Wednesday's Words on a Friday

On Wednesdays, Delores, from Under The Porch Light, has a meme which she calls

“Words for Wednesday”.

She puts up a selection of six words which we then use in a short story, or a poem.

I’m hopeless at poetry so I always do a story.

It’s a fun challenge…why not join in?

This week's words are:

1. investment 

2. gladiator

3. frenzied

4. cramped

5. zealous

6. inchworm

Here is my story:

Felix Reynold smiled with satisfaction. It had been so long since he'd felt this happy, the smile felt awkward on his face, but he enjoyed the tightening of his cheeks as the grin spread wider.

His latest investment had been the turning point he'd been hoping for. Far away now from the frenzied pace of the city, far away from the over-zealous competition, he was free to once again be himself. 

No more of Mr Jimson yelling at him over missed opportunities, no more racing against time and crowds of reporters to be the first to snap a photograph of whichever celebrity was currently in town.

After twenty-five years, Felix had turned his back on all that and bought a cabin on five acres of gently undulating land in the Blue Mountains. 

To any of his many city friends, his cabin might seem cramped, but Felix had had enough of palatial city apartments with too many square metres of cold and shiny space. 

This smaller home, built from local stone and nestled in the foothills was warm, comforting, perfect for a man tired of the rat race.
The verandah door opened into a large kitchen, with a living room off to one side that had picture windows on three sides. He could look out over his land and see both sunrise and sunset, all from the one room. 

On the other side of the kitchen were three doors, one to a good sized bedroom, one to the bathroom and the third to a laundry/mud room. The laundry opened onto the wide back porch which held a rocking chair and a boot scraper.

And he had bought a dog! 

With five acres between Felix and the nearest road, there was more than enough room for Gladiator to run and explore. Behind the cabin was a tree-shaded creek for summer splashing. 

They'd been here six months now and at last Felix could feel the tension unwinding, his neck and shoulders relaxing, his passion for nature photography returning.
He sat quietly on a large flat rock and focused the new lens on the inchworm slowly making its way along a branch.