FLASH FICTION TUESDAY: Going Home

 

civil war.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. This week Tipper and Tango go in search of an adventure…

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Mud mixed with blood clung to Rory’s pants and what was left of his boots as he struggled to make his way up the hill. The day had been long and the cries of the wounded were fading away with the sunlight. Some might call him a coward for not dying on the battlefield. Rory wasn’t sure himself why he wasn’t lying in the trenches with his comrades. All he knew was he was done with all the fighting and he was going home.

Going home.

Three years of fighting and Rory almost forgot what home felt like. He was just a kid back then and ran away to enlist before his Pa could say no. He told them he was eighteen so they put a drum in his hands and called him a soldier. Dreams of glory were soon pushed aside by the stark reality of fighting brother against brother. Too much bloodshed over a cause long forgotten when a body just followed orders and tried to stay alive.

Going home.

Rory had almost made it to the top of the hill when he realized he might not recognize his little sister. She was barely thirteen when he joined the fighting and she was all grown up now. If not for this blasted war, she would be making plans for her coming out ball. There would be a flurry of excitement as Adeline wonders which suitor will ask for her first dance. But there would be no dance now. Hell, Rory didn’t even know if his family had survived the war so far. Would Adeline even recognize the gaunt face clothed in moth-eaten rags as her beloved brother returning home? Would Pa welcome him back, knowing he fought for the other side?

Going home.

But today was the breaking point. Until today Rory managed to believe what he was doing was right. Until today he had honor and pride on his side as he fought to right a wrong. Until today he could say he had never held a gun in anger nor taken another’s life. But the horror of watching someone else’s brother die by his hands was too much and the only thing he could think to do is lay down his weapon and go home…
***Okay, it’s your turn! What happens next? Does Rory make it home? Does Adeline recognize her big brother? Does Pa forgive his only son for leaving? Put your creative cap on and add a sentence or add a paragraph. Continue my story or start one of your own. Join the fun and see where this picture prompt takes us!***

 

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lunadar

 

Ruler by day, a reluctant pirate by night, 18-year-old Princess Ariana fights for her subjects in the waterfall city of Lunadar. In a kingdom surrounded by fairies and mermaids, and ravaged by deadly Drundles, only a chosen few are trusted to guard her daughter, Candra, as the secret heir to the throne.

But it only takes one ill-fated meeting for Ariana to suddenly be plunged into an escalating web of secrets found in her father’s journal, a deadly kidnapping, and an ever-weakening resolve to turn her back on the call of the merman’s song.

With Ariana’s world falling apart and the future of Lunadar at stake, how will she bring her father’s murderer to justice and fulfill a deathbed promise to protect Lunadar’s legacy?

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), ebook edition, is now available from Amazon, with the print edition coming October 15, 2018.

 

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.

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