Flash Fiction

The Pull of Knowledge

/ michaelwynnauthor / 32 Comments

 

 

 

 

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

Jude pushed the little boat into the shallow river before leaping aboard and letting the lazy current begin his meander downstream.
He’d watched the river rolling through their trifling portion of unspoilt countryside his whole life, until the village became a prison to him, where he endured a stifled existence.
His father had left this way all those years ago. His leaving upset Jude’s mother and he had hated him for it but now he understood.
Today he would hurt her all over again, for he too had to know what was beyond the bend and where the river wound.

Written for Friday Fictioneers – a 100 words story based on a photo prompt. Hosted by Rochelle. Read the other entries here.

Reliable Witness

/ michaelwynnauthor / 40 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

PHOTO POMPT © Douglas M. MacIlroy

“Tod? What are you doing here? What are you doing with my scarf…? Stop it…you’re hurting me. Tod!” Screams and other indefinable noises like china smashing and furniture scraping across a wooden floor, followed.
Inspector Tandy hummed and aahed as DS White turned off the recording.
“I see what you mean. It certainly fits with the physical evidence. Do we know any Tod?”
“The neighbours’ son’s called Tod, sir.”
“You reckon he’ll repeat it in court?”
“I think so. He didn’t take much coaxing this time.”
“Thing is, has a mynah bird’s testimony ever been accepted as evidence in court before?”

Written for Friday Fictioneers – a 100 words story based on a photo prompt. Hosted by Rochelle. Read the other entries here.

Shame and Kindness in the Same Bin

/ michaelwynnauthor / 32 Comments

Hi all,

I haven’t posted for several weeks due to waking up one morning with a novel virtually fully formed in my head which I’ve been writing ever since. I’ve just completed the third re-write so it’s time to pause and let it ferment a little before going back to it. So I can join in again and here’s my contribution to this week’s FF

 

 

 

 

 

 

PHOTO PROMPT © Kelvin M. Knight

Armand broke from work for a coffee in his room, above the bakery. He took it onto his balcony and listened for the familiar muffled noises from the bins.

Boivin raided the sacks of yesterday’s bread meant for the pig farmer, every morning.  Armand smiled. When Boivin opened the sack today, he’d find fresh croissants and cake with a note, Bon Apetite.

Armand craned excitedly to hear but an unexpected cry of anguish assailed his ears and heavy boots fled, all attempt at furtiveness abandoned.

Armand rushed downstairs. The sack gaped, the treats still there.

He never saw Boivin again.

Written for Friday Fictioneers – a 100 words story based on a photo prompt. Hosted by Rochelle. Read the other entries here.

Hardship creates Excellence

/ michaelwynnauthor / 39 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

PHOTO PROMPT © Kent Bonham

“Good job,” the foreman congratulated us, “Fit to produce the next England World cup legends.” I gazed at the all-weather pitch in its perfect rectangle with its spirit level flat surface. Climbing in my car, I wondered how I was going to manoeuvre through the ranks of other cars crowding the street and then I thought about the legends of 66. They honed their skills controlling the uneven bounce, dribbling up hill, judging the unreliable rebound from balls slammed into bins and lampposts. Hardship has always been the mother of invention and creativity. Maybe we’re missing the point somewhere.

Written for Friday Fictioneers – a 100 words story based on a photo prompt. Hosted by Rochelle. Read the other entries here.

Just a Point Along a Line

/ michaelwynnauthor / 63 Comments

PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

“The sunshine defined us then,” Reg remembered, “But it’s not funeral weather, somehow.”
His shadow cast a twisted figure on the wall. Fleetingly he glimpsed the bullish version of his former self.
He pressed both gnarled hands on his cane, suddenly needing support.
“Well you’re at peace now, Maria.”
His bowed head shrouded tears falling and instantly evaporating on the cobbles.
“Nothing in the grand scheme of things, just a point along an everlasting line, but we were everything then.”
“Are you alright senhor?” A young woman had appeared beside him.
He smiled, “Thank-you, I will be in a minute.”

Written for Friday Fictioneers – a 100 words story based on a photo prompt. Hosted by Rochelle. Read the other entries here.

