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 the prompt photo, which this week is one of my own.
Thank you, m’lady.
The idea, as always, is to write a story of around 100 words based on this picture, below.
© C. E. Ayr
Click here to hear the writer read his words:
Bookmark
I stare at the bookmark.
There are two words written on it.
Two words that mean a lot to me.
But nothing to anyone else.
Or so I have always believed.
The bookmark was inside the book I have in my hand.
A book from the local library.
The library is in a small town in France.
It has a very limited English-language section.
There are very few foreigners here.
I have never met another anglophone.
So I stare at the bookmark.
And the two words.
The two English words that say what I did.
And where I did it.
Sound Bite Fiction 
Fabulously compelling write, CEAyr. I’m left with a curiosity that needs fulfilling.
Perhaps, there’s more to com in this mysterious tale. Loved it …!!!
Thank you for a great and inspiring photograph too.
Isadora 😎
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Very happy you enjoyed both the story and the photo, Isadora.
Thank you for visiting.
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Looks like someone is on your case. A nudge, a warning – how can you sleep at night. Did you deface the grave stone of Karl Marx?
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Looks that way, James, thanks for reading and commenting
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A real thriller on the cards. Superb, Ceayr.
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Thanks, Neel, glad you enjoyed!
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Ooh, someone knows… nice one!
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Someone always knows…
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Having seen Karl Marx’s grave in Highgate cemetery on more than one occasion, you’ve really got me wondering!
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Stop wondering, Keith.
My story has nothing to do with Marx or Highgate, they are just words in the prompt photo.
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Someone left a message for you to pick up! The person knew you shall visit the library and visit the section having English language books. May be the person is someone you know.
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Now I am really worried…
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Two English words that said what I did and where I did it. Very clever. Really great!
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Thanks, Nan, very happy it worked for you
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I want to RUN.
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Run, Forrest, run!
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Ooooo la la!
I always have such a hard time any time Rochelle uses one of my pics because I can’t help but tell the story behind it.
I see you have no such problem…or do you? 🙂
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Ooh la la, Dawn?
I didn’t know you spoke such fluent French!
And no.
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And then the mind screams. What a nice setup here.
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Eek!
And thanks!
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You’re welcome.
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Great story to go with your picture. As the others have commented, it’s a nice creepy ending that leaves a lot of possibilities open.
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Thanks, David, glad it worked for you
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Do you feel the eyes from a stranger buring in you back?
Do you hear the soft footfalls of an alien presence waiting in the recess of the library?
We know what you did… we will get you in the end, but first we will let you feel the fear life.
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Oooo. Good come back.
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Laughing.
Really, Bjorn?
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Okay, so what did you do, and where???? Cruel ending, leaving us without the words. Just a huge mystery and a sense of foreboding. Great one!
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Great comment, thank you.
But no more clues this week, 100 words all used up!
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heheh! I’ll be watching.
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Scary tone…’What I did. And where I did it.’
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Thanks, Larry, scary is good!
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Yes I’ve always been a fan of scary
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I’ve very glad I googled the words before I read your piece! Good picture as well, gave us quite a bit to go on.
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Laughing again.
The words are irrelevant to the story!
Glad you enjoyed.
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Great beginning to a mystery book. Well done.
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Thank you
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Book marks can be little forgotten treasures. I opened one of my books up once and found cash I hid away and forgot. Only happened the once..
Neat take on the prompt 👏
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I have never been wealthy enough to use money as a bookmark!
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That is truly eerie. I cannot imagine how that must feel, but I think I’d be looking over my shoulder for a while. Great take.
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Thanks, Sandra, eerie is good!
I tend to look over other people’s shoulders…
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CE, your ending gave me the shivers. “What I did, and where I did it!” I had to look up the words on the bookmark, and I enlarged the picture until I could see the names of a couple of characters, this leading me to the book title. So thanks for the nudge to increase my knowledge a bit 🙂
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Thank you, Linda, shivers are good!
The words on the bookmark and the book itself have no relevance to my story.
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I listened to your audio recording for the first time today. I love your accent.
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Thank you, BJW-san.
It is merely a by-product of being Scottish!
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I have an idea: why don’t you post your recordings to Amazon Alexa? As audio content?
I’m predicting that flash fiction/poetry in audio format is going to be a big thing in the next couple of years. If you start now, you will be a pioneer five years down the road.
While I personally am not a fan at all of AI technology, or of Alexa (I think it’s the beginning of the end), I can see that it’s going to be a viable tool for content distribution.
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Very CE this week…dark, brooding and mysterious. I didn’t make the connection with Marx either.
Thanks so much for providing this week’s prompt, CE. I loved it and found it very poignant. Glasses are someone’s way of viewing the world. Their lenses. I’m quite short-sighted although there’s barely a photo with me wearing my glasses. You’ll appreciate that when you read my take.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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Hi Rowena, there is no connection with Marx!
Glad you found the prompt to your liking.
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Intriguing story. You left an even bigger mystery, either that or I need reading glasses like yours… Marx at Highgate?
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Part of the mystery solved – from Iain’s story I discovered that Karl Marx is buried at Highgate – I didn’t know that.
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Laughing.
There is no mention in my story of either Marx or Highgate.
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No there wasn’t, but you were the only one who could interpret the book mark, and the photo… Of course, the bookmark in the story could be completely different, so double slight of hand 😉
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Laughing and shaking head.
I consider the photo, regardless of who took it, as a prompt.
Its detail has no relevance to my words.
Sorry, but it’s just a photo and an unrelated story!
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Dear CE,
How ironic to find one’s own bookmark in a library book. Nicely written.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Laughing.
Now, now, m’lady, you are commenting on personal information and not on the story!
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Shaking my head which has been filled with a sinus infection.
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Lemme try this again. Very chilling and creepy ending. Someone knows what he did. The plot thickens.
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Still laughing (but sorry about the infection).
I wasn’t complaining, merely observing.
Chilling and creepy are good.
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I hope they didn’t bump into my protagonist this week when they visited the spot! Lovely intrigue.
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Thanks, Iain
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Reads like the start of a thriller.
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Thanks, Colline
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Oh loved this! So intriguing and well written.
(And thanks for providing this week’s photo – as a prompt it’s excellent)
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thank you on both counts, Susan
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He did Marx? Now we know Lovely, mysterious piece. .
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Thanks, Neil, much appreciated
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