TWENTY-FIVE YEARS - 100 word story

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS

Twenty-five years we’ve been married, all but a month, and I’m not sure I can face pretending we’re a loving couple at a big party.

We met in that square ugly diner outside town – I served him coffee and doughnuts – and I was pregnant before I even knew his surname. So here we are, trapped by a mortgage and by three kids neither of us can bear to part with.

That was yesterday. Today he brought me flowers. And there’s a lovely dress in the boutique that might fit me. I suppose a silver wedding anniversary deserves some recognition.

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This week's photograph by Jean L Hays didn't inspire me to write anything cheerful, though I have done my best. Other writers have managed better, which you can judge for yourself by going to https://rochellewisoff.com/  and following the blue frog link.

TIP SLIP - historical fiction in 100 words

TIP SLIP

These lights? They're for Maureen - she was afraid of the dark. I can hear her now; ‘Leave the light, Mammy.’ She couldn’t sleep without.

She waved from the corner that morning, like always. I’d just sat down with a fresh cuppa when the whole bloody tip slid down over the school like lava. 

It took them two days to dig Maureen out. Tore my heart to shreds – my babby who was so frightened of the dark lying in that black slurry

Fifty years she’s been up by there in the cemetery with the other kiddies, and I still keep a light burning for her.

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This week's photo prompt for Friday Fictioneers linked instantly in my mind with the 50th anniversary of the dreadful tragedy in Aberfan, Wales, when a mine spoil tip slid down after heavy rain and buried an entire school full of children.

Thanks to Rochelle for posting her photograph on https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/  from where you can follow a link to read other stories. 

You can read about Aberfan here: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberfan_disaster

THEIR OWN HOME - flash fiction on Good Friday

To wish you all a Happy Easter, here is a happy story prompted by Ted Strutz's photograph posted on  https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/
To read stories by other members of Friday Fictioneers from around the world, follow the Blue Frog trail from Rochelle's blog.

THEIR OWN HOME

“It feels like we’ll never be finished.” Julie straightened up from chasing in an electric cable and gestured at the tasks still remaining. Mark murmured sympathy, but they both knew DIY was the only way they could afford their own home.

Living with parents, working all day, then spending evenings and weekends on the house left no time or energy for romance, but Julie was bitterly disappointed when Mark forgot their anniversary.

Until she opened their new front door to the sight of a candlelit picnic table and a mass of flowers arranged with Mark’s unique sense of humour.