Month: July 2015

Five Photos Five Stories – Day Four

/ Helen Vahdati / 4 Comments
Photo by Jaxon Espinosa

Photo by Jaxon Espinosa

Shared Abundance

Wake up to the glowing sun
Live and breathe the fresh new air
Harmonious rhythms sing through veins
Delighted breezes sway
Dancing in time to melodic beats
Floating through the joyful day
Blissful sighs melt into tinkling laughter
Igniting shared abundance
I bow my head in delicious wonder
My divinity to yours

 

Here are the rules for the “Five Photos Five Stories” challenge: “Post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem or a short paragraph and each day nominate another blogger for the challenge.”

As I mentioned in the first post, my son, Jaxon, took the photos I am using.

Today, my nomination goes out to Willow.

Five Photos Five Stories Challenge – Day Three

/ Helen Vahdati / 3 Comments
Photo by Jaxon Espinosa

Photo by Jaxon Espinosa

Desert Heat

Dusty footprints pave a path
A destination unknown
The sun beats down on weary shoulders
Sweat dripping to the ground
Tumbleweeds roll slowly by
Driven by an arid breeze
Daydreams of moisture
Glimmer in the air
An oasis of hope wavers amid
Charred edges burning
Succumbing to the desert heat
All signs of life slowly fade away

Here are the rules for the “Five Photos Five Stories” challenge: “Post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem or a short paragraph and each day nominate another blogger for the challenge.”

As I mentioned in the first post, my son, Jaxon, took the photos I am using.

Today, my nomination goes out to Nortina Mariela.

Five Photos Five Stories Challenge – Day Two

/ Helen Vahdati / 12 Comments
Photo by Jaxon Espinosa

Photo by Jaxon Espinosa

Lonely Exchanges

A distorted sun beats down on heavy hearts
Colors fade to gray
Familiar faces come and go
Strangers in the end
Fake smiles warp fleeting moments
Shrill laughter cuts through the wind
Shattered figures sharing shards of glass
Lonely exchanges under a colorless sky

Here are the rules for the “Five Photos Five Stories” challenge: “Post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem or a short paragraph and each day nominate another blogger for the challenge.”

As I mentioned in the first post, my son, Jaxon, took the photos I am using.

Today, my nomination goes out to Just Fooling Around with Bee.

Monday’s Finish the Story – Sammy’s Pain

/ Helen Vahdati / 20 Comments

Gruff in hiding

He thought he found the perfect hiding spot, but boy is he wrong. I bolt into the kitchen, tongue flapping, tail wagging, almost missing him in my excitement. Fortunately, I glimpse his paws sticking out from under a curtain and I bark my head off. No one could possibly mistake Gruff for a smart dog, but me? I’m Sammy, destroyer of worlds, or something like that. You’ll have to ask Mom. She’s the one who named me.

I run over and start sniffing at Gruff’s paws, growling and biting. He took my bone and I want it back!

“Sammy! Settle down or I’ll put you outside.”

I stop in mid-growl and peek over at Mom. Does she even understand? I don’t think she understands. I whine and bark again, just to let her know my pain.

“Sammy!”

Okay, fine. I’m a good girl, after all.

Flopping to the floor, I bury my head and wait for my chance.

 

Monday’s Finish the Story is a unique flash fiction challenge where we provide you with a new photo each week, and the first sentence of a story. Your challenge is to finish the story using 100-150 words, not including the sentence provided. Click on the froggy link to read other stories or upload your own.

This week’s story is coming in at exactly 150 words. If you want more Sammy stories, feel free to click this link and find them on my Flash Fiction page. Also, I took some liberties with the picture since I’m pretty sure that’s a cat under that curtain, but once I think of a Sammy story, it’s hard to get it out of my head and a cat just doesn’t fit into that world. Besides, I think photos work as prompts and don’t necessarily need to be taken literally.

Five Photos Five Stories Challenge – Day One

/ Helen Vahdati / 7 Comments
Photo by Jaxon Espinosa

Photo by Jaxon Espinosa

 Nature’s Rain

Silky showers tumble from bursting clouds
The wind heralding its arrival
The world arises with a thunderous shout
Leaves rustle, branches snap
The aroma of damp earth permeates
Around the lazy curl of soft petals
Dew drops bead on velvet surfaces
Arms outstretched, face turned up
Greedily drinking in the torrential downpour

A big thank you to Prajakta for nominating me for the “Five Photos Five Stories” challenge. It’s only taken me about a month to actually do it! Here are the rules: “Post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem or a short paragraph and each day nominate another blogger for the challenge.”

I am lucky enough to have an amazing son who has taken up an interest in photography, so all the photos I am using were taken by him.

Today, my nomination goes out to Catastrophe Jones.

Mondays Finish the Story – Revelations

/ Helen Vahdati / 15 Comments

Petroglyphs

The petroglyphs told the story of an unusual event – one that Detective Jones was quickly interpreting as he stared at the well wall.

“How long do you think it took?” He asked his partner.

“I’m not sure I want to think about it,” Rands said with a visible shudder.

Jones glanced over at his partner then back at the wall. “We’ve seen worse, but this one’s kicking my ass too. Just the thought of someone living through that fall… and then to have the determination to… Well, at least we know exactly what needs to be done once the body is identified.”

The techs continued their work, removing bones and snapping pictures.

It won’t be long now, you son of a bitch, Jones thought.

As he walked slowly back to the car, Rands trailing silently behind him, he couldn’t help but wonder why construction sites always found ways to reveal the dead.

 

Monday’s Finish the Story is a unique flash fiction challenge where we provide you with a new photo each week, and the first sentence of a story. Your challenge is to finish the story using 100-150 words, not including the sentence provided. Click on the froggy link to read other stories or upload your own. My story this week is coming in at 143 words. I hope you enjoy.