Hello everyone, I hope your week has been going well.
I've gotten more and more busy as I start a new job, but I'm still writing 400 word flash fiction stories each week. This week's prompts were: Character: A man in his 70s, who is never encouraging.
Setting: The story is set at a car wash.
Theme: It is a story about common sense.
I got to play a bit with the timeline of Gemlord for this one, just to make Fox's parents Zelina and Alfred old enough to match the character description, but I think it's a lot of fun. Figuring out how to write how Alfred sounds in my head is tricky, so this is more experimental. I hope you enjoy the story!
“Al, why did you leave the sun roof open?”
“I forgot.”
Zelina sighs, shaking her head at me, “How many times have I told you to just ask me for help if you're washing the wagon?”
I shrug. Normally she's the one who needs my help. But when it comes to vehicles, I am in desperate need of her help. I don't know if I will ever understand them.
“I didn't want to bother you with such a simple task.”
We stand in front of the vehicle I purchased transport the family. My wife insists I need to take better care of it, as it carries a large value to vehicle collectors. I chose it simply because it could move from point A to point B without issue. I suppose I could have bought a newer vehicle by now, as it has been nine years since my family was released from The City of Shards. But this vehicle works, and Zelina keeps it in running order.
“Sapphire help you, Al,” she shakes her head, “Don't you realize this wagon is one hundred years old? I gotta replace the back seats again.”
“My love, not every gem knows the value of vehicles like you do.”
"Right, but if I left the windows open in the house, would you be happy?”
“No.”
“Then it's common sense to take a few minutes to be sure all the windows in the car are closed.”
“You're right, I apologize.”
My wife pats my back, smiling, “It's ok, you're doing fine. I'm just frustrated because it's so high maintenance.”
“It would make sense to purchase a new vehicle, then.”
“As if we have the money for that,” she rolls her eyes.
“We have spent large sums of money to repair the vehicle in the past.”
“That's true...”
“Then it's common sense to purchase a new, low maintenance vehicle.”
She laughs, covering her mouth as not to disturb the rest of the customers at this establishment.
“You win, you win. But can we keep the wagon? They don't make the Moon Glow anymore and the wagons are even rarer.”
I shrug, “That's your choice.”
Zelina pumps her fist, turning away, “Let's go see if the car wash has a vacuum I can use to dry some of this water.”
As she begins her new quest, I open all of the doors to air out the vehicle.
I want to thank everyone who's come over from a post on my social media, I've seen an uptick in readers and I'm so grateful for the reads.
Have a wonderful day!
-Rosetta 💖
Image by Zulfahmi Khani