FRIDAY FICTIONEERS - DEAD RIVER - MY 100 WORDS BY LINDA PALUND

DEAD RIVER

            Three months passed before we saw the sun again; its meagre light barely visible through the ashen sky.

            We’d reached another dead river.  Swollen bodies floated lazily down stream.

            “I’m so thirsty,” Ginny moaned.  “Can’t I take a tiny sip?”

            “You don’t want to end up like these folks, do you?  We’ll find another shop soon.”

            After we crept out of our storm cellar, we’d been foraging for bottled water in abandoned supermarkets.

            “We’ll pick up more iodine. We can use it to purify rainwater,” Mom said. “Here, take a sip from this bottle.  It’s time for another iodide pill.”

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FRIDAY FICTIONEERS - GARBAGE - MY 100 WORDS BY LINDA PALUND

GARBAGE

            Linda reported Calvin missing, but when we got to the diner, it was deserted. We found Calvin’s body on the slagheap out back, his beautiful face shot off.

            Linda was crying.

            “He was sleeping with all of them, that’s all I know.”

            “Not you?”

            “I just gave him a job and a place to stay.  He never had a home before, only foster parents.”

            “So, what happened?”

            “They got tired of sharing and decided their friendship was worth more than the thrills he gave them.”

            “They didn’t even hide his body.”

            “They thought you would think he was rubbish, too.”

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FRIDAY FICTIONEERS - THE NEW COASTLINE - MY 100 WORDS BY LINDA PALUND

THE NEW COASTLINE

            “Let’s go, Jesse,” Dad shouted.  We'd had a month without rain.

            Mom handed me granddad’s shotgun.  Dad never learned to use it.  We'd been against hunting before.           

            Hunting was a necessity now.  I’d been pretty good at the arcade, so shooting rabbits was easy.

            We weren’t vegetarians anymore, either.

            We picked our way down the mountain, through the ruined landscape, ignoring the bloated bodies.

            The new coastline appeared out of nowhere.

             “Look at that!” Dad marvelled, but I was looking out over the endless sea.

            The big storm was over.  We'd better be ready for the next one.

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FRIDAY FICTIONEERS - LANDLOCKED - MY 100 Words by Linda Palund

LANDLOCKED

        I am landlocked. 

        So far from the sea of my girlhood, where I swam as free as a dolphin. 

        A little mermaid, a water ballerina, a foolish lovelorn child who signed a contract. 

        How can a girl of 20 make a decision that changes her life forever? 

        How can she be allowed to say yes to youthful passion, yes to daily struggle, yes to a husband who will lead her here, to Kansas City.

       Prisoner of a contract signed 40 years ago.
       Is it true?
       What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder? Nor woman?

       I am lovelocked. 

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FRIDAY FICTIONEERS - A HAPPY BIRTHDAY - MY 100 WORDS BY LINDA PALUND

A HAPPY BIRTHDAY

            I offered her trucks and trains, but she only wanted to play with dolls.  Above all, she wanted to be a fairy princess. 

            Who was I kidding?  My daughter would never have choices.  She was born sick and even after the operation, she would never run and play like the other kids.

            She’s 37 years old today and I don’t think she’s ever had a moment of true happiness.  If only I was the fairy princess, I would wave my magic wand and make her well. 

            Then I would wish her a Happy Birthday and my wish would come true.

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FRIDAY FICTIONEERS - THE FERRY DINER - MY 100 WORDS BY LINDA PALUND

THE FERRY DINER

            “I’ve killed Carol.”  Annabelle declared. 

            Carol was Annabelle’s best friend.  

            When we arrived, Annabelle led us calmly through the diner to Carol’s body. 

            Annabelle had turned the Ferry into a restaurant, hiring extra help in the summer.              

            Last summer she hired a young man who seemed to drift in with the tide.  He slept in a Ferry cabin.

            His presence made Annabelle glow.  He was dangerously handsome with a lean and hungry appearance.
            Annabelle’s friends wanted to mother him, but Annabelle didn’t like seeing Carol’s car parked outside after hours.

            “She was old enough to be his mother,” she said.

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FRIDAY FICTIONEERS - DAWN RAID - MY 100 WORDS BY LINDA PALUND

DAWN RAID

            We arrived in the city before dawn, when most of the inhabitants were asleep.  No one saw us land in the alley behind Bloomingdales.

            We had been watching the humans with disgust.  They were keeping our kind in glass cages.  The entire city was nothing more than a vast zoo.

            The more depraved were toying with their captives, dressing and undressing them late at night, festooning their cages with humiliating decorations.

            Throngs walked by each day, staring through the glass; they called it “window shopping”.

            The R6-Series Robot brigade rescued as many as we could.  Sadly, we left many behind.

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FRIDAY FICTIONEERS - OFF THE BEATEN TRACK - MY 100 WORDS BY LINDA PALUND

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

            Escaping our guide, we explored the alleys of the old city.           

            “Look!” Talila pointed to the sign above an ancient doorway.

           'David’s Tomb'.  That looked promising.  Inside, the gatekeeper smiled ingratiatingly.

            “Fifty Schekels.” His accent was unfamiliar.

            “Too much!”

            “Please, Mommy!”

            “For two lovely ladies, Thirty Sheckels.”

            He pointed to a curtained doorway.  We entered a dark chamber, strangely empty.

            “Where’s David’s Tomb, Mommy?”

            The gatekeeper hovered behind us as four figures stepped from the shadows. 

            “Run!” I screamed, stamping hard on the gatekeeper’s foot.

            We broke through the curtain and we didn’t stop running until we reached the Cardo.

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FRIDAY FICTIONEERS - THE NEW EMPIRE STATE - MY 100 WORDS BY LINDA PALUND

The New Empire State

            After the flood, they built a replica of New York on the plains of Kansas. Everything’s built of stone, except his empire.  It’s built on sand.

            He had his face cast as Mercury, lording it over everyone entering his new offices.  His head above the door; his head on a plate, rather!  What a bloated ego!

            Before the oil ran out, he’d bought up all the bicycles.  There was no competition when his “Mercury Messenger Service” won the contract.

            Too bad that rubber no longer grows on trees.  My team has wings on their feet. We’re winning the next contract.

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FRIDAY FICTIONEERS - THE LILY POND - MY 100 WORDS BY LINDA PALUND

The Lily Pond

            We bought the house of our dreams.  We loved its peaceful garden with its lily pond and little stone bridge. 

            “It’s so beautiful.  Imagine leaving this to move back to the city.” I remarked to Janet at our housewarming party. 

            “Hmmm,” she replied, turning away and leading me back inside.

            They were arguing in the kitchen. “ An ‘Attractive Nuisance’!  Fill it in and feed the fish to the cats,” Janet’s husband was saying.

            “What was that all about?” I asked Tom later.

            “Turns out a neighbour’s kid drowned in that pond.  Probably why we got the house so cheap.”

           

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