HUNTING - a 100 word story

HUNTING

When his original home crumbled around him, Jean-Claude wandered rootless for decades, flitting at night from one roost to another – until he found the strip joint and could sleep through the day undisturbed.

Hidden in the folds of dusty curtains, he scanned the clientele to pick his victim, then lurked in the street to swoop when they staggered out. A slit throat covered his handiwork before he slid them quietly into the river.

His secret night-life went smoothly – until the woman upstairs hung garlic up to dry. Unable to get past, Jean-Claude was trapped.

Rat blood isn’t as tasty as human.

..........................................................

Thanks to Rochelle, who hangs out at  https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/  for the photo that prompted this story. Follow the blue frog trail on her blog to read what other writers from all over the world wrote from the same prompt.

................................................................

My story was written between bouts of housework - keeping our apartment spotless for another viewing. If you want to see what it looks like spick and span, click on the Apartment for sale page at the top of this blog.

Thank you for visiting - and please leave a comment so I know I'm not talking to myself!

CLIMBING - a 100 word story

CLIMBING

“Nice girls don’t climb trees!” I can hear Ma saying that now - and my childish answer, “Why should boys have all the fun?”

But my childhood was short. I went into service aged twelve, and my duties included cleaning the big chandelier. One day it dropped too quickly and the chain whipped me into the air, but I shinned down nimbly - and Master James saw me.

We were friends in secret for six years, but when we announced our engagement, James’ mother accused me of social climbing.

“Mary’s good at climbing,” James said, and the old dragon couldn’t understand why we laughed..

  .........................................................................

This story was written for Friday Fictioneers, prompted by the photo posted on Rochelle's blog  https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/. Follow the Blue Frog trail on Rochelle's blog to read what scores of other writers thought when they saw the photograph.

.................................................................................

Our apartment in Tenerife is on the market, so PM me if you're thinking of buying your own place in the sun. We have no chandeliers - only ceiling fans!

I HEAR THUNDER - a 100 word story

After a fortnight away in England visiting family we have decided to drop the price of our apartment. I have therefore spent the last few days re-advertising it. If you like the idea of owning an apartment in Tenerife, the details are on the APARTMENT page of this blog.

Now I can concentrate on writing again, here is my contribution to FRIDAY FICTIONEERS prompted by a photograph on Rochelle's blog   https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/



I  HEAR  THUNDER

After months of hiding in cellars, trembling at each explosion and venturing out only when driven by hunger, Shira crept away through the ruins.

Carrying her daughter among broken timbers and glass shards, she dodged from shadow to shadow until they were in the fields.

Even in the ditches they dropped flat every time a bomb fell, but when they reached the hills the sounds of war were mercifully distant.

Sheltered beneath a tree, they slept until woken by a crash directly overhead. The child screamed, but Shira said soothingly, “Hush - it is only thunder. See, here comes the rain.”

A to Z Challenge APRIL 1st

APRIL 1st 2015

TODAY marks the start of this year's
 A-Z Challenge - a marathon of writing.

This is my third year of blogging every day except Sundays throughout the month, using the letters of the alphabet as a guide.

To read some of the other 1710 blogs, go to  
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

MY CONTRIBUTION TO THIS BLOG-FEST is going to he a mixture - a celebration of Tenerife, the island that has been our ADOPTED HOME for fifteen years, and which we are planning to leave once we have sold our APARTMENT.
ALSO I shall post the occasional piece of Flash Fiction., of which this is the first - a story in 200 words.

AIR FREIGHT

Alec was a great one for practical jokes - his sense of humour had never developed beyond the schoolboy stage – and when he secured an air-freight job in Singapore the entire world became his playground.

No-one but Alec was amused when he hid dead fish in his colleagues’ cars, put whoopee cushions on conference chairs and sprinkled itching-powder on squash racquets. He poured food colouring into a friend’s jaccuzi, causing panic until they realised it wasn’t blood, but after someone’s wife arrived from England to find her husband’s apartment full of oriental girls, Alec’s victims planned revenge.

On his stag night, following local custom, he booked rooms for his friends in the Singapore Hilton and they hit the town in search of food, girls and booze, not necessarily in that order. Alec eventually passed out.

The following day he opened his eyes to the usual Hilton décor, surprised to find no prostitutes in his bed. He showered, checking his body carefully for new tattoos or paint on his genitals. Nothing. Relieved, he ordered a full English breakfast and told the waiter to open the curtains.

Outside the window was the unmistakeable skyline of New York.

                                                        ----------------------------------

ALMOST an AERIAL view of Tenerife -
this is one of the beautiful sights to be found in the Mercedes Mountains beyond Santa Cruz.

 While in Santa Cruz itself there is also ART and culture. 

This is the AUDITORIO in Santa Cruz - the exterior is reminiscent of Sydney Opera House and the interior is stunning.

We were fortunate enough to be invited by the President Ricardo Melchior to hear a concert there on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth ll’s Diamond Jubilee.

It was a splendid tribute to the Queen of another country, with the added bonus of a tour behind the scenes of this building that Sr Melchior was delighted to have seen completed before he retired..

AND in case you fancy buying your own place in the sun, this is our apartment. You can find more photos on the Apartment for Sale page at the top!

Please leave a comment to reassure me I am not talking to myself!

TENERIFE - Land of Eternal Spring

That is how the Tourist Board advertises Tenerife, but the reality is marekdly different - this week we have had temperatures up to 40C, which is rare in England, they tell me! But this is August, the hottest month - it's usually around 30C.
There are also times when the temperature is like an English spring - usually in the middle of our winter - and we even get rain, but not often and mostly in the north of the island. We live in the south where the weather - and the landscape - is more like Africa than Europe.

To survive at all, wild plants must adapt or die, which accounts for our hundreds of varieties of cactus. As for gardens - you either water them every day or fit an automatic watering system - hence the rubber tubes that snake through every municipal flowerbed.



This is the time of year when stunning orange flowering trees splash the streets with colour, although the mauve Jacarandas were spectacular two months ago and the yellow-flowered trees are dropping their blossom now.






Here is a row of Flamboyante trees in front of our apartment building - some people call them Flame Trees -


















and Yukka trees in bud and in full bloom - rather larger than the houseplants you find in Europe.

And today I saw a cactus flower. You have to be in the right place on the right day for this treat because they will have shrivelled by nightfall.

This unpleasant-looking cactus spreads its tentacles like a diseased octopus across a garden near us, but today it has produced a twin pair of beautiful creamy flowers, which for one day at least justfy its existence!

And finally, beside our community pool, a perfect rose framed by a banana leaf. 

So if you fancy buying an apartment in this Land of Occasional Spring, we have one for sale!

You will find a full set of photographs and details by clicking on the link APARTMENT FOR SALE at the top of the page.