Hosted by Sue Vincent

Thursday photo prompt: Gaurdian #writephoto

Photo by Sue Vincent

For visually challenged writers, the image shows a flower-strewn cliff-top above the sea, where a rocky outcrop, seemingly shaped into many forms and faces, looks out over the waves.

Hide and Seek

by Teresa Smeigh May 2020

“This is boring,” Carl said, wiping the sweat off of his face with his shirt.

“Oh, Carl, you are always bored. What do you want to do?” Susie said, also wiping the sweat onto the bottom of her shirt. “I am tired of coming up with ideas on what to do. You choose today.”

“Let’s head down to the sea wall. Lots of places to hide, and we can play hide and seek. I’ll even let you hide first.”

“I don’t know, my parents have always stressed that it was too dangerous down there to play.”

“Oh, Susie, you are so boring. I play down there all the time.”

“I don’t know…”

“Come on, please.”

“OK, but don’t tell anyone. I don’t want to get in trouble.”

They start walking towards the sea. Upon arrival, they both start to climb to the top of the sea wall, and Susie looks around. The area was pretty, and she saw lots of rocks and things that she could hide behind.

As Carl begins counting to 100, Susie heads to the rocky area and spots a large rock to hide behind. She was pretty close to the edge, and when Carl hit 100 and started to look around, she was afraid he might see her and started to back up, not noticing she was approaching the edge of the cliff they were on.

Her foot started to slip on the sandy surface, and she let out a scream, catching Carl’s attention. He races to her and grabs her arm just as she slipped off the edge and was dangling there.

“Give me your other arm and stop struggling,” Carl urgently pleads with her.

She tried to calm herself down and gave Carl her other arm, and he slowly dragged her up the side of the cliff and back onto firm ground. He was shaking and couldn’t talk. He just hugged her tightly until their shaking subsided.

“Thank you, Carl. Oh my God,” she practically stutters. She was still shaken and started to cry.

“Susie, I am so sorry. I didn’t think this was a dangerous place to play. I should have listened to you. I will never come here again. I don’t think I will ever forget how close you came to falling off that cliff.”

Carl puts his arm around her, and they head towards home and away from the sea.

*******399 words*******

Tessa – 

Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses, also a devout Christian

Author – http://www.finallyawriter.com (this blog contains my old work mostly although occasionally I do add something new here), new work is mainly on this blog http://www.tessacandoit.com

Author of a book, a work in progress on the blog, https://tessacandoit.com/government-property-a-memoir-as-a-military-wife/

Highlighted chapters are done and ready to be read.

Hosted by Sue Vincent

Thursday photo prompt: Painted #writephoto

Photo by Sue Vincent

For visually challenged writers, the image shows a rather oriental red bridge over a  pool covered with waterlilies and surrounded by trees.

Idyllic Spot

by Teresa Smeigh May 2020

Caroline stared wistfully at the lovely painted bridge she had just crossed over. She had never been here before, and she would have thought she was in the wrong spot if Robert hadn’t mentioned the lovely red bridge crossing over the stream and leading to a lush wooded spot.

She stared at the lovely, colorful butterflies flitting around the flowers and bushes. Occasionally a pretty hummingbird would enter the area and fly around. The stream sparkled and glittered with the occasional sunshine that made it through the dense area surrounding this open spot.

She wondered why they were here. Usually, they went to more secluded spots. She assumed that they were going to talk. She always hated it when Robert would want to have a conversation as they usually had to do with their relationship, and she knew it was not supposed to be a long term affair. He had been looking for someone to see outside his marriage, and sometimes things got a little uncomfortable for him, and they had to talk about it. She wondered what she had done this time.

He was late, and she was getting tired of standing. She looked for somewhere to sit, but other than the lush green grass, there wasn’t anywhere to sit. So she gingerly sat down and tried to pull her skirt up so she could bend her legs to sit on the grass.

She had been seeing Robert for over five years now, and she never expected this relationship to last that long. He knew she was looking for more than a casual fling, but so far, she hadn’t tried to force the issue. He made himself clear that he had no intention of leaving his wife. She had agreed to that and tried not to let it bother her. She had made the mistake of falling in love with a man she knew wasn’t looking for love, just a fling. That wasn’t his fault. She could only blame herself.

Caroline heard the lilting sound of voices coming closer. She was about to have company, but it wouldn’t be Robert as he came alone unless he ran into someone on the path coming in here. Her car was in the parking lot, and it was a slightly longer hike than normal. Anxiously she watched the opening to the bridge.

Much to her surprise, it was Robert, and he was with a woman. Watching them cross the red bridge, she thought she saw a resemblance to his wife in the woman’s face. She had seen pictures of her. Surely he wouldn’t have brought his wife along.

