
I had come to St Malo for inspiration, a fugitive from my past, starting a new life as an artist.
Standing on the causeway between St Malo and the Grand Beh I was startled by my telephone. The message was unequivocal.
“Tonight you die!
I will have the rope ready.”
As if hit by a poleaxe I fell to the cobblestones where I flailed about for a moment and then got to my feet. What could I have done to deserve this? I glanced at the phone…private number…untraceable. When you leave behind another life there are always loose ends…
There was that dry-cleaner who swore I owed him for that shirt…or perhaps the waiter who I forgot to tip and spat in my minestrone?…
Petrified, I hurried to my art class. “Safety in numbers” whispered my heart.
Phillipe would know what to do. So artistic, but alas, his creative skills also applied to his spelling.
As I approached his studio I saw on the notice-board in lurid letters…
“Let’s Tie Die! fabricks for the fashionisters.”
Oh this was funny, took me awhile to connect the dots.
XD
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The Flash fiction challenge doesn’t leave much room for explanations so I am glad it made sense (eventually). Best wishes.
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Thank you!
I worried at first that he was actually going to die.
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So did he! 😀
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Hahaha! So the message, “Tonight you die,” really means “tie dye?” Cute story, TJ! 🙂
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You got it! 175 words is making things difficult! But that is what the challenge is all about. Thanks again and best wishes.TJ
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Thank you, TJ!! 🙂
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Absolutely love it! A tale with a humorous twist!
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Thanks so much! Bon weekend to you! TJ
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And to you too TJ! 😊
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This story took me on so many twists! It was great and humorous. Is this picture taken in St. Malo? I guessed the U.K. but wasn’t sure. Nice to know.
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Thanks so much. Just getting up here in Western Australia so thanks for the nice words to start the day. I took the picture looking out from the little island “Grand Beh” onto St Malo where I was staying for a magical 2 weeks. It is such a picturesque place and the ever changing tides change the views continuously. Bon weekend. TJ
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It looks magical from the photo!
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I could happily live there always. 🙂
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love the tagline btw. So true, who has time for bad wine?
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Nothing wrong with preferring the good stuff! Hope your weekend is a “vintage” one. 🙂
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Yours as well 🙂
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Oh my, I was relieved and greatly entertained, TJ!!!
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Many thanks. Trying to develop a story of sorts in 175 words or less is very trying. I keep wanting let my natural propensity towards prolix persiflage burst forth.
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We have that in common, my friend–brevity usually causes sweating for me! I’m a rambler 🙂
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They say “Brevity is the soul of wit” but as most young people I speak with have no idea what “brevity” actually means I sigh and ramble on.
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That’s a good one! I think the young people are sadly lacking in language skills/vocab–since they rely on texting, etc. They must be great at short-form poetry/flash fiction though, eh?
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In this soundbite world the haiku seems the perfect poetry form. 🙂
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Probably so…I briefly had a Twitter account, and was amazed I could get a whole haiku “tweeted”…but that was a short-lived venture. Apparently I’m only suited to blogging 🙂
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I am afraid I had no luck on twitter either. Blogging is far better although I still wish it had a slightly more “cool” sounding name. 🙂
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Yes, “blog” sounds way too close to “bog” (or quagmire)–and thus, “slogging” through, rather than offering up stellar posts and comments 🙂
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Absolutely. 🙂
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🙂
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Interesting way of putting the two challenges together. When I saw the photo prompt I thought it looked familiar and yes I was right. I am glad it wasn’t going to be a real dying story. Nice twist!
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Cheers! Thanks for the very kind comment. I am not keen on killing people off in stories. 🙂
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Yes, me too. Happy endings are much better!
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🙂
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Oh my, what a funny twist! Great job!
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Thanks so much! Hope you are having a great weekend. TJ
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Very cleverly crafted. Kudos.
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Thanks so much for saying so! Best wishes. TJ
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Best wishes. 🙂
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Brilliant twist, thought it seems someone has some dirty secrets.
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Thank you and you are probably right…:)
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🙂 Tonight you dye. 🙂 Had a play on the guys spelling issues in my comments. 🙂 I think the word length was good for this one.
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This is very clever. Well done!!
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Thanks so much! So glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
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