We were Eight and Ten
Sun like an angry pharaoh. Wind like a vengeful woman. Summer-long grasses, burs, bites, and bloody knees. Holey, holy rocks!
“Girls, watch for snakes!”
Barefoot with soles tough as aborigines. Fairytale hair, streaming gold. Shimmering sweat. Skin brown as walnuts. Fleet, sleek, and sinewy as cougars and just as wild.
Ecstatic sunsets. Chasing toads in the porchlight. Mom makes us bathe, slippery polliwogs in a yellow tub. Mermaid songs echo over the waves. Dad yells through the door, water splashed on the floor.
Tucked dreaming into down, really heathens, imps, and fays.
The Meta Story: I have summer photos somewhere, but this one was already on my computer and is about the correct timeframe for my story. All true, by the way.
I’m the girl in blue. My sister is in red.
Both my parents, Benariene J. and David E. Sparlin, have left us. I miss them every day.
Friday Fictioneers: 100-word stories
Muninn's Memories 
March 8, 2017 at 8:35 am
A snapshot of a magical childhood. Good one.
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March 8, 2017 at 8:36 am
Thank you, Sandra. It was the best I could do through tears. Moving on…
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March 8, 2017 at 8:44 am
“sun like an angry pharoah” is an extraordinary line. Perhaps there are a few too many similes for such a short piece, but nonetheless I loved the imagery
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March 8, 2017 at 8:48 am
Thank you, Neil. Maybe I’ll clean it up someday…if I ever grow a tough enough skin to endure the memories without falling apart.
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March 8, 2017 at 8:48 am
Dear Kecia,
I loved the metaphors and imagery in this piece. Very well done. Love the family portrait. We never stop missing them, do we? Simply lovely all the way around.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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March 8, 2017 at 8:50 am
Thank you, Rochelle. No, I never have.
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March 8, 2017 at 10:06 am
Beautiful descriptive writing. Your metaphors are a soothing balm to my mind. Reading your stories is always a pleasure.
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March 8, 2017 at 10:07 am
Thank you. You are so very, very kind. So very.
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March 8, 2017 at 12:49 pm
Very kind is my middle name. (My parents were hippies, what can I say?) 😉
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March 8, 2017 at 12:53 pm
Hehe. Lucky you!
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March 8, 2017 at 11:50 am
Great opening lines.
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March 8, 2017 at 12:13 pm
Thank you. 🙂
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March 8, 2017 at 12:37 pm
Love the thought of “chasing toads in the porchlight”. Happy days… 🙂
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March 8, 2017 at 12:51 pm
Thanks, Magaly. My sister and I shared a magical childhood.
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March 8, 2017 at 2:18 pm
What a wonderful memory of childhood you’ve created. Might just keep it to replace all the ones I’ve lost. 🙂 ❤ Loved it!
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March 8, 2017 at 2:50 pm
Thank you.
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March 8, 2017 at 2:42 pm
A touching family memory. Lovely.
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March 8, 2017 at 2:50 pm
Thanks. 🙂
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March 8, 2017 at 3:25 pm
What a magical story, love shines through. Your last post-story lines brought tears to my eyes.
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March 8, 2017 at 3:54 pm
Thank you. There was a lot of love in that family. My sister and I have tried to pass it down.
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March 9, 2017 at 5:21 am
You paint a very beautiful childhood. A deluge of memories and metaphors, too
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March 9, 2017 at 6:52 am
Thank you.
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March 9, 2017 at 8:40 am
Lovely.
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March 9, 2017 at 8:44 am
Thank you. ❤
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March 9, 2017 at 9:03 am
Such a sweet collage of a child’s happy day.
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March 9, 2017 at 9:07 am
Thank you for the visit and the read.
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March 9, 2017 at 11:01 am
Beautiful story; Dreamy, nostalgia tinged.
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March 9, 2017 at 12:17 pm
Thank you. I appreciate the encouragement.
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March 9, 2017 at 4:08 pm
This was truly lovely, Kecia! A summertime so well described.
Loved the family photo too!
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March 9, 2017 at 4:11 pm
Thank you, Dale. If only we could put time in a bottle.
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March 10, 2017 at 7:21 am
Brought back lovely memories of my childhood 🙂 The photograph is lovely and so happy…
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March 10, 2017 at 7:30 am
Thank you, Dahlia. I’m glad it brought back happy memories for you.
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March 11, 2017 at 11:26 am
For me this was a timeless piece of writing, which I enjoyed very much. I feel your sadness, sadness which every generation at some piont experiences.
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March 11, 2017 at 11:35 am
Thank you. This one was more feeling than craft.
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March 11, 2017 at 12:38 pm
I just love the descriptors. Well written I could just smell the grass. Peace
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March 11, 2017 at 1:14 pm
Thank you.
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March 12, 2017 at 6:08 am
Great imagery
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March 12, 2017 at 7:38 am
Thank you.
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March 12, 2017 at 11:16 pm
Wind like a vengeful woman Oh how I wish I’d come up with this line.
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March 13, 2017 at 6:51 am
Thanks, Alicia. I’m from Kansas, so it was no great leap. 🙂 She’s blowing right now, in fact.
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March 13, 2017 at 10:34 am
Oh! I’ve been to Kansas, my father grew up there. No wonder the Wizard of Oz was set there, right?
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March 13, 2017 at 3:40 pm
What a wonderful story… I have similar memories, and probably images as well… I wonder if we can renew it somehow at our age. Maybe we just need other toys.
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March 13, 2017 at 4:31 pm
I tried to give the same thing to my kids. Maybe that’s the best we can do. Thanks for reading. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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