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Our Mantra:
The following photo is the PROMPT. It’s a first run, never before seen by Friday Fictioneers. PLEASE…because it’s PROPER ETIQUETTE…give credit to the photographer somewhere in your post. Vijaya Sundaram this week. Thank you.
PHOTO PROMPT -© Vijaya Sundaram
Genre: Poetic Justice
Word Count: 100
THIS ONE IS MINE
Enan’s grandiloquent notes set off explosions in my heart. I kept every embellished missive in a gilded box. His purple prose enslaved me.
After every beating or tongue lashing, he would gift me with an impassioned written apology and weep until I absolved him of his guilt.
One day he left our cottage whilst I slept. A card on the nightstand, penned in his sweeping hand simply said, “Goodbye.”
***
I wanted to search for him—beg him to come back. Instead, a fountain of sparks illumes the black sky. His words scatter amid the ashes and my spirit soars.
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple 
this left me speechless, Ms. Rochelle. ❤
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Dear Rosema,
Your comment also leaves me speechless. Thank you. ❤
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You’re welcome. 🙂
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How smoothlysome abusers switch from that abuse to cowering apologist. And yours sounds so convincing – his eloquent, heartfelt pleas for forgiveness. I think people like this often believe themselves when they say ‘never again’ – it’s a way for them to cope with the guilt of what they’ve done. Either that, or they blame it on their victims (‘she pushed me too far’ etc). Clearly and chillingly told, Rochelle.
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Dear LYnn,
And then there are narcissists who are just really good actors. I’m not sure what category Enan fell into but I think his flowery words were more about him than her.
Thank you for your kind words.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A pleasure to read your writing, always 🙂
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Dear Rochelle,
So beautifully told about finally being free.
Best regards,
Helene
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Dear Helene,
Thank your for such a lovely comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Lush, layered, complex. This is wonderful!
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Many, many thanks, Neil. 😀
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Hi Rochelle. Great use of the prompt – ‘explosions in my heart’ – loved it!
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Dear Iain,
Thank you for such positive feedback. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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How much the abused accept to be enslaved is something I cannot understand… and maybe it takes a final absence to comprehend that you are free…
Wonderful to have a new picture, but it does take some pondering.
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Dear Björn,
It’s a vicious cycle. How easy it is for the victim to believe the abuser when the apology is so sincere. Maybe it won’t happen again. Thank you for swinging by.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Terrific take on the prompt, Rochelle. I had to read it several times, it was so layered. The oppression, the slavish worship, the abandonment and the soaring freedom at the end. The long lay-off has not blunted your flash skills in the slightest. Well done.
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Dear Sandra,
Thank you for your encouraging words. I really was nervous about jumping back in. Glad it worked. 😉 😀 (I can’t say I feel bad about you having to read it several times.)
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Great writing, Rochelle. It’s an old story, isn’t it. First, they abuse then plead for forgiveness. He actually did her a favor by leaving if he couldn’t control himself. She had the good sense to realize she was now free and could get on with her life. —- Suzanne
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Dear Suzanne,
I doubt that Enan’s reasons for leaving had anything to do with admission of guilt. Nonetheless he did do her a favor. Glad you liked my story. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Free at last. Up until the last part, it is all too often. At least the abuser knew he had a problem and didn’t want to hurt her any more. Although he should have sought help so much earlier. But had he done so, you wouldn’t have written this awesome piece. Great writing Rochelle.
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Yep; from what I’ve read abusers almost never change.
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Dear Al,
As I mentioned to Suzanne, I have my doubts as to Enan’s motives for leaving. At any rate he did. Thank you for such glowing comments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You’re welcome 🙂
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Wow. Lovely and powerful. Great combination.
i just spoke with a friend who upon realizing he was having dizzy spells, immediately sold his motorcycle rather than risk another hour of temptation and rationalizing whether he should take just one more possible death ride…
Enan finally did the only thing left in order for him to stop. Unfortunately for him, he went cold turkey in a blazingly brutal, but beautiful way.
