Boon | The Ink Well Weekly Fiction Prompt #1: Heart and Soul
Image by Günther Schneider from Pixabay
“Care to join in on my little trip to memory lane with Roe?”
I shook away the uneasy feeling at remembering how Betty was soon called away by her campaign manager after that moment, making myself focus on Hilda as she sat across from me on my reading table, quite focused on which card she would be picking from the deck.
It had been several days since that incident at the police station, my gaze inadvertently settled on the man who sat near the door, her son, Lee, had accompanied her here to my shop.
“Oh Roe, I can't seem to find it in myself to get my reading done this week—Oh! Those are some lovely flowers there!”
I followed Hilda's gaze as she admired the sunflowers I just felt like buying from the store down the street, before I heard her sigh almost nostalgically, “Well.. doesn't that remind me of my bright young days with Paul—hand in hand as we both held a suitcase, just welcoming the new day as any newly wed couple would do..”
Not being able to keep the frown from showing on my face at the mention of her ex-husband, Mr. Grant, Hilda only laughed on my behalf.
“Some things may have changed dear, but at least Paul and I still managed to keep our happiness without hurting each other.”
“But didn't it hurt when he left and moved on just like that?” I couldn't help but blurt that question out in the open, thankful to see Hilda may not have heard me as she continued to star unseeing at the sunflowers.
“Would you rather I had him chained to my side as I was slowly filled with remorse over Lee's disappearance all those year ago?”
She had heard me after all—her eyes that now focused on me were clear and true as her weathered face seemed to look younger with the radiant smile she had.
Not knowing how to answer her, Hilda instead gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder, before she stood to leave with Lee at her side.
Though I was happy for Hilda at finally making peace with herself, I couldn't shake off the feeling that deep down, something had changed with her son's heart and soul.
Links:
The Ink Well Weekly Fiction Prompt #1: Heart and Soul
Author's notes: I will admit to being thrown off track with the change in format and prompts for the InkWell writing exercise. Top it off with a lot of happenings in 3D life. I will do my best to catch up the best way I can. I plan on continuing what I started with the fast and furious fiction story. Right now, it's also wait and see for me as to where it will go from here.
Your current Rank (45) in the battle Arena of Holybread has granted you an Upvote of 23%
Ooh, this tale really sank a hook into my imagination. Like, what kind of store are the characters in, what disappearance, who the heck is Roe and why do people play cards in her sunflower bedecked shop? So many questions, lol! Thank you for sharing such a well-crafted, imagination-grabbing tale! I really, really loved this line:
To be wise enough to keep one's happiness while also letting go is a grand thing indeed:) Hope you are having a fantastic day!
!ENGAGE
ENGAGEtokens.Thank you for sharing your impression of the story with the author.
Thank you for submitting your take on the "heart and soul" prompt, @iamraincrystal. It's an interesting progression of what you've started. One thing to think about with serial stories is that the reader needs to have read the others in the series to fully enjoy each piece. So we encourage you to consider writing stand-alone short fiction stories, vs. a series, as that is the focus of the community. That said, do what you feel comfortable with. We appreciate you and your work!
The changes in The Ink Well have been an adjustment for us all, but we are looking forward to continuing on and building the community and engagement.
Hello @iamraincrystal,
I'm very happy to find your story here. We at Ink well are committed to maintaining a welcoming community in which writers can practice their craft. We hope that in an environment of mutual support all of us will grow together.
Your story is an interesting study in character. Each of us comes to terms with loss differently. Hilda's view of loss and the narrator's are quite different. There are intriguing, unanswered questions about each of them.