Reflections

PHOTO PROMPT © Nathan Sowers

After she left him Gaz stopped looking at himself in mirrors. He blamed his looks for her infidelity, had he been better looking she would have stayed. In the aftermath of the betrayal the house was shorn of all mirrors.

To distract him I asked him to volunteer at the children’s cancer ward. His kindness and goofy humour won the hearts of the kids. As his confidence soared Gaz reflected that he was better off without someone who could not look beyond his appearance.

But that mirror was needed back, the children had been teasing him about his uncombed look.

***

The mirror tells me it is time for another week of the Friday Fictioneers.

I am going for two submissions this week. The first one can be found here -> Fairy Tales

To read other stories by the Fictioneers this week click here

I'd love read what you think about this post...

Fairy Tales

PHOTO PROMPT © Nathan Sowers 

I recognised that mirror the moment I saw it.  My source was correct, there was treasure to be found in that market.

I disguised my eagerness and even appeared to be doing the dealer a favour by taking it off his hands.  Those goblins would sell their mother for the right price.

I couldn’t wait to get it inside the house, so I hastily unwrapped it and propped it up against the wall.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall do you have any gossip for me at all?”

This mirror was going to make my gossip column number one in Fairyland.

***

The mirror tells me it is time for another week of the Friday Fictioneers.  

I am going for two submissions this week.  The second one can be found here -> Reflections 

To read other stories by the Fictioneers this week click here

I'd love read what you think about this post...

Evening Hymn

PHOTO PROMPT © Carla Bicomong

In the evening, as dusk descends we find ourselves on the banks of the river along with thousands of others.  The air is thick with incense, scented flowers and clanging bells. 

Why am I here?  Just to light a lamp and float it on the river?  Is there any meaning to my action?  These are questions that remain unanswered.

Yet when we chant the evening hymn I feel my troubles dissipate away.

I pay my salutation to the light / lamp

That brings auspiciousness; prosperity, good health,

 An abundance of money and wealth,

And the destruction of the intellect’s enemy.

***

Here we go go again with another round of  Friday Fictioneers.  The floating lamps had me thinking of the floating lamps aarti in the river Ganges and the chanting of the hymn Shubham Karoti Kalyanam.

To read other stories by the Fictioneers this week click here

I'd love read what you think about this post...

Smoke and Mirrors

PHOTO PROMPT © Yvette Prior

I breathe in the stale smell of regret permeating the room.  That and the fumes of alcohol mixed with cigarette smoke.

It wasn’t always like this you know.  Food was a passion and these pots that now lie empty were always in use.  She was not concerned with calorie counting and dieting fads.  And while she laughed off comments made in front of her, the online trolls typing hate online got to her.

Perfect in my eyes but she saw something else in the mirrors.

“Lose 63% more abdominal body fat”

It was not just body fat that she lost.

***

Almost did not make it to this week's Friday Fictioneers.  But I decided to have a go at the very last minute.  Body dysmorphia is real.  So many young people these days are preoccupied with an imagined physical defect or a minor defect that others often cannot see.

To read other stories by the Fictioneers this week click here

I'd love read what you think about this post...

The Festival

Copyright Ronda del Boccio

She is planting seeds in the pot. She struggles yet insists on doing it.  This time she has a young helper whose enthusiasm makes up for his lack of gardening skills. 

The helper brims with questions and she answers them more patiently than I would.

She tells him about the seven types of grains that are sown in a pot ten days prior to the festival.

“A harvest festival? But we are not farmers Grandma”.

“Maybe not child but it reminds us that we are nothing without nature’s bounty”

I join them to sow the seeds that bound us together.

***

Welcome to a green Friday Fictioneers.  When I saw the photograph I was reminded of Harela, a harvest festival from the beautiful region of Kumaon where I come from.  The festival may have it's origin in agricultural communities but it is celebrated in the urban areas too.  An eco-friendly festival long before the word was coined.

To read other green stories by the Fictioneers this week click here

Kindling My Creations

So I decided to use some of my blog entries and put them in an e-book. One I wanted put out an e-book and these post were there to be used. I thought it would be a more convenient way of reading instead of navigating the blog. The first one was Fridays on My Mind, which is a collection of 50 flash fiction stories.

I also converted my A to Z poetry challenge into an e-book that can be found here

A to Z Poems.

The poems are accessible from this blog anyway.

The e-books are free for Kindle Unlimited users.

My Amazon Author page can be accessed by this link.

Spinning a Web

Photo Prompt © Sandra Crook

The thing about the bug house was that it was meant to be an exclusive settlement for us Beneficial Insects.  Us critters ain’t fussy as long as we have got somewhere to bed down and lay our eggs.  That was before she applied for membership. 

Can’t discriminate, said the committee, plus she is a widow.

As if that made a difference, everyone has a sob story these days.  But the committee backed down as the cockroaches representing her threatened to expose our lack of diversity.

We all play a part in the food chain, such is the web she spins.  

***

Welcome to another episode of the Friday Fictioneers.  This week I am aiming for a light-hearted take on the prompt leaving aside the temptation to leave a few bodies behind.

To read other stories by the Fictioneers this week click here



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