18 September 2015

Published September 16, 2015 by rochellewisoff

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

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 100

PRICE OF A DREAM

At thirteen Myung Hee was three years older than the rest of my students. Despite my many scoldings, they laughed at her and called her babo.

One day I found her weeping in the schoolyard.

“What’s wrong, little one?”

“My baby brother and I escaped Kim Jong-il’s prison camp but two days later I buried him in the desert with only the stars to see. I thought South Korea would be the center of my dreams, but they lie with my brother in darkness.”

Myung Hee’s words resonated deep within me and, in that moment, the teacher became the student.

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14 August 2015

Published August 12, 2015 by rochellewisoff

The following photo is the PROMPT. Again, this is another blast from the past which, to most of you, will be a new one.

PHOTO PROMPT – © Madison Woods

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There are some flash fictions of mine that I like better than others. This remains one of my favorites. It’s one of the first ten that I wrote when Madison was the chief cat herder. 😉 You can find the original post here.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 100

RENDEZVOUS

Golden arches and a drive-through replaced the baroque beacon on the hill. The French restaurant where we often met is long gone.

At our special table we shared crème brulée, class notes and anecdotes. Our careers left no room for marriage. He went his way and I went mine.

Two years later the embossed invitation came. Birth announcements and commencement notices followed me around the world.

Thirty summers passed.

When I read his wife’s obituary I wept.

***

I reminisce in McDonald’s parking lot. Someone taps my windshield.

Ink-black hair turned bone-white, Bordeaux in hand, he grins. “You saved our table.”

31 July 2015

Published July 29, 2015 by rochellewisoff

The next photo is the PHOTO PROMPT. Where does it take you? Can you tell us in a hundred words or less with a beginning, middle and end? Ready, set, write!

PHOTO PROMPT © G.L. MacMillan.

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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 100

INSTINCT

My brother was the valedictorian of his graduating class. Awarded a scholarship to Harvard, he owned the future.

When his draft notice came I was inconsolable.

“Duty calls, Sis. I’ll be back.”

Tonight we celebrate his sixty-fifth birthday. His hands tremble as he cuts the cake. The knife falls from his fingers and tears stream down in his cheeks.

“I cut off their ears and hung them from a chain on my belt loop.” He swallows a pill with a swig of beer. “Thirty-six kills. God, I miss it.”

My brother did come back from Vietnam but he never returned.

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3 July 2015

Published July 1, 2015 by rochellewisoff

The following photo is the PHOTO PROMPT. What story does it have to tell?

PHOTO PROMPT – © Jean L. Hays

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Genre: Hysterical Fiction

Word Count: 100

GENERATIONS

“Summer of 1954. What a heatwave,” said Great-Gran. “We didn’t have air conditioning. My boyfriend and I went to the drive-in theater on Saturday nights. If we were lucky there’d be a decent breeze and a good flick like Roman Holiday or From Here to Eternity.”

“I saw them on Netflix.” Fourteen-year-old Megan loved old movies, the older the better. “Burt Lancaster was really hot in that sex scene on the beach.”

“I missed that part of the movie but I think the one in Bobby’s Bel-Air topped it.” Great-Gran’s eyes sparkled.

“Does Gramps know he’s a passion pit baby?”

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26 June 2015

Published June 24, 2015 by rochellewisoff

The following photo is the PHOTO PROMPT. Tell me where it takes you in a hundred words or less.

PHOTO PROMPT – © Kent Bonham

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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 100

BACK OUT ON THE STREET

“I wandered aimlessly down the deserted street as I had hundreds of times before. Everything was the same but it would never be the same again.”

After reading the two sentences aloud twice, Rose back-spaced them into oblivion and said, “This isn’t a story, it’s a cliché fest.”

She shut off the computer. The manuscript would have to wait.

Although she tried to sleep, Rose’s cluttered mind spun with deadlines, debts, disillusion and broken promises. She threw off the covers and put on her clothes.

“Damn you, Jeff. Why now?”

She wandered aimlessly down the deserted street…everything was the same…

12 June 2015

Published June 10, 2015 by rochellewisoff

The following photo is the PHOTO PROMPT. Some of you may remember it from long ago.

PHOTO PROMPT -© Raina Ng

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Summer reruns are upon us. As I will be somewhat out of commission this week to have a physical inconvenience taken care of I’m falling back on one of those prompts from my first year in Friday Fictioneers. I’ve updated it a bit to make it one hundred words exactly. You can find the original post here. I will try to make the rounds but, at this time, make no promises.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 100

THE GIRL MOST LIKELY

Coffee and baking cookie aromas filled Gail’s kitchen. She wiped dust from a dog-eared yearbook, set it on the table, smiled at her high school chum and said, “I’m so glad we found each other.”

