Dropping her line into Fool’s Lake, she patiently waited for something to bite.
Okay, her patience lasted all of five minutes. Blasted fish. To think she’d caught her own flies ‘cos ‘that’s how you do it,’ apparently. Her foot got tapping all by itself.
‘Wouldn’t do that. Scares the fish away.’
She looked up. The old man looked at her foot.
‘Oh.’
‘You Big Bob’s girl’s girl?’
‘Yup.’
‘Sorry ‘bout your mother.’
She nodded – the easiest way to accept sympathy.
‘Bob make you come here?’
‘Sorta. I said I could catch a fish.’
He smiled.
‘Better make sure you do, then.’
‘How?’
‘Patience.’
He dropped his line.
‘Some things take their own time.’
***
The story above is 113 words long, but the first sentence is part of this week’s Monday’s Finish the Story prompt (the other part is the picture by Barbara W. Beacham). It was a bit tricky to get it right, and I don’t like the title much. But I hope I got there in the end with the story. Here are more stories inspired by the prompts.
Some things do take time! Well done! Thank you for participating in this week’s Mondays Finish the Story challenge! See you next week? I hope so! Be well… ^..^
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Thanks for stopping by, Barbara! I think today was my first time writing something for the challenge, but I’ve been reading the stories for a few weeks. I’ll certainly be back next week 🙂
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I am glad that you will Sonya! Get ready for something musical! 🙂
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I loved this story. I loved the fact you’ve named the lake ‘Fool’s Lake’ (real or made up?). And the understated dialogue is a joy- that hint that she doesn’t really want to engage in a conversation about her grief (as indeed, you often don’t). Also, the wisdom in the old man’s words- ‘some things take time’. So true of fishing and the grieving process.
Your blog is a great idea- you must be very disciplined to write a story every day. I look forward to reading the next one x
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Lynn, thank you for your lovely words! They made me happy. It seems the story works the way I wanted it to work, after all.
I can’t take credit for the name of the lake, though – it was part of the first line that went along with the picture as the writing prompt.
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Good take on the prompt. I like your use of dialogue – the long, drawn out nature of it emphasizes the need for patience. 🙂
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Thank you for your feedback! It’s good to know that the dialogue works 🙂
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Well written, Sonia – and you’ve even managed to keep to your self-imposed 100 words! The crisp dialogue is very effective, and the odd mannerism – the smile and the nod – help us to picture the scene. 🙂
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Thank you, Millie!
This one took a bit to get it down to 100 words. It’s good, though, makes me think about how to say what I want to say.
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This is such a cool short. I like to fish, so the analogy really hit home with me. Awesome!
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Phew, that’s good to know, Rebecca. I’ve never fished in my life, so I’m glad it resonated with you.
Thank you for reading and leaving a comment!
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I really felt the impact of the wisdom in this story, “Some things take their OWN time.” Isn’t it true we all want things to happen in “our” time not realizing it is different from other people’s (or fishes) time? Very nice story.
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Thank you, PJ! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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I really liked this. looking forward to your coming posts.
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Thank you! I really appreciate it that you took the time to let me know you enjoyed the story.
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I liked it a lot! 🙂
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Thank you, Lotta 🙂
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