Red Herring

 

 

“Stay with the school for your own safety”, Martha had warned.

“Martha’s a coward”, I had talked behind her back.  Today I’m dying for that one sin…two if you count trusting that Orange-faced clown as a sin.

He seemed innocuous from a distance – a prankster.

“Want to smell my breath? It’s the freshest in the whole wide sea. There is no breath that is freshest than mine. Come closer and you can see for yourself.  My fins may be small but my breath is amazingly fresh. Everyone likes it bigly”, he had said.

The rest is unfortunately history.

–end–

Note: Orange-faced clown is probably not going to be happy with me using this picture showing his double-chin 🙂

Stay together Herrings and maybe we can live through this !

PHOTO PROMPT © Lucy Fridkin

Above image maybe copyrighted to Reef builders Inc.

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The date

“We should meet”, she says to her long-time phone date.

“I’m ugly.”, he says

” Beauty is skin deep”, she says already in love with his silky voice and generous heart.

“Even children run away  from me”, a sad laugh.

“Because they don’t know to look someone in the eyes, see deep into the soul where true beauty lies”, she says.

Sitting across him at the cafe she struggles to look him in the eye. It would have helped if the other eye wasn’t where the ear should be, she thinks.

Beauty ,unfortunately, matters.

—end—

PHOTO PROMPT © Douglas M. MacIlroy

This 93 word story was written for a 100 word photo challenge. Details can be found at:

https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2016/06/08/10-june-2016/

Other takes on the prompt :

Across the aisle

“Approach the bench counselors”.

Sufficiently chastened to watch their words, the lawyers resume their arguments on the cost of infidelity.

Joe’s sniffles waft across the aisle.

Joe hadn’t wanted a divorce when I found out about his affair. Couldn’t I forgive him?

“Infidelity is not a crime! It’s fundamental human nature to be poly-amorous…”, Joe had been  persuasive.

“My client, Joe, is heart-broken since he found his wife of 25 years in flagrante delicto with his friend. He seeks divorce and needs to be compensated for his emotional distress…” his lawyer droned.

Heart-broken huh? You shouldn’t have been so damn persuasive Joe!

—end—

This 100 word story  was written for the 100 word photo challenge. More details about this challenge can be found at:

https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2016/05/18/20-may-2016/

PHOTO PROMPT © J Hardy Carroll

Click on the Froggy below for other amazing takes on the same prompt by fellow “Friday Fictioneers.”

 

Of tongues and barbs

“ha ha . In your house ‘Shakti’ is dominant eh!?  The lady wears the pant eh! In my house ‘Shiva’ is  dominant! “, our male guest puffed up his chest.

My husband turned beet-red. The ‘pin-drop’ silence that followed –  a loud presence in my life.

That day I discovered a sub-species of the human male ,with dominant ‘obnoxious moron’ genes, who get emasculated whenever a woman displays intelligence. And another sub-species of intelligent-human-males who care about what such moron-sub-species-males thinks about them.

“If you love me… don’t say anything intelligent in front of guests”, my husband begged.

So I write.

— end—

Note:  I try  not to talk more intelligently than such moron-sub-species-male whenever I encounter them but it’s such a challenge that I give up after a while. I’m not being vain …it doesn’t take much to be more intelligent than such folks 🙂

Shakti – Feminine energy; Shiva – Masculine energy

This 99 word piece based on true life events was written for the 100 word photo challenge. More details about this challenge can be found at:  https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2016/04/20/22-april-2016/

PHOTO PROMPT © Madison Woods

Click on the Froggy below for other amazing takes on the same prompt by fellow “Friday Fictioneers.”

Ruins

 

Dear husband,

Would you let our garden go to weed because your distant cousin doesn’t love roses?

Would you let the paint chip and peel because the street vendor doesn’t like the colour?

Would you erect high walls blocking light because a thief robbed someone a continent away?

Would you let that bitch-in-heat sniffing  fire hydrants take a dump in our marital bed?

No, you wouldn’t let anyone ruin our house. Our house – it’s a beautiful thing.

Can you treat our marriage the same way? Our marriage – it’s a beautiful thing too.

Love,

Wife.

— end —

This less than 100 word letter was written for the 100 word photo challenge. More details about this challenge can be found at: https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2016/04/06/8-april-2016/

PHOTO PROMPT © J Hardy Carroll

Click on the Froggy below for other amazing takes on the same prompt by fellow “Friday Fictioneers.”

