The Unicorn Challenge.
A magical new weekly writing opportunity from her – Jenne Gray – and me.
Visit her blog every Friday to see the photo prompt, and post your amazing story in her comments section.
Or on your own blog, and stick the link down in her comments.
The rules are:
Maximum of 250 words.
Based on photo prompt.
That’s it.
To hear me read my story, just click here:
Loneliness
Loneliness is a terrible thing.
It eats away inside, makes life unbearable.
The woman I love lives far away.
I don’t see her for months at a stretch.
We talk on the phone, and face to face, via hi-tech link-up.
We email often, and exchange photographs, news, ideas.
We work on projects together.
She’s an artist, I’m a writer.
Sometimes she sees a piece I’ve written, and decides to enhance it with her amazing illustrations.
Occasionally I look at one of her images, and write a story or a poem to accompany it.
Or we might decide in advance to do a joint production.
It works pretty well.
We’ve created some cool stuff together.
We make some money, but we’re in no danger of getting rich.
You probably wonder why we don’t get together.
Well, I love where I am, being here is my lifelong dream.
She has family and friends where she is.
We are both happy with our situations.
We visit each other often.
She lives in a great city, which I enjoy immensely.
She looks forward to the sunshine and the sea here.
She’s fascinated by the history of hill towns like Grimaud and Gassin, inspired by the culture of Aix-en-Provence and Nice, and rejuvenated by the energy of Marseille and St Tropez.
So I guess I should explain where the loneliness fits into my story.
As I say, I love her.
She doesn’t love me in the same way.
I’m only lonely when we’re together.






Great story. Too close to home.
Thanks, Sally, but I really hope not…
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Dude! That last line (well, and everything above it necessary to supply it the Power).. poifect!
(Damn! Time to erase the Doctrine’s blackboard notes and (re)write: Less is More. yo)
Dude! Thank you.
Oh dear, very sad – but great story!
Thanks, Chris, glad it worked for you.
Unrequited love. Poor chap.
Sometimes, dear chap, life is unfair!
What an intersting concept. Being lonely when they are together. It almost doesn’t sound like it is working, although he seems accepting of his lot in life.
Oh the heartbreak at the end. Here was I thinking that they’d figured out a workable way for both of them to be happy in their relationship – getting the best of both worlds – independence and togetherness. But no, it was all one-sided. You paint such a sense of serenity and acceptance as he describes their lives ‘together’, I was totally lulled. A one-sided love, or at least an unequal one – devastating. Poor man.
Laughing here. I do enjoy ‘lulling’ you before the coup de grâce!
The end of this story caused me to use language not fitting to a family-friendly blog!
Man, that was sore.
All the beauty, all the togetherness – and that final line.
I’m away to sit quietly and recover.
Excellent story.
Sit quietly? Wow, that was a story!
Laughing!