The house bursting and yet empty.
This is a bareness of harvest or pestilence.
Tilly put the book down when her Aunt asked what she was reading.
She made an excuse and escaped through the kitchen. Hurried along the pockmarked lane.
The keys were cold in her palm, which was odd, seeing as they had been hung by the Aga.
When she climbed the gate she heard him muttering about townies always f’ing over good gates by not climbing over hinge end.
The tractor won’t start at first, takes a little coaxing.
Great Old Lady, done more than her fair share of things and would carry on longer than he would no doubt.
She eased it into gear and checked the harrow out of the back window.
He’d liked things finished, seen through to the end.
Today was as good a day as any.
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Published by Carol J Forrester
Carol J Forrester is a writer and a history geek. Her debut collection 'It's All In The Blood' came out November 2019.
She has a 2:1 BA degree in history from Bath Spa University, enjoys judo at least twice a week, and tries to attend poetry events around the Midlands when she can.
Her flash fiction story ‘Glorious Silence’ was named as River Ram Press’ short story of the month for August 2014 and her short story ‘A Visit From The Fortune Teller’ has been showcased on the literary site Ink Pantry. Her poems ‘Sunsets’ and ‘Clear Out‘ were featured on Eyes Plus Words, and two of her poems were included in the DVerse Poets Pub Publication ‘Chiaroscuro’ which is available for purchase on amazon.Her poem ‘Until The Light Gets In‘ was accepted and published at The Drabble and her poem ‘Newborn’ was published by Ink Sweat & Tears.
She has been lucky enough to write guest posts for sites such as Inky Tavern and Song of The Forlorn and has hosted a number of guest bloggers on her site Writing and Works.
View all posts by Carol J Forrester
I love how I observe her actions and try to piece together her story… to me the backstory in my head is much larger than what I see
Excellent tease and slice of life, catching the reader off guard. My guess is “He” was her grandfather, and she was honoring his memory; a larger manifestation than the Swedish tradition, action not candles and murmured prayers./
House bursting yet empty! What a great line!!
I love the opening line, which whets my appetite, and the keys being cold in her palm after they’d been hung by the Aga. I like the way the reader is left to fill in the gaps – is ‘he’ dead or alive?
This leaves so much to be imagined. Excellent!
Very nice. Will you please tell me the rest of the story some day? I will wait.
I learned what is an aga, but all else is conjecture in this mysterious tale … riveting to the end!
Oooh la la! what a great little horror story! Absolutely love the grim sparseness of it. You make us harvest our own conclusions.
FANTASTIC POST AND LOVE THE PHOTOGRAPHS, CHINA
Reblogged this on LIVING THE DREAM.