Vantage Point – Magpie Tales

autumn-in-madeira jacek yerka

Sarah once dreamed of her own island, floating in space and time. As a little girl, when she was encouraged to give wings to her flights of fancy, she wrote tales of a woman with long, dark coppery curls who navigated the lands, floating in the air on a slice of land suspended from hot air balloons. A dragon’s tail rudder at the back of the earthy sliver dictated the direction and a rainbow-hued propeller pulled her home forward through the sun-sprinkled air. Her life was filled with adventure, her Siamese cat purred loud and serene on her silk-clad lap. She was mistress of her destiny.

Sarah turns a full circle, drinking in the scenery laid out before her. The land is a vast, autumnal carpet, dotted here and there with a ceramic-tiled rooftop. In the distance, the deep turquoise sea glints and sparkles between the mountain peaks. At last, she is atop her own, peaceful hill, rising magically from the flat land below. It is as if it has been drawn directly from a childhood dream. She listens to the slight wind as it whistles through the trees.

If she listens carefully, she can hear the gentle rattle of a propellor and cat purring with contentment.

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Autumn in Madeira by Jacek Yerka 

Here’s my latest entry into Magpie Tales. There is a theme running through my weekly writings once again. If you want to know more about Sarah, please read my Five Sentence Fiction and VisDare entries. Can you identify with her at all?

Vanishing Point – VisDare

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Sarah and Danny are watching the couples walking down the steps. Some are smiling, some are laughing, some look worried.

Sarah thinks, ‘They look complete.’

Danny thinks, ‘The men look left out.’

Sarah reaches out for Danny’s hand, but it is stuck firmly in his jeans pocket.

“That will be us soon, Danny. We’ll have our own baby son or daughter. We’ll be a proper family. I can’t wait! Can you?”

“Mmmm,” he replies.

Sarah smiles, remembering her own perfect childhood. She thinks of the bonnets, bootees and adorable little cardigans hidden at the bottom of her wardrobe.

One day.

Hopefully.

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Here’s my latest entry to the lovely Angela’s VisDare.

I hope you enjoy this week’s tale – I’ve tied it in with my Five Sentence Fiction and Magpie Tales entries this week – find out some more about Sarah….

Please do visit VisDare for more intriguing responses to this quirky image!

 

False Lights – Magpie Tales

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We struggle for money, aye. It’s always hand to mouth and Mum says it was the same for her growing up, and for Granny and Grandad, and for their parents too, Old Sam Trelawney and his wife, Smiling Nell.

They called her Smiling Nell after the scar that pulled her mouth upwards into a grin. When she was just been married and carrying my Grandad in her belly, she tripped on a rope and cut her face on her filleting knife down at the wharf.

Dad didn’t want us to be short of money and didn’t see why we should just be poor. He always said that times needed to change.

Well, they have now, with him in a sailor’s uniform, firing cannon and all.

Thing is, we have even less than before – a sailor’s pay ain’t so grand, not even half he got for setting down to the shore with his men, waving his lights and pulling the boats on to the rocks. I followed them all, silent as a ghost, lying on the cliff top out of sight of the Wrecker’s Moon. Yes, he risked his life and liberty then, but the rewards were mighty fine. I still have a silk shawl to prove it – it smells of the sea.

Now he’s away, earning the King’s shilling, and he might never come back

Nan says he brought it on himself and he should be thankful he didn’t swing for it.

Nan’s not always right, just like Mum never wants to hear the truth. Wrecking is mighty exciting, I think. I’m going to be the best lady wrecker in all of Cornwall when I’m old enough.

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Here’s my latest entry into Magpie Tales – I hope you enjoy it! If it feels like you’ve stepped part way into a story, you’ll be right! Here’s the first instalment submitted to VisDare, and then the second instalment submitted to Five Sentence Fiction.

This week, they are all told by the same young lady, and we are treated to her own firm but (probably) fair views on life, death, truths and falsehoods. I hope you enjoy the stories – please do visit Magpie Tales for more!