friday fictioneers – Kelley Farrell

Stage Fright

Posted on January 17, 2021 by Kelley Farrell

It started as a ball of anticipation settling into my stomach.

Rolling and roiling, loud grumbles began to escape.

“I don’t feel good.”

My bandmates, bless them, pat my back and instructed me in deep breathing.

It wasn’t enough.

I walked reluctantly on stage, head down and anxiety churning in my throat.

Don’t look up.

Too late.

The packed house stared back, each pair of eyes boring holes straight into me.

I couldn’t even start playing before the churning in my throat spilled over.

That’s why we have to move, preferably tonight when no one can see me run away.

Word Count: 100
For Friday Fictioneers (late, late, I’m late …)
PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

Ghost Hunting

Posted on December 4, 2020 by Kelley Farrell

Hattie almost missed the fraying brown clue blending into the brickwork.

Almost.

Matt would never let anyone miss it completely.

“It’s a clue!” He howled as he dropped to his belly and slithered towards the string. “Hattie. Hattie. Look. They were here.”

“I don’t see anything Matt.” He groaned and lifted the string between clenched knuckles.

“Right here. They were here.”

“Who?”

“The ghosts! Hattie! Did you forget what we were doing today?”

“I guess so Matt.”

“Ghosts. Ghost hunting. The email invite was clear.”

Hattie gazed at the sunset. Why were the cute ones always so weird?

Word Count: 98
For Friday Fictioneers (I’m getting better at this!)
Photo credit: © CEAyr

flash fiction

Jumper

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Kelley Farrell

“If your friends jumped off a bridge would you jump too?”

Well mom, looks like we know the answer.

In my defense, it was only 3 feet off the ground.

Surely I would’ve come to my senses before diving off anything higher.

You’re not amused. It’s ok, I get it.

It wasn’t in your weekend plans to care for this ungrateful snot you call a daughter.

I hop to the window, wave to my friends and part of me wonders …

Would they believe you pushed me if I jumped again?

Word Count: 91
For Friday Fictioneers, serving up photo prompts, hot and with a side of crazy fries.
PHOTO PROMPT © Susan Eames

flash fiction, friday fictioneers

Fried Okra

Posted on October 24, 2020October 24, 2020 by Kelley Farrell

“I was surprised you agreed to get BBQ with me.”

“Why? I know the importance of good BBQ. I am from here remember?”

“Debatable.”

“Oh, fuck off, it is not.”

He tossed a sugar packet in my direction.

“For your ‘unsweet’ tea.”

I stared out the window, wondering if things would ever be the same.

“Seriously, what are you going to eat?”

“Well, I do love fried okra.”

“You’re going to eat fried okra? That’s it?”

“Sure.”

“I don’t think anyone likes okra that much.”

“Blasphemy. Fried okra is the best okra.”

Brief smiles.

Sighs.

“Why are you here?”

Word Count: 99
Returning to Friday Fictioneers , after forever, with an only dialogue piece.
PHOTO PROMPT – © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

flash fiction

What A Shame

Posted on July 10, 2020 by Kelley Farrell

A small robed man prepared to dip into the lake. He gazed at his reflection, as if what lay just beneath the surface were the better judge of his sins.

As I drew closer, his lover’s frock slung over his shoulders and stripped red from her blood seemed to assume a voice of its own.

No wonder the man crawled and cowered.

Tufts of grass, ripped from the dry dirt, were flung towards stoic blue stones slowly submerging beneath the hate he spewed.

All because his lover requested he wash the dishes. How ashamed he must be.

Word Count: 97
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flash fiction, friday fictioneers

Sure Thing

Posted on June 19, 2020June 20, 2020 by Kelley Farrell

We aren’t born with murderous intentions.

Walter’s a good man. He would do anything for those he loves. He’d never hurt a fly.

That’s what I hate the most. I need someone with a spine, someone not afraid to push back and knock me around.

I clutch the ladder until my knuckles go white. In my mind I can see Walter tumbling head first two stories down.

My muscles tense, ready to rip the ladder from under his feet.

“Honey, I don’t really need you to spot me. Can you get my toolkit?”

I relax, my fingers loosen.

“Sure thing.”

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Also check out Pint Sized Lit

Word Prompt

Detour

Posted on May 8, 2020 by Kelley Farrell

I could think about what we’d done but what good would it do?

Everyone is just here for the main act.

Liquor and beer rain overhead as the crowd surges to the music. Food from the buffett Matt so graciously supplied disappears.

Buffett a la Matt, we called it.

After all, it was what he wanted, to be recycled, given back to the Earth.

“Have you tried these meatballs?!” The guy stumbles then graces the ground with undigested chunks.

Matt meant cremation, we know, but times are tough. Eventually his remains will make it there.

This is just a detour.

I’m sorry, I do not know how my brain got here.
Word Count 100
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Word Prompt

Paris

Posted on April 24, 2020 by Kelley Farrell

Emily laid the picture over her lap. “What’s this?”

“Paris! Isn’t it lovely?” Emily traced the eiffel tower with a trembling hand.

“It’s yours?”

Jenna motioned towards Emily’s wall, a homage to landscapes and skylines all over the world she wished to visit. “Yours.”

“You think I’ll really see it one day?” In her years of nursing, Jenna had never met a child as determined as Emily.

“I really do.” Emily nodded her approval as she yawned.

“I’ll dream about it first.” Emily sank into her bed. A mess of hair peeked from underneath her blankets.

Slowly, she slipped away.

Word Count: 100
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Word Prompt

In The Name of Adventure

Posted on April 10, 2020 by Kelley Farrell

Elias slipped his sleeve over his fingers and rubbed the window. In his dreams he was a master treasure hunter traveling the globe in search of the “the big one”.

Through patchy fog Elias could see a rainbow arching into the harbor.

He picked at the fuzzy bunny knitted onto his shirt while thinking the plan through.

Getting to the harbor was easy, his parents wouldn’t be mad if he looked both ways when he crossed the street.

The boats would start leaving soon. One of them would take him to the rainbow’s end.

Elias had no time to waste.

Word Count: 100
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Word Prompt

“Destiny”

Posted on March 13, 2020 by Kelley Farrell

“True love is destiny.”

Juli had no time for old fashioned nonsense. Maybe “destiny” helped her grandmother but that was before the digital age. Everything was different now.

Juli’s Romeo appeared in the background of a viral video. The moment he smiled, she knew.

She scoured the internet, hoping to give “destiny” a helping hand. The research was painstaking but every bit was worth it.

He worked in front of his open window nightly, 9 PM sharp. The fountain, he penned, gave him endless inspiration.

Juli sat on its marbled edge, waiting. Any moment now, he would realize his “destiny”.

Word Count: 100
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