FLASH FICTION TUESDAY: A Life Well Loved

fall bench.jpg

 

Now on Tuesdays…at least for the foreseeable future…welcome to Flash Fiction Tuesday. In case you don’t know what flash fiction is, it is an extremely short story (sometimes created in 100 words or less) with a beginning, middle, and an ending.
But in my case, I write flash fiction with an open ending. I allow my readers to draw their own conclusion as to what happens next to the characters of each story. This week we travel back in review of a life well loved…

 

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She could still feel him in the air. Sitting next to her on that worn out seat. She could almost smell the sweet tobacco of his pipe. How many years had they sat on that bench…holding hands, sharing a kiss, remembering the day he asked her to be his? The bench was new then with a fresh coat of paint and nestled among the old oak trees in the corner of the back yard of a house they could finally call their own. Oh how they had to scrimp and save those beginning years. They would plan their future on that bench and it was there they figured out how to stretch those pennies to feed another mouth.

She drew her shawl across thin shoulders and smoothed the gnarled seat with a hand much the same. So many plans, so many dreams over the years and so many secrets that bench was privy to. Like the day she almost lost him to another. She raced to the bench and let the tears soak into the wood. How could she have missed the signs? Oh how she hated those dark nights where voices raised in anger and tears fell like rain. But somehow they made it through and their bond became stronger as they sat on that bench and watched their children grow.

Fifty years was a long time to share with that bench. They even talked about replacing it once, but decided it would be like losing a member of the family. And so they sat and grew old together. Until one day they carried him away in the rain and her cries echoed through the home they had built together. Now she sat on that bench just to catch a whiff of his pipe, to feel his spirit sitting next to her. In those last months he kept reminding her that death is just another part of living. She remembered him telling her just like that old bench, their love had followed the seasons and soon it would be time for another bench…and other lives…to take their place and dream the dreams to come.

To honor him, she sat on that bench and drank in the memories of a life well lived and a love shared with another. He would wait for her, somewhere in the beyond, but these days it’s just her and that bench. And for now, that’s enough.

 

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What happens next? Share your imagination with others by leaving a comment below!

 

donna

 

International best selling, award winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection. Donna’s latest book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound (a YA fantasy) is scheduled to be released in ebook edition by June 2018 from Story Catcher Publishing, with the print edition coming out by Spring 2019.

Donna L

Hybrid award winning author; aspiring sketch artist; and 4th Degree Senior Certified Taekwondo Instructor. Host of BOOK NOOK REVIEWS. Member of SCBWI. Mom to fabulous son and adventurer delving into the tricky world of indie-publishing.

4 thoughts on “FLASH FICTION TUESDAY: A Life Well Loved

  • June 5, 2018 at 4:28 pm
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    Over the years, she sat with family members and shared bits of wisdom. Then her friends asked to sit with her to hear her stories. Sometimes they laughed together, sometimes they cried together. Then one autumn afternoon, she sat alone and wondered who else would cherish the old bench or would anyone care to? Then a hand reached for hers. Looking up, she saw her beloved husband smiling at her. She felt ready for a long walk so together, hand in hand, they left the bench behind for another couple to dream their future on.

    Reply
    • June 5, 2018 at 4:51 pm
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      That’s a pretty good ending, Janet, and I didn’t expect the return of her beloved husband.

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Reply
  • June 5, 2018 at 5:29 pm
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    Donna, this is a nice story. I think it ends well the way it is. If you want it to go on the story could be about passing the bench and traditions on to the next generation. Perhaps she and a child or grandchild spend time refurbishing the bench before she/it moves on.

    Reply

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