Breathtakingly painful and fetching, a sad yet great, quietly told story.
Happy birthday,
Randy
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Dear Randy,
Actually I didn’t see Enan as being the one who went up in smoke, just his artfully written notes. Perhaps his reasons for leaving were selfless, but I have my doubts. 😉 Thank you for such a lovely comment. I hope your birthday was full of joy and healing.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A piece of bleeding, purple prose, so raw and so full of pain at first, and then, boom! I loved the ending, and the suggestions of both destruction of the old and the birth of the new. Good for her that she did not go after her abuser!
(And so pleased that you used my picture! Thanks!$
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Dear Vijaya,
Thank you for the wonderful photo. Full of possibilities. As for your comment/compliments I shall simply say thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle
How the abused can still have feelings for their abuser constantly baffles me.You have captured it perfectly here and have not lost any of your flash fiction skills in the summer lay-off.
Best wishes
Dee
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Dear Dee,
Thank you so much for your kind words. As for loyalty to an abbuser, it’s a hard one to comprehend, isn’t it?
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Ha! We used the firework in a similar way! A very moving story. Glad she did not chase after the louse!
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Dear Clare,
I try not to be too literal to the prompt whenever possible. 😉 Thank you for reading and commenting. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A good, however sad story of abuse. Thankfully this one had a good outcome for at least one of them. Good ending of how someone can not realize their situation until they are detached from it.
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How do I love this? Let me count the ways.
I love the word grandiloquent. I love the way you draw the arch from the explosions in her heart to the sparks of freedom in the end. And I admire how precisely you described the domestic stockholm syndrome with which far too many spouses and partners are afflicted.
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And this is what you call a perfect synopsis/review for a perfectly written story.
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Thank you, kind lady. 🙂
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🙂
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You’re very much welcome.
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Dear Gabriele,
Such a wonderful comment/compliment. Chioma beat me to the punch in saying so. Have you ever considered a career as a publicist? Thank you doesn’t fully express my gratitude, but thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Now I’m blushing. 😉
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I hope every victim of abuse will find a card like this one day. A last note from the abuser that sets them free. Loved this post, Bridget
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Dear Bridget,
Good way to look at it. Would that every abuser could own up to the crime.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Now that is how to use a metaphor.
And then at the end the bonfire is literal.
Wonderfully constructed, beautifully written.
As good as 100 words can be.
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Dear CE,
Thank you for such a glowing comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Truly Lovely 🙂
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Thank you, Morgan. 😀
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Some stories are treasures and this, for me, is one.
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What a sweet thing to say, Graham. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Brilliant, I felt the emotions in their dysfunctional relationship.
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Dear Chioma,
Emotion is what an author wants to evoke. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Wow…that was lovely
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Thank you, Shaktiki. 😀
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So he abused her then apologised. The same tale is told a thousand times every day the world over, yet still the women love them. I cannot understand.
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Dear Liz,
Same old story, different day. I don’t get it either. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Beautiful. I read this over again to let it sink in. So many perfect details–the gilded box seems very symbolic–and I love “his purple prose enslaved me.”
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Dear Emily,
You’re spot on. The gilded box is symbolic. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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If he returns I think that she will turn the table on him. Great writing Rochelle.
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Dear Michael,
Something tells me she won’t take him back. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Excellent! I only wish more women would burn the meaningless notes of apologies. @sheilamgood at Cow Pasture Chronicles
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Dear Sheila,
There are men that can turn a pretty phrase but they’re full of empty promises. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Agreed!
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Thank you, Rochelle, for using my photograph! I’m flattered and thrilled.
Could you do me a favour? Could you remind those who haven’t done so to cite my name under the photograph? There is no name below it in some people’s posts.
Thanks!
Vijaya
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Such a powerful message in so few words. Sooner or later, the breaking point is reached. Everyone has their limit…hopefully…before complete destruction occurs.
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Dear Jesse.
