Iain Kelly

It was a beautiful morning. The sunshine streamed in through the window. The flowers were in full bloom and gladdened her heart. Dolores put on her favourite lace dress and took care over her make-up and hair.

Today, Thomas was expected back and she was sure he would come with a proposal.

 Then Matilda had brought the letter.

‘Dear Dolores,’ he had written. Not his usual loving opening, Dolores thought. ‘I hope this finds you well.’

Dolores felt a knot in her stomach. She scanned the rest of the page. Words jumped out at her: ‘ill-advised;’ ‘drunken;’ ‘one night;’ ‘pregnant;’ ‘duty.’

She slumped in a chair. Another victim of the war.

Everything that had seemed beautiful moments before seemed ugly to her now. She rose from her chair and picked up a fine China teapot. She let it fall onto the wooden floor. It smashed. The destruction felt good. A teacup followed. Saucers. A coffee pot. Finally, the vase of flowers.

It may not bring Thomas back to her, but Dolores felt much better.

Written as part of Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers. The challenge is to write a flash fiction story, in around 150 words based on the weekly photo prompt. For more information visit HERE.

To read other stories based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.