The Raft – Friday Fictioneers

AnElephantCant be a swashbuckling hero
He’s too afraid of Styx and stones
If the sea is too deep
He prefers not to leap
In case he ends up in the Locker of Davy Jones

Once again it is Friday Fictioneer time.
Where our admirable Admiral Rochelle leads her crew of scribes into a fleet, nay, a veritable armada of fishy tales.
And AnAmphibiousElephant splashes around in the shallow end.
The idea is to write a very short story, circa 100 words, based on this picture prompt (below).
That’s it.

Copyright – Ted Strutz

Copyright – Ted Strutz

The Raft

She begs him not to swim out today.
He insists, to the consternation of his friends.
What a shower of wimps, he laughs, plunging into the high waves.
They see him clamber onto the swaying raft, perhaps 80 metres from the beach, and wave to him in relief.
He dives off the far side, and is not seen again.
The emergency services and coastguard can find no trace of his body.
Currents, they explain, and a deep trench.

She smiles across the table of the luxury liner at the man she loves.
I guess the scuba equipment worked okay, darling?

Unknown's avatar

About ceayr

A Scot who has discovered peace in a small town he calls Medville on the Côte Vermeille, C.E. Ayr has spent a large part of his life in the West of Scotland and a large part elsewhere. His first job was selling programmes at his local football club and he has since tried 73 other career paths, the longest being in IT, with varying degrees of success. He is somewhat nomadic, fairly irresponsible and, according to his darling daughter, a bit random. So, nobody’s perfect.
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70 Responses to The Raft – Friday Fictioneers

  1. atrm61's avatar atrm61 says:

    This is simply superbly crafted -loved the intrigue and the twist at the end-a pleasant one;-)

  2. elmowrites's avatar elmowrites says:

    I’m left wondering if it’s the same “she”, elephant. intruiging indeed

  3. erinleary's avatar erinleary says:

    Elaborate plotting to provide her freedom. I expect money was the reason. Nicely told tale, Sir Elephant.

  4. kbnelson's avatar kbnelson says:

    Oooooh. Now that was sneaky. Love the twist at the end!

  5. emmylgant's avatar emmylgant says:

    Terriffic! I love second chance and do overs. There is a thriller in that story…

  6. kz's avatar kz says:

    very clever 🙂

  7. camgal's avatar camgal says:

    Creepy but exciting tone. Excellent Anelephantcant 🙂

  8. It seems to be about death and murder this week… What a scary fellow AnElephant is! If I were a man, I would stay clear of the water; that’s for sure! Well done.

  9. Seems we all went with death this week… death and murder! Scary wives; I’m not sure I’d be in the water if I was a husband! Well done.

  10. Anja's avatar Anja says:

    Wait….I am not sure what to do with my tally. It feels so incomplete not to add a mark.

  11. Good one! I am currently watching a lot of “Bones.” She would love solving this one if they could find the body.
    Scott
    Mine: http://kindredspirit23.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/ff-friday-fictioneers-the-restaurant-at-the-end-pg13-11292013-horror/

  12. As long as she can play the grieving widow realistically enough, this seems like a foolproof plan…until chapter two when the police inspector happens to be on the same boat as them. 🙂

  13. Jan Brown's avatar Jan Brown says:

    Very creative! A twisting tale of disappearance 🙂

  14. hugmamma's avatar hugmamma says:

    Naughty elephant! Scheming and dabbling in danger. Otherwise…perfect!

  15. Fabulous twist.

  16. They’ll get away with it, unless we’re talking Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Well-told, Elephant!

  17. A scam is always great… wonderful

  18. vbholmes's avatar vbholmes says:

    Methinks they’d best check out that mustachioed man skulking behind the nearby pillar–he has insurance investigator written all over him.

  19. Sandra's avatar Sandra says:

    I hope they get away with it. I think they will. Nice one.

  20. mike olley's avatar mike olley says:

    Life insurance comes in handy sometimes, especially if you can claim it (and even enjoy it!) while still alive. I like the twist in your tale.

  21. dmmacilroy's avatar dmmacilroy says:

    Dear AEC,

    Long swim submerged but worth it, I’m figuring. Starting over is much better than suicide or death by stagnation.

    Aloha,

    Doug

  22. Adam Ickes's avatar Adam Ickes says:

    Guess he should have listened and not gone in the water. That’ll show him! He’ll never make that mistake, or any other, again.

  23. Much better than a messy divorce!

  24. Fantastic tale of double indemnity in reverse. Totally surprised me.

  25. jwdwrites's avatar jwdwrites says:

    A modern day Reggie Perrin? Good story Elephant. 🙂

  26. Al's avatar Al says:

    Oh very good 😀 Get rid of one life to start another. Fantastic

  27. Dear Elephant,

    Oh the duplicity! Bad one, but in a good way I liked this.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

  28. As I suspected as I read thru Sir elephant, there’s a twist in this elephants trunk, and I was right. Good one mate.

  29. DCTdesigns's avatar DCTdesigns says:

    That’s one way to start from scratch. Which begs the question what was he running from?

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