3 October 2014

Published October 1, 2014 by rochellewisoff

The following photo is the prompt. Does it speak to you? What does it say?

My story follows the photo and the blue froggy fella. Comments and suggestions appreciated.

Copyright-Kent Bonham

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Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 100

REQUIEM IN C MINOR

“You must practice an hour a day,” said Mama. “People will come from miles around to hear you play. You have a gift.”

“I hate the violin,” I yelled. “I don’t want to be a musician.”

Once Mama made up her mind she only heard what she wanted to hear.

What choice did I have? I was only six.

Eight years later Mama’s prediction came true. People came from miles around to hear me play. My music was the last thing they heard on their way to the gas chambers.

Sweet music, the only color in Theriesenstadt, saved my life.

Author’s note for those who may ask how I arrived at this.

At first glance, this photo said nothing to me other than, “Yuck. Where’s the story in this and why did I choose it for a prompt?” At second glance I thought ‘dead bird.’ Nah. Trashed lollipop? Okay, forget about the articles, what about color? I didn’t see much of that. My mind went to the Holocaust, a part of history I think of in shades of gray. (Not the racy novel 😉 ) Next, Terezin, a town in Czechoslovakia that was turned into a ghetto and renamed Theriesenstadt came to mind. There the Nazis made a propaganda film to show the outside world their kind treatment of the Jews, when, in reality, it was a holding place on the road to extermination for most. My research path ultimately inspired me to write REQUIEM IN C MINOR. Thank you for reading.

Shalom,

Rochelle

19 September 2014

Published September 17, 2014 by rochellewisoff

The following photo is the PHOTO PROMPT. Where does it take you? Tell me your story. 😉

NOTE: All are welcome to participate but please tell the story on your blog page not in my comment section.

Copyright – Dawn Q. Landau

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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 100

BY WAY OF JERICHO

“They say the minerals are curative.” My sister pointed to a picture of the Dead Sea. “Come with me.”

“You want salt?” I said. “I’ll buy you a box of Morton’s.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I’d rather visit Australia.”

“Be a pal. Think about it.”

___________

“I knew it wasn’t a cure,” my sister whispered from her hospice bed. “I just wanted to visit the Holy Land before I died.”

____________

The water’s buoyancy made it fun for us to swim but I’ll always prefer the Hebrew name Yam HaMelach, Sea of Salt, to Dead Sea.

I swim with her still.

.

“We have returned to the cisterns
To the market and to the market-place
A ram’s horn calls out on the Temple Mount
In the Old City.

And in the caves in the mountain
Thousands of suns shine –
We will once again descend to the Dead Sea
By way of Jericho! “

-from the song “Jerusalem of Gold.”

29 August 2014

Published August 27, 2014 by rochellewisoff

Below is the PHOTO PROMPT. This photo from Madison Woods sent a few squeamish writers running from their keyboards. If you’re an FF veteran, you may already have braved this slimy picture and written a story. It’s perfectly legal to repost or write a new one if you like.

PHOTO PROMPT – Copyright – Madison Woods

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By the time this page goes live I will be on a farm in upstate New York visiting my son and daughter in law. To learn more about what she does click here. I’m told the internet connection isn’t very good up there so chances are I won’t be doing much reading or commenting.

My story is from August 2012 when Madison was queen of this tangled grapevine.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 99

WILD LIFE

Half naked Himba people in Nambia, a sweaty camera crew and millions of TV viewers witnessed our marriage vows.

I willingly followed Trevor up the Himalayas, drank sun-scorched canteen water instead of Cabernet and swatted mosquitos in the Amazon.

In Nepal he slipped on something and narrowly escaped being trampled by a choleric elephant.

“I’m done,” he whispered later. “Let’s go home.”

“You are my home.”

Back in the states, safe from cheetah attacks and hippo stampedes, Trevor’s mangled body lies on a cold steel table. The driver, texting on her cell phone, never saw him cross the street.

As it appeared originally.

15 August 2014

Published August 13, 2014 by rochellewisoff

The next photo is the PHOTO PROMPT

Let it speak to you. Does it tell you a story?

PHOTO PROMPT -Copyright – Jan Wayne Fields

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Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 99

HOME FIRES BURNING

“Nights are long and my bed ever so cold…”

She stopped writing, crumpled her letter and recalled their conversation the day before he left.

_____

“The last time you went for six months it turned into four years.”

“I am needed there.”

“You are needed here.”

“Debbie, my dearest.” He placed his hands on either side of her face. “Accompany me. You will love London.”

______

Deborah Franklin laid another sheet of parchment on the desk, dipped her quill in the inkwell and wrote.

“Dear Benjamin,

I love you so. Had it not been for my ridiculous fear of the sea…”

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8 August 2014

Published August 6, 2014 by rochellewisoff

The next photo is the PROMPT. What does it say to you? Step outside your boundaries and let your imagination take wing!

My story follows the blue inLinkz buddy that Ali calls Bracken.

PHOTO PROMPT – Copyright-Björn Rudberg

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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 100

WHEN THE NEED ARISES

It starts with a certain look, and you know it’s over. That’s how it is with Annie and me.

