it’s Tuesday! Must be snippet o’ fiction day…
***
“C’mon, sleepyhead!” John was standing by the kitchen door, shrouded in darkness that far from the kerosene lamp they were relying on.
Bonnie lobbed a biscuit in his direction, and he caught it, laughing.
“Let me finish my coffee?” She asked.
“There’s more in the thermos. Gotta get up there, or we’ll miss it.”
She picked up her coat from the chair and with a gentle puff of breath down the chimney, snuffed the lamp. “Oh, it’s so dark still!”
“That’s the point!” He was still laughing as he opened the car door and she settled into her seat. “I’ve been looking forward to taking you up there since I knew we’d be coming. And now? That it’s ours? That’s the best thing ever!”
Bonnie laughed along with him, as her husband of days buckled himself in. He kept talking, “we could hike up there, but it’s a stiff climb and I’m out of shape. By the end of summer, though! Bonnie-girl we are going to have adventures.”
They turned out of their long winding drive onto the road that led to the farm, which wasn’t much wider. There wasn’t another house on it for a mile, but John steered in the opposite direction, heading up the mountain that rose behind their home, giving it shelter from the worst of winter, he’d told her. She’d never spent a winter here.
“Oh, I am looking forward to all of them.”
They didn’t drive for far, up a few twisty turns, to a place where the road widened like a snake with a stolen chicken aboard. “This will do. It’s not the best place, but we’ll hike there another time.” He came around and opened her door.
“See that color?” He pointed out across the valley, where the faint lemony tinge to the sky indicated the sun’s imminent arrival.
“Oh! You can see our house!” Bonnie leaned over the guardrail and looked down into the valley. “And look, the clouds dance like lambs in the meadow.”
“From this perspective you feel like you’re on top of the world.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and she leaned gratefully into his warm bulk. It was a chilly morning.
The sun took it’s time rising, putting on a display of colors as it came around to them. The mist in the meadow rose and fell, painted with glory, and the puffs of clouds overhead lent themselves to being ephemeral canvases. Bonnie looked up, down, and all around, while John watched her, smiling.
“Oh, this is perfect.” She sighed, finally. “Look at our home.”
Her eyes glittered in the new daylight, unshed tears of joy brimming over.
***
My prompt this week came from Becky Jones with “The clouds danced in the meadow.”
I prompted AC Young with “The sharp grin of the unicorn betrayed him.”
You can read all of the prompt responses, or take part in the challenge yourself, over at More Odds Than Ends.
Very Very Nice.
Oh, will this grow into something that I can “throw money at you” for? 😀
Yes, with the caveat that I don’t think this story will have fantasy or science fiction elements. It’s a quiet love story of what comes after the honeymoon.
OK. Although isn’t this the couple that found that post office that “just happened” to have a package for them?
There seemed to be an element of fantasy there.
It is, and good point! Although there’s a special magic in a place where everyone knows you even before you know them. We shall see what the story brings.
Thumbs Up!
Oh, I like it very much! And, yes, I’d love to read the whole story.
I would also love to read more, if the muse allows.