‘Digger!’ he shouted from the back seat.

Where did it come from, this fascination with any construction or agricultural machine? Tractors, cement mixers, dumper trucks, combine harvesters, even bin lorries – all of them elicited a squeal of joy upon sight.

And so we all joined in with my son’s enthusiasm.

‘So it is, that’s a good one!’ I would reply.

‘What’s that over there?’ I would call if I managed to spot one first.

‘Bin lorry!’

‘Yes, a red one, we don’t see many of them, do we?’

I smile at the memory as I watch the small excavator at work. The claw scooping dirt from the mound of earth, swinging round and dropping it.

The sound of the earth hitting the wood below is hard and unflinching, without any sense of decorum or sentimentality.

I’m still standing there as the machine trundles away on it’s caterpillar tracks.

It is my wife who comes back for me, touching my elbow gently and steering me away from the graveside.

As we walk to the waiting car, a blue tractor growls along the road.

‘Tractor,’ I call out, but no one answers.

Written as part of Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers. The challenge is to write a flash fiction story or poem in around 175 words, based on the weekly photo prompt. Thanks as always to the challenge hosts Priceless Joy and Joe. For more information visit HERE.

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

My new novel, ‘A Justified State,’ is now available on Amazon in Paperback and on Amazon Kindle.

‘This is not your usual detective thriller. It is much more than that. A brilliant story!’ – Reader review.
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