friday fictioneers – Kelley Farrell

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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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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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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Word Prompt

Rules Meant to Break

Posted on February 19, 2020 by Kelley Farrell

“Time travel works like a ride, all about momentum. We set the chosen time as your center point, you see that perfectly. Everything towards the edges …”

The tech shrugged but George was unconcerned.

“Remember the rules, no touchy, no changey, don’t slow down.”

With that George was off, whipping through time and space. His childhood home came into view. He could see his father, hands around the neck of the only man George ever loved.

He had done the math. George knew just how much he could afford to slow and, after all, rules were meant to be broken.

Word Count: 100
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Word Prompt

Escalator To Heaven

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Kelley Farrell

“Excuse me.” The hollow sound of my voice is surprising. Brilliantly glowing arches of gold should echo, giving life to the thin words.

Robed figures slowly ascend the clunky escalator, seemingly unaware I spoke at all.

I can feel the anger pulsing in my temple.

“There should be a golden stairway!”

All these years I slaved over designing a breathtaking entrance only to have the project overtaken by last-second grand ideas.

‘Make it worth the journey to see that pearly gate.’ Of course, you don’t say no to the divine.

“Really sorry Jared. It’s a more economical choice.”

Word Prompt

The Road He Built

Posted on December 11, 2019 by Kelley Farrell

When the wrecking ball crashed into his childhood bedroom the crowd gasped. Dawes felt glee tinged with betrayal.

He could practically hear his mom, “how could you?!”

It’s just a house. He reasoned her nonexistent voice away.

“But the land. Your father!”

Dawes found himself pulling up his bank account on his phone. One glance reminded him why.

Those zero’s are worth it.

The wrecking ball crashed through his family’s living room.

“You’re not MY son.” Years later it still stung but Dawes shrugged it off.

But I am his and he built this road. It’s always been his plan.

Word Count: 100
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Word Prompt

Bus To Anywhere

Posted on December 6, 2019 by Kelley Farrell

I think it’s my bus.

Then again, if you asked me whether the sky was blue, I’d say I wasn’t sure.

The bus rattles to a stop. A never ending flow of people disembark through its doors.

Maybe it’s a clown bus.

“Last call for boarding!” I’m not sure I heard a first call.

There’s no seats, only pillows spread over the floor.

It looks nothing like buses should look.

This isn’t right. Where’s this bus going? It can’t be mine.

“Anywhere and nowhere kid. Sit back and enjoy the ride.”

I do as he says. Nothing makes sense anyway.

Word Count: 100
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