Golden Boot

PHOTO PROMPT © Sarah Potter

Jamal lies on his bed his eyes dart towards the door willing it to open.  The room is sparse, stripped of the valuables over the years but the TV still remains.  Kabul hosts a soccer match tonight and his eyes light up at the thought.

Jamal loved soccer.  Every holiday he would sneak out in the morning to the dust bowl near his home and play.  Until the day they played on another ground and he stepped on the green butterfly.

Today Abba will take him to get a Jaipur leg fitted. The doctors say soccer is a possibility.

**

Written for Friday Fictioneers Word Count : 100.

Afghanistan is one of the most mined countries in the world with estimates of up to 640,000 land mines laid since 1979. More than three decades of conflict have also left the country littered with unexploded ordnance (UXO). As a result, over 23,500 casualties were recorded between 1979 and 2015.

The title of the story Golden boot is a soccer reference of the award given to the top goal scorer.

I wrote this story on the way from from Brisbane to Sydney. Actually finished midway on the Pacific Highway while passing Kempsey.  And not while driving for those who want to know.  A father and his daughter are on this road trip and I trust my driver enough to take my eyes of the road (and speedometer) to write my blog.

Note: Edited to making the setting of the story more obvious.

I still need support for my entry in the Indian Blogger Awards 2017 run by Indiblogger. This is the last week to get votes.  Please vote for me by commenting on my entry page here.

To read the other stories with sole this week click here

Loaf is in the Air

 

PHOTO PROMPT © Kelvin M. Knight

“Bread? You want to write a story about bread?  Are you running out of dough?”

I knew that was coming.  

“It’s for my weekly fiction write.  I don’t knead to give you any explanations.”

“So it’s naan of my business then?”

“Cut the crepe, I asked because I value your opinion.”

“Really? Cos your response was a bit crusty.”

I should have walked away but I was on a roll now.

“We could go on for flours but I need ideas.”

“Deflecting, now that is a bread herring.”

“Use that rye sense of humour of yours and stop loafing around.”

**

Written for Friday Fictioneers Word Count : 100.

I know, I know you are all reading this and going "crumb again?". Some of you probably want to bánh mì from writing again but it was getting really late and I wanted put an entry in, even an half-baked one.

I still need support for my entry in the Indian Blogger Awards 2017 run by Indiblogger. Please vote for me by commenting on my entry page here.

To read the other freshly baked stories this week click here

And if you are still crusty here is a peace offering by Bread

Two Yards of Land

PHOTO PROMPT © Danny Bowman

The Emperor was dying.  Denied even a pen to write he scribbled verses on the wall with a burnt stick.

Bahadur Shah Zafar, descendant of the Mughals, his influence confined to just the Red Fort.  When the mutiny started, the rebels rode to Delhi and declared him the Emperor of Hindustan.

He paid the price for the rebellion when Major Hodson killed his sons and grandsons.  In his eighties he was exiled to a prison in Rangoon.  

“How unfortunate is Zafar! For his burial
Not even two yards of land were to be had, in the land of his beloved.”

**

Written for Friday Fictioneers Word Count : 100.

Submitting a story for Friday Fictioneers on a Friday but I am still late :-) (Because it's best done on a Wednesday).  

Hard to write historical Fiction in 100 words but I hope I was able to give you a feel for the tragic story of India's last Mughal Emperor who died a sad lonely death in exile.   The words written in the end are believed to be Bahadur Shah Zafar’s last verses.  There may be a dispute upon that but popular belief is that these are his words.  Click here for a wonderful translation "My heart is not content in this barren land"

I am still canvassing  support for my entry in the Indian Blogger Awards 2017  run by Indiblogger.  Please vote for me by commenting on my entry page here.  

To read the other stories this week click here

Decay

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bulltot

When she turned twenty one my mother had been a single mother for five years.  In that time she had completed high school diploma, worked two part time jobs and yet managed to look after a child.  

    

She wasn’t looking for a relationship when she met big Jim, the charmer with a booming belly laugh that filled the room.

Ten years later I held a knife to his neck as he once again bashed her repeatedly with a pan.

The thing about violent relationships is they tend to decay, crumble and die, leaving behind ruins of a once happy life.


Written for Friday Fictioneers Word Count : 100.

I was tempted to put in another fractured fairy tale but went a light bit darker instead for this week.  I am still canvassing  support for my entry in the Indian Blogger Awards 2017  run by Indiblogger.  Please vote for me by either liking, tweeting or commenting on my entry page here.  

To read the other stories this week click here