When all else fails and you can't come up with a topic for a blog post, take a picture and use it as a writing prompt.
She squinted at the square sign down on
the flats, visible in spite of the fog. It appeared a few days ago, and again she reminded herself to march down and yank it
out. That was next on the list. For now she had to figure out the electric
bill. Three months overdue. A hundred and twenty-nine dollars owed by Wednesday, or lights out. Sixty dollars left in the bank. Good thing Will
was down at the docks scouting out work, or he’d see the fear in her eyes. With the fog, it was a fine day for him to
network with the boat captains. They all knew him as an able kid. Someone might pick him up as an extra hand during a short run, or pay him by the piece to paint buoys or mend traps. If he could come up with a few dollars a
week, they’d make it work.
It was spring. Plenty
of kerosene in the shed. She'd fire
up the old hurricane lamps. The stove
was gas, thank God. Still, she’d cook as
much as possible using driftwood on an outdoor fire. As for laundry, well, cold water washes in the set-tub. She preferred the smell of clean clothes
hung on the line anyway. They’d be okay. After all, the house was perched on the
flats. A bounty of shellfish there for
the digging. Sautéed mussels. Clams in
everything. Chowders, cakes, Casino,
stuffed clams, razor clam stew. She’d
mix things up. Make a game of it with
Will. See who could dig the biggest mollusk,
or find prettiest shell. She could flavor things up with
onion, maybe a potato or two.
Sick of the topic, she slammed the electric bill down on the
table and headed down the path toward the sign. Election season. What a pain. Folks in town
planting their trash-talking slogans. On the marsh for God’s sake. Who would bother to put one there?
Rounding the curve to where the reeds opened up, she
paused, close enough now to see the message. “Red Tide Warning. Shellfish harvested from this bed may be toxic. No shell-fishing allowed.”
9 comments:
oh dear, that's not good. Now what are they going to do?
Great voice, btw.
NO!!! You can't end it like this!!
:-(
Oh dear!!! But what a fab story! Thank you!!! But but but! You seriously cannot end it like this! LOL!!!!
Take care
x
Great flash fiction! Very engaging with a twist at the end.
That's so sad! What will they do?
Well, that was a kick in the gut.
You could take this and run with it as a story. It is excellent Liza.
I do love that photo! We have red tide here, too. In the hot, late summer, usually.
I think I've had days like that though not so close to losing power. Sad and desperate.
Yikes! Please tell me this isn't their end.
Deb@ http://debioneille.blogspot.com
oh the irony.
great piece!
and thanks for the comments on my cover reveal!
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