This is written for the Carrot Ranch Prompt: not all is lost.
Starting Over
At 11, her daddy died, taking away the sunshine.
At 15, she destroyed her knee and her chances for a sports scholarship.
At 37, she watched her husband, who didn’t want children, leave for his pregnant, much younger assistant.
Eight years later, as muddy waters careen around the sides of her house and her bedraggled pup is tethered to her, she yells at the sky: “What the fuck do you want from me?”
“To save you to start with,” the Coastie says.
The sun peeks out. Harbinger of hope. Maybe all’s not lost.
She’s very good at starting over.
end
Sascha Darlington 6/22/2018
I enjoy the tragic, Sascha, even with a sprinkling of hope. Up above the Coastie, another voice is whispering “Life is alligators, with the occasional glass of Pinot, and maybe sugar-free chocolate, but definitely no cigarettes.”
Hmmmm. How did the occasional glass of pinot get in there? Wouldn’t very bad glass of rose be more appropriate?
You’re absolutely right, Sascha, Pinot is not realistic, but at the mention of rosé, I’m standing back and making a cross with my fingers.
There ya go! 🙂
A gritty commentary on life.
Each sequence is sharply drawn and creates a painful portrait of life, but the hope and humor from the Coastie responding soften the edges. Great writing!
Thank you, Charli. That’s exactly what I was hoping for. 🙂