PHOTO PROMPT © Ted Strutz
As a child, she walked the shoreline, listening to waves lap against rocks as she stooped to study tiny tide pool worlds that breathed in and out with the waves.
As a teen, she sailed the inlet, departing the harbor to the cry of seagulls. She’d wondered then, why they sounded so sad.
Time passes. A million waves. A million breaths.
Cradling an urn, her sister is accompanied by brother and husband. They drift toward the last boat on the right, murmuring memories. An occasional laugh joins the music of the masts.
Still, they know why the seagulls cry.
THE END
99 Words
I love Ted Strutz’s photo prompt! I love sailboats, I love Puget Sound, I love harbors, the sea, the mountains. So, it’s no wonder. Thank you, Ted! 🙂
Friday Fictioneers is a compilation of writers from around the world who gather online weekly, guided by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. The challenge? To write a story in 100 words or less based on a new photo prompt.
To read more stories in an online flash fiction anthology by Friday Fictioneer authors, click:
wonderfully atmospheric, Jan
Thank you, Neil–prompted by the colors and feel of the photo!
You nailed the story to photo prompt beautifully, Jan. The last line works on so many levels.
Thank you, Stu. I wrote and re-wrote the last line several times. 🙂
Beautifully told, Jan.
Thank you, Jilly!
perfect symbolism
Thank you, Larry!
Great story, Jan. Beautifully written.
Thank you, Mike!
Sad and saturated with mood. Well done.
I thought the photo was saturated with mood, so it inspired me to write this story that way. Thanks, Josh!
Dear Jan,
I could hear the gulls cry and the waves crash against the shore. Beautifully atmospheric and sad.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks, Rochelle. I know it’s a sad story, but I also felt happy as I wrote it, that she’d lived a full and satisfying life. <3
I loved this beautifully atmospheric and nostalgic take, Jan.
Thank you, Dale. Perhaps this could be a final, final chapter in the story of your adventurous siblings. I loved your take on the prompt, too!
That would be lovely indeed…
Lovely romantic feel to this, in among the sadness.
Thank you, Iain. I have to give credit to the mood in Ted’s photo. I sensed the same from your story.
Excellent.
Those of us who love the sea are right there with her ashes.
I do love the sea, CE, especially as I’m landlocked in Dallas. I enjoyed your Sound Bite, too–your recording even more.
Beautifully lush and sad, Jan, although there are worse way to live and to go and to be remembered.
janet
Thank you, Janet. I know this had a sad feel, but I’m glad you “got” the happy part, too–that she had a rich and full life.
Very well told.
Thank you, Trent!
Really, really lovely. Exquisitely crafted. You’ve written a story of a life – and yet it’s not just a single life, it’s emblematic of any life that’s been well lived. Truly, the seagulls cry for us all.
Thank you, Penny. I think it’s the cry of seagulls that add such mood to the sea, and one of the reasons I miss it!
One with the water, forver. Very pretty.
Forever for me, too! <3
You have found your writer’s calling. The power of brevity, the beauty of powerful symbolism, the heart and soul of a poet…I love this.
Thank you, my dear friend! <3
I’ve just read it again, simply for the pleasure. It’s lovely!
No better compliment, Penny. Thank you! 🙂
So beautiful… I feel her full life is coming to an end in the only way it could possibly do.
It’s what I felt, too, Bjorn. Thank you!
Why the seagulls cry. Never thought about it. They’ll sound different to me next time I’m at the shore.
That’s one of the joys of reading for me — seeing through another’s eyes. I’d be interested to know what you think, the next time you go to the shore!
Beautifully done, you reeled us right in with this story.
Thank you so much, Subroto!
A beautiful story, Jan. My parents are in those waters.
Thank you, Ted. Your parents chose a beautiful place to rest, and it must make the sea even more special to be near. Thanks for the gorgeous prompt!
Great atmosphere in this piece.
Thank you, Lisa! 🙂