Precocious, she was…

January 23, 2026 Chris Hall54 Comments

Photo Prompt © Dale Rogerson

‘I want to go on the dodgems. The bright purple one looks best.’
She grins, looking to her older brother. ‘Pretty please?’ As she jumps up and down, then waves her little hands.

‘You’ve got the money, haven’t you. And I’m sure we’ve enough.’
She wheedles her older brother. And it always works.

‘Look, it’s stopping.’
She grabs his hand and almost drags him over to the pretty bright purple bumper car.

She jumps in. She’s always the driver, even though she can only just reach that pedal. Then he pays that tall guy, and they are off. Broom, broom!

~~~~~

Thanks to Rochelle for hosting Friday Fictioneers
Genre: Memoir
Word Count: 100

23 January 2026

More dunes

January 19, 2026 Chris Hall61 Comments

We met in the desert that time,
just me and him,
he walked, but I rode a camel.

We started our journeys,
him from the west,
me from the east.

We’d left at dawn,
just as the sun peeped up,
as we plodded across the dunes.

We arrived as the blistering sun beat down.
We did our trading,
and then we left.

Was there a moral?
No need for that…
Just good business.

~~~~~

Image credit: Pedro Kümmel @Unsplash

This image shows desert dunes with footprints left by humans and animals in the sand. The photographer explains; Under the warm sun, the dunes carry gentle scars of passage, lines and footprints that vanish as quietly as they appear!

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #324 photo prompt.

What do you see # 324- 19 January, 2026

Lift-off…

January 17, 2026 Chris Hall54 Comments

Photo Prompt © Jennifer Pendergast

It had been quiet as usual, apart from those times when the services were on. I had a part-time job in the cathedral. I did various tasks, from the top of the gantry to do the stained-glass windows, to the lowest part in the crypt where I moved odd objects, but very gently.

I had been in the crypt, but for some reason I headed up. There was a strange noise, and it was getting louder. And then the whole ceiling disappeared into the sky, as the crypt ripped out.

I stared, and stared. It was a spacecraft. How extraordinary!

~~~~~

Thanks to Rochelle for hosting Friday Fictioneers
Genre: Sorta Fiction
Word Count: 100

16 January 2026

The Lake and the Moon

January 12, 2026 Chris Hall40 Comments

The Lake and the Moon

It felt like a dream,
a very strange dream, she’d been
in a weird island.

She’d stared at the lake,
so vast, so deep, exquisite
with gorgeous colours.

Hues screamed out: azure,
cyan, mauve, and even mango,
but over the top…

that blood moon!

~~~~~

Image credit: Sean Pierce @Unsplash

This image shows blood moon over strange rock formations at dusk at navy beach/mono lake (CA) The rocks stand out against a velvet purple sky.

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #323 photo prompt.

What do you see # 323- 12 January, 2026

Who did it?

January 10, 2026January 10, 2026 Chris Hall53 Comments

Photo Prompt © Sandra Crook

What’s happened to that pond? It was fine last time I looked.
Who broke the edges? And who messed with the middle?
There’s still a little fountain, and it’s still working, although it’s a bit wonky.

It looks like ice, but it can’t be, since it’s spring. Proper spring now. Most odd.
I shall have to sit on my haunches and squat down. Then I can peer and look more closely too. Ah, that’s much better.

There have never been fish there, but something is moving.
Lots of them in fact.
Tadpoles, my children!
‘Ribbit, ribbit, it’s me, ribbit, ribbit!’

~~~~~

Thanks to Rochelle for hosting Friday Fictioneers
Genre: Hysterical Non-Fiction
Word Count: 100

9 January 2026

That letter

January 5, 2026 Chris Hall69 Comments

She’d been walking on the beach for hours.
There was no-one around.
Just her.

It was cold, damp, miserable. Both the sea and the sky was the same colour.
Everything was grey.
Including her heart.

She opened the letter. Yet again. It was crinkled and damp.
She’d read it so often, she knew it by heart.
But there should be two hearts here.

She stopped and looked out to sea.
She heaved a sigh, then ripped that letter in tiny pieces.

And then she felt so much better.

~~~~~

Image credit: Pan Xiaozhen @Unsplash

This image shows a fully dressed woman on the edge of a rocky beach. In this black and white photo, she is looking down at something in her hand.

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #322 photo prompt.

What do you see #322- 5th January 2026

Me and my Dad

January 3, 2026 Chris Hall61 Comments

Photo Prompt © Lisa Fox

Dad was a happy driver, and I could sit next to him now. ‘Clunk click every trip’ as we said at the same time.

We arrived at a kiosk by the park. Dad parked his almost new car – a navy-colour Hillman Minx. I had got out, and I hurried over there. There was no-one around, but there were lots of flyers. ‘I’m going to take one of each.’

Dad had been reading his newspaper while he waited for me. Then we strolled around the park, and I had my new camera. I clicked, and clicked again. It was such fun.

~~~~~

Thanks to Rochelle for hosting Friday Fictioneers
Genre: Non-Fiction
Word Count: 100

2 January 2026

Choo-Choo!

December 29, 2025 Chris Hall55 Comments

A railway, a railway!
The two boys smiled happily.

How fun it is
to ride on a train,
and they could take
their bikes with them.

Only a short trip,
but that was fine,
always lucky to be on holiday,
as they grinned again.

~~~~~

Image credit: Tobias Reich @Unsplash

This image shows a scene from a railway station. The platform on the photographer’s side is empty, and you can see a train on the opposite side, leaving, engulfed in smoke/fog.

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #321 photo prompt.

What do you see # 321- 29 December 2025

Just visiting

December 27, 2025 Chris Hall46 Comments

That dining room wasn’t used anymore. It’s a beautiful table, mahogany, and still pristine since it’s usually covered up. She walked around it, slowly. Almost reverently. And then she stopped at the top of the table. There were so many memories.

With her eyes shut she thought about what she’d done.
A little girl, wearing a pretty dress for Christmas.
And all those grown-ups.

She flashed a thought. Opening her eyes.
Should she look at that covered up mirror? Would she dare?
But no. Too many ghosts still here.

She’s going to leave forever. There’s just one thing she’ll take…

~~~

Thanks to Rochelle for hosting Friday Fictioneers
Genre: Fiction
Word Count: 100

26 December 2025

Christmas cheer?

December 22, 2025 Chris Hall36 Comments

Yes, I am a sheep
and only for Christmas time
and a bit longer.

Yes, I’m on a tree,
not a real one, obviously,
there’s tinsel and lights.

And are we happy?
Hard to say, since we don’t speak,
and we never have.

So we continue
to spin slowly for Christmas
and New Year as well.

Then back in that box
and for everyone, until
next time, see you then.

~~~~~~~