August

The Last Train

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 4 Comments

I stand on the platform ending my time in Dublin. It hadn’t happened in a flash or on a whim, rather it crawled on hands and knees, innocent and unassuming. A thought, whisper soft but stronger than Hector’s winds, blew our lives apart leaving you devastated.  Hector showed me the crossroads my heart told me I would find. My eyes opened, I saw how the path changed me.  I could not return to the place we met. Hector set me free.

You felt the change and the void in the storm’s aftermath. I recognized the pain you tried to hide. It burned, a fire deep inside that consumed the tender memories of you and me. The storm will pass, and years will turn raging flames to smoldering embers then cold gray ash. Then you will remember your sweet baby and the promise she kept.

The deserted streets mark the time, time for one last drink, the final goodbye. My heart tells me I am never coming home to Dublin. The train whistle sings a long lonely note signaling the beginning and the end. The last train drives me forward, on the only path that can make it right.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Precious Things — Friday Fictioneers

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 14 Comments

Title:  Precious Things
Source:  Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words

PHOTO PROMPT © Sandra Crook

Anna and Pops walked the property line surveying the new pressure treated fence. She didn’t care about the fence until the neighbor called complaining about Pops’ cows in his field. Pops refused to do anything more than patch it, but the cows pushed through his feeble fixes. Tired of the drama Anna coughed up the cash to replace it ending the drama. Pops was proud of his new fence and the neighbor’s field was cow free.

“So, Pops, when are you getting rid of this pile?” she asked.

“Why would I get rid of this? I might need it someday.”

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Lesson One — FFfPP Week 31

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

Title: Lesson One
Source: FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER- 2018 WEEK #28
Word count: 170 words

MorgueFile May 2018 1382470355ix82z

Marissa watched the car back down the driveway and listened to the garage door close. Why couldn’t they hurry? In the street, the car stopped, and Marissa wanted to scream. Finally, the car moved forward. When it turned the corner, she slid from the window seat to the floor, tossing cushions as she moved. Hinges creaked as she lifted the seat pushing aside blankets. She tripped the concealed lever that opened the secret compartment.

Marissa grabbed the leather ties and pulled the package from its hiding place. She sat cross-legged and placed the package in her lap. It only took a moment to unwrap the soft kid leather protecting her precious book. Marissa caressed the cover and marveled at the embossed details.

She opened the cover to the marked page. She needed something simple to begin. A storm should work. Marissa turned pages until she found one. She touched the pendant on the necklace she wore and read the words aloud. Outside the window, dark clouds rolled across the sky.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Beach Rental — 100WW Week 82

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 2 Comments

Title:  Beach Rental
Source:  100 Word Wednesday: Week 82
Word count: 100 words

Image by Bikurgurl

The listing promised the rental was “minutes from the beach”. While the beach looked close, it was an arduous twenty-minute trek down a rickety set of wooden stairs, barely wide enough for one person. They clung to what the natives called a hill. I called it a poison ivy covered cliff. The bottom of the stairs dumped me on a sand path that snaked through tall razor-sharp grasses. Hot, sweaty and tired, my skin slashed from the grass, I arrived at the beach. The beach itself was nicer than I expected. But when the sun set I called an Uber.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Fleeting Moments — FFfAW Challenge

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 6 Comments

Title:  Fleeting Moments
Source: Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers
Word count:    140 words

This week’s photo prompt is provided by Yinglan. Thank you Yinglan!

Seo-Yun was born in a tiny village. The little girl with big dreams soon outgrew her home. They were no match for her rising star, so she left them for the big city that “discovered” her.

Famous, her fans followed her everywhere. Bathed in limelight, she capitalized on every opportunity to increase her popularity and her bank account. She staged and televised her life, from shoe shopping to lunch with friends. Her fans dictated every moment of her life.

Her sister called, telling her of mama’s illness. Seo-Yun raced to be by her side and her entourage raced with her. Umma was a simple woman, a private woman. When Seo-Yun arrived at the hospital, Umma refused to let her daughter’s fans see her. She pleaded, but Umma remained firm. Her daughter didn’t understand her mother’s resistance, and the moment passed.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer