Thanks to Rochelle for Friday Fictioneers!
Photo Prompt © Liz Young
Black Widow
“I think we may have misjudged the situation,” I say.
“Ya think?” Lindsey asks.
“Who knew Widow Ingstrom would go raving mad over a Halloween decoration?”
“You did. You even said this would make her go bonkers.”
“I never meant bonkers bonkers.”
Downstairs Ma tries to console the Widow. “There, there,” she says.
Widow Ingstrom wails, indiscernible words hiccupping between sobs.
The scent of baking pumpkin pie wafts upward.
“I guess we won’t get any,” Lindy says, speaking my thoughts, her stomach growling.
“I never meant to kill him,” Widow Ingstrom yells, her voice dropping off suddenly.
Silence throbs.
end
Sascha Darlington 7/11/2018
Categories: Flash Fiction, FRIDAY FICTIONEERS
Can’t really blame her, can you?
I don’t know. The author hasn’t shared with me the reasons for the murder… 😀
Thanks, Neil!
My picture of the actual event isn’t to clear, but clearly the joke went awry.
Clearly! 🙂 Thanks, Alice.
Hope that pumpkin pie doesn’t go to waste. It smells delicious!
lol yup. Thanks, Jilly.
At least she didn’t go Sweeny Todd on her hubster…or maybe she did. Pumpkin Spice is everywhere.
Soon it will be…hopefully not for months yet. 🙂
Thanks for reading! 🙂
Whoops, that went a bit too far!
Unexpected consequences
Thanks, Iain!
AWK!
😀 Thanks, Anne!
The children could never have imagined that their Halloween trick would bring a confession of murder from Widow Ingstrom. I guess the actual murder was years before, and the guilt had been festering.
I think you are right. Thanks, Penny.
The truth will out. Maybe the joke didn’t misfire so badly after all.
Not too badly since the truth has emerged.
Thanks, Sandra!
Seems that her own ghosts have come back to haunt her
Very true, thank you, Siobhan! 🙂
Dear Sascha,
Gasp! You can’t leave me there. Killed whom? Great write though. I like it.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks, Rochelle. This was definitely one where I struggled to get the whole story in 100 words (it was 130 at one point), although I think it turned out to be 99 with maybe too much subtlety? 🙂
Sometimes jokes just don’t work the way we plan them. (P.S. you’re missing an “n” in suddenly.)
darn, I wonder where it went? I’ll see if I can find it. 😉
Thanks, Alicia.
I think n’s creep away when we’re not looking!
ooooooo! 🙂
n
Oh dear… things are no longer a secret…
But at least now maybe there’ll be pumpkin pie! 🙂
True dat… if that’s something you like… 😉
Oh-oh. Now that the secret’s out, it’ll be difficult to bury it, unless she puts poison in the pumpkin pie, and feeds it to her entire neighborhood 🙂
Yikes! 🙂
Thank you!
An intriguing take on the prompt Sascha. I was a bit confused initially but the comments helped and it makes perfect sense. Except for the bit about wanting pumpkin pie 😉
Thank you, Dahlia.
Note: must bake pumpkin pie and send to Dahlia. 🙂
Exactly what I was angling for 😉 😀
😀
Funny in a schadenfreund way
I swear that schadenfreund is this year’s term for me. Before last year I’d never seen it…now it’s everywhere and wonderful. 🙂
Thanks, James!
Oh dear. A prank that went waaaaay bad.
IT seems the prank reminded her of something that Widow did that went horribly wrong.
Yes! Thank you, Fatima! 🙂
Oh, this is intriguing. Brilliant!
Thank you, Lisa. 🙂
Oh my, you never know what secrets your neighbors hide. Nicely done.
True this! Thanks for reading! 🙂
I loved the line, “I never meant bonkers bonkers.” Until I got to your last line–and loved it even more. What a dark, mysterious and dastardly lovely last line! 🙂
Thank you so much, Jan! 🙂
That ole guilty conscience will get you every time!
True enough!