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.
And today she also contributes this sunny photo which takes me immediately to my happy place.
The idea, as always, is to write a story of around 100 words based on the picture, below.
© Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Click here to hear me read my 1-minute story:
Bang
The explosion brightens the sky.
Just for a split second, it is daylight again.
I stare up at where, moments before, the plane was.
The plane flying my wife back to France.
And her sister, of course, but she is no great loss to anyone.
My wife, however, is – was – a lovely lady.
She did not deserve to die in this way, in what looks like an act of brutal terrorism.
Even with all today’s security checks, it is still possible to get an explosive device through.
And I know how.
Sorry, sweetheart, but I really need the insurance payout.
At least he said sorry to her in his head. 😛 Love the dark twist!
I have come to terribly like your innate devilish streak, Mr Ceayr.
I began to get suspicious when the best words he could find to describe his wife were “lovely lady”. Doubtless he was the one to suggest she take out insurance in the first place. I do hope you’re not plotting any heinous acts anytime soon, CE 😉
At least she went out with a bang.
Sheesh, wonder how much her life was worth.
Enough, apparently
Last line thud to the solar plexus. The build up was great, lamenting the loss of his wife but she was sacrificed nonetheless
Yeah, well, Michael, you know that a man’s gotta do…
I am now beginning to doubt if all so called acts of terrorism had insurance seekers behind them. Lol 😁 Nice one. You had us till the last line. Wicked!!!!!!
Read my strapline again:
‘where nothing is quite what it seems’
I guess you liked it!
🙂 I only comment on stories I like 😀
That was quite the twist at the end! At first it was the grieving husband, who earned a TM after that description!
Thank you, I think, because I have no idea what a TM might be!
Trademark, used to indicate a word is used in a specific way. In this case, that the husband isn’t grieving after all. I have seen “TM” put after the word “truth” to indicate that someone is defining “truth” as their preconceived notions.
Laughing.
Until now I thought I knew what trademark meant.
Now it can be applied to a word?
The world gets stranger.
You have this way of sneaking that last line in and uprooting the whole tree. 🙂
Honestly, Sascha, no trees were damaged in the creation of this story.
A couple of hundred lives lost, but plants conscientiously protected.
😀 you discovered I was one of THOSE vegetarians, didn’t you?
Um, no.
Oh, wow! Hearing it read really rocks it! Oh, so coldly calculated a plan. Loved it! I can almost hear the explosion…no, wait, that’s just another tree limb being pulled off the roof.
Comments like this make writing – and reading – worthwhile.
Giant thank you.
You can hear other readings up top of this page – Current Story and, would you believe, Other Readings – as well as on earlier posts here.
I have headphones now, so I will explore them as I have time next week. 🙂
I look forward to your comments.
Perhaps you will even be inspired to purchase some of my efforts?
Callous to the core.
You were a real stinker in the account – you had me really oozing till I read the last line!
Laughing again, the insults are fabulous this week.
‘A real stinker’, I love it, thank you so much!
😊😊😊
You naughty man!
My 100 words
Yeah, well, what can I say, you got me
Even a charming brogue can’t redeem him from this one, the nasty dobber. Man, I was listening along, and feeling sorry for him… for the briefest of seconds. Now I’m spewing Scottish insults!
Laughing aloud here.
Dobber, really, Dawn!
A chap can’t help his Glasgow east end roots, but he has tried to develop a little style, if not class, over the years.
As for Scottish insults, if you had shared them, I would doubtless have had to censor your comments.
Thank you so much, you have made my day.
It would not be the first time someone censored me sir. 😉
I imagine that is no easy task, dear lady
That’s a kicker of a last line! (Or should it be “killer”?)
Either way I am happy, Louise, thank you
I don’t know why week after week I am surprised by your dark twists. I should know better by now. Once again I had hopes that this was a romantic tale, I even forgave you the line about the sister-in-law, then I discovered how heartless your main character was. Nicely done.
Oh jings, what can I say?
Except yes, you should know better by now!
But, in my defence, the sister-in-law was a real piece of work, honestly, nobody liked her.
Thank you.
Lol a classic CE story. I guess this guy knows exactly what his priorities are and in what order. Sad she was second place to money. Did he owe someone a lot or did he just feel the however many millions he’d receive made up for not having his wife? Hugs CE.
Thanks, Amanda, I love the ‘classic’ comment.
You know what it’s like, sweetheart, for some of us a lot is never enough.
Hugs to you
😊
I like your story but I don’t like you mcuh – what did she do to deserve that?
Oh Liz, my dreams are now in tatters, I only offed her so that I would have the money to woo you.
Great story!
Great comment!
I laughed so hard at this one. I saw it all coming, but I wondered in what way it was going to come. Brilliant, C.E.!
Five out of five Molotov Cocktails.
Shaken, not shtirred, I ashume, Mishter Bond
“I have him in my sights, Moneypenny!”
Once he collects the insurance, he can always find another wife. Although a sister-in-law that like may be hard to replace.
Who in the history of the civilised world, or even the USA, ever wanted to replace a sister-in-law?
We have to have someone to despise.
Whatever do you have in your devious mind? A true twist in the tale.
