24 October 2014

Published October 22, 2014 by rochellewisoff

The next photo is this week’s PROMPT. What kind of a story does it tell you? Tell the rest of us in a hundred words or less.

My story follows the prompt and the blue inLinkz frog. I appreciate honest comments.

😀 This week marks my second anniversary as your fearful leader. My first story as facilitator can be found here. Thanks to all who write, submit photos and support me week after week. I’m looking forward to a third great year. 😀

Shalom,

Rochelle

PHOTO PROMPT Copyright- The Reclining Gentleman

*Note: There is only ONE PHOTO PROMPT. Any photos or artwork following my story are meant to go with my story. Period!

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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 100

THE OCEAN OF THE LORD

A winter wind blew across the pond. Trina huddled close to Brian on the bridge as a flock of ducks fought for the breadcrumbs he threw.

“Remember our wedding?” he asked. “Flowers in your hair. This same park.”

“Forty-five years ago.” She shivered. “In June.”

“I read where a pair of swans in England divorced.”

“I thought they mated for life. What happened?”

“Failure to breed.”

“Are you saying you want a divorce because we couldn’t…?” She held her breath.

He smiled and took her hand. “Let’s go home, my beautiful swan…”

With love and affection, Trina whispered, “…and practice.”

ORIGINAL ARTWORK. Copyright- Rochelle Wisoff-Fileds. Use by express permission only. Thank you.

17 October 2014

Published October 15, 2014 by rochellewisoff

The next photo is the prompt. There’s much to look at. What do you see? Tell me in a hundred words or less. Then click the blue froggy guy after the prompt and link your story URL.

PHOTO PROMPT – Copyright – Douglas M. MacIlroy

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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 99

HIBAKUSHA

When I was five my father opened our home to his widowed aunt.

“Why can’t Obasan live with her own children?” I whined and stamped my foot.

“Pikadon took them,” said Chichi. “We are her children now.”

“But she scares me.”

I soon saw past Obasan’s scarred face. Her stories delighted me. She taught me how to construct flapping birds and intricate shapes from colored paper.

One night she lay down to sleep and returned to the source.

Every year at O-Bon I honor her with mukae-bi, dance and sake.

Her elegant spirit surrounds me like a thousand winds.

.

Pikadon.

O-Bon

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

26 September 2014

Published September 24, 2014 by rochellewisoff

The next photo you see is the PROMPT. Study it. What does it say to you? Tell me in a hundred words or less.

My story follows the prompt and the link. Click on little blue froggy fella and add your link. If reading and commenting on every story is daunting, try reading the five prior to yours and the five following. 😉

PHOTO PROMPT Copyright – Marie Gail Stratford

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Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 98

HELLO, MY NAME IS BILL

Against the cold wooden floor, labor pains wracked Emily’s back. One after another they came, each harder than the last. She closed her eyes to shut out onlookers’ stares but couldn’t block out their voices.

“Helluva place to have a kid.”

“Pour me another, Fayette.”

“Whaddya think, Gramps? Boy or girl?”

“Quarter says ‘boy.’”

“Pay them no mind, Emily,” said Mama. “Push!”

Over the din of cheers and clinking glasses William Griffith Wilson made his howling presence known.

“Born behind Grandpa’s bar,” whispered Emily as she cuddled her newborn. “Don’t suppose it’s some kind of omen, do you?”

Epilogue

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.

22 August 2014

Published August 20, 2014 by rochellewisoff

The following photo is the PHOTO PROMPT. Does it speak to you? Do you see only a vehicle? Tell me in one hundred words or less. 😉

PHOTO PROMPT -Copyright-Roger Bultot

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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word count: 100

HAFIZ’S SOLUTION

“You’re unbelievable, Trisha,” said Joe. “We’re stuck in the middle of nowhere and you’re reading poetry?”

“The tow truck’s on its way. Nothing we can do but wait.” She grinned at him from the passenger seat, her feet propped on the dashboard. “Relax. Enjoy the breeze.”

“The repair bill’s gonna be astronomical.”

“Could just be the battery.”

“Or the transmission.”

Joe’s mind raced from one awful conclusion to another as he paced back and forth in front of the stalled minivan.

Trisha giggled.

“What’s so funny?”

“Listen.” She read, “‘O someone should start laughing! Someone should start wildly laughing. Now!’”

To read over Trisha’s shoulder click here.

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…”

.

For more info click here

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?”

.

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!