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A place to be together – Friday Fictioneers

It’s time to write another piece for Friday Fictioneers!  Thank you to Rochelle Wisoff-Fields who hosts this venture.  Each week Rochelle chooses a photo prompt to inspire writers to produce a 100 word piece of flash fiction.  Do use the link to her blog if you are interested in joining the group.  It’s a great way to get involved in writing!

107 garden seat

PHOTO PROMPT © Fatima Fakier Deria

A place to be together

There was plenty to do in the house but the garden was where they wanted to begin.

 They looked around in delight.  “Let’s get started!” came the cry from the children.

 They cut down the long grass and discovered the hidden pathways.  They dug up the creeping moss from the neglected flower beds and cleared the area around the tree to create the perfect space.

 A place for talking and laughing through the years and for family celebrations.

 The echo of those times floats gently through the air as the raindrops slip from the tree and onto the empty table.

 

 

46 thoughts on “A place to be together – Friday Fictioneers”

    1. It is a real story! That’s just how it happened but, as you say, things change and the family members grow up and seek fresh fields (or gardens!) Thank you for your thoughtful comment.

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  10. Ouch. Quite a lot of sadness there for me in this one. I don’t like people moving on. Why can’t they sit still?
    Well done. You created the mood beautifully, Edith.
    xx Rowena

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    1. There is sadness for me too because it’s a true story! I’m sorry if it hurt but I’m glad it touched your heart. The thing with people, especially little ones, is they grow up and want to establish their own gardens! It was a wrench for us to leave ours but it became too big and too empty. Now we sit on a balcony and gaze out to sea, treasuring the memories of the space under the tree! Thank you so much for your empathetic response to the story. I really appreciated it. Edith xx

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      1. Edith, I agree with you. Trees do create those special spaces. My kids’ school had a tree referred to as the “big tree” and you’d hear a “meet under the big tree”. It was a plane tree and yesterday as my daughter and I walked through Surry Hills almost in the heart of Sydney, they’d planted rows of them beside the road and their curled up brown leaves brought back such memories and were like little notes left in the gutters, Even though they weren’t pretty and they were commonplace, I still felt like picking one up and putting it in my pocket.
        Time goes by so quickly and just slips through your fingers and with it those you love or the closeness you have with your children when they’re young. It’s something worth feeling “reflective” about and looking back at a few photos and sharing special memories while creating new ones.
        xx Rowena

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  11. Life changes. When you’re a child, you think it’s always going to be the same; but then you WANT the changes, and maybe someone else will move in to that property and enjoy it just as much. I hope so.

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    1. It’s a difficult decision. I’m very happy that there was such a place for my family and me but there’s a lingering sadness that those days are gone. Thank you for your thoughts.

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  16. I liked that story very much. You capture the joy of discovering and shaping, the joy of family gatherings, and then you capture the wistfulness of the place that the family have left behind. I love the phrase “as the raindrops slip from the tree and onto the empty table.” Such a good metaphor for the quiet weeping that sometimes accompanies changes. And yet the whole story is suffused with tranquil acceptance. That’s lovely, Edith, just lovely.

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    1. There is a sadness there because everyone has moved on and away. This was such a place of joy but things have changed. Do we look back with dismay or do we take pleasure from what there was. It’s a tricky one! Thank you for your response.

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    1. It’s an emptiness that is inevitable in the circumstances I described. Although I miss those times so much, I try to retain the happiness of the occasions rather than to be sad that they are gone. Thank you for the empathy in your response.

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