Reposted for Fandango’s Friday Flashback – 21 August

Smooth pebbles litter the beach and stepping through them, I stumble

Laughing, I push windswept hair out of my eyes looking ahead, for my beloved

6ft, fit and carefree, he clambers, crawls and skips over stones and puddles

As I fall, I cry out; when I look up he is by my side, hand outstretched

The devotion and concern in his face renews my confidence in him

And as he lifts me to my feet, we gently kiss and he leads me carefully

Away from the pebbled and precarious ground, to the beach sand and safety

This is my submission for Friday Fictioneers.  Photo credit to © Janet Webb . And thanks to Rochelle Wisoff-Fields who kindly supports Friday Fictioneers through her website.

The idea is to fashion a story that has a beginning, middle, and end and within 100 words.

Summer heat; 40⁰C and bodies melting!

Toiling all day; no lunch and only the water bottles we each carried

Mother was ill and downtown seeing the doc

Younger kids chasing sheep and jumping in bales, trying to keep out of the way

Lots to do in the bush, for kids, and for us adults

Digging holes for new posts; ground like concrete after a long and dry season

Replacing old fencing, a necessary evil; now metal posts and not wood

“Kids, stay away from the wire!” They won’t be told!

Screams as the smallest falls and is caught up in the barbs

* * *

Muddy waters, what do they hide
Currents flowing, boat traffic, stirring the water
Car carcasses, a child’s bike, household detritus; bodies

Muddy waters, obscuring the truth
Bottom feeders, sludge and slime, parasites
Stories lost, identities stolen, dreams afloat

Muddy waters, muddled, befuddled
Living longer, living lonely, expectations
Age advancing, deterioration accelerating, death at hand

Muddy waters, clearing slowly
Light upon us, eyes wide open, hands reaching
Hands held, sweet kisses, comfort given

Muddy Waters, music sublime
Guitars twanging, blues in rhythm, stories shared
Mississippi rolling, swampy puddles, dreams realised

Muddy no more, long way to go
Hopes and dreams, highs and lows, love and friendship
Sun through the trees and hearts singing

* * *

This is a Friday Fictioneers 100-word (or so) short story based on the above picture provided by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields