Granny Jess passed away peacefully in her home, surrounded by her family.
Sandra, her eldest, had the task of cleaning out the house where Granny had lived on her own for forty years. She took me along.
‘What’s this, Mum?’ I asked.
Sandra smiled. ‘That’s your Granny’s old sewing machine.’
‘Should we keep it?’
My Mum thought for a moment, then shook her head. ‘It served its purpose long ago.’
I lifted the machine off the table and struggled out the door with it. I dumped it on the lawn with the other rubbish.
My hands were covered in rust and dirt from the old machine. I wiped them on my white t-shirt. I noticed a smear of dark red. We never spoke about what happened to Grandpa.
Written as part of the Friday Fictioneers challenge hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (more details HERE). The idea is to write a short story of 100 words based on the photo prompt (above, thanks to Sandra for the photo this week).
Read more stories based on this week’s photo here: HERE
Iain Kelly 
80 responses to “ALL SEWN UP”
Granny beat him to death with a sewing machine?
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Perhaps… We don’t talk about it 😉
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Neil’s response made me laugh out loud. Perfect response to an old secret and mystery.
Randy
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Dear Iain,
Pity they got rid of the old machine. I wonder what happened and why the blood wasn’t cleaned off.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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It’s a mystery. I guess if the family still loved their Granny they must have forgiven or understood what had happened to Grandpa…
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Very intriguing… Some things are better left unspoken of indeed… Very good piece of writing.
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Many thanks Joy 🙂
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Haha I love it. Great story Iain.
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Thanks Al – another one that has turned an innocent object into an act of violence….
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And done well 🙂
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As I believe they say in Glasgow “Stitch that Jimmy”. Nicely done.,
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Thanks Sandra, and thank you for the photo prompt this week.
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Oh I didn’t see that coming!
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I couldn’t bring myself to just leave it as a nice tale, had to add a sting at the end!
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I know how you feel! Sometimes you need that twist or sting don’t you 😉
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I guess it was not the red of rust… hmm better keep silent
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Some things are best kept quiet 🙂 Thanks for reading.
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Ooh, that was a surprise! I don’t like to think what you could use a sewing machine for with a dead body…
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Best left to the imagination! Thanks for reading.
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Lol. Brilliant. I have one of these…..
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Whatever happens you didn’t get any ideas from me! 😉
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But of course…..
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poor Grandma, all sorts going through my mind, was it a jealous lover or a heated argument that left that red? or did she have Grandpa instituitionalised when he tried to do her in? Wonderful, wonderful story that keeps the reader guessing and coming back to read between the lines. as you can see i am on Grandma’s side.
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The family seem to be on Grandma’s side too. I think Grandpa wasn’t such a nice guy. Thanks for lovely comment.
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Perhaps the odd leather jacket in the closet? Or maybe a lampshade?
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Well THAT’S a great hook! LOL
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Like to leave the reader with something to think about 😉 thanks for reading.
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I’m sure grandpa just had an accident, tripped, and broke his neck hitting the sewing machine, right? 🙂 Great twist.
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Maybe… 😉 Thanks for reading.
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O dear,🙂
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Oh my..interesting…now I need more Iain! 🙂
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A mystery indeed. Sometimes things are best left in the past. Nicely done!
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Served its purpose indeed. Good yarn.
Tracey
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Thanks Tracey
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Oh dear, poor old grandpa!
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Sew what if she knocked off the old guy?! lol
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Very good. We’re all having fun punning with the word sew this week! Thanks for reading.
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Ooohh ominous end!
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Thanks, family secrets are best kept hidden 🙂
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I loved the story in a story 🙂
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Many thanks Helen.
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They killed her.
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Interesting idea
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Cool story with a surprise blood ending. Nice!
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Glad you liked it. Many thanks.
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Ha, I was just thinking “what a sweet yet melancholy story” and then that killer last line. “Killer” in more ways than one, perhaps 🙂
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Perhaps… Yes, I couldn’t just leave it as a nice sweet tale!
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Wow! That was a shocker. A nice family drama turned to murder in the blink of an eye. Nicely done, Iain – a great tale
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Many thanks Lynn.
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My pleasure 🙂
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As a grandpa myself, I now find myself extremely concerned when Connie asks me to look at her sewing machine.
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Watch your back….
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Let’s just hope he injured himself when he tried to fix the machine, but that’s’ not what you had in mind I fear.
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It could have been an accident, but most comments seem to think it’s something more sinister. Thanks for reading.
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I actually have a workshop and a few sewing machines. I always joke that my DNA is on each and every one of them. That’s why I didn’t move to the dark side with this post.
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Oooooo great ending! That red smear is very haunting
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Thanks Laurie. Could mean so many things…
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The lesser you know, the better you sleep, indeed.:)
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Killer last line- good twist. Nicely done.
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Many thanks.
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Oh my! So the sewing machine played a role in his death? What a cool idea for a murder weapon. It beats a gun in my book for creativity.
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Thanks Melinda 🙂
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You’re welcome 🙂
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Amazing work.
Old stuff makes many emotions come flooding back. Hats off!
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Many thanks.
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Whoa…still bloody after all this time? I wish we could know more about how this happened, though I like the idea of the family secret. Many families have interesting secrets, though not (hopefully) THIS interesting in most cases.
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I agree. Although it might make a good story to explain it more, I think this one is better left as a mystery. Thanks for reading.
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Now that’s got me wondering how you murder someone with a sewing machine. You’ve left it up in the air masterfully. Did she sew up his mouth and nose so he couldn’t breathe. perhaps?
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Ha, there are many possibilities!
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It’s hard to get parts for those old things anyway — the machine, I mean. As for grandma, well, I suppose that’s bigger than both of us.
You nailed it, Iain. Five out of five salvage trucks.
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Even more ruthless than in mine — the lady in mine just put images on the treadle — no one was harmed.
Though I too thought sinister at first, could the blood be where Grandma had pricked her finger and had nothing to do with Grandpa?
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Good thought. It could all be innocent 🙂
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Oh my! I love the intrigue. More!
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Many thanks – so many ways it could continue…
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I’ve read several of flash fictions based around the sewing machine image, but I really like yours the best 🙂 I’m a sucker for stories that wow you with their last sentence. Great writing!
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Thanks Paul, I’m the same, always like to leave short stories with a last line twist. You’re very kind.
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I guess we can figure out what happened to Grandpa. If Grandma was strong enough to pick up the machine and whack him with it, Grandpa should have been ‘much’ nicer to her. Great ending twist, Iain. Mom’s words, “…it served its purpose…” become clearer after the last sentence. Good writing. 😀 — Suzanne
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Many thanks. Lots of different theories about what happened to Grandpa, nice to get everyone’s ideas.
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‘It served its purpose…’indeed. Nice twist. I didn’t expect it.
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Many thanks.
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