The heating has been on since six and the kitchen is warm.
Beyond the windows trees are grey skeletons, the lawn knotted with weeds. Three fence panels slump away from their posts, and the sun is out.
Through the glass it pretends that the heat in the kitchen is its doing.
Kara knows it’s lying and pads barefoot across the tiles.
The kettle has boiled but she leaves it, takes the jar beside instead, twists a slip of paper free.
‘Live,’ it reads.
She folds it and places it back, rooting it towards the bottom.
Tomorrow she may pull different.
PHOTO PROMPT © Priya Bajpal
Carol J Forrester - Writing and Works 
Reminds me of the Dice Man
I’ll have to look that up.
Love the picture, but the word salad took me to bed.
Liked that – very atmospheric! Nicely done.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
Thank you Susan. I’m glad you enjoyed it. The first comment I got on this was a little less complimentary so I was worried I’d completely screwed this piece up.
Today she lives, what of tomorrow? Good stuff, already name checked the dice man, i’ll do it again!
Very atmospheric. Told very vividly.
Thank you. That’s more encouraging than a word salad that’s puts people to sleep
Don’t worry, Carol. Sometimes our words are not understood by all – it happens to the best of us!
I love the atmosphere you’ve created and this phrase: “Through the glass it pretends that the heat in the kitchen is its doing.”
I hope most of the notes are positive like the “Live” one!
Every day a note pulled. It reminds me of a Christmas a few years ago when a friend gave her other four friends a jar of inspirational sayings – some just one word – one for every day of the coming year. I used it for years, saving and putting back the scraps of paper when coming to the end. I found it a really good ongoing present . Still have it..
gramswisewords. blogspot.com
What a lovely gift. The best presents are always the ones that we can use over the years and bring us joy each time.
A lovely well constructed piece which I enjoyed for the quality of the writing, I don’t understand the word salad comment at all and suggest if it’s meant to be derogatory the writer knows not of what they speak, so ignore with gusto.
Thank you Michael, I appreciate you saying that. I’ll admit that I let it knock me more than I should have.
I read and made my mind up about the piece before I saw the comment and couldn’t believe it. I reread the comment thinking I must be misunderstanding it. Anyway it’s of no importance, there will always be idiots and we ignore them.
I loved it. And especially how you have described the nature that lives on.
Thank you Priya.