Written for Crispina’s Crimson’s Creative
Challenge #068. I chose Pic #2.
Here’s where the image took me.
The harbor light burned like a warning I should’ve heeded years ago.
I stood at the water’s edge, collar up against the salty wind, watching the waves churn between the stone piers. The envelope in my pocket felt heavier than it should …. just paper and ink, but weighted with names and places I’d never forget.
Kevin Walsh. Missing six days. Last seen boarding a fishing vessel that never left port.
The thing was, I knew Kevin. Knew his booming laugh, what beer he liked, the scar on his forehead from a broken bottle in a dive bar on Clinton Street. We’d been partners once, back when I still carried a badge and believed in justice.
That red harbor light cast its glow across the dark water, and I thought about all the things that get lost at sea …. secrets, bodies, the better versions of ourselves. The harbormaster said the boat’s captain had disappeared, too. Convenient. Too convenient. It stinks like week-old garbage.
My reflection wavered in the oily water below. Somewhere behind me, footsteps scraped on concrete, then stopped. Watching. Waiting.
I’d taken this case knowing it would drag me back into the darkness …. a darkness Kevin pulled me from eight long years ago. A situation that should’ve killed me.
The wind picked up, carrying voices from the fishing boats …. or maybe just ghosts.
I turned from the water, pulled my fedora low, and walked toward those waiting footsteps.
Some debts you pay, no matter the cost.
NAR©2026
This is “Asking For A Friend” by the Foo Fighters
All text and graphics are copyright for Nancy’s Notes 🖊️🎶 and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
The Elephant's Trunk 
the world needs Dirk
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Hahaha! Great line, Gary. Thanks so much.
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Great Nancy and I so love the Foo Fighters ❤️
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Me too, Ange. This song really worked for me. Thanks very much. 💕
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2026 will be the year of Dirk Malone!
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You may be right! Thank you.
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So many quotable lines in this! I am wanting more!
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I’m glad you enjoyed it, Lisa. Thanks very much.
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Incredibly descriptive, Nancy, one gem after another!
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So glad you enjoyed it, dear Keith. Thanks for a very gracious comment.
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swirling fog, neon lights ✨️
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It seemed like a good place for a little backstory. Thanks, Dylan.
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You are so good at creating these Dirk Malone stories, Nancy.
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Thanks very much, Jim. This looked like a good photo to tell a little backstory about Dirk.
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I love the feel you’ve created with this story, Nancy.
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Thank you, Esther. It was fun writing a Dirk Malone story for one of Crispina’s phoyos.
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Oh, what a place to head to, you and the narrator!
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Thanks, dear D. I saw the image and thought “why not”?
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The image certainly took you to a different place, ….but my oh my, Nancy, … your ability to draw us in and paint the picture, the emotion, the drama, …beautifully done, …💙🤗
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So very kind of you, dear Penn. I saw Crispina’s photo and figured I didn’t need an image of Dirk Malone to write about him. This one worked well.
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Whew! nicely done. I love this line- ‘I thought about all the things that get lost at sea …. secrets, bodies, the better versions of ourselves.’
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Thanks. I’m kinda partial to that one, too. 😄
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That a pretty cool one Nancy 😀 “Too convenient. It stinks like week-old garbage.” are great lines and I love “The wind picked up, carrying voices from the fishing boats …. or maybe just ghosts.”
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Thanks, Brian. Just a little backstory on Dirk.
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A very intriguing story Nancy.
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Grazie, cara Sadje.
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