is, I think, Daisy Grenville, Countess of Warwick, a woman who had affairs with several powerful men of the time, including the prince.

Daisy had become the semi-official mistress of the prince after he became involved in a scandalous affair caused by a vicious letter that she’d sent to another lover, Lord Charles Beresford, on learning that his wife was pregnant. The letter was intercepted by the man’s wife, who, horrified, gave it to her solicitor for safekeeping. The prince tried to persuade her to give it back, but Lady Beresford said she would only return it if Daisy stayed away from London for the season. Daisy refused this, and the prince and Lord Beresford got into a fight over the situation. The whole quarrel only came to an end when the prime minister, Lord Salisbury, stepped in and helped an agreement to be reached.

If you’d like to know more about the scandalous life of Daisy Grenville, you can check out her wikipedia page here.

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