Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 251

This week's photo was taken by a friend of mine on Twitter, BasDriver I felt it had a very start statement and offered up lots of options. 

A short heart wrenching tale to suit the picture. 

The General Guidelines can be found here.

How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here. 

There is also a Facebook group for Mid-Week Flash, if you fancy getting the prompt there.

Clipped

I lay on the ground watching the clouds float across the sky, wishing I was up there with them. My eyes saw through the barbed wire that cut across it, reminding me I wasn’t free.  

The barb wire hadn’t been there since the beginning. Oh no, they added that later, after Galilee had tried to get out, when the confinement had become too much. They taunted us with allowing us access to the outdoor enclosure, where we could see the sky all the way to the horizon.

It had been devastating to watch him slowly succumb to the claustrophobia, but far worse to see how they punished him. And now he sat, catatonic in the corner of the enclosure, staring at his feet, never daring to look up again to a place where he could no longer go.

I could only dream of the day we would be free. I had to believe that we would, otherwise I would be like Galilee. And since the change of laws there was a sense of hope that eventually we would be accepted and allowed to go free and return to our home. A home that looked so glorious on a day like this as the breeze blew the clouds along at a steady pace. I could imagine our wings lifting up on the thermals and taking us back to the mountains and tree tops where we came from.

I only hoped that Galilee’s wings might heal by then; the clipping they had done able to be reversed. Without him our release would be meaningless. He was our clan leader and we needed him.

I sat up and crawled over to him, putting my arms and wings round him, and he fell into them, tears from his eyes falling into my feathers. I fed them through to his damaged wings in the hope they would speed up his recovery.

As we sat there cocooned, I looked up again at the barbed wire that covered the roof. It represented everything they were: harsh, cold, and barbaric. I was warmed by my rage as the sun began to sink low. Once it touched the earth they would force us inside to sit in a concrete box until morning. I could only hope for the day when I would wake up and find the wire gone, and we could go free.  

Review - The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm not really one for reading what might be considered a book about World War II, but when this book was proposed at my bookclub, I really liked the premise. It's about a forger who provided new identities for those trying to escape occupied France, and also about a book taken during a nazi raid from a library in a church that had coded within its pages the original names of the Jewish children that this particular forger created new identities for.

It's historical fiction in that some elements are true and based off events that did happen during the war, but not any one person or event specifically. It is written in two timelines: 2005 with the main character, Eva, in persent day at the age of 85, and in 1942 when she escaped occupied France with her mother and became a forger.

It's a story about identities stolen, lost and forgotten. The writer touches on all aspects of this through multiple characters, with a backdrop of the war and how it traumatised so many, and led them to do things they never would have thought to do. There are also a few twists in this book, which caught me by surprise and and gave it a compelling edge as I keep turning the page to find out more.

The characters are well developed and engaging. I quickly become attached and cared about them, often feeling sad, shocked and shed tears about the things they had to go through. There is also a love story too, in some ways more than one. It evoked emotions at every step. A brilliant book I highly recommend, giving a view of the war that I'd never seen before.

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Review - Later, by Stephen King

Later by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Later is a return to Stephen King's true style, It feels like a long time since he's written anything like it, and as a good, believable storyline too.

It's written in first person as an account of something that happened in the characters childhood, looking back from the future as thought still processing it. It draws parallels with of the film Sixth Sense in that the main character can see dead people, but with a more detailed rational understanding of what is happening. And it details a specific event, which, as the main character, Jamie Conklin, repeatedly reminds the reader, is a horror story, about a dead person who haunts him and how he initially stops it and how it helps him in the end. It's also a story about how he is used and abused by his mother's ex-girlfriend.

I loved the supernatural element in this horror story, and the details it builds. As always, Stephen King is the master of character building and we get to really relive the story with the character through his eyes and get to know everyone and be fully engaged. There are also some clever twists here and there, particularly at the ending, that adds to it's dark, intriguing tone.

A compulsive read that doesn't strictly sit in the Hard Case Crime genre it is published in, but crosses over well into the supernatural and horror. It's not for the faint-hearted.


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Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 250

This week's picture prompt was taken by Elliot Erwitt, a famous French/American photographer. This particular photois up in the Tate gallery's website. It is called Bus Stop, London 1952. 

Short and sweet this week. It started as one thing but then ended as another. But I quite like it.  

The General Guidelines can be found here.

How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here. 

There is also a Facebook group for Mid-Week Flash, if you fancy getting the prompt there.

Big Car

He had no idea what they were doing standing there. More of them kept gathering but he couldn’t work it out. Then he heard one of them speak.

‘Do you know if the number 9 has been?’

‘Not seen it yet, love. Hopefully it’ll come soon.’

His eyes opened wide, as he looked down on them from his window above. What was ‘number 9’? He had no idea. Then someone else arrived.

‘This the right one for the 58?’

They all looked up at the post that had a board with squiggles on.

‘No, I think it’s the one over there.’ One of them pointed at another post across the road.

‘Ah, okay, thanks.’

They left the group and crossed the road working to avoid the fast moving cars.