Thank you for your comments. We can only hope.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I would like to submit a picture prompt too sometime. How do I do that
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Dear Dee,
I apologize for not answering you sooner. For some reason this ended up in my spam folder. Send you photos as a jpeg to runtshell@gmail.com. Please make sure it’s identified as yours. I’ve received a lot of them lately and don’t want to assign the wrong name to the wrong photo. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
Excellent writing with this, particularly with “his purple prose enslaved me”… working your favorite color in there, methinks? 😉
Adam
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Dear Adam,
A bit of a double entendre with purple prose, I’ll admit. 😉 Sometimes expressions work for us. Thank you for such a wonderful comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Very poetic description of domestic abuse in “ye olden times” (I’m guessing by the language). I’m glad she found happiness after his departure!
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Dear Ali,
Actually this story could take place in any time. At least she figured it out in the end. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I think it was the language you used which set me thinking of olden times 🙂
I had to Google “grandiloquent”!
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I love that you leave us with a ‘note’ of hope, Rochelle. Lovely.
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Dear Clare,
I’m glad you caught the hopeful note. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear L.E.M. (Linda Eastman McCartney)
No wonder the girl fell for this thug, it was the color of his prose.
Not many abuser walk away on their own. Let’s hope he fell off a cliff.
Happy Birthday,
Bigfoot
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Dear Bigfoot,
Who can resist anything purple? We can but hope that the abuser injures himself in a strategic place and dies a slow death. Thank you for the birthday greeting. It feels good to be 31 the second time around.
Shalom,
Linda
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Wow! Good voice. You have your English-English down. I almost saw Catherine in that. Well done.
Imagine, if you will, the American translation —
“I was in crazy-stupid love with a helpless abuser, who kept taking me back only to repeat the pattern. The slime ball left me and it hurt. But later? My Fourth of July, baby, it’s Miller Time!!!”
Five out of five Jane Austens.
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Dear Cuzzin Notnek,
Hahahahahahahaha! Spot on interpretation. ¡Muchas gracias!
Shalom,
Cuzzin Shelley
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Brilliantly conveyed. There appears to exist an incomprehensible bond sometimes, between abused and abuser which despite each’s unhappiness, neither can break. You’ve captured it extremely well, as always Rochelle.
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Many thanks, Michael, Your comments make me smile.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yep, time to let go.
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Yep! 😉
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Thanks for writing this as you did. You seem to be able to get into their minds.
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My pleasure (?) Dawn. Glad you liked.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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freedom from bondage, perhaps. but life can be so tricky
http://obliqview.blogspot.in/2016/09/victory-march-they-had-won-greatvictory.html
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Dear Arora,
No one ever promised us an easy life, did they? Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You captured the qualities of abuse perfectly. The psychological bondage practiced by abusers is a complex craft, perfected over time. Treacherous grooming almost impossible to escape. The effects take a lifetime of aftercare. Bravo, Rochelle!
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Hello there, Lovely Lady,
I’ve missed you and am doing a happy dance at seeing you here. Thank you for such a wonderful and affirming comment. Love the new profile picture.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I especially loved how you laid bare the victim’s mindset – it takes a while to accept and cherish freedom.
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Dear Dahlia,
She did have a hard time letting go. Thank you for such a lovely comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Being free, at last. Beautiful. I love your choice of words, style, everything. You opened a new world for me about how to write expressive, emotional stories. Thanks introducing me this world of FF.
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Dear Indira,
What a wonderful comment. I cherish your words. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Such an eloquent story and so well put together, Rochelle. You pack so much in here. You are truly a gifted writer and always a pleasure to read.
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Dear Amy,
You’re words are very kind and encouraging. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Wow… im not sure how to think about this one except to say i think she’s better off without him. Thats not love. Great story Rochelle, raises a lot of questions and no doubt will be a point of discussion.
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Dear Laurie,
It took a while to realize it, but she is better off without him. There’s definitely room for interpretation. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Wonderful language. The break in your story shows how her ‘enslavement’ is truly over when she stops wanting him back. I guess time is needed for the process of liberation.Such a thought-provoking story.
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Dear Margaret,
No doubt that kind of relationship takes a while to recover from. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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