 

 

From Armour to Amorous

 

Borekowski’s patronizing voice always pissed Carla off .

She deliberately delayed his reports sending it through inter-office mail ignoring  requests that she come in person to hand it in.  She had never met Borekowski face-to-face and she was going to keep it that way.

“If I lay ever eyes on  Borekowski  I’m going to drag that old geezer to the 55th floor and arrange a date for him with gravity”, she fumed.

One day she laid eyes on Borekowski working out in  the office gym in his ‘UnderArmour’.  She dragged him to the 55th floor of the Marriott next door.

— end —

This exactly 99 word story was written for the 100 word photo challenge. More details about this challenge can be found at: https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2016/03/30/1-april-2016/

PHOTO PROMPT © Marie Gail Stratford

Click on the Froggy below for other amazing takes on the same prompt by fellow “Friday Fictioneers.”

 

 

 

Growing rich with grace

Shanti came from a humble background. Grew up on the border of being poor and middle-class.

Life got better with each passing year and decades later she was on the border of being middle-class and moneyed-class.

On her retirement day she hit the jackpot on the lottery and found herself smack in the middle of the moneyed-class.

You can spot her easily. She’s the one in backyard summer parties sweating under the folds of her garish silk dress and a network of gold jewellery wrapped around her neck when all around her lounge in plaid cotton and laugh at her.

— end —

This exactly 100 word story was written for the 100 word photo challenge. More details about this challenge can be found at: https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2016/03/23/25-march-2016/

PHOTO PROMPT – © Ted Strutz

Click on the Froggy below for other amazing takes on the same prompt by fellow “Friday Fictioneers.”

Born in captivity

 

 

“Why should we dance to Rob’s tune mama? ”

“Look around you child. Do you see food?  Rob brings us food.  Protects us from those sharks outside. In turn  he wants us to dance , the way he taught us, whenever he commands. We need to be grateful for this life.”

“Mama, I heard that we are meant to live free…”

“What does live ‘free’ mean child? Do you know? I for one sure don’t”

Rob gives a signal and Tilikum slides into the tank with the grace of a ballerina.  Rob throws a dead fish and Tilikum swallows her meal gratefully.

—- end —

This week’s story is inspired by this photo and a news I heard on radio about Sea World ending it’s breeding program for killer whales:

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/seaworld-end-breeding-program-orca-whales-n540646

This exactly 100 word story was written for the 100 word photo challenge. More details about this challenge can be found at: https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2016/03/16/18-march-2016/

PHOTO PROMPT – © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields.

Click on the Froggy below for other amazing takes on the same prompt by fellow “Friday Fictioneers.”

Precious trash

He had shoved her in the dungeon and locked her up in a cage.

Outside he had stationed two burly guards with strict orders to be vigilant.

He came back two days later expecting to see her spirit broken.

“You are a useless piece of trash”, he spits at her still insolent gaze.

She knew she had to cower, feign hurt, slink around the cell apologetic for every breath, if she wanted to be free.

  “How can I feel like trash when I’m guarded like a precious gem”, she chuckled ,choosing true freedom.

—end —

This less than 100 word story was written for the 100 word photo challenge. More details about this challenge can be found at : https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2016/03/09/11-march-2016/

PHOTO PROMPT – © Emmy L Gant

Click on the Froggy below for other amazing takes on the same prompt by fellow “Friday Fictioneers.”

 

Cup-cake soldier

 

“I want a divorce”.

Senator Trumpet lowers the newspaper, appraises his wife Strumpet’s  hour-glass figure. Not too thin. Not too plump. Just the way the American public likes it.

“Why?  Want to go back to the meth-lab where I found you? ” he needles her.

He needs her, when he runs for the “Round office”, to complete his presidential image.

Strumpet isn’t the brightest in the block but she knows one thing…Trumpet for President means disaster. She isn’t  going to let that happen.

She cancels her gym membership. Eats cup-cakes for breakfast,lunch and dinner.  She’s proud to serve her country.

— end —

Disclaimer: All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

This week’s exactly 100 word story was inspired by the upcoming American Presidential election and the Photo prompt provided by Sandra Crook.

More information about this challenge can be found on Rochelle Wisoff-Field’s page:

https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2016/02/17/19-february-2016/

To read more stories on the same prompt, by fellow Friday Fictioneers click the froggy below: