Flash Fiction | Inside the Mind of Isadora

January 27, 2017
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 30 Comments

Friday Fictioneers – Pop Pop’s Antique Car

This is an encore of a previous entry for Friday Fictioneers. Our Purple Goddess has granted permisson to repeat our story since the photo prompt is having another go-round. Enjoy ….

The parade was on Sunday.

Nana was excited. She’d be driving Pop Pop’s antique car.

He’d purchased it at an auction. It took him 8 years to restore her.
Sadly, he never got to show her off.

“Will you be able to see, Nana?”, I asked.

“I’ll be dazzling wearing my wide brimmed yellow hat”, she beamed.

“But, the ophthalmologist said to limit your driving.”

“Lily, I wouldn’t miss showcasing your Pop Pop’s car for anything.”

She slept soundly, with a dazzling smile, that night.

I drove the car wearing her wide brimmed yellow hat.

She would have been proud.
2017©Isadora DeLaVega

Genre: Flash Fiction
Word Count: 100 words

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August 23, 2016
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 47 Comments

Rendezvous

The phone rang.

“Hello,” she whispered softly.

“ Nereida, meet me at our usual spot on the beach.”

~~~~~~

Memories rapidly flooded her mind. She remembered the first time they’d met. He was walking with his metal detector along the shore. She was photographing the hazy afternoon sky. He had glanced her way.

“Do you always photograph people passing by?”, he said.

“No, only the good looking ones,” she replied.

Thus, the beginning of what would turn out to be a whirlwind romance.

He’d found an antique timepiece that day. It would be her wedding gift.

~~~~~~~

“I’ll bring the bordeaux,” he quickly added.

“I can’t wait”.

She hung up the phone and smiled.

“I wonder who that was”.

2016©Isadora De La Vega

Word Count: 116
Genre: Flash Fiction

Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers
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***** Photo Prompt: ©The Storyteller Abode

March 3, 2016
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 52 Comments

Friday Fictioneers – Just a Boy

He was born with a death sentence.

The doctors spoke gently as she wept.

She was overcome by the diagnosis of hydrocephalus.

She carried him for 9 months. He couldn’t have a disability.

How could she create a defective child?

They told her to institutionalize him.

You won’t be able to manage his condition.

She refused. He’s my son. I’ll always love and care for him.

He is 59 now. Sits on the floor staring at the wall – any wall.

He just stares and holds his little jar of batteries he calls his friends.

A boy in an adult body.

2016©Isadora DeLaVega

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Word Count: 100

To join Rochelle and her Friday Fictioneers challenge
click here or the froggy button above

***** My brother was born with this illness. Although his jar wasn’t filled with batteries, the photo immediately brought him to mind.

***** Hydrocephalus (from Greek hydro-, meaning “water”, and kephalos, meaning “head”) is a rare medical condition in which there is an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain. This causes increased intracranial pressure inside the skull and may cause progressive enlargement of the head if it occurs in childhood, potentially causing convulsion, tunnel vision, and mental disability. It was once informally called “Water on the brain.” information from wikipedia

February 26, 2016
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 49 Comments

Friday Fictioneers – Pop Pop’s Antique Car

The parade was on Sunday.

Nana was excited. She’d be driving Pop Pop’s antique car.

He’d purchased it at an auction. It took him 8 years to restore her.
Sadly, he never got to show her off.

“Will you be able to see, Nana?”, I asked.

“I’ll be dazzling wearing my wide brimmed yellow hat”, she beamed.

“But, the ophthalmologist said to limit your driving.”

“Lily, I wouldn’t miss showcasing your Pop Pop’s car for anything.”

She slept soundly, with a dazzling smile, that night.

I drove the car wearing her wide brimmed yellow hat.

She would have been proud.
2016©Isadora DeLaVega

Genre: Flash Fiction
Word Count: 100 words

To join Rochelle and her Friday Fictioneers challenge

click here or the froggy button above

January 27, 2016
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 25 Comments

Her Sunflower Smile

Nadia was stunned at how well the sunflowers had grown.

As a little child, she watched her grandmother, Oksana, cook traditional Russian meals while recounting tales of her journey to this new land she would eventually call home.

She told Nadia she’d traveled by boat for weeks. It was crowded. They were hungry. She had no belongings. The small amount of sunflower seeds she’d brought to eat were almost gone by the time they’d arrived.

Oksana felt bewildered by the new language, new customs and clothing.

She decided to plant the leftover sunflower seeds as a remembrance of her home left behind.

They grew tall. Bigger than in Russia.

Nadia never forgot her grandmothers love of sunflowers.

She remembered her smile was as big as a sunflower.

Nadia planted sunflowers at her grave.

2016©Isadora DeLaVega

Genre: Flash Fiction
Word Count: 133

Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers
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Prompt Photograph by Sonya @ Only 100 Words

January 21, 2016
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 25 Comments

The Move

They were packing to move overseas again.

They’d been in New Mexico for a less than a year.

