Friday Fictioneers is hosted by the wonderful Rochelle, the undisputed master of what I call Sound Bite Fiction.
She sets the weekly challenge, and the standard.
This week’s prompt is a stunning masterpiece of the photographic art.
By me.
It shows a beach front property in Medville, where I live.
The idea, as always, is to write a story of around 100 words based on the picture, below.
Copyright C. E. Ayr
The Wind
The Mistral hammered my town yesterday.
Amazingly, the little café in the square escaped any damage.
My friend Rafa, the proprietor, is so relieved.
A nearby business, a rival of my own small company, was devastated.
The entire building collapsed as though it were made of sand.
There was also a real tragedy.
A man was killed when a branch crashed through his windscreen just outside my house.
I know his wife.
Quite well.
Apparently he had a baseball bat in the passenger seat.
Life can be difficult and even dangerous at times.
It is good to control the wind.
You stories uncover very slowly for me. Like a painting, cover here expose there. unique effect. Takes time but could understand. Enjoyed.
What a scary story, told in your inimitable, laconic style! I would NOT like to cross paths with the man who can control the wind. (I was reminded of Aeolus, who controlled the winds, and provided the West Wing to Odysseus to help him reach Ithaca, except he was much more benign!)
That’s a man I wouldn’t like to cross. I hope the new widow he’knows quite well’ knows what she’s doing. This is a fantastic story – the last line blew me away.
CE, your stories always deliver… what they deliver varies, but never disappoints! This one is indeed a strange and cryptic tale, that made both Dawns laugh. 😉
You are very kind, m’lady.
And two Dawns in one day, doesn’t get much stranger and crypticer than that!
What a tragic story, CE. Such is the power of Mother Nature. Thanks for the lovely photo.
Life has its ups and downs, Amy.
Glad you like pic.
This guy’s got it all going for him. We could certainly use him over at the Playboy Mansion we just bought from Honest John. Telling him he’s got a standing invite–any time.
Thanks, Russell, Honest John is an old acquaintance, I sold him that place with the unreliable fittings that fall off at the click of a camera.
‘I knew his wife’. I smell a euphemism.
Thanks for the pic.
Ah yes, Patrick, if a euphemism is not fresh it soon smells like brock’s hindquarters.
Very nice! I like how realisation gradually dawns on the reader towards the end. Not a man to cross!
Thank you, sir, I am happy that my approach worked for you.
Pingback: Chateau de Longing – Friday Fictioneers – The Bumble Files
Looks like all the rivals suffer from the wind (and we all know how troublesome that can be). Delightfully wicked tale.
Well done, you are the first (excluding myself) to lower the tone of things.
No mean feat here, I assure you.
Delightfully wicked is a double hurrah for me, thank you.
How so very convenient… All in one swoop! Bat or wind… 😉
A bat in the wrong hands is not a nice thing to meet, dear Dale.
And, you being a Canadian, I suppose you don’t know much about control of wind.
You think?
Grin
Grin right back! 😉
He controlled the wind and got rid of his competition. I guess the bat was meant for him but he was able to have the wind blow the branch through the wind shield before the jealous husband confronted him?
I think you nailed it, Deborah.
Thank you for visiting again.
Your stories of murder often make me feel guilty, because I laugh.
Are you off your medication again, Dawn?
I refuse to take it!
Gone with the wind. Who next I wonder.
Thanks for the picture. It transported me back to the years when I lived in France
Visit Keith’s Ramblings!
Rochelle has an undoubted talent for picture selection.
Glad you enjoyed.
Great photo to work from this week C.E. and your story is scary. Sounds like your narrator just missed having his own windscreen beaten in. Thank God for the wind.
Glad you enjoyed both, Joseph.
I have been a fan of your stories and storytelling from day one…I am your friend…Please remember that when you unleash the ‘wind’ again 🙂
Great take on the prompt and very creative.
Thank you for your kind words.
I tend to react more positively to such requests when they are written on 100-Euro notes.
Very clever stuff. Fasten down the hatches, there’s a storm coming!
Isn’t there always!
There’s one man it doesn’t pay to anger or threaten. It must be handy to be able to control the wind. Creepy, though. O_o Well done, C.E. Thanks again for the lovely picture that’s inspiring so many good stories. 🙂 — Suzanne
Thank you, Suzanne, glad you like the story and the photo.
But remember that it is Rochelle who selects the prompt from the millions of pics she gets sent.
“There was also a real tragedy.” I understand the hint of the affair….well, more than a hint. The idea of the baseball bat on the car seat and we wonder if it’s meant for….? But this sentence…a “real tragedy” says a lot. The loss of a building in comparison to the loss of a life. It tells me the speaker in the poem, regardless of the affair, has a good heart and recognizes the value of life.
Well done.
And thanks for the photo for this week’s prompt! I had fun with it 🙂
Thank you, Lillian, for your thoughtful comments.
I am not sure that I, oops, I mean the narrator, deserves your kind interpretation.
But I am happy you enjoyed the story and the pic.
Wow. It probably does come in handy knowing how to control the wind, but not so much for jealous husbands or business owners. Hehe
We all use our little talents to make life easier, don’t we?
I wonder what will be the next building targeted by the wind.
Depends who upsets me next.
That’s a chills down the spine job!
That works for me, thank you.
I can smell an affair. And some not entirely fair business dealing. The narrator doesn’t seem to be too bothered though. I really enjoyed this story.
PS: Sorry for burning down your Medville property in my story. Collateral damage.
A man’s gotta do…
Happy you enjoyed, Martin.
Nicely done. Reading this brings to mind…killing two birds with one stone (maybe even wind) ! I see two problems out of his way now. 🙂
And life is good!
Thanks for your time, JC.
paging inspector couseau… the baseball bat should be checked for blood. the branch crash could have been staged to camouflage a murder.
All things are possible, of course.
My favourite line – Quite well.
That’s quite a talent – the protagonist of the story and his creator.
I think I will sidestep this with a sincere thank you!
Pingback: The Best Holiday Ever | MJL Stories
Perhaps he was on his way to play baseball? I hope Mr Wind took that into consideration…lol.
Even you don’t believe that, Paul!
A scary man, I fear for everyone who disagrees with him. Someone who can control the wind, even if it’s perhaps only in his imagination, may want to control other things, too. Poor woman… Excellent story.
A bit harsh, GaH, it’s only a bit of murder and mayhem.
Glad you enjoyed.
Nice but scary.
A bit like my mother-in-law.
Apart from ‘nice’.
Oh, quite chilling this.
Cool.
I like ‘chilling’.
Oh, he is not a very nice man.
Ah well, nobody’s perfect.
Ouch… the blunt object can be so many things beside a branch… Both business and wife at the same time… I think he should thank the Mistral.
The Mistral is merely the tool, Bjorn.
Thanks for visiting.
If you’re taking out a love rival bent on revenge, what better collateral damage than taking out a business rival too? And preserving your local watering hole. I love a practical man who can capitalise on events. Well done.
Pragmatism is, I think, an admirable quality.
Thanks, Sandra.
Dear CE,
Quite well? Your narrator is a frightening and your story sent a chilling breeze down my spine. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
How well do we ever know anyone?
I happily settle for ‘frightening’ and ‘chilling breeze’.
Thank you.
I often ask myself that same question.
And?
What’s your answer?
All too often the answer is ‘not all that well’ and sometimes accompanied by an aching heart.