If I told you half of what is in my mind, dear lady, you would slap me and never visit here again.
Till next week?
I look forward to it.
Deary me! If this took you to your happy place, I’d hate to see you on a bad day. That said, maybe the prospect of all that insurance money made him rather happy after all.
xx Rowena
I don’t have bad days, Rowena, I live in paradise and write fiction.
Thank you for the xx, I am smiling now!
Pleased you’re smiling now! I’m pleased your work is fiction and also relieved. Otherwise, the police would’ve locked you up awhile ago!
Hope you have a great week and I look forward to this week’s installment!
xx (again!)
Rowena
Damn, that’s cold! It made me giggle.
I am seriously concerned about my lady readers.
I blow aeroplanes out of the sky and you are amused?
Maybe I will destroy a city or two next week and give you a belly laugh!
A great title! So much meaning in just one syllable! Loved the story too!
Thank you, Edith, praise for the little things means a lot.
You have increased the bodycount so it’s enough for everyone… I wonder if his brother in law will get money for the sister too…
Oh, no one would marry her, Bjorn, she is – was – a dreadful woman!
Hi Ceayr, you are surely turning into the master of sadistic endings, aren’t you? Great piece of writing.
One does one’s best, Neel.
It is always good to see you here and to know you enjoy what I do.
You can certainly deliver an ending. I’m laughing so hard my cheeks hurt. Thank you for this.
You are welcome, Magaly, but I am now worried about your sanity and my safety!
Sanity? What sanity? Safety, on the other, one should always worry about that… *cough*.
Okay, I no longer care about your sanity, or my safety.
😀
Oh, you cad! Bumping off a plane full of filk for the insurance money? Bounder. And her a sweet lovely soul too? Depravity. Wonderfully spun as usual, C. Does your skill at murder know no bounds? 🙂
Cad and bounder!
How splendidly English of you, Lynn.
I feel like a character in Billy Bunter!
Haha! Where’s your shorts and your catapult?
Oh my! I didn’t see that coming!
Probably because you are a nice normal sort of person.
Glad to surprise you.
Thank you for your gallant remark. 😀
I love surprises. Even unpleasant ones. Great work! Love your voice as well! That’s a lot of love in one remark. One more- <3 and I'm done!
The motive is always money, isn’t it? People’s greed causes so much harm.
Indeed, ma’am. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Your happy place… I knew it would be his fault!
Oh that’s nice, straight in with the blame allocation, typical Canadian.
I didn’t say it was her happy place, did I?
Nae, that you dinna…
Is it wrong that I love the darkness that you keep putting on display here, week after week? So terribly, wonderfully wicked.
I hope not, I have to sell books!
Thank you, I love ‘terribly, wonderfully’.
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Yikes! Hope he gets caught.
No chance, unless the feds read this blog
Nasty, this story shook me. Well done.
But did it rattle and roll you, Michael?
Cheers
Another nasty piece of work. I wasn’t expecting that cruel ending;
Don’t you think that’s a little harsh, Jane, on a first encounter?
He is good to his mum, and hardly ever kicks puppies.
I bet his mum steers clear of air travel.
Laughing.
Touché!
You tell it so easily.. like it’s what any person would do… Gave me chills. Very nicely done. 🙂
Well, maybe not any person, but probably more than you think might want to!
Thank you, Vaidehi
I expected that, what with all your previous happy and uplifting stories. 🙂 Good read, indeed.
Downright predictable, I think it’s time to retire.
Thank you.
Don’t you dare. 🙂
Dear CE,
Happy spot! Devious husband.You frighten me, sweetheart.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Don’t worry your pretty little purple head, m’lady, and stay well clear of flights with my wife, imaginary or otherwise.
Did I mention that my sister-in-law, equally imaginary, is called Dale?
I do love a good twist in a tale & this was strangely charming! the pull between love and the lure of money. Well done!
This is my favourite comment this week, I blow up a plane and you find it ‘strangely charming’.
You are strangely adorable, young lady.
I was just waiting for him to admit it. Your happy place indeed!
Shh, Iain, it is supposed to be a secret.
Some strange things make me happy, I guess
OH! Great job of taking me my surprise.
I live to surprise my readers, dear lady!
That’s what you call collateral damage! Great reveal at the end!
Hmm, yes, just a bit.
Still, omelettes and eggs, eh?
Such horrible deeds, and you have that unique talent at making me laugh out loud at the outrageousness of it all. Happy place indeed…
I am laughing because you find it funny!
We each have our own happy place, don’t we?
Crime and horror are not usually ‘my’ genres, but you always have these twists that are delightful (and horrible for the protagonists). That makes me gasp in surprise and horror and laugh about my own reaction.
I am happy to provoke any reaction, so your lovely comment has me glowing with pleasure.
Thank you.
Oh cold! It’s a picture of sunshine! Yikes! Good characterization that I can dislike this guy so much in 100 words.
He is not immediately endearing, is he, Joseph
Not even given time! 🙂
Boo. Hiss! (Very well written)
Laughing. I love Boo, Hiss!
You, Sir, have a black black heart. But on the plus side you have a silver tongue
What can I say, Neil, nobody’s perfect, eh