Friday Fictioneers!

Every week Rochelle posts a pic and encourages everyone to write a 100 word story based on it. The photo prompt for this week is:

Photo Credit: Claire Fuller

Obsession!

Emma’s love for him was more of an obsession in which he felt trapped. Every time he tried to leave, she cajoled him into staying.  Her overly possessive behavior strained their relationship further.

At last, he decided to confront her. She was in the basement giving the finishing touches to the sculpture she called the symbol of their love. He never admired it as art wasn’t his forte.

Soon things spiraled out of control and in a fit of rage; she hit him with the sculpture. He bled to death and she smiled thinking there’d never be any disagreements now.

Weekly Writing Challenge!

Photo Credit: Cheri Lucas

The Wait!

Vivian was a free spirit. Full of spark and vivacity, it never was difficult for her to attract attention. Especially from men. With the sensuous curves in her body to the irresistible wit and humor, she possessed a striking concoction of looks and brains. Although a ballet teacher by choice, she had her hands in too many baskets. An artist par excellence, she owned an art gallery featuring some of the local talents. In her spare time, she contributed literary articles to the local library and gave guest lectures at her alma mater. However, it was her passion for green and safe environment that occupied most of her time, researching ways to minimalize damage to the planet.

The only shortcoming, if any, was that she treated men like toys, having issues trusting them. Her relationships never lasted more than 3 months, none of them reaching beyond the hand shake. Anyone who’d show even an iota of interest in her, she’d distance them completely by behaving acrimoniously. Maybe it was her mother because of whom she lost faith in men. In her early years, her father was mostly absent from their life because of work which took him all around the world. And when he did eventually settle down, he chose a separate family, abandoning them. This didn’t dampen her mother’s spirit and she opened up with someone again only to be fooled and heartbroken. After four failed marriages and alcohol addiction, she stopped looking for love to make her complete. And age only made her more cynical. The void left in her mother’s life significantly impacted hers. Her mother’s pain scarred Vivian for life and became the reason she abhorred men.

Until about a few months ago she would’ve vouched for her loathing but something was changing her heart now. Rather someone. Edward came into her life as a breath of fresh air, turning it upside down. In her company, she was just herself with no pretensions whatsoever. She was beginning to see that there are men who care and love with the same intensity like her or even more.

But before she succumbed to the heart’s desire she knew exactly what to do. She was sure in her head that it was only a matter of time before Edward left her so felt responsible to protect her heart from the agony. She met him at their favorite coffee shop and shocked him with her decision to end their relationship.

Edward tried to reason with her but in vain. He realized that instead of fighting for her to stay, letting her go to find her own happiness was the best thing he could do for her. As they walked outside on the cobblestone stairs, Edward hugged her one last time.

She walked straight towards the tram, never looking back. Edward knew he was ready to wait as long as it takes to change her mind. He was here to stay.

 

 

* Written for the Weekly Writing Challenge.

Trifecta Challenge: Mouth!

The word prompt for this week’s Trifecta Challenge is:

MOUTH

3: something that resembles a mouth especially in affording entrance or exit: as

a : the place where a stream enters a larger body of water

b : the surface opening of an underground cavity

c : the opening of a container

d : an opening in the side of an organ flue pipe

Please remember:

• Your response must be between 33 and 333 words.
• You must use the 3rd definition of the given word in your post.
• The word itself needs to be included in your response.
• You may not use a variation of the word; it needs to be exactly as stated above.
• Only one entry per writer.
• Trifecta is open to everyone.  Please join us.

Here’s mine:

The First Encounter!

(224 Words)

Zara always had a backup plan. Her life was all about the successful execution of her plans. If one thing didn’t work out she had something else to fall back upon. But what she never prepared herself for was heartbreak. The man she loved dearly left her insisting it was just a fling. While it had been three months since, she still yearned for him. Every vein in her body ached for his touch.

And although personally she was a wreck, professionally she maintained her poise. The agony behind her kohl smudged eyes was only hers to bear.

