Posts tagged ‘Life’

Aug 7

An Act of Kindness – Bus Fare

montreal-3633198_1920

Image by Christophe Schindler from Pixabay Montreal Skyline

Back in the late sixties, yes, the nineteen sixties, bus fare or often called car fare for an adult was thirty-five cents and for anyone twelve and under it was ten cents.

This was a time when parents felt it was safe for children, say around the ages of ten and up to travel by transit unaccompanied by an adult and I would travel from Verdun to downtown Montreal which was about a twenty-five-minute ride by car so a little longer by public transit.

This one day I (age 12) was returning home and waiting at the bus stop digging in my pocket to make sure I had my dime to put in the farebox.

Remembering back, I was talking to this older woman who was quite nice when my bus pulled up and we said good-bye to each other as she was taking a different bus.

I stepped up and deposited my dime when the bus driver said to me, you’re a quarter short young lady, to which I replied, I’m only twelve and he wouldn’t believe me making me get off the bus returning my dime to me.

Standing watching the bus drive away I explained to the nice lady I was talking to earlier what had just happened, and she reached into her purse and gave me a thirty-five cent bus ticket so that I could go home.

© Susan Zutautas 2019

This short story was written for Six Sentence Story over at GirlieOnTheEdge. This weeks challenge is to use the word FARE.

For One Day – Flash Fiction

Flash fiction July 25

Daydreaming about my mother is something I do quite often. What was she like, how did she smell, what would it have been like to have her with me other than for just a few short years?

My mind started wandering and for one day I had her all to myself. My emotions got the best of me and through tears of joy I embraced every moment. The love I felt was like no other.

We laughed, we cried, we hugged, we never wanted the day to end.

Although this is only daydreaming, I often return to this day.

© Susan Zutautas 2019

This piece is written for a flash fiction challenge over at Carrot Ranch. Charli’s prompt this week is as follows:

In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includes the phrase “for one day.”

Jul 11

23 Comments

A Lucky Day

Image by tookapic from Pixabay

I’m feeling lucky today so let’s go to the casino.

Nah, I never win, and my horoscope says my money is low, but you can go, I don’t mind staying home.

Just for half an hour, come with me and I’ll buy you a beer.

We went and a slot machine had my attention, so I had to play it, but the twenty I put in rapidly went down.

See, what did I tell you, I never win, I have no luck at all.

Then on the last spin, the machine burst into wild spins and ended up paying $220.00.

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This Six Sentence Story was written for a challenge over at Denise’s. This weeks word prompt is “BURST”

Jul 8

6 Comments

Persistence Pays Off

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #56

This weeks challenge is “Language”

French was not a favorite subject of Katie’s and she hated the homework that went with the class.

She’d bring home her homework and her mother would always insist on helping her with French as she was failing the class. Her mother would make her write out un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, and so on until she’d hit one hundred. Katie did this for a month hating her mother for making her do this.

Then there was practicing the language itself. Not only did Katie have to write out sentences, but she also had to memorize them and translate them into English.

At the end of the school year, Katie received an award in French for “Most Improved French Student”. Everything her mother made her do, paid off in the end with persistence.

© Susan Zutautas 2019

Jul 4

20 Comments

Down at the Plant

Bombardier Main engineering building and assembly plant

Every person at the plant was wondering what the upcoming meeting was going to be about.

Some suspected a big layoff as the work that was coming in was sparse and the fact that all overtime had been suspended for the last month had them worried.

The managers and supervisors were all in the dark too and were being asked by several people what was going on and all they’d say was everyone would find out at the meeting after lunch.

Gathered all together anticipating the worst the employees sat in silence waiting for the CEO to begin.

“Hello everyone, I know you’re all wondering why I called this meeting today and for what purpose.”

“First, off next month we’re getting in a big contract to process and we’ll be needing all hands on deck and I want you all to be prepared for overtime hours and if you had vacation time booked, it is now canceled.”

© Susan Zutautas 2019

This short story was written for Six Sentence Story over at Denise’s. The prompt word for this week is PROCESS.

