Friday Fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here.
Click here to hear the author read his words:
seabird
isn’t it strange
how life can change
in an instant
when you realise
everything you wanted
everything you hoped for
everything you dreamed of
and worse
everything you had
is lost…
we are swimming
no
floating
lazily on our backs
in the gentle Mediterranean
just off the beach at Bonporteau
a calanque
or rocky cove
talking
laughing
happy
I think
until…
nothing tangible
not even a word
just a hint
a suspicion…
and then
as the doubt
slithers in
I see
on the cliff face
the fleeting shadow
of a swooping gull…
and I understand
* * *
You can find details of my new book here:
https://ceayr.com/2026/04/07/this-time-its-tartan-noir/
So lovely.
Thanks, Dawn
Dear C.E.
A hauntingly beautiful poem.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thank you, m’lady
Aww clever, clever! Very well done, CE.
Thanks, Chris
How lovely – so effective due to its ambiguity – happiness was perhaps a facade or a misunderstanding all along 🩷
Sometimes we never know. And glad you enjoyed.
Beautiful writing. And then you can only watch, helplessly, how it all drifts away.
Indeed, Gabi. Thank you
Delightful, you’ve excelled yourself CE.
Cheers, Keith
beautiful. one of the best this week.
Thanks, Plaridel
The beginning of the end. Masterfully done with your usual aplomb.
You’re very kind, Nancy
Such imaginative language.
Thanks, Will
This maniac was just looking for a reason. To what, I’m not sure.
I have no idea how to respond to this comment, Lisa. I don’t know who you mean by the maniac. In fact I wonder if the comment was meant for another story and posted here by mistake?
Please feel free to not respond. Oops, too late. I meant it for this story, and each viewer has their own perspective.
I liked how yiu had “gentle” Mediterranean – and floating and lazily – all these softer words – with a deeper, ominous not-so-soft vibe….
Thank you
I have missed your beautiful words and voice so much! So nice to have you here today! That slithering in of suspicion….
I’ve missed your lovely compliments, Jodi.
Best to let go and float, in sky or sea. What comes will arrive in its own sweet (?) time.
Sometimes there’s no choice, Liz
‘Zackly!
And that’s how it starts. You’ve lost none of your skills. Good to read your pieces again.
Your kind words are always appreciated, Sandra
You have a gift for drawing the reader into the atmosphere of what you write – both the peaceful happiness and the noxious ‘slithering’ of doubt that rocks it. Brilliant.
Thanks, Jenne
Between the sound and the silence falls the shadow. Wonderful, as always
You’re very kind, Neil