THE BIG MATCH - a 100 word story

THE BIG MATCH

“Tell me again how we got into this?” Michael said.

“You know the Boss can never resist a challenge.”

“But for Heaven’s sake – seven-a-side football?”

“We’ll beat them,” Gabe said confidently and led his team onto the field.

With such high stakes it was a hard-fought game but, despite the other team’s dirty tricks, Peter refereed impartially, and the scores were even until the final minute.

Then Uriel fired a shot that flew into the corner of the opposition’s net, the whistle blew, and the crowd went wild, throwing their haloes in the air – the Archangels had triumphed again.

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Just a bit of fun this week - light relief from the final chapter of a rewrite of Rock Fall, Book 3 in my Living Rock series. Now would be a good time to read the first two books, A Volcanic Race and Wolf Pack, both of which are available on Amazon.

Thands to Rochelle for the above photo and for hosting Friday Fictioneers. You can read what other writers have been inspired to write by following the Blue Frog trail from her blog at  https://rochellewisoff.com/

THE HIGH LIFE - fiction in 100 words

THE HIGH LIFE

Karl wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he was good at football – very good – and was quickly snapped up by a major team.

He was regularly front-page news, blinking in flashlights outside nightclubs with a series of stunning girlfriends. 

His team managed to keep his worst excesses out of the papers – he was their golden boy as long as he kept scoring goals with his world-famous headers. His life was the envy of many – until he developed a blood clot on his brain.

Deprived of the adulation on which he thrived, his downward spiral was swift, and ultimately fatal.

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This week's photo is one which I took myself ! I was out for a walk one morning in Tenerife when I spotted this macabre still-life. To read how other writers inerpreted the image, go to  https://rochellewisoff.com/ and follow the link.

This story is not the only one I've written this week - I am delighted to tell you that on  http://visualverse.org/about-visual-verse/  you will find my name in the list of authors.

THE POWER OF "THE GAME"

LAS GALLETAS  seafront road is too narrow for the traffic that uses it. There isn't really room for the cars that park by the beach, and meeting a Titsa bus coming the other way can be nerve-wracking.

A couple of years ago the road was closed sporadically for months while the Cabildo installed vast pipes to take the local sewage out to sea. They even used gravel and stones from the beach to create a very dodgy-looking temporary pier on which the heavy diggers teetered dangerously.
When the pipes had gone beyond the harbour the beach was reformed, but Man cannot match Nature.

Last year's floods washed the beach back into the sea and destabilised the sea wall. They repaired it.

Then last week we had big seas, even inside the harbour, and the beach vanished again, along with some of the pavement and a bit of road. We had to drive the long way round or park in El Fraile and walk.

 This was the scene on Thursday morning - you can see El Fraile beyond the palm trees in the background of the second photograph. It looked to me as if workmen needed to drive pilings into the beach to shore the road up safely, which would mean months more work at Tenerife speed. 

But yesterday the traffic was flowing smoothly again and a neat patch of tarmac covered everything. This was unprecedented! What had happened? I came home and looked up Arona's calendar of events and the answer was staring me in the face. 

A football match - today at 6pm - in the Sports Centre in El Fraile. 

CAMPEONES & Earthquakes.

As you can imagine, last night was not a quiet one here in Tenerife.

It started in the afternoon with children chanting “España!” in the pool. Then one of our neighbours moved his television onto his terrace, lit his barbecue and invited all his friends round. 

 Every bar was bedecked with flags, and the football shirt manufacturers  had obviously done a roaring trade.





A few practice bangers exploded and my cat cowered. She won't allow me to comfort her at times like these - Canarian or not, she hates fireworks - so I built her a tent in her favourite corner and went to my daughter's apartment to watch the match in comfort.

Then there were shouts, screams, fireworks and general rejoicing. Four-nil! I am not a football fan, but the excitement was infectious.

Even the children were dressed up, and this man, his wife and his family were all decked out in Spanish colours.

I did feel sorry for Simone, owner of the lone Italian flag on our block. I found him sharing a drink with a Spaniard, and patted his back in sympathy. “No importa,” he said, but his expression was sad.

And there have been more earthquakes on the island of El Hierro - see its dedicated page on the right..