One of them looked at a strange dial on their wrist and said to the other, ‘It’s definitely late. They won’t be happy at the office.’

The other nodded. ‘It’s so frustrating when that happens.’

They stopped talking as they watched a big red double-tall car approach and stop. An opening at the back allowed them to climb on as they handed something to someone standing inside. Then he watched it pull away.

 Johnny? Hey, Johnny, what are you doing?’

Johnny pulled his head back in from the window and turned to his mama. He pointed, and said, ‘People on big car!’

‘Yes, that’s the bus, Johnny.’

‘Bus,’ he said. ‘Number 9.’

His mum gasped. ‘Johnny! Did you just say number 9? Oh my! What a clever boy! Not many boys can read numbers at two and half! Come here and give mama a cuddle.’

She picked him up and cuddled him. He giggled. He liked cuddles from mama.

Review: The Seren Stone, by Lisa Shambrook

I waited a long time for The Seren Stone to be released, and then a touch longer to receive the paperback, but it was worth the wait; what lovely interior which only adds to what is already a mystical and intriguing adventure story. 

My review is below, but this is definitely worth having in your book collection. I can't wait for the next instalment. 

   

The Seren Stone by Lisa Shambrook
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was so excited when this book was finally published. I read it in its early stages and loved the concepts it covers. I have always had a great love for anything that time jumps, and then when you add in magical gemstones and dragons, well you can't go wrong.

Lisa Shambrook has a very descriptive style of writing that draws on all the senses and paints a vibrant picture, and The Seren Stone benefits from that detail. It is full of rich scenery and world building. The main character, Loren, is thrown into another world with her two siblings and due to a dragon fight going on overhead, they have to quickly try and orientate themselves - which isn't easy when nothing looks familiar.

There are elements of Narnia and Lord of Rings but with Dragons and magical gemstones. It's the first book in a great adventure, and at the same time the characters deal with human themes like sibling rivalry, and mental health (anxiety).

I see from other reviews that many readers feel this is more of a children's adventure book rather than a young adult book (and have marked it down because of this), but I feel it contains themes for all ages. It is about three children struggling to make sense of a world they find themselves in, and about the relationships they develop with each other and the people (or dragons) that come into their lives. It doesn't take away from the book.

I recommend it to all those people that enjoy a good adventure book with magic and dragons.

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Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 249

This week's picture prompt was taken by American photographer Walter Arnold. He took it in an old abandoned house on Sapelo Island, Georgia, USA. He calls it 'Choices'. He has appeared on MidWeekFlash before, on Week 177. He has some inspiring pictures. Worth checking out. 

This took more time than planned because I stopped and restarted a few times with different ideas - much like the character. 

The General Guidelines can be found here.

How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here. 

There is also a Facebook group for Mid-Week Flash, if you fancy getting the prompt there.

Untrainable

There should have been only one door, but I could see two. I stepped through the right one, I knew their game, and as I suspected the image changed.

I found myself again confronted with the doors, but they looked a bit more worn; dirtier round the door frame, and needing a fresh coat of paint. I stepped through the right one again.

By the fifth time, the paint was peeling and through the left hand door I could see part of the ceiling falling in.

This caused me to pause. It wasn’t replicated on the right. Why not? And the light was different. There was a sunshine pattern on the floor; sunlight was coming through the side window.

I frowned.

I stepped into the left room, breaking my pattern. The image didn’t change, the room remained. I went over to the window and looked out onto a lush garden below: An expanse of vibrant green lawn, surrounded by dense foliage. It was the thing of dreams. And they knew it.

I climbed out of the window and jumped down into the garden. The image flickered and I was back at the two doors again. They looked freshly painted.

I sighed. This loop wasn’t getting me anywhere. I stepped into the left one. I remained in the room. I looked out of the window at that inviting garden, but knew it wasn’t where I was meant to go. So where was I meant to go?

The other window offered the view of more gardens and a field beyond. But if I climbed out into it, I’d come out at the doors again. Or would I?

I opened the window, which screeched its age and climbed out. Within seconds I was standing in front of the two doors again.

I decided to keep going right and see how decayed things would get. By the tenth time the floor I was standing on felt spongy and precarious.

I carefully stepped into the room on the right again.

The image flickered and I found myself in a huge entrance hall. Okay, something new.

The front door was in front of me, and behind me there was a staircase, which split off left and right at the top.

Stairs or door?

I went to the door. It was locked. I went up the stairs. There was a locked door at each end of corridor both left and right.

I stood at the top of the stairs. There were no other doors leading out and nothing open. I wondered what to do. There had to be a way out. There was always a way out. How could I get a door open? Was there a key?

I realised this was like one of those escape room challenges, except that really I was a mouse in a maze trying to find their way out. I didn’t want to be their mouse. I didn’t want to do this anymore.

I sat down on the top step. How long would they let me sit like this?

I pondered this as I picked at my nails, and let my mind wander to other places, to other times when I had a life and they weren’t running it.

