Father | But I Smile Anyway...

Charli’s prompt this week:

July 12, 2018, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about a broken fence. You can mend it, leave it, or explain its place in a story. Go where the prompt leads.

Broken Fences: Realised Dreams

Many an afternoon, I’d sit there, peering through the gap in our broken fence.
It was like a portal to another world.
I’d see them all laughing, playing together, running around freely.
Oh, to be able to laugh openly with friends.
Laughter was in short supply here since my Daddy died, and that new Father had arrived.
He didn’t want no brats running around the place. It was bad enough I existed.
To escape the prison that our home had become, I’d come and sit here.
For the first time in years my Mummy seemed happy.
I didn’t complain.

https://carrotranch.com/2018/07/12/july-12-flash-fiction-challenge/

Charli’s prompt this week:

July 5, 2018, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includes buttons. You can use the word plural or singular in different expressions, or focus on how buttons relate to a story. Go where the prompt leads.

“Sally, love, can you come over ‘ere and give us a hand? These blasted buttons are giving me gyp again today.”
“It’s alright dad.” Nimble fingers made light work of the buttons on the old uniform jacket Frank Beaumont wore every year on Remembrance Sunday. A job her mother used to do. “There!”
Sally flashed a smile at her father, before turning away, tears welling up.
It had been over sixty years since he was last able to do his own buttons up, having lost the digits of both hands whilst serving his country.
Her dad, a true hero.

https://carrotranch.com/2018/07/05/july-5-flash-fiction-challenge/