It’s enough
From Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch is this week’s challenge.
July 1, 2021, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about “the old photograph.” What is captivating about it? Where did it come from? How does it incite a story? Go where the prompt leads!
It’s Enough
My grandmother was a beautiful woman.
She left young, I never knew her, but I was introduced to her by those who did.
She played saxophone in an all-girl’s band. She knitted and told jokes that made people blush. She was a sister to two, a mother to one and a friend to many. She was a wife to a husband who didn’t have enough years to love her.
I have questions and no one to ask so I look at the old photograph I carry.
She’s holding me.
She’s smiling.
It’s enough.
My grandmother is a beautiful woman.
Michael B. Fishman
Michaelsfishbowl 
They say a photo is worth a thousand words, and yet sometimes a photo begs a thousand questions. Intriguing story, Michael.
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Thanks Charli. I changed “was” to “is” in the last sentence and that now the grandmother’s story should be told.
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Out of all the 99 word entries for the “old photo” prompt, this is the one I liked best.
My grandmother died when I was a year old and I, too, had to rely on the stories of others.
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You create an emotional impact with the connection between and change in the opening and closing lines. Sometimes a photo is all we have and photos can bring healing. I like this. Beautiful take on the prompt, Michael.
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Thanks Rebecca! It struck me as kind of strange how one word kind of changed part of the meaning and the course of where I could maybe go with the story at some point.
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It’s little things like that, the feeling that we can change so much with just one word choice, that keeps me in awe of writing. But it always stuns me when I do it without thinking too.
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