The serene countryside was suddenly broken by shouts of excitement; Ismail leaned on his spade as Ayaz went forward to uncover what they had found. Spring was here and coupled with the downfall in the economy, both brothers had returned to their ancestral home in Taşlıçay to make a living through agriculture. Gently they uncovered the soil-laden bag which consisted of a glass vase, a few rusted gold coins and a woolen sweater torn at the seams…
…Çocuklar uyumaya gider (Translation: Kids go to sleep), interrupted a female voice as all the young ones scuttled away, each hoping that one day he would uncover a family heirloom. “Ne dedesi, hala onlara masal anlatıyorsun (Translation: What grandfather, you are still telling them such tales),” said Shenaz to the storyteller with a pout. Ismail just smiled a toothy grin as he continued polishing his favourite vase in the dim light.
Word Count 147: FCA – Preferred (Though all kinds of comments are welcome)
The June 2018 WEP Challenge: Unravelled Yarn. (Click here to know more.)
Disclaimer: This time Pegman decided to stopover at Taşlıçay, Turkey (hosted at WhatPegmanSaw.com) and it’s my first trip along. I’ve yet to figure out how the street view thing works. Most of my information is based on what I found on Google.
The photo prompt has been given by Enisa at the Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers (FFfAW) and the word prompt (Polish) has been given by GirlieOnTheEdge.
Whew… That’s a lot, especially after my long break.
Great to see you on Pegman! I loved this vivid and evocative piece.
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Thanks k 🙂
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I like the rhythm of this piece.
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Thanks J Hardy
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I bet the vase is a secret family heirloom and he is keeping mum about it! LOL! Great story!
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Maybe he’s even considering reburying it
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Dear Bernadette.
It seems that Ismail has uncovered the heirloom. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks Rochelle 🙂
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Loving your take on the prompt. Short and powerful. And it does indeed sound as if Ismael DID uncover an heirloom.
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Maybe he did. He hasn’t told anyone for sure (unless you count his bedtime stories).
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Family heirlooms are a true treasure. Thank you for participating in the WEP June Challenge. Welcome!
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Thanks for stopping by 🙂 (Also, best wishes for your health)
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What family buries
in ground so deep
some family members
should never seek
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Hmmm maybe. But, it’s certainly hard to resist an heirloom or some treasure.
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Hi Bernadette! Having ‘heirloom’ in the title always makes it intriguing. I loved this short, evocative piece. I loved the foreign language too. Always fascinating! I’d like to see a further unravelling of this story sometime!
Thanks for participating in WEP this month. Lovely to have you!
Denise
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Thanks Denise
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I’m always looking for buried treasure in my backyard. Sadly, all I find are rocks. My husband keeps hoping there will be gold; we’d settle for a hunk of quartz, lol. Oh well, it keeps him out of the house when I’m writing.
This was nicely written and well paced. I liked the transition; and how open it is for interpretation.
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Keep searching Dolorah, maybe one day you’ll find something that’ll make for a great tale.
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Loved the Turkish taste of that one Bernadette.
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Hi! Intriguing Turkish tale, seems like Ismail is telling his life stories disguised as fiction. How fun to find an heirloom vase. Nice to see you at the WEP!
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Thanks Nilanjana
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Oh, Grandfather is NOT telling tales. I enjoyed the reveal at the end. Nicely done.
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Thanks Alicia
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AS I read your story, I thought about kids getting ready for bed and waiting on a bedtime story to be read to them, especially when grandfather or grandmother was visiting.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G
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Ah, a mystery. Is it a true story? Is it a memory? A fairy tale? Charming in any case.
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I wish I knew too Olga. Maybe one day I’ll head out there with a pickaxe & spade to find out.
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The vase could be the secret, or maybe he has something hidden in there. Always look inside the pot.
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Will certainly do that the next time I visit
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Hi Bernadette – loved your Turkish tale … I wanted more … enticing to read – cheers Hilary
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Thanks Hilary. Maybe one day I’ll visit Taşlıçay again and find out what’s behind the secrets there.
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An intriguing entry which raises some questions, and I hope we read more of this in the future. Welcome to WEP. I like learning about the characters in different settings.
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Thanks DG
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Hi Bernadette, Nice take. A family has so many stories to tell. It’s always interesting what we might uncover.
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