Friday Fictioneers is an online group of bloggers who each week follow a photo prompt on Rochelle's blog - http://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/ - and write a 100-word piece of flash fiction.
This week's other posts can be found here - http://new.inlinkz.com/luwpview.php?id=353888
CASTLES
Juan built castles for a living. Every day he took his tools
to the beach, collected damp sand from the tide-mark, and constructed dreams.
Tourists would watch and take photographs – some even threw
money into Juan’s bucket, although never enough - and each night drunks
destroyed his work.
“When will you get a proper job?” Lucia wailed, “The rent is due.”
“I’m an artist,” Juan replied grandly and returned to his work.
But the next night he came home to find Lucia in the
street, surrounded by their possessions.
He took her to the beach and built her a house.
100 words plus title.
Love those sandcastles! Do tell us about them.
ReplyDeleteThey're pretty much as in my story. Young men build them every day using nothing but damp sand and a bag of knives and brushes. They keep them damp with a shoulder-held water spray and hope for donations from passing tourists. The details are incredible - I took my second photograph on New Year's Day on Los Cristianos beach - did you spot the horses' heads?
ReplyDeleteThis is good. You weaved the end nicely and the photos are great.
ReplyDeleteThank you, SH - this story almost wrote itself!
DeleteThe sand sculptures are brilliant, as is your tale. Artists always see the romantic side of life.
ReplyDeletecheers, Mike - I wonder how Lucia reacted to her sandcastle?
DeleteAmazing sand castles. I wonder whether Lucia appreciated the new house. If this is it, I think he's in trouble. Fun story. It's on thing to suffer for your own art but not so much for someone else's. :-)
ReplyDeletejanet
Yes - he could at least have put a roof on it!
Deletecrazily romantic but seriously juan,she needs a roof over her head :-) lovely sand castles. i love that part about juan constructing dreams :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks teesa - maybe Juan is hoping for driftwood?
DeleteI wouldn't mind making a living making sandcastles, although I'm sure they don't get much. I hope Juan didn't make their house out of sand as well. :)
ReplyDeleteI am afraid Juan probably did.
DeleteWe go to South Carolina to the beach, but I have never seen anything this intricate. Some of the hotels we stay in try to host sand castle contests to draw out the talent, but apparently it is rare. His real structure built for her is certainly less drmatic than his and creations.
ReplyDeleteLess beautiful, maybe, but I'm not sure I agree that it's less dramatic!
DeleteIt's a bit like building castles in the air, isn't it!
ReplyDeleteI almost used that as a title, Rosalind - great minds!
DeleteIsn't it amazing what people can do with sand? I used the castle story line, too.
ReplyDeleteSimply sand and water - amazing, as you say. I think the huge hailstones we had this week will have battered them, though.
DeleteLet's hope Juan can drag himself into the real world long enough to realise that Lucia needs a house which isn't made of sand!
ReplyDeleteThose sandcastles look great, though. It's amazing the intricate structures people can produce.
Watching them being built is an education in itself.
DeleteDear Lizy,
ReplyDeleteI think Juan's marriage is in trouble. Stunning photos. I love the way you wove it all together in to your story. Very clever and unique.
shalom,
Rochelle
Dear Rochelle - I think Lucia married the artist and then realised she wanted him to be practical occasionally! how many of us choose for the wrong reasons?
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ReplyDeleteThis made me smile.
I was smiling when I wrote it too!
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