“We were darling, weren’t we?” Brenda flipped through the faded pages. “You’ve done well for yourself, Miss Homecoming Queen. Nice home. Handsome husband. I’m so jealous.”

“Thirty-seven glorious years next month.”

“Amazing.” Brenda pointed to a picture of a moon-faced boy with horn-rimmed glasses and buck teeth. “Hey remember him? What a geek! I wonder what ever happened to the little twerp.”

“I married him.”

5 June 2015

Published June 3, 2015 by rochellewisoff

OH, ELMO, YOU’VE DONE IT AGAIN!

DOMINIC RILIAN PENDERGAST

Born Sunday, 31 May 2015 at 6:04 a.m.

Congratulations to parents Jennifer (elmowrites) and Jon and big brother Sebastian!

The following photo is the prompt. Does it tell you a story? Tell me in a hundred words or less.

PHOTO PROMPT – © C. Hase

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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 100

SEA CHANGE

“You’ve changed,” said Dwight.

“You haven’t,” said Elise.

“Where’s the sweet girl I married?”

“Don’t you mean chained, bullied and nearly drowned?” She hefted the last of her suitcases into the car.

“What about the children?”

“They’re adults.”

“What will you do?”

***

Thousands of miles from Iowa, Elise reeled under the impact of the relentless waves that crashed into the rocks along the shore. She peeled off her wet garments and dove into the swell. Water rushed over her naked body, flooding her with a new sense of freedom. She surfaced and inhaled the salt-laden air.

“I will swim!”

29 May 2015

Published May 27, 2015 by rochellewisoff

The following photo is the PHOTO PROMPT. What does it say to you? I dare you to look beyond the subject. I double dare you!

PHOTO PROMPT © Douglas M. MacIlroy

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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 100

HAFIZ WAS RIGHT

“Mommy,” cried Elise, “there’s a monster under my bed and a dragon in my closet.”

“You’re letting your imagination run away with you,” she heard her mother’s voice say. “Relax and close your eyes.”

“I’m afraid.” Like a child Elise pulled the covers over her head, but demons fomented rumors in her head. Her mind was awash in confusion and pain until finally she drifted off into a fitful, sweat-soaked, nightmare-riddled sleep.

When morning came, she rolled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. She stared at her tired reflection and muttered, “I’ve got to find a better job.”

***

FIND A BETTER JOB

Now

That

All your worry

Has proved such an

Unlucrative

Business,

Why

Not

Find a better

Job.

~~HAFIZ

15 May 2015

Published May 13, 2015 by rochellewisoff

The next picture is the PHOTO PROMPT. Does it speak to you? Tell us a story in a hundred words or less.

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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 100

EISENHOWER’S LAMENT

I was born seven years after the Nuremberg trials ended and in our household the subject of the Third Reich remained an open wound.

“Never forget what ‘they’ did to ‘us,’” intoned my mother.

Even now, whenever I see barbed wire, I’m haunted by visions of hollow stares and sunken faces.

Yet, there are those who try to reinvent history and their students swallow the lies like oysters on the half shell.

“Did the Holocaust really happen?” asks my young coworker.

“Tell me, Tanisha.” I gaze into her eyes and tap her bronze hands. “Did slavery in America really happen?”

Epilogue – Click Here

8 May 2015

Published May 6, 2015 by rochellewisoff

The next photo is the PHOTO PROMPT. It’s an oldie but a goodie. To a handful of you it will be familiar.

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A couple of weeks ago I wrote an unstory that I titled THE ULTIMATE COP OUT, this week I’m simply copping out by posting a rerun. With proofing, illustrating and a second novel coming out on the heels of the first, life is a busy proposition. (And there’s the full time job thing.) For most of you this is a new prompt. For those who have written a story for it, feel free to share it or write another, or take a week’s vacation. 😉

The following story is one of my husband Jan’s favorite of my flash fictions. I originally posted this on July 25,2012 when Madison Woods was still leading the pack. Since then our numbers have nearly tripled.

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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 97

SNARL

“Nice doggie,” whispered Jolie.

Huddled against the fence she faced a mouthful of Pit Bull teeth. Which would be worse—the whipping she’d get for losing Grandma’s ring or to be eaten alive by a junkyard dog?

A few inches from the behemoth’s haunch, moonlight glinted off the sapphire. With her eyes fixed on his, she slid her hand toward the ring, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

But he snapped to his feet with a roaring bark and lunged.

Her heart thrashed against her ribs.

In one ferocious bite the Copperhead skulking toward her met a grisly fate.

ORIGINAL POST

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.Available from W&B Publishers