Friday Fictioneers is hosted by the wonderful Rochelle, the undisputed master of what I call Sound Bite Fiction.
She sets the weekly challenge, the standard, and the prompt photo.
The idea, as always, is to write a story of around 100 words based on this picture, below, which this week is supplied by Ted Strutz.
© Ted Strutz
Click here to hear the writer read his words:
The Photo
I knew I’d seen him before.
There he is.
In the background of that photo.
The one from the holiday she took with her friends all those years ago.
I noticed him at the time because of how he was gazing at her.
With an expression of what?
Adoration?
She laughed, of course, when I asked.
Perhaps a little too much.
Just a guy in the crowd, she said.
Never seen him before, she said.
And laughed again.
Perhaps a little too loudly.
But here he is again today.
At her funeral.
With tears in his eyes.
Sound Bite Fiction 
A great story, C.E. I had to almost bodily toss out a crazy woman who considered my husband was her “uncle” and this flat partly hers. I suspected he was flattered at the attention and so too easy with her. I was angry and threatened to call the police so she finally left. She tried on a couple of occasions other days to come in again but I kept the guard door shut. —- Suzanne
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Dear C.E.,
What a finely told tale. The imageries are as vivid as can be.
It’s as though the funeral and his final appearance was a death knell to all things wonderful that the couple shared through the years.
Love how deftly you’ve told this tale. Privileged to have read it. 🙂
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What an absolutely delightful comment.
Thank you, Natasha, I am glowing at your too kind words.
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Much deserved C.E.😊
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Oh him…yea..I know this story, but for me it was ;;;”Oh her…”
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Man, you can be a real wet blanket at times!
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LOL
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It’s sad to think he might be haunted with this nagging doubt and she can’t set it right. It certainly is true that no one knows are deepest parts. Your piece was engaging and thought-provoking, as they so often are.
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Thank you, Brenda.
I love ‘engaging and thought-provoking’, and I am very happy that you so often find them so.
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CE, this is beautifully written. The repetition of “Perhaps a little too loudly/much” is very effective. The sadness is palpable. Well done.
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Thank you, Linda, that is a lovely comment
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Partners don’t always share everything, and sometimes that is a good thing. But it does leave little mysteries that nag us. Perhaps she was faithful, and the stranger was the unfortunate bearer of unrequited love.
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Perhaps, Fatima, and perhaps not…
These little mysteries are what make stories, are they not?
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They certainly do!
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This raises an interesting question for me; how well do you know and trust someone?
Perhaps an infatuation from a stranger or a forgotten school crush.
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Indeed, James.
Most people, I think, have hidden depths they show to few others
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Am I too accustomed to blood from your pen, CE? I found myself wondering whether the narrator had played any part in her death…Nobbinmaug’s comment is very apt.
Very well told, M’sieu!
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Interesting comment, Penny.
A quick review of my FF tales shows that there has been blood in only one story in the past 3 months.
Glad you enjoyed it regardless
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The tell-tale laugh. This was well-crafted. It balances well between his potential paranoia and her potential infidelity.
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Sometimes we just can’t be sure…
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A simply beautiful poem this week. Loved it!
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You are too kind, Bear, thank you
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Ah, the laugh! Well done. (P.S. I love “hearing” your stories, too.)
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Thank you, Alicia, I do appreciate that you take the time to listen and comment
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Pretty rough on him. Should he confront the stranger, or is it better not to know how deep it ran?
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A question for each of us, sir
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Great flow. Truth seems to always resurface eventually.
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Thank you, Tannille.
I wonder if it does…
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Those laughs give it all away, don’t they?
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Often the case, I think, that the little things expose us
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A fine story,
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And a fine comment
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A big story in a tiny package. I like it.
Tracey
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Thank you, Tracey, good to see you here again
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Gosh, thanks. My ink ran dry. I’m glad to be back.
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That would make grief so much more complicated. I don’t envy that person. Well-told, C.E.
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Life is not always easy, is it?
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Should he confront him to learn the truth? Perhaps in hindsight they could become friends…
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I don’t think friendship is on the cards, Iain…
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We think we everything that’s going on, but too often we don’t. Beautifully written.
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Thank you, Keith, very kind
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Wow.
Painful and gentle and well paced – we know where it goes from the start and yet we have to read through to ascertain to ourselves what we already know. Just like your character.
Nicely done!
Na’ama
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Glad it drew you in, Na’ama
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It did!
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What a fantastic STORY! Loved this a lot, Ceayr
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Thanks, Neel, very happy it worked for you
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Great pace in this tale, so much left unsaid. Suspicion to painful certainty in the reveal of a tear. Love it.
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Thanks, Em, good to see you here again.
As Mr Presley says ‘Suspicion torments my heart…’
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Dear C.E.
Well layered story. Her too loud laughter makes me think she was hiding something.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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On the ball, m’lady, as always
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Her laugh is beautifully detailed
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A laugh can say so much, don’t you think?
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This sounds very painful. And of course, the narrator has no way now of knowing whether the attraction was sufficiently mutual to have made a mockery of his own relationship. Nicely done.
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Thanks, Sandra.
Doubt is a killer emotion, is it not?
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He should have listened to his instincts! He knew the chap was significant years earlier, but let it slide. I like your hints at her guilt, C – that too loud laugh. Great story as always
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Thank you, Lynn, praise from you is always a source of pleasure and pride.
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My pleasure always C 🙂
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