Written for dVerse Poets Quadrille #215:
“Ready For Liftoff”. Our host De Jackson,
aka WhimsyGizmo, invites us to “pen a
pithy poem of just 44 words, including
some semblance of the word LIFT”.
This is my quadrille.
Tag: Father/Daughter
Paying the Price
It’s time for a “Full Frontal Fandango Flash”!
Written for the following Fandango challenges:
FOWC 11/6 (cottage), FOWC 11/7 (participate),
FOWC 11/8 (initiative) and FOWC 11/9 (implicit).
Here is my Fandango One-Word Challenge4 flash.
The Playground
Written for Six Sentence Story, incorporating the word “slide”,
Fandango’s Story Starter #141 and four additional word prompts
Allison arrived home to discover, propped up against her front door, a mysterious package addressed to her but with no return address; in these dangerous times, opening a strange package with no identification is a reckless thing to do and Allison isn’t the type to take chances, no matter how curious she was about this unexpected delivery.
Unlocking the front door, Allison gave the package one last glance and went inside but she couldn’t think of anything other than the box on her porch and eventually gave up, heading back out; the more she looked at the box, the more one sticking point nagged at her: the print on the hand-written shipping label looked extremely familiar.
Suddenly, like a bolt out of the blue, Allison realized the handwriting was her father’s; a thousand thoughts flew through her mind as she tried to figure out what he could have sent her, finally coming to the conclusion that her dad must have packed away a few items for her which belonged to her late mother .… items of sentimental value …. before he sold the old family house and settled into a senior living facility.
No longer wary, Allison excitedly picked up the package and brought it into the kitchen where she placed it on the counter and with a knife carefully followed the taped-up folds until she was able to open the box; resting atop the packing material was a small envelope with her name on it written in the same handwriting as the shipping label and inside the envelope was a note which read, “Dear Ali, I remember how much you loved these and I wanted you to have them, maybe one day for your own little girl” ~ Love, Dad.
Puzzlement creased Allison’s forehead as she gently pushed away the bubble wrap to discover one of her favorite toys – a miniature playground set complete with working swings, a seesaw, monkey bars, a slide and sandbox; there was even the little family with their pet dog which she had named Tess.
Now all smiles, Allison carried the pieces into the sunroom and placed them on the side table next to her chair near the window; they looked so happy and gay with the sun shining on them and Allison sighed, not at all surprised to feel a tear running down her cheek.
NAR©2024
This is “Lazy Day” by Spanky and Our Gang
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Champagne On Ice
Jenne, our delightful host at The Unicorn Challenge,
has once again asked us to write something creative
in no more than 250 words based on how
the photo below inspires us.
This is my response.
The pathway to my future seemed incredibly long and I could easily imagine myself escaping down a side aisle. What kind of thought was that for a bride on her wedding day?
“Well, we got lucky, sweetheart; the rain held off. Emme, are you ready? The musicians are waiting for my signal.”
I turned to face my father. “Daddy” was all I managed to eke out before the tears started. I hadn’t called my father Daddy in years.
Dad motioned for the music to keep playing and magically produced a handkerchief. “What’s going on, kiddo?”
“This doesn’t feel right, Dad. I’m about to marry Gregory because of a promise I made to Mom.”
“Emme, if you want to back out, I’ll stand by whatever decision you make. But it’s best for everyone if you do it now, not after you’re married.”
“But you spent so much money to make this day perfect.”
Dad put his hands on my shoulders. “Damn the money and damn the promises. All I want is for you to be happy. If you think this is a mistake, say the word. My car is parked right outside.”
“What about Gregory?” I asked biting my bottom lip.
“I’ll talk to him privately, Emme. Don’t worry about that.”
I looked at my father and quickly nodded. He reached into his pocket and handed me the keys to his car.
“Go on now. I have some explaining to do.” He kissed my cheek and took off down the path.
NAR©2024
250 Words
This is “Hotel California” by the Eagles
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
The Elephant's Trunk 