Wednesday, May 13, 2015

I'm back!

For Friday Fictioneers

I’m back from my whistle-stop trip around Turkey, tired yet exhilarated and dying to get back to writing and reading. 

Here are 88 words to get the 'ole juices flowing again!



Photo Credit: Marie Gail Stratford 

A single red rose

They appeared to be the perfect couple, but all was not what it seemed. Their neighbours hadn't seen her for a while but that was not unusual as she often went to stay with her mother.

He was walking with their dog across the sun-scorched field when it suddenly stopped, lay down beside the silo and whimpered.

He snapped on its lead, tugged it to its feet then threw a single red rose at the silo's base.

God forgive me he muttered as he turned and walked away.

35 comments:

  1. 'Til death do us part.
    I think the dog is next.
    Good piece.

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  2. He sounds a nasty piece of work. I hope the dog bit him.
    Rosey Pinkerton

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  3. Run, doggie, run... people like that don't deserve a dog. Great story.
    --Gah Learner

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  4. Nope, don't think God will forgive him!

    Hope you had a good trip.

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  5. Silos are creepy enough. Now I'll wonder about bodies buried around them.

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  6. A god fearing, remorseful murderer with a good taste in flowers and a responsible dog owner. Humans are complex. Nicely done.

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  7. macabre!!! but then we only know part of the story, other part could be even more horrifying

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  8. I love how you describe the dog's reaction.

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  9. Welcome back; sounds like a great trip!

    Such a sad story! I feel for the dog!

    betty

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  10. Sinister! Poor dog. Thanks for the shout out for this, I've had a go myself.

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  11. Creepy, they say an animal always knows.

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  12. Oh yes.. It seems he regret it though.. I guess he will admit it soon.

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  13. Welcome back! I thought of you while sitting at a write-in with a local friend Tuesday night and couldn't seem to focus on anything. You are an inspiration. Nice vignette, too, reminding me of some of the horrific true murder exposes I've been watching on the ID channel here in the United States. ~shudder~ Happy writing!

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  14. You better not be mean to that dog!

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  15. Welcome back. I hope we'll get some Turkish photos soon for our FF prompts. Grammar picky picky - should be "lay down" and "it," to me, implies an inanimate object. This reader would prefer a gender-specific pronoun.

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    1. I was interested in your comments particularly as I'm something of a grammar freak! You got me thinking so I grabbed my best friend the Oxford English Dictionary from the shelf and referred to page 1808 where it states that laid is the past tense of lay when it refers to the act of laying an object down. Lay is indeed the simple past tense when used to describe reclining. Therefore I put up my hands and reluctantly agree with your comment, unless of course I stick to 'it' in which the dog is an inanimate object! I agonised over whether or not to be gender specific with the dog, but using 'him' of 'her' meant that it was unclear as to whether I was talking about the man, the woman or the dog! As for the photos, I'm currently sorting though over 800 of them! I will of course be posting an illustrated travel blog which will add o the collection I already feature in my side bar. I've just worked out that my reply has more the double the number of words that I used in my tale!

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    2. The transitive / intransitive throws me every time. I consider myself fortunate to have caught my own three "z's" in fuzzy before your second visit. ;)

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    3. Oh what shame! I've more than met my match with you.

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  16. Keith,
    Your story gains momentum at the end despite the slow start. Creepy stuff. I'm guessing that dog is going to be its owner's demise.

    All my best,
    MG

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  17. It was thoughtful of him to bring a rose. At least the dog didn't hike its leg. Sooner or later someone will catch on. You can trust those dog to keep their mouth shut.

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  18. Critters always know our secrets. Well written, albeit creepy tale.

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    1. They certainly do! Thanks so much for commenting.

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  19. Wow! A dark story -- that rose became a pretty heavy symbol. And that dog ... I loved that dog. The man can go, though! Great story-telling.

    Vijaya (sorry, it doesn't let me choose my wordpress account here --I'm at http://vijayasundaram.com

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    1. Thanks so much. I'll be dropping by your place next opportunity.

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  20. poor puppy.....very eerie short story!

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  21. Intriguing character. Your little clue as to the real state of play when she was alive has me wondering how it all happened.

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  22. Ooohhh... Dogs just know, don't they?

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  23. Dear Keith,

    He's figured it all out, hasn't he. Perfect alibi...until they find her. Sounds like a cold case to me.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

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  24. OMG! What a creep!! A chilling story beautifully executed :)

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