She had become an expert at masking her emotions at work. Her presentation today was a testimony that there’s nothing she can’t accomplish professionally.  She stunned everyone, especially the new Director who was completely smitten by her. Sneaking his hand into the mouth of the cookie jar on the conference table and devouring the chocolate chip cookie, he glanced at her almost choking on the last bite. He noticed a void in her eyes and felt a deep burning desire to know everything about her.

“Sheer brilliance” is all he said, shaking their hands. She smiled, unperturbed and walked past him leaving the whiff of her fragrance in the air.

This may not be a bad place to settle down after all. He thought and smiled.

Picture It & Write!

Every week Ermiliablog host a photograph suggested by contributors and urge people to join in, comment with their paragraph of fiction to accompany the image.

Here’s my story:

The Dance!

“Come close.” His husky voice greeted me as I walked up to him. His touch sent a thousand volts current rushing through my body making me numb. Holding me close, he ran his finger down my bare back, stopping right in the middle. Sliding his warm hand inside my dress, he whispered into my ears “Let’s dance.”

My discontent would’ve been pretty obvious as he stood there with a smirk on his face. He was such a tease and he knew that. I succumbed. The spot light turned on with the snap of his finger blinding me completely. Holding my hand tightly, he drew me close to him. In my mind, I was muttering one left and two rights, turn around and slide. The spot light followed us as we moved. His impeccable dance style always stumped me. Barely fifteen minutes into the routine, I was gasping for air. He walked away into the darkness only to return with a bottle of water. Lifting my chin up, he started pouring water into my open mouth. Most of it made me wet instead of quenching my thirst. Racing his finger down from my lips to the chest, he flicked off a drop of trickling water and whispered, almost biting my ear off “Give me the best you have. Let’s begin from the start.”

He threw me up in the air and I let go of inhibition. In that moment, I danced. The dance I never did before. He twirled me and off I went. I felt exhilarated. By the time, the music stopped I was in his strong arms, parallel to the floor. Slowly putting me down, our lips touched and we kissed. Our first kiss. I knew then I wanted more. I wanted all of him.

I was relishing this moment when I heard a thud.

**************************

It’s the thud that woke me up. My heart was pounding and hands sweating. This was the third night in a row I dreamt about him. My dance instructor. I turned around only to find my husband snoring oblivious to my presence.

Just then my phone buzzed. “We need to talk.” His message ruffled up my mind with a downpour of thoughts.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Love!

Love is the theme for the Weekly Photo Challenge and here’s my interpretation:

There’s nothing more pure, soothing, unconditional, delightful, beautiful, magical, and surreal than a mother’s love. And you realize it more only when you become one. It’s a bond for lifetime and not a day, week, month or year.

“A mother’s love is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, it never fails or falters, even though the heart is breaking.”  – Helen Rice

Trifextra Challenge: Personification!

This weekend’s Trifextra Challenge is to give a 33-word example of personification, which is the practice of attaching human traits and characteristics with inanimate objects, phenomena and animals (http://literary-devices.com). It’s when the wind howls, the car door grunts, and the front porch shrugs its shoulders under the weight of its own history.

Here’s my personification:

The Last Kiss!

The lightning flashed wickedly as the thunderous clouds devoured the moon.

Betrayed by the tempestuous weather, they kissed one last time.

The ocean waves lashed out at their boat and gobbled them down.

 

* Pic is from the net.

Friday Fictioneers!

Every week Rochelle posts a pic and encourages everyone to write a 100 word story based on it. The photo prompt for this week is:

Photo Credit – Renee Homan Heath

Here’s my story:

Just Another Day!

I was sitting on the beach, brooding, when I first saw her, pirouetting on the sand impeccably. Brimming with mirth, her face exuded exceptional radiance. Watching her play with the waves somehow helped me in accepting this new phase.

My life ended abruptly because of an accident, landing me here. In heaven. And finally my soul has found its match which I never did when alive. I feel liberated and elated.