He’d received his military orders the week before.

Each move, became more difficult to endure.

Why did they have to upset the children again?

They’d finally made friends.

Now, they’re packing again. It always broke her heart to tell them they couldn’t take all their toys or favorite books. There were weight limits on moving overseas. Four children could accumulate many things. Their sad faces would be more than she could bare.

What happened to their dreams?

There’d been many.

Plans they were going to focus on before they considered children.

But, things happen.

They were a blessings to her. She wasn’t sure if he felt the same. He was gone a lot. It was part of his secret service military career.

They’d had a good marriage.

She thought.

But, things happen.

2016©Isadora DeLaVega

Genre: Flash Fiction
Word Count: 150

Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers

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December 9, 2015
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 41 Comments

Cyber Dating

What should I wear?

We planned to meet in town. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. After all,
I had no idea if he was the person he’d said he was.

Pathetic feelings spring up inside me. Is this really the new way of life?

Divorce robbed me of who I was. The rejection manifested a despair in me for
any kind of affection.

Still, a dating site date.

He’d texted it as our rendezvous instead of a date.

“Do you know where the Chin Boat Chinese restaurant is?”

“Yes, it’s by the park. There’s outdoor tables.”

********

“Rhonda?”, a deep throaty voice said, while extending his hand.

“Bradley, I said with clenched teeth. It’s a pleasure.”

Was it?

He was nothing like his photo.

Word Count: 122
Genre: Flash Fiction

Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers

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December 2, 2015
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 39 Comments

Friday Fictioneers – Narnia Adventure

Photo Prompt by Roger Bultot

Narnia Adventure

“Hello, Mrs. Benson.”

“Hi Peter. What’re you boys up to do today?”

“Just a little hiking.”

“Be sure, to come home before dark.”

“Okay, Mom.”

**********

Outside, Peter tugged Andy’s arm.

“What’s the rush?”

“I found the wardrobe. We can experience what happened in Narnia.”

“Ugh … it stinks in here.”

**********

“We’re so sorry, Mrs. Benson.”

Her body wrenched.

“Officers, it can’t be. They’re good boys. Who’d do this to them?”

“The abandoned lot is a druggy hangout. They must’ve stumbled across a
strung out junky. It looks like they found a sword among the rubble..”

“It’s the weapon the killer used.”

Genre: Crime Flash Fiction
Word Count: 100

To join Rochelle and her Friday Fictioneers in this challenge click here or the froggy button
***** The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a high fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It was the first published of seven novels in The Chronicles of Narnia (1950–1956) and the best known; among all the author’s books it is the most widely held in libraries. Although it was written as well as published first in the series, it is volume two in recent editions, which are sequenced according to Narnia history (the first being The Magician’s Nephew). Like the others, it was illustrated by Pauline Baynes, and her work has been retained in many later editions.
information from wikipedia

September 24, 2015
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 37 Comments

Friday Fictioneers – Despair

Sitting on the railing, he pondered the possibilities of flight. He was enveloped in a fog of despair. Just moments before his chest was bursting with joyous ecstasy. The love of his life had accepted his proposal. Her smile was radiant. She spoke of an overflowing love for him.
If there hadn’t been that accident on the bridge?
Sitting.
Waiting.
It had angered her.
Days before she’d been despondent. He thought he would reach her with his proposal.
Frustrated, she’d gotten out of the car.
She jumped.
He wanted to fly.
He wanted to lift her up in his arms.
2015©Isadora DeLaVega

Genre: Flash Fiction
Word Count: 100

To join Rochelle and her Friday Fictioneers in this challenge click here or the froggy button:

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What is Depression?
Depression is a real illness that impacts the brain. Anyone suffering from depression will tell you, it’s not imaginary or “all in your head.” Depression is more than just feeling “down.” It is a serious illness caused by changes in brain chemistry. Research tells us that other factors contribute to the onset of depression, including genetics, changes in hormone levels, certain medical conditions, stress, grief or difficult life circumstances. Any of these factors alone or in combination can precipitate changes in brain chemistry that lead to depression’s many symptoms. info from the Univsersity of Michigan Mental Health

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For more information about depression:

World Mental Health Day October, 10, 2015 – Dignity Mental Health Foundation
University of Michigan Depression Center – Mental Health

September 8, 2015
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 35 Comments

My Nightmare

I couldn’t sleep a wink all night. Shoe shopping is thrilling! At first light, I showered and dressed. There wasn’t a moment to spare.
I’d found the perfect dress the day before. I knew exactly where to find the ideal shoes to go with it.
Why hadn’t I purchased them together?
Driving in the downpour was blinding. I forged on.
As quickly as my stylish wedged shoes could carry me, I went straight to where the shoes had been the day before.
I was shocked. Disheartened. It can’t be. Everything’s rearranged.
Is it that time, already?
My shopping nightmare.
Christmas.

Genre: Flash Fiction

Word Count: 100

Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers Challenge – Photo Prompt Every Tuesday