Davy’s On The Road Again

/ michaelwynnauthor / 80 Comments

 

 

 

 

PHOTO PROMPT © Ted Strutz

Life had been going nowhere, which it will if not led. Work brought rewards, but then more work on top, the only respite, the every night monotony of the pub. Davy wondered how he hadn’t noticed the insidious dull routine invade, until it possessed him.
He pulled a large coat and a rucksack from his car before locking it and posting the keys to his company with a note.
The ferry’s loading doors gaped a welcome as he made his way round to the foot passenger entrance. He didn’t know where he was going except this time, it wasn’t nowhere.

Written for Friday Fictioneers – a 100 words story based on a photo prompt. Hosted by Rochelle. Read the other entries here.

The Rest is all Illusion

/ michaelwynnauthor / 54 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

Carter lay back on his lounger lulled by the swaying palms and the soft lap of the water slapped by a kindly breeze, against the sides of the pool. Inhaling deeply the mingled aromas of suntan lotion and iced rum cocktails, he revelled in the freedom of cast off clothing and the warmth of the sun on his bare skin.
He sighed contentedly; he would stay here as long as he could deny the cell walls and the stench of incarceration. With eyes closed, he repeated his mantra, ‘perception is reality’ and settled to dwell in his tropical paradise.

Written for Friday Fictioneers – a 100 words story based on a photo prompt. Hosted by Rochelle. Read the other entries here

The Germination of a Career

/ michaelwynnauthor / 34 Comments

I’m not saying it did happen like this, just that it could have.

What’s happened, I can’t upload my picture. I do wish they wouldn’t mess with things.

 

 

 

 

PHOTO PROMPT © Sarah Potter

Wyndham placed a sliver of stem under his microscope. “The blessed order of xylem, phloem, sclerenchyma!..Revising’s so tedious.”
His eyelids drooped. “Stay awake, or forget being a botanist.” He reproached himself.
Suddenly, an avenging tendril sprung from the specimen plant and coiled round his neck. Another reached across the floor binding his ankles. Others grabbed at his arms.
Desperately, he flailed his scalpel. “Must…cut…vine…from neck.”
His hand trembled, one slip and he’d cut his own…

Choking, he started awake. Plants stood innocently in their pots; no wheal marked his throat.
He smiled, “Wow! Career change, I’ll be a sci-fi writer.”

Written for Friday Fictioneers – a 100 words story based on a photo prompt. Hosted by Rochelle. Read the other entries here.

Zombie in the Kitchen

/ michaelwynnauthor / 59 Comments

 

 

 

 

PHOTO PROMPT © Karuna

“Dad! One of those things off the news…in the kitchen!” Nicky stammered.
Les reached beside his armchair and picked up a cricket bat. “I thought you’d checked the doors?” he berated his wife.
“Thought you’d done it.”
The thing sat on its haunches, gumming the hide of a cat.
“Poor thing, just a girl.”
She craned her sallow head upwards. Taking a long stride down the wicket, Les hammered a straight six.
Her head thudded into the ceiling before hitting the floor with a squelch.
“Everything alright, Les?” His wife shouted.
“Do these things go in the green or the black bin?”

Written for Friday Fictioneers – a 100 words story based on a photo prompt. Hosted by Rochelle. Read the other entries here.

House Hunting Misunderstandings

/ michaelwynnauthor / 53 Comments

 

 

 

 

Image © J Hardy Carroll

“So much potential, darling.”
“Potential for a load of work and expense, you mean.”
“But look at the space.”
“Space? There’s only us two. You intend building a boat or something?”
“Us three.”
John sniffed, “Lovely thought but living with mother wouldn’t work, however much space.”
“Not your mother, silly.”
“Well who…oh, you mean?”
“Yes.”
His face cracked, he beamed, they hugged and danced a daft jig.
“Now…over there would be good for his train set and I’ll get some goalposts for the garden.”
She laughed, “She may not like trains and football.” They giggled and jigged until they dropped.

Written for Friday Fictioneers – a 100 words story based on a photo prompt. Hosted by Rochelle. Read the other entries here.