She stood up and waited for them to approach where she was standing. She didn’t move to greet them.

“Caroline,” Robert began and stopped. He looked very uncomfortable, and she could imagine he was.

The woman was watching her carefully, saying nothing at first, but her expression said she wasn’t happy. “Robert, let’s get this over with, I have to get back to work. I have no idea what you were thinking, but this ends here or else.”

“Caroline, I’m sorry, she caught me leaving this morning as she came home to get something she forgot for work. I didn’t plan for this to happen. She found your birthday present, and it was kind of obvious since it is not her birthday yet, not to mention that the present wouldn’t suit her. Samantha wouldn’t be caught dead in sexy lingerie, and I have never bought her any.”

Samantha opened her tote bag and tossed a sexy teddy at Caroline, smacking her in the face with it. Next came the birthday card addressed to Caroline. Caroline ducked this time and backed up.

“I don’t know what you think you are doing with someone else’s husband, but it won’t be mine. If I find out he’s been sniffing around you again, I will kill you both, and I am not kidding. My daddy won’t put up with this kind of thing. Robert is mine, or he’s history, and if it is you he is with, you are history too. Do you understand me? Speak up, girl. I can’t hear you.”

“Yes, ma’am, and I’m so sorry. I will never set my eyes on him again.” Caroline picked up her purse and left, practically running across the red bridge.

*******722 words*******

Tessa – 

Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses, also a devout Christian

Author – http://www.finallyawriter.com (this blog contains my old work mostly although occasionally I do add something new here), new work is mainly on this blog http://www.tessacandoit.com

Author of a book, a work in progress on the blog, https://tessacandoit.com/government-property-a-memoir-as-a-military-wife/

Highlighted chapters are done and ready to be read.

Hosted by Sue Vincent

Thursday photo prompt: Causeway #writephoto

For visually challenged writers, the image shows a calm seascape in half-light, with a pathway of stone leading through the waters towards the horizon.

Tresspassing

by Teresa Smeigh May 2020

John was perched precariously on the stone and casting his line deep into the causeway. He ignored the sign saying “Private Property! No Fishing Off the Rocks!” and kept on casting out his line.

His boat, the “Jenny Lee,” named after his wife who lost her battle with cancer last year, was anchored about 50 feet out in the deeper waters of the causeway. The sun was shining on the boat, and she had a fresh coat of paint. He admired her for a few minutes before returning to casting off again. So far, he hadn’t caught anything, but he just wanted something to occupy his mind so he wouldn’t dwell on Jenny Lee’s last days. He and Jenny Lee had often gone fishing all over the coast. Sometimes taking a long trip, just the two of them and talked about their future together long before the cancer struck.

John knew he wasn’t supposed to be fishing here. He could read the sign, but he just wanted to see if there was anything worth catching. He wasn’t sure who the property belonged to, but he had never seen a living soul whenever he ran his boat down this way. It was a beautiful place, and Jenny Lee always loved their time running up and down the causeway.

A shot rang out, and John ducked and turned. There were three angry men with guns aimed at him coming down the strip of land. Another shot rang out, and John dropped his rod and dove into the water and swam as fast as he could. Another shot rang out not far from him. He grabbed the boat and hauled himself up and quickly started the engine.

He made a run for it and hoped none of the shots hit his boat. He was thankful Jenny Lee wasn’t with him today. He would be lucky to get out of here alive. Another shot passed real close to his head, and he could see the three men were getting closer to the tip of the land.

The next shot hit the gas tank, and the boat exploded with a mighty roar. John was thrown free of his boat and started to swim as fast as he could. If he could just make it to the other side of the causeway to another piece of land, he stood a chance of getting away since the men didn’t have a boat to follow him in.

Climbing up the rocks to the land, he quickly ran through the rocks and headed for the forest on the other side. He didn’t hear any more shots, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully, the men thought they got him and had gone home.

He walked through the woods until he reached a road. He followed it until a truck came by. Hoping it wasn’t his friends with the guns, he put his thumb out for a ride.

The truck stopped, and three men were inside. His heart started to pound. He couldn’t tell if it was them or not. The man closest to him pulled out a gun and shot him and fatally wounded him. He was on his way to be with Jenny Lee.

*******537 words*******

Tessa – 

Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses, also a devout Christian

Author – http://www.finallyawriter.com (this blog contains my old work mostly although occasionally I do add something new here), new work is mainly on this blog http://www.tessacandoit.com

Author of a book, a work in progress on the blog, https://tessacandoit.com/government-property-a-memoir-as-a-military-wife/

Highlighted chapters are done and ready to be read.