fiction

I wish this wasn’t fiction.

/ wvfurandroot / Leave a comment

Marjorie sat on her sofa in the room with blue walls and stared at them. She loved this room, and she loved her house, but on this particular day, she was at loose ends and restless. She picked up things from the coffee table one by one. The teal candle holder with the tea candle. The pottery bowl her stepdaughter had made. Her meditation beads.

Photo by Keszthelyi Timi on Unsplash

She thought about meditating. Her brain was so noisy today that she knew it would be futile. All the more reason to try, but she set them down too. She spied the small antique globe and picked it up. Spinning it, she daydreamed about taking a trip.

“Why not? She asked the cat. “Why the hell not? I have vacation days and I have a hefty tax return on the way. I like traveling alone. I can do this.” The cat didn’t reply.

She gave the globe a mighty spin, closed her eyes, and touched her finger. . .

To Hungary.

“Hot damn, I’ll go to Budapest. I have always wanted to go. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site.” She danced around the living room and imagined the adventure she would have. Maybe she could fly into another city and take the train or river cruise into Budapest. That seemed in keeping with the ancient city.

Continue reading →

The Girl on the Train

/ wvfurandroot / 2 Comments

Traveling with Elise was a trip.  People stared. And then they pointed. And then they chuckled. The more you watched, the more you saw that was just a little bit off center. Or a lot.

Image “Anywhere” by Haylee Morice at hayleemorice.com

For instance, who travels with potted plants and decorates their train seat with twinkle lights? Feeds their cat cake with a bowl of cream, of course?

Now many people wear their slippers on the train, I know I do. But their jammies and comfy sweater four sizes too big? 

Elise was born eccentric. It wasn’t something she became, and it wasn’t something she grew out of. It was her core personality. Part of it was based on her desire to be comfortable and part of it was based on her personal ideology that home was wherever she was.

Continue reading →

Old Love

/ wvfurandroot / Leave a comment

You are sitting in the hotel downtown waiting for your lover to arrive. The snowfall is alarming, and you know he hates driving in adverse conditions. The weather this Valentine’s Day is nothing but adverse conditions, but you pleaded with him.

“Please! I want to see you!” And you do, but you want to wear your new outfit just as much as you want to see him. You peer out the window and sigh. With or without him, you are going to your prix fixe dinner reservation. You are stuck in town with the snow and there’s no safe way to get home. You ponder how to get across the street to the restaurant in stiletto heels.

Continue reading →

The Mirror

/ wvfurandroot / Leave a comment

Anita stopped and nearly tripped over a footstool at the opening to the stall. The mirror was Victorian with all the excess that style had to offer – and then some. It would be completely ridiculous in her Mid-Century modern home, but it called to her in that way that some things do. It was like she had sniffed out a treasure just waiting to be rescued and given a proper home.

Usually, her finds were starburst clocks or Danish modern furniture, but this heavy mahogany, intricately carved cherubs, gods, goddesses, and roses behemoth wouldn’t let her be. She was enchanted.

The mirror was easily eight feet by four feet in dimensions and would dominate a wall. “Where in the world would I put it,” she said aloud. At that the shopkeeper bustled over and said, “Why anywhere that needs a bit of beauty! I can let that go for $100 – cash and carry.”

“Wow. That seems awfully cheap for a Victorian mirror. What’s wrong with it?”

Continue reading →