Wednesday's Words on a Friday
The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over by a moveable feast of participants when Delores had computer troubles. Sadly, Delores has now closed her blog forever due to other problems.
The aim of the words is to encourage us to write. A story, a poem, whatever comes to mind.
If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please let us know so we can come along to read it and add a few encouraging words.
This month the words/prompts are supplied by Lissa and can be found at her blog
This week's words/prompts are:
1.heartbreak 2.cheeseburger 3.postcard 4.afterlife 5.beachcomb
Charlotte's colour of the month is Electric Rose
Here is my story:
At the memorial site chairs were made available for William and Josef and for Nanna Ruby too, all were happy to sit while Russell Fielding and Theo Skargill made short speeches about the cave, how it was found and what had been inside it. The small group of boys who had been the first finders gave small cheers.
The local Chaplain, Ian Smithson, said a short prayer for the souls of the lost, while admitting that it would do nothing to ease the long ago heartbreak of the families left behind who would also be long gone by now.
Colin Walker, whose crane had winched Jim Anderson to safety was also thanked, along with William for providing the carved cross and carved Albatross and Nanna Ruby for the painting of the flowers, sunflowers for the sunshine and forget-me-nots for the sailors whose bones now lay in glass cases in the museum.
As she stood to acknowledge her applause a breeze caught her new Electric Rose pink chiffon scarf and lifted it like a sail. Josef remarked, "that would be a soul saying thank you for finding us. He can move on to his afterlife now."
Photographs were taken by Marty Shaw and Colin Patterson, for the newspapers and Maggie asked if copies could be printed for each of the boys, postcard sized would be fine, and Marty agreed that would be a fine thing for each boy to have.
The portable podium was taken away after all speeches and photos were finished and picnic baskets were produced for a happy lunch for everyone, though the boys were heard to mutter something about "a cheeseburger being really good right now." Maggie overheard and promised cheeseburgers the next day.
William and Josef made quick work of several sandwiches and a couple of slices of cake too, then settled down to discuss the view, the beach at the base of the cliff and the hidden cave which William declared must have been sealed after the ship sailed into it, possibly by a small section of cliff eroding and falling.
Nanna Ruby brought cups of tea from a thermos and sat down to join the conversation. "When I was young I used to beachcomb along the shore down there, after a storm," she said, "just like Jim and his friends were doing on the top of the cliff."
Nice story with all the requested words !
ReplyDeleteIngrid; thank you. I do like to tray and use all the words.
DeleteSome cheeseburgers would be nice. Good use of the prompts.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day.
lissa; thank you. I like cheeseburgers, but not too often.
DeleteI only ever remember to do this when I hit your blog on the right day - very evocative. I just spent 20 minutes writing you one - https://jeanieinparadise.blogspot.com/2026/02/wednesdays-words-on-friday-garden.html
ReplyDeletejeanie; thank you, I'll be right over.
DeleteThis was a lovely read. You managed to bring together heartbreak, memory, and even a bit of humor with the cheeseburger line. The scarf moment especially stood out--it gave the whole piece a sense of grace and closure. Beautifully done.
ReplyDeleteVeronica Lee; thank you, I wasn't sure how to fit the colour in at first.
DeleteHeartbreak is not like daybreak. Rather than warming your bones and filling your day with hope, it gnaws at your roots and makes you bluer than a South Australian summer sky. So you go out for a cheeseburger and a coke at "Elsie's Diner" where you write a postcard to a faraway relative. Very briefly, the idea of suicide crosses your mind until you remind yourself that there is no afterlife. No angels. Nothing beyond this. Surviving the unexpected disintegration of love, you learn to beachcomb along the shore of life - looking for something to sustain you in the electric rose ending of another intolerable day.
ReplyDeleteYorkshire Pudding; thank you, I like this sad but sweet story.
DeleteThat is a lovely story, R. Well done as always.
ReplyDeleteMargaret D; thank you.
DeleteThis sounds like the end of the story, but maybe next week's words will prompt a sequel.
ReplyDeletejabblog; I don't want this to be the end of the story, so we'll see what I can come up with next week.
DeleteThat's nice closure for Jim's adventure.
ReplyDeleteVal; but is it a closure? Maybe for the old sailors, but not yet for Jim?
DeleteYou are rounding things out nicely, the story has worked out very well.
ReplyDeletemessymimi; thank you, But I'm not sure I want this to end yet.
DeleteLosing and finding something is always exciting:
ReplyDeleteTimmy spent a life near the ocean, living as professional beachcomber. Timmy spent the day with a metal detector in hand, searching for treasures and often invited family to visit.
His mom had some strong opinions about this lifestyle. “That boy, he is so stupid that he couldn’t find a cheeseburger in McDonald’s. “
The day a postcard arrived whining about the heartbreak of living alone, promising to visit Mom soon. “No matter what!” wrote Timmy. She was doubtful.
A registered letter arrived to say Timmy was dead. Mom harrumphed, “He won’t find anything in the afterlife.”