Our gracious host, Rochelle, is asking us to get
creative in 100 words or less using the photo
seen below. Welcome to Friday Fictioneers.
This is where the prompt took me.
He promised her clear skies and smooth sailing; what a joke!
Susan watched the lone sailboat from shore, seagulls mocking her with their cackling laughter. Twenty years ago, Tony had swept her away with grand dreams ….Tuscany, corner offices, Rolls Royce.
Instead: a leaking roof, dead-end jobs, and Tony’s eternal cockeyed optimism that made her teeth ache.
“We’ll get there, Susie Q!” he’d say, winking like destiny owed him something.
The sailboat lurched sideways in the grey chop.
Figures.
Even a stranger’s boat confirmed what she already knew …. some men were simply better at leaving harbor than arriving anywhere.
NAR©2026
100 Words
This is “Smooth Sailing” by Ella Fitzgerald
Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.
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