Twilight feel, artificial light, woozy head. Almost home, such a nice night. Drinks, laughs, good times. Shared smiles with him again, dancing, brief contact. Should’ve made that move? A cloud of a missed opportunity. Park bench, take a seat, lie down. Staring up at the stars, the whole universe out there. Nothing to do in the day ahead. The future can wait. Enjoy the moment. Warm sun rays arrive, glinting, obscuring. His face appears above me. Can he join me? He lies on the bench next to me. Arms brush together. I smile. The rest of the universe can wait.
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).
To read stories of 100 words based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.
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Iain Kelly 
75 responses to “THE UNIVERSAL”
This is different coming from you. I expected a murder or something. Sweet, made me smile. No knife under the bench right? 😀
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Not this time, sometimes love is all you need 🙂
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You should write a song 😀
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What Tannille said. Sweet and unexpected, Iain
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Thank you Neil
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Awh! This was a warm fuzzy story, I was expecting something to jump out from under the bench. LOL! Good job. 🙂
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Not this time, got to keep you on your toes 😉
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Haha! Yeah, when I am ready for it , it doesn’t happen!
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Very nice vignette
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Thank you
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So, you do have a softer side! Or did you just run out of words?
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Who knows what might happen in part two… 😉
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A lovely beginning for a romance story, Iain. It seems you’re good at it. Well done. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Thank you Suzanne, not where I normally go, but nice for a change of pace.
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Beautiful and light like a summer breeze.
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Thank you, lovely to see you back Lore 🙂
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A lovely little scene you’ve created! 🙂 ❤
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Thank you so much 🙂
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Dear Iain,
What? No espionage? No violence. Just a sweet romance. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I must be getting soft. Thanks Rochelle.
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Hi Iain,
The shoe is on the other foot this week and you’ve gone for romance and I’ve gone dark.
I remember such lost opportunities from my youth and unfortunately they didn’t catch up like this. Good to be reminded of romance going well.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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Thanks Rowena, nice to change it up once in a while 🙂
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A cloud of a missed opportunity…. Such a beautiful expression.
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Thank you Reena
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Shades of Gregory’s Girl, Iain
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Without the cheesy acting hopefully…
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That was lovely. I wasn’t expecting a happy ending.
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Thanks Sandra, neither was I.
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Iain, you surprised me. This was literally a dream come true. A lovely story
By the way, I’ve just finished reading your 2nd novel, “State of Denial” and I absolutely loved it. I enjoyed your first, but this one shows some real growth in the way your draw your characters; in the spinning out of the plot, surprising us more than once. Congratulations, Iain. Best wishes as you continue this triad.
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Thank you so much Linda, yours is the first feedback and it’s always a relief to hear it was worth writing the story and sending it out into the world. I truly appreciate your support ❤️ 🙂
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I really like the narration here, matches perfectly with the idea of having perhaps one too many drinks!
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Thank you, I’m glad that came across!
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A thread of tension bubbled beneath the sweet romance unfolding below the stars….a lovely match to the nostalgic image!
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Thank you so much 🙂
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My pleasure!
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This is a wonderful story, Iain.
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Thank you Dale 🙂
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🙂 Seems like some of this character’s wishes are coming true … 🙂
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It’s nice when that happens for a change 🙂
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Yep. Nice! 🙂
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A universal language for sure. I like the world you wove here. Magic!
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Thank you so much 🙂
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You’re welcome.
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i love happy ending. i’m worried about the sequel, though. 🙂
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Maybe that’s happy too…Maybe
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So you write sweet little stories, too. Pleasantly surprised, Kelly.
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Thanks
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Very different than the usual ones. Warm vibes! Lovely take. Do Friday Fictioneers have a deadline? Do you write until the following Thursday?
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Yes, you have a full week to write a story before the next prompt arrives. Thank you for your comment 🙂
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A wonderful end to a wonderful night out!
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Sometimes it’s that simple!
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I like the way you told your story.
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Thank you Liz
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Awwww this is lovely. Iain, nicely done. Tipsy love and hope and happiness. Love the stare off to the stars
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Thank you Laurie
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Nicely done, Iain. It’s wonderful to go outside of ones usual writing. You’ve done that and extremely well.
Isadora 😎
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Thank you
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This reads to me like a poem. Very staccato. Love all the references to light and missed opportunities. Joyous.
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Thank you
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A gentle story, with a happy ending, felt life affirming.
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Thank you
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I like the way you have constructed this, with the short sentences and phrases conveying a state of happy intoxication. You’ve also left an intriguing ambiguity as to the gender of the narrator. There are little hints that it’s written from a woman’s pov, but I think it’s more likely to be a gay encounter because there’s no angst about loss of trust from an earlier intimacy.
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Thank you Penny
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Oh, my, your imagery brought back vivid memories of my own young dreams and rushes. Nice.
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Thank you Eugenia
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Wow, dreamy, in the moment, poetry. Very different! Loved it!
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Thanks Sascha
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A positive and upbeat take on Dale’s picture. Enjoy the moment. I did!
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Thank you so much
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I like the rhythm and dreamy tone of this piece. I get the feeling that the bubble is going to burst… or perhaps that’s just my pessimism talking. 😉
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I left this one as a happy ending, but a few replies suggest there is a fair amount of pessimism out there!
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Light and airy…an uplifting read.
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Thanks Dawn
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There’s been a lot written about the happy ending here. I don’t see it. Whoever let this person walk off into the night obviously intoxicated and sleep on a park bench only to go looking for them in the morning is not a good person. Uber? Lyft? Taxi? Horse & carriage?
Two years later: “Where’s the dog?” “I let him go for a walk.” “Alone?” “Sure.”
Five years later: “Where’s Jenny?” “She was crying, so I put her in the yard.” “You couldn’t even put a diaper on her?” “What’s the point? She keeps shitting in them.”
That’s just the optimist in me. The pessimist thinks he’s the Park Bench Killer. He drugs his victims and follows them until they pass out on a park bench where he snuggles with them until he strangles them.
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So, I can put you in the pessimist category then? 😉
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