Tag: Flash fiction for aspiring writers

Short Stories

Forever 16

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Maria placed the bouquet of lilies by the corner of the bridge that she had turned into a little memorial. Opening the small forget-me-not box she added another note to the growing pile of notes tied in little ribbons.

Each year she did the same thing, but each year neither made the pain easier nor took her guilt away. No day passed without her thought racing a thousand times to Lily.

Today is Lily’s birthday. She would have been 24 but she remains forever 16. Today is the 8th year that her daughter had drowned in the cold river.

Leaning on the brown cobbled wall of the old bridge, Maria allowed her salty tears to flow freely like the breeze that fluttered her hair.

She never ceased to wonder why; why she hadn’t noted that her daughter had needed help; why Lily had chosen to jump into the river.

The guilt that she had failed as a mother sat like an unwieldy boulder in her soul.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

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Thank you, Joy, for the photo and Priceless Joy for hosting this charming platform where we unleash our stories:-)

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Short Stories

The House…

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Out of habit, Miranda, glanced at the vacant house as she walked past.

She was always willing to tell the story of the house and it’s former inhabitants to anyone, of course without missing her highlighted moments of local fame as a witness to a highly publicized grizzly incident.

This is where she grew up and lived all her life. She knew the late Jones’s. Houses in the neighbourhood were close to each other, that everyone knew the other’s business and each wall had an ear listening to it.

She remembered that night when she overheard Jack’s gruff voice as he shouted ‘over my dead body Sue!’

It was nothing new to hear him make such declarations. The Simpsons loved hard, played hard and fought even harder. Their strange shenanigans were noisy enough to give the neighbours a clue.

Tilley, the beautiful Mrs. Jones went missing, her body parts found in different parts of town. The strange thing was that Jack was found with a slit throat and missing ears. The murderer is still at large.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

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Thank you, to Priceless Joy for hosting this charming platform where we unleash our stories and Yinglan for providing an innocent photo that brought out my dark side 😉

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Short Stories

Finding Pleasure Again

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Eyes shaded from the morning sun that made them hurt after a while, Richard allowed his gentle, trained guide to lead him down the footpath for a walk.

His heightened sense of hearing could pick up the various sounds far and near – the Seagulls calling to each other, the crashing sound of the waves hitting the banks, a loud honk from a shipping vessel, the slapping sound of a jogger’s trainers, his nostrils picked up different smells in the air, from the fragrance of the burgeoning flowers to the fishy smell of the seafront not too far from him – Richard smiled in pleasure .

It has taken lots of therapy to get to this level of acceptance and to begin to find little pleasures in life again After the accident, adapting to his limp and the sudden loss of his eyesight after 50 years of perfect vision has been a tough call, but for once, he felt happy to be alive again.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

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Thank you, Louise, for the photo and Priceless Joy for hosting this charming platform where we unleash our stories:-)

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Short Stories

Slow Poison

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Agatha went around the house and rearranged everything in a haphazard and rebellious manner.

She went to the pantry rack and deliberately disorganised its contents, placing them in a manner that she knew would annoy Harvey; even though he would never come back to see it.

Carefully, she poured the lethal drops of the arsenic-tainted drinks down the drain.

It had taken longer than she expected for the poison to take effect, but she would never forget the last look of surprise on Harvey’s face when he learnt that she had poisoned his drinks.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

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I’ve certainly missed writing Flash Fiction. Welcome back Priceless Joy and thank you to Maria for the photo prompt.

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Short Stories

The Hospice…

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Celia bawled her eyes out and snot dripped down her nose . She’s never been one to sob softly into a handkerchief.

She had known that the end was close, but the news still hurt badly and tears swam in her eyes as she read the letter.

“Dear Celia, thank you for these years of love and care. For bringing warmth to the heart of an old lady. I’ve come to see you as the daughter I never had and would like to bequeath these items to you. Please accept them with all my love.”  Celia Oldham.

As usual, she had come for her visit at the hospice where she spent time keeping the old folks’ company; listening to their stories, reading to them and sneaking in an occasional toffee.

Over time the deceased became her favourite. Mrs. Oldham took to her when she learnt that they shared the same name and looked forward to the visits. She always took the pains to dress nicely in a frock, cardigan, pearl set and a gemstone ring that she wore on her third finger. Mrs. Oldham had no surviving family. Her sweetheart died during the war and she never remarried.

Inside the little box was a battered, old diary, the pearl set, the ring, a purple scarf, a bank draft for $200,000 raised in her name and the last book they had been reading – Jane Eyre.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

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Thank you, Jade for the photo and Priceless Joy for hosting this charming platform where we unleash our stories:-)

Note: PJ please, I crave your indulgence for having overshot the word limit. I chopped and snipped the story here and there yet it refused to get shorter.

