River is hosting February's Words for Wednesday. Please go visit her and see what others are doing with the prompts and maybe, just maybe, participating yourself.
This week's words are:
1. shutdown*
2. wreck*
3. hairclip*
4. marked*
5. old school*
6. brewery*
and/or:
1. release*
2. hell-no!*
3. cherrie*
4. insignificant*
5. coffee*
6. almost*
From its perch on the promontory its painted colours of white and cherry red stripes flared in bands around it.
As dusk fell, it seemed to rouse itself, as if being released from a shutdown, a hell-no! rousing from its depths. The light at its summit blasted forth, blazing to insignificance the granite on which it stood, beaming fiercely across the savage rocks and waters far below.
"As I'm on nightshift," said Tom, one of the two lightkeepers in the house beside it,"I'll have another coffee to get me through the night."
"Well, I'm going to have one of those artisan beers, or two, from that new brewery before I go to bed," said Amy. Sweeping her hair up in a hairclip, she strode to the fridge, took the beer, and snapping the top off the bottle, almost downed the whole thing in one long swallow. Tom watched her as he sipped his coffee, his wife, his lightkeeper partner out on the edge of nowhere. He was old school enough to long for the days of his father's time when women knew their place and would never drink alone.
Women knew there place and never drank alone.
ReplyDeleteWe've come a long way baby.
She also wouldn't have been his help at the lighthouse. They would've had umpteen children. No doubt his wife is happier in these new times.
For sure Gemma. I am glad you read underneath the story!
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Very creative!
ReplyDeleteThank you Molly.
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I LOVE this! a lighthouse blazing forth in the night, hell-no! there'll be no more shipwrecks around here. I don't suppose Tom really wants to go back to the old-school days...much better to have a wife with a mind of her own, able to speak as friends.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely River. I do like me that lighthouse tho :)
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I really, really liked the personification of the lighthouse. And hope that Tom's grumps are jealousy speaking because he would like to join her in a beer (or two). And if he genuinely believes it, I hope she drinks ALL the beer.
ReplyDeleteAh he's just jealous, right? And yeah, she's going to drink all 6.
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I liked the ligthouse thiking to itself. I don't like beer-swilling people, male, female or in between, but I hope, just like EC that it's only jealousy making Tim talk like that. People are entitled to drink what they want - as long as they do not hurt or damage their loved ones.
ReplyDeleteShe's going to have a good night off. I like to think she has netflix in the bedroom and a mini-fridge for more beer.
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Cute, clever story. I like coffee, but don't drink alcohol.
ReplyDeleteI love coffee Gigi and haven't had an alcoholic drink since 1986.
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I love yourstory, with the lighthouse personified, complete with a perfect phototo help us visualize, very well written.
ReplyDeleteThank you Christine!
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Lovely photograph,and another excellent wee story, WWW! I too suppose that lighthouses have personalities - as you've painted so well in your words here. I imagine lighthouses standing, arms akimbo, a steely determination in their one-eyed, and ever watchful visage. :)
ReplyDeleteI've been in love with lighthouses since I was a child and they were "demanning" the small one on the edge of the harbour and I was so worried that the "automatic" wouldn't work and the ships would all be lost including our ferry. Inconsolable. I had to be taken up to the lighthouse by my father at twilight and shown, yes, it did work when the automatic light came on.
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but she wasn't doing alone, technically, he is there with her. I kind of like amy and her spunk. now I sort of think she's some magical creature that decided to stay with tom.
ReplyDeletehave a lovely day.