Now swinging on the moon, juggling the stars, dancing on the waves, flying in the air, throwing cloud balls at each other is like just another day. In paradise.

Trifecta Challenge: Bitch!

The word prompt for this week’s Trifecta Challenge is:

BITCH (noun)

3: something that is extremely difficult, objectionable, or unpleasant

Please remember:

• Your response must be between 33 and 333 words.
• You must use the 3rd definition of the given word in your post.
• The word itself needs to be included in your response.
• You may not use a variation of the word; it needs to be exactly as stated above.
• Only one entry per writer.
• Trifecta is open to everyone.  Please join us.

Here’s mine:

Six Months!

(175 words)

It’s been exactly 6 months since I last did it which is startling considering the frequency being almost daily earlier. I’ve been happily married for 3 years with little to no room for regrets. In fact, we welcomed a baby in our lives 6 months back. Possibly the reason it got pushed further down in the list of priorities.

Or maybe it’s the exhaustion. Free time, if any, equates to idling on the couch bingeing while him staring at me. Although he’s quiet I can sense him saying “Why not now? You disappoint me.”

So in a spur of a moment I decide to shake things up a little. I quickly freshen up, turn the music on to set the mood and walk straight on to him.

The first 2 minutes feel like eternity.

Awkward.

My heart’s beating faster and my legs totally jammed.

“#$%^#&*@&#.” I groan barely 15 minutes on him. My elliptical.

It’s going to be a bitch to get back in form, I realize. After all six months is a long time.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Beyond!

The Photo Challenge this week is looking for the interpretation of “Beyond”. Few years back we visited the Bryce National Park in Utah. With no preconceived notion about the park, we were pleasantly surprised to see the bright orange, red and white rock formations in all its glory. Needless to say, it was way beyond our expectations! :-) Here are a few pics:-

 

Picture It & Write!

Every week Ermiliablog host a photograph suggested by contributors and urge people to join in, comment with their paragraph of fiction to accompany the image. And every time I’ve written it so happened to turn into a fictional story. But for some reason this pic glared at me differently.

Maimed by our own inadequacies in life, we see the world through a chandelier. It is almost pertinent for our existence to be able to see the glitz and shimmer reflected back upon us. Just as an assurance that everything is the way it should be. Sheer perfection. Like a Picasso painting on a canvas, hanging on the wall. Often times, leads us to live in a make-belief world.

There is a lot of pain in the world. Just because we tend to look the other way, doesn’t mean its non-existence. The truth is sometimes we are so blinded by our pseudo living, we fail to see the stark reality. They say we are defined by our actions. By our choices. By our words. By our thoughts. And yet we speak with such callousness. We act full of animosity and malice. We behave unceremoniously. We commit heinous crimes.

And we judge. Yes, we judge without knowing.

I wrote these few lines from the point of view of a rape victim. The aftermath of a rape. The thoughts that run into a vulnerable mind when she hears stories of how she must have instigated it. How she is silenced to not speak about it to protect herself. It’s a women’s prerogative to walk freely just like a man and yet she can’t. It saddens me that already a rape victim has been through so much and still doesn’t end and comes along the mudslinging and fingers pointing towards her direction for being not civilized enough or not dressed properly or behaved inappropriately which led to her being raped. Such a morbid world.

I may have done no justice to her voice but I hope and pray that we see a new dawn soon when they’d be given the respect they deserve and not be defined by something that wasn’t their fault.

 Break-free!

I was naked

Pleading for mercy

I was tamed

It was brutal

I lost myself

He regaled himself

But that doesn’t define me

Or confine my soul

I was untainted

And will always be

It wasn’t my fault

Still suffering is mine

What can I explain to the world

What’s taken from me

You don’t care much

I don’t tell to relive

I exist

Entangled in the web of lies

They say it’s the right thing

To hide my emotions

To mask my being

Prove to me

Yet again

There’s a world

That looks out for me

Ask me

My choice

All I want

Is to

Break free