Short Fiction, short story

Routines of Love

macro photography of eyelashes
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Belinda looked out the window, her red strands stringing her eyes, still crusted with sandman’s presents; This was her routine each and every day, gazing to the lands and wishing for her dreams to come true; Closing her eyes, stating her wishes into prayers, she then bounced up onto her feet and bounced into the nursery, letting her little brother know her presence.

Smiling, squirming, hiccupping from his milk filled belly, Cleveland wiggled his chubby legs in delight from seeing his sister, clearly loving the routine of being greeted by her cheerfulness; Grasping him carefully, Belinda pulled him up and into her arms, hugging him while singing to him her favorite made up song, written especially for him.

“Baby Cleveland, cheery boy, you are my most favorite joy, how I wish to help you grow, always and ever more to know; How I love you, yes I do, and I always will, it’s true; One day when you are grown up, you’ll still be my buttercup, never will you leave my heart, you have been there from the start.”

stack of love wooden blocks
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Giggling and pulling her long tresses, Cleveland clearly adored his big sister, enchanted by her blue-green eyes, he poked at them with his chubby fingers, before reaching for his own as if comparing them with his own rich blue orbs; Carrot tops matching, these two were like two peas in a pod, so to speak, but there was one thing for sure, they were also very different; This was one thing that Belinda would be sure about: personalities.

Just down the road, a few houses down, Barton was also up for the day, doing his routine of chores before going to school, knowing his homework was likely suffering, he had routine responsibilities which took him away from book learning; Sure to make up for his father’s own duties, Barton needed to see to it that his mother did not suffer any more than she already seemed to, as her sighs of sadness prevailed; Taking a moment to take his mother some fresh tea, Barton took her hands in his, gazed into her brown eyes, moist from longing, and told her how beautiful she was and how it was going to be another good day, all before Barton gathered up his books and lunch, putting soles to the dirt road, hoping to catch Belinda on the way to school.

Waving goodbye to her mother, Belinda bounced out the door, books and lunch in hand and looking about, hoping to see Barton as he always made her smile; Sure as the sun shone, there he was picking up his step when he eyed her, almost running to her side; “Good morning Belinda,” Barton breathlessly greeted her, “I hope you don’t mind if I carry your books,” And with this, Belinda smiled at Barton, handed him her books and smiled, nudging along with their hands waiting to be held.

photo of pathway surrounded by trees
Photo by Vitaly Vlasov on Pexels.com

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This is my Six Sentence Story for this week in response to Denise’s prompt word: Routine

Perhaps you would like to publish a story to this prompt. You can go to Girlie on the Edge and check out the rules of the blog hop. It’s a lot of fun!

Short Fiction, short story

Fishing for Answers

Alora Grittiths

Photo by Alora Griffiths on Unsplash

Shaking the wrinkles from the old, worn coat, he placed his arms into the sleeves, one by one and proceeded to gather up his fishing gear and head to the river.

Thinking time was what he needed, and that old coat was a necessary part of his life, as he felt the comfort, the familiarity and what he swore was the scent of his daddy’s old pipe tobacco.

Standing at the shore, doing more thinking than fishing, he snagged a few but no real keepers, until finally, right after spotting the most vivid red cardinal, he hooked the biggest fish he had seen in a long time,  maybe even when his daddy was with him many years ago.

“Yes, I understand now, daddy, and I will do just that tonight, see you the next time.”

With a determined gait, he double stepped it back to his place and cleaned up, knowing he needed to have a spit shiny image in order to accomplish his goal.

With her bright red curls shadowing her sparkling blue-green eyes, she smiled the most beautiful, wide smile, all before he took her hand and said, “it’s time for me to talk to your daddy, but first I want to make sure it’s okay with you,” and he knelt to the ground.

 

This is my contribution to the Six Sentence Story for this week where Denise provides us a prompt word each each. This weeks word was “coat.”

Would you like to join and also see what other stories are available to enjoy? Just go to this LINK

Short Fiction, short story

Birth Day

grayscale photo of baby feet with father and mother hands in heart signs
Photo by Andreas Wohlfahrt on Pexels.com

Belinda’s red tresses were gracefully swept back with a slice of the blue gingham Barton gave her for their anniversary, knowing her love of blue and how beautiful it accented her copper crown.

Betty Lou carried her tools to the duplex where Barton and Belinda made their home, Clement sniffed at the bag and licked Betty on her calf, Clement loved Betty almost as much as the salt she emitted.

Barton was working the mines, trusting that Betty Lou would be there for his bride when the time came for their first born to enter the world, how much he wanted to be there, but knew that he needed to keep making a living to provide for his family.

Bellowing was not Belinda’s way, but the beauty of childbirth brought with it truer than true pains and this was no exception as the baby was ready to be born.

Bathing the birth mother with the gentlest strokes, Betty Lou prepared for the great event, watching and waiting for the grand entrance of the new soul into the world.

Bawling from the first bit of air to his lungs, the little bitty boy announced his birthday to all who could hear, surely in the next door range, at least; a precious baby boy was born into the world, the world of coal miners, loving family, and his first best buddy, Clement, coming as close as he could to make sure his new prince would be safe.

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This is the Six Sentence Story in response to the weekly prompt with you can find here: Girlie on the Edge’s Link

Thank you to Denise for her devotion to providing the weekly prompt. This week’s word was “Slice.”

Short Fiction, short story

Hope in the Darkness

adult art black and white group
Photo by Mike on Pexels.com

Blackened by layers of coal dust, his face barely recognizable by silver anniversaried wife, Barton staggered out of the mine, clenching tightly to the line as if his life depended on it, as it was, indeed, his lifeline.

Rushing to his side, Belinda took her beloved’s arm and led him to their truck, pushing away others who wanted to know more, Belinda took one long glare at the impending group, “Thank you, but I’ve got this.” Pulling away, the crowd moved on to the next miner as Belinda drove her husband home.

Exhausted from his experience, Barton bathed, fulfilled his appetite, took his wife by her hand to lay beside him and they drifted off to a deep sleep. Shaking in the night, Barton sat upright in their bed, eyes wide open and shouted, “There is an end to this trial,” and fell back to sleep.

“Indeed,” Belinda whispered, “And it’s the end that we hoped for, to have you home, once again.”

 

 

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Well, there you have it. This is Six Sentence Story time and you can go to this link to check it out:

Six Sentence Story Link Up

Rules of the hop:
Write 6 Sentences. No more. No less.
Use the current week’s prompt word.
Link the URL to your post via the blue “Click here to enter” button below .
Spread the word and put in a good one to your fellow writers 🙂

PROMPT WORD:  FACE

Short Fiction, short story

Growing Pains

people dancing inside building
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“Mom, he’s just so, so, uhm, dynamic,” Marci pleaded.

“I don’t care about how much of a dynamo he is, he’s asking you to go to the homecoming dance and I don’t want him breaking my daughter’s heart.”

“I don’t know why you are so worried about that, mom, he’s not going to hurt me; Why would you think that?”

“Look at how you are, Marci; You have the most laid-back personality that people walk over you, they ignore you and who’s to say he won’t find that easy, as well?”

“But mom, he likes me, I don’t think he will ignore me; After all, he did ask me to the dance.”

“Well, he may have asked you to the dance, but I’m concerned about my daughter, but you will have to go and find out, I suppose; I just hope he will be true to your heart.”

There you have it! This is in response to the Six Sentence Story Prompt: Dynamic

Perhaps you would like to participate. Just go to Girlie on the Edge’s Blog and give it a try!