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Short Stories

The Wise One…

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Nature wore her splendour in golden tones and everywhere looked so pretty even though our thoughts were heavy at the moment and our demeanours were sombre.

It was Ms. Maisie’s funeral and I simply knew within me that things would never be the same again because no one could be like Ms. Maisie our Sunday school teacher.

Every citizen in our little township had felt the warmth of her neighbourly love and almost everyone turned up to pay their last respects. She taught us more than the beautiful stories of the Bible in this little prefabricated structure  built by the joint effort of the community and for a few minutes, my senses conjured up the delicious whiff of her melt-in-the-mouth butter cookies that she always had in a tin and shared generously.

My eyes drifted out to stare at the yellowing leaves of the Dogwood she had planted years ago and I saw a beautiful, brown Owl perched on the wire fence looking back at me. I’d never seen an Owl in my life and wondered if there was a reason behind this. I knew everyone said that an Owl is the wise one and Ms. Maisie was certainly a wise lady.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

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Thank you, Phylor, for the photo and Priceless Joy for hosting this charming platform where we unleash our stories:-)

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Short Stories

To be a star…

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She loved the expansive views from the apartment windows and always stood there to take it all in. A plush apartment in the heart of Manhattan was far beyond her dreams and some days MaryRose woke up expecting to find herself back in the country home where her family had lived for generations.

Eight months of living in the luxury apartment that came with her contract had not diminished her awe of the place and she always looked in amazement at the mega-rich stars who came to the penthouse in their helicopters and fast cars.

Inside, she was just a country girl who got lucky and often enough she felt like a bumpkin next to all the opulence around her.

A flash from a camera startled her. It was the infernal paparazzi in a helicopter and she was sure that the weekend tabloids would be carrying a scintillating headline “MaryRose bares it all.”

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

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Thank you, Iain Kelly, for the photo and Priceless Joy for hosting this charming platform where we unleash our stories:-)

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Short Stories

Jane…

jacquelineobyikocha15 Comments

Like clockwork, Chris and Wolf went for their morning jog.  One of the beauties of living close to the seaside was to watch the sunrise and sunsets above the waters. He loved the lifestyle his writing life presented, thanks to the success of his thrillers, though his was a lonely life.

Familiar with Wolf’s beach antics of sniffing at the crabs, digging through washed up debris, he wasn’t’ surprised when his Husky took off in excitement down the beach.

Within minutes, Wolf raced back, his insistent barking aroused Chris’s interest. The mound on the pebbles was an unconscious, female form. He quickly turned her over and administered CPR. She vomited, opened her eye’s for a few seconds and passed out again.

Glad that his home was close by, he carried her to his house to get her warm as quickly as possible and to call for help. Removing her sodden clothing to wrap a blanket around her, he saw the beautiful, antique watch nestled between her breasts and out of curiosity, he lifted the watch and saw the name inscribed at the back. It read, Jane.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

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Thank you, Louise for the photo and Priceless Joy for hosting this charming platform where we unleash our stories:-)

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Short Stories

Chunky monkey…

jacquelineobyikocha10 Comments

Angelas‘ brisk steps slowed down to shorter strides as she tussled with her mind to stay focused and not to give in to the nudging temptation, but by the time she had walked a few more yards, her taste buds desire gave up on the battle with her mind and she quickly retraced her steps back to funky munky, promising herself all the way that after the treat she would resist future temptations.

Savouring the burst of sweetness that hit her senses, she closed her eyes in delighted appreciation of each sip of the trademark chocolate combo drink and chewy chunks of chunky monkey.

Satisfied with her quick, sneaky indulgence, she silently chastised herself for not sticking to the plan and got up to leave, only for the door to open and Tim her diet partner and husband walked in.

They both stared at each other in chagrin and burst out laughing sheepishly.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

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Thank you, TJ for the photo and Priceless Joy for hosting this charming platform where we unleash our stories:-)

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Short Stories

For the first time…

jacquelineobyikocha33 Comments

Richie was so excited that his heart literally burst with pride. Finally, not only was he now part of the team, he also scored a winning goal.

For the first time in forever, someone felt that he was good enough to step away from the bench by the sidelines’ where he always sat watching.

Ever since Mr. Pierson became the school coach, his life changed for the better.

He was no longer considered the slow boy, the odd one out, the autistic child who didn’t seem to fit in.

Mr. Pierson was so inclusive and encouraging. He simply brought the best out of his students, which was so unlike the previous coach who never wanted to be bothered with the special needs children.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

InLinkz

Thank you, Yinglan for the photo and Priceless Joy for hosting this charming platform where we unleash our stories:-)

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