It felt like forever ago, but it was only a matter of weeks. It had all been so sudden. And this was one of the training systems they put me in to make me compliant. It didn’t work on me, which is why I spent so much time in them and had learnt patterns and knew what to expect. They didn’t know what to do about that, which is why I was sitting here at the top of the stairs, and waiting. I could be stuck for hours in real time.

I got up and tried the doors again. Nothing. I had hoped they might unlock one to give me something to go through.

The only other item was a mirror on the left wall as you came through the front door. I went and looked at myself in it. My reflection looked worn, nothing new there. I touched the glass and the image flickered and I was back at the doors again.

I took a deep breath. Okay, so they had reset it. What was I going to do? Play their game or play mine? I could just sit by the windows and look out at the garden for a while. Why not?

I went into the room on the left and leaned against the wall, looking out at the untouchable beauty of nature they had created. It was better than the cell I would wake up in, in a few hours, when they decided to give me a break.

Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 248

This week's picture prompt was taken by British photographer, Paul Hart, for his series, Drained. The title being in relation to the area in Lincolnshire in the UK that has been drained of the sea - reclaimed land (much like where I live in Holland). I don't often go for Black and White photos as I am not a big fan of them on the whole, but this one really struck me.  

This picture called for a touch of sci-fi this week.

The General Guidelines can be found here.

How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here. 

There is also a Facebook group for Mid-Week Flash, if you fancy getting the prompt there.

Experiment

Cranthian stood at the corner, waiting. He knew he was in the right place even though it was foggy, although he couldn’t be a hundred percent sure which direction he was facing, but he did remember the Give Way sign. In fact, a smirk crept across his face when he saw it. He couldn’t help it.

It hadn’t been funny for Sandra, or for the poor guy she’d pulled through with her. Hitting metal at that speed could be fatal, but fortunately their combined speed and weight had down it before it could do too much damage.

He sauntered over to it and shook the pole. They probably thought it had been from wind damage. Flat, reclaimed lands were always windy; nothing to break it across the fields. It was why this was the perfect location. It was remote. You couldn’t have people stickybeaking as you came in and out, it would be dangerous, for you and for them. No, when Panthos had chosen this place, he’d done his research. Between the symmetry of the crossroads and the emptiness of the surroundings, it was perfect. No one would be seen or heard.

Cranthian walked back to the reflector post and sat on it. Not many cars came through this junction. It didn’t lead to any big towns and it wasn’t well lit, but he believed it was also because they sensed the anomaly.

Humans in this dimension had been taught that to feel things was bad. You had to try and pretend all was well and all times and block any emotion or intuition that came forward. It was their downfall and made them generally uncaring of one another, and that, along with the creation of a monetary system, made them difficult to interact with. It was another reason Cranthian was thankful this place was remote. He only passed through here because it was a key portal to other dimensions.

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar fizzing sound. He stood up. There was a shout of ‘Oh crap!’ as Sandra flung herself to the side, narrowly missing the Give Way sign again. He stifled a giggle.

‘Yeah, I know you think it’s funny, but there has to be something off with the Gallos portal to keep sending me in like this.’

‘You spend a lot of time there, don’t you?’

‘I like them there, they’re friendly.’

‘Too friendly, you mean. They’re all over you as soon as you arrive.’

Sandra grinned. ‘Some of us enjoy the touchy feely. You should give it a go sometime, Cran.’

‘Nope, not my scene.’

‘No, that’s right, you like the dark abyss of Hellion instead.’

‘At least it’s honest.’

Sandra let out a guffaw. ‘I’m not sure I’d call the baiting they do over there honest.’

‘It’s not baiting, it’s expressing.’

‘Yeah, right. Triggering each other until you are screaming at the top of your lungs? Seems like madness to me.’

‘Nothing wrong with a bit of heated debate.’

‘But it’s all pointless, nothing comes of it,’

‘Expressing and knowing where you stand is what comes of it.’

Sandra shrugged. ‘If you say so. Okay, so why am I here? What do you need?’

‘I want to make a run to Raggus. I need to collect some vials for an experiment in Hellion.’

Sandra’s eyes opened wide. ‘Experiment? Why would you do that?’

‘There’s a debate that’s been running for a while that we need to resolve.’

‘But Raggus is more dangerous than here. You infect another dimension it could have an impact on all of them.’

‘It won’t go that far.’

‘You can’t be sure.’

‘Yes, I can. We’ve put a whole list of protocols in place, which is why the debate’s been going on for so long.’

‘You’ll owe me big if I do this with you.’

‘Oh that’s right, you always want something in return.’

Sandra smiled and gave him a wink. ‘When it’s you, Cran, always. How else can I get you to do the things I want?’

Cran laughed and grinned back at her. ‘What’ll it cost me?’

‘You have to come to Gallos with me.’ Her eyes flashed.

He groaned and laughed at the same time. ‘You’re always trying to convert me.’

‘It’s not conversion; it’s coercion.’ She put her finger to her mouth and bit it, giving him puppy eyes.

Cran laughed again. Okay, it’s a deal.’

Sandra put out her hand. Cran took it and pulled her towards him as he took a step to the left. The air fizzed for a second, then the crossroads returned to its deserted state.