Without saying a word, she tells me what I don’t want to hear. We’ve both suffered too long and she needs to be free.

As we hike to our favorite mountain spot to say goodbye I envision life without her.

“Wish you didn’t have to go, Annie.”

She wags her tail, and feebly licks my hand. I caress her head, press the muzzle of my pistol against it and pull the trigger.

Whoever said men don’t cry was full of shit.

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1 August 2014

Published July 30, 2014 by rochellewisoff

Friday Fictioneers: Dawn Landau and Amy Reese. Cheers!

The following photograph is the PHOTO PROMPT. What does it say to you?

PHOTO PROMPT- Copyright Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 100

LIFE FLIGHT

“Are you sure we’re doing the right thing, Gerald?”

“I’d say it’s kinda late to be asking that question.”

Vanessa looked out the oval airplane window and then at the Asian infant in her arms. Her dream come true. She’d traveled ten-thousand miles through tangled red tape to realize it.

“Do you think it will bug him that he doesn’t look like us?”

With an impish grin Gerald scrolled through his iPad until he came to a recent snapshot of the two of them. His blond hair and freckles contrasted her tight curls and chocolate complexion.

“What do you think?”

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25 July 2014

Published July 23, 2014 by rochellewisoff

Below is the PHOTO PROMPT. Where does it take you? Let your imagination run free, free from the confines of the box. 😉

PHOTO PROMPT Copyright – Marie Gail Stratford

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Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 100

KONG FUZI

Like his imposing father, Qiu towered over most boys his age. Yet, unlike Shuliang He, he preferred serenity to battle.

“Eat.” Zhenzai stroked her son’s cheek and tapped his crooked nose. “Your rice is getting cold.”

He rolled his chopsticks between his thumb and forefinger, his gentle eyes filled with pain and tears.

“Mama, why am I so ugly?”

She hugged him. “Not so.”

“It is so.”

“Listen to me.” She tightened her embrace. “Someday you will be a great teacher.”

“No one will hear me. They will only see my face.”

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”

********

To learn more about Zhenzai click the Chinese calligraphy below.

**It seems that no two articles agreed on every point of the teacher’s life so all should be taken with an extra tablespoon of soy sauce and stirred with the proper chopsticks.

********

“The honorable and upright man keeps well away from both the slaughterhouse and the kitchen. And he allows no knives on his table.”

Kong Fuzi

18 July 2014

Published July 16, 2014 by rochellewisoff

Below is the PHOTO PROMPT. Can you tell me what this photo says to you in a hundred. (Complete story: beginning, middle and end) I dare you to step outside your comfort zone. I double dare you!

PHOTO PROMPT – Copyright – Adam Ickes

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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word count: 100

RESULTS

“Elise? We need to talk about your labs.”

It’s been over an hour since I sat down in the waiting room.

‘What if’s’ torment me. I comb my hair with my fingertips, loop a curl around my pinkie and imagine myself bald.

Stop that!

Just because my doctor has concerns she wants to discuss doesn’t mean it’s…

Oh God, what will Steve do without me? Will he remarry? What about the kids?

My eyes sting.

Pole-vaulter to conclusions? Sue me. I’m an Aries.

The nurse enters to summon the next patient and stares at me. I hold my breath.

“Elise…”

11 July 2014

Published July 9, 2014 by rochellewisoff

Below is the PHOTO PROMPT. What does it say to you? Tell me in one hundred words or less.

PHOTO PROMPT – Copyright – Kelly Sands

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Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 100

SAUVIGNON BLANC 1940: THE GRAPES OF WRATH

Nine-year-old Laurel shivered and rubbed her eyes.

“Are we going to die, Mum?”

Her mother held her tight and shouted over concussions that juddered the shelter.

“The storm will pass.”

The ceiling caved in, their lantern shattered on the floor and her world went black.

In the morning sirens sounded the “all clear” and by afternoon civil defense workers had dug their way through to them.

Laurel squeezed Mum’s cold, stiff hand. “Wake up. Please, wake up. The bombers are gone.”

****

In the cold darkness of the wine cellar the storm still raged.

Eighty-one-year-old Laurel shivered and rubbed her eyes.

27 June 2014 – Summer Rerun II

Published June 25, 2014 by rochellewisoff

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PHOTO PROMPT Copyright-Madison Woods The photo is actually from Lura Helms for whom I have no link.

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Here’s another of my favorites revisited. 😉 originally posted August 16, 2012

Genre: Literary Fiction

Word Count: 100

CASUALTY OF WAR

In the woods on the outskirts of town is the Tree of Life. Not to be confused with the original, this one earned its name from a century of discarded oddities which have grown into its branches.

Jason and I carved our names into the bark the day before he left for Viet Nam. We’d marry when he returned.

When the final letter came my heart cratered to my stomach.

He’d met Trinh-Lee, his true love.

Today you can still read the crude print that says, “Jason loves Karen.”

Just below it, imbedded in the trunk, is my disengagement ring.