Imago Dragonflies
As you know I signed up to a writing challenge several weeks ago. My posted story for the first challenge is here. The second challenge came with the instructions below:
Write a blog post in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, whether flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, poem, etc. The blog post should:
include the word “imago” in the title
include the following 4 random words: “miasma,” “lacuna,” “oscitate,” “synchronicity,”
If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional and included in the word count), make reference to a mirror in your post.
For those who want an even greater challenge (optional), make your post 200 words EXACTLY!
I have managed to include each word in the challenge instructions and my story below is 200 words exactly. If you enjoy reading my story then I would very much appreciate you following this link and then scrolling down until you can see my ‘like’ button which is below number 89.
Imago Dragonflies
The spring afternoon sky drifted hazily towards evening on intermittent opaque yellow clouds formed by the miasma of rising marsh plant pollens back-lit by sunlight.
The boards of the bridge creaked as Betty and Albie, careful to avoid the occasional lacuna