Jul 2

4 Comments

All Alone Reflecting

Gabriel Isak

All

Alone

Reflecting

Choices she made

Sadly, hurting some

Not intentionally

Regretting it every day

Wanting to make amends with some

The ones she absolutely did love

Forgiveness does not always come easy

© Susan Zutautas 2019

This Etheree is a poetry form that consists of 10 lines of 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 syllables was written in response to a challenge over at Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Photo Challenge #270.

Jun 27

25 Comments

Follow Your Dreams

new in town

Available on Amazon

She longed to write poetry ever since she was three

determined to be a writer was her dream you see.

At six she decided she’d write a book one day

then someone told her she should write a play.

In school, she took a class all about Poe

and had to write a story to show what she did know.

When she was a young adult, she wrote poetry about life

and when she was older, they were about wildlife.

In her fifties, she wrote her first book

and followed her dreams without a second look.

She lived a simple fulfilling life

as a mother and a wife.

© Susan Zutautas 2019

Written for Denise’s challenge; Six Sentence Story using the word simple.

May 22

9 Comments

The Real-Estate Deal

CCC#28

“Oh, Ian this house is perfect, don’t you think?” Meg asked

“Well it will need a lot of work to get it ship-shape but there’s so much character here. I can only imagine all the memories that the walls hold.”

“The stable has four stalls so we could get a few horses if we want, further down the road.”

“For sure Meg, but first we have to put an offer on this place.”

“I say let’s do it.”

Meg and Ian put a fair offer in on the homestead and then waited to hear back from their real-estate gal.

The couple was ecstatic as the sellers accepted their first offer right away and they could move in, in a few months. This was going to be perfect for the couple as they were to be married in one month.

Life was wonderful.

This flash fiction was written in response to Crimson’s Creative Challenge #28.

Apr 14

10 Comments

That’s It No More

Image by prettysleepy1 from Pixabay

Why was he always yelling at her? Mary, a gentle-spoken woman knew the neighbors could hear his stentorian bark as they’d called the police more than once since they moved here from across the country a year ago.

Joe thought Mary was easily influenced and his mission was to get complete control over her. What Joe didn’t realize was that Mary had plans of her own and they didn’t include Joe.

Joe’s behavior was fine before they married six months ago and soon after he turned into someone Mary didn’t know. He was like a Jekale and Hyde. She wished she’d listened to her father after the first time he’d met Joe. He had taken her aside and in a very low, soft voice said I don’t like this guy. There’s something about him that’s not quite right, but I can’t put my finger on it just yet.

Each day it got worse. It started out at first with Joe yelling at Mary for the most nonsensical little things. Then after a few weeks, he tried to control her every move. When she was out of the house, he demanded that she call him every thirty minutes. Lately, he would put her down and try to make her feel stupid, incompetent, insignificant, and pretty much unloved. Mary wouldn’t be broken down; she was too strong-willed.

Finally, the last straw was when Joe raised his hand with his fist clenched threating to hit her for not having his dinner ready when he arrived home early. Enough was enough and Mary was not going to live like this for any longer.

Week after week Mary would stash away as much money as she could until she had enough for a taxi and a plane home. She broke free.

This story is totally fictional. I only wish that more people would and could stand up for themselves like Mary and get out of bad situations.

This short story was written for Opposites Attract Challenge over at The Haunted Wordsmith.

Apr 13

3 Comments

Life’s Regrets

Photo at Pixabay

In the grand scheme of things when Bob looked back at his life, he felt it was quite unimpressive.

When it came to joining up to one of the armed forces it terrified him to even fathom signing up. His father who’d been a navy seal was very disappointed and looked at him unheroically.

After graduating from high school, he went to work in an office in an unimposing position. Each year that passed he vowed he would go back to school and get a teaching degree. That never happened and Bob humbly stayed in that job until the day he retired.

Once he tried to date a woman that he worked with. It took him all the courage he could muster up to ask her out. Sadly, she turned him down as she found Bob unimpressive. Bob had never married or had a companion.

Until his dying day, Bob was a very lonely man.

The sad truth about this entire post is that this happens to so many people.

This was written for an Opposites Attract Challenge over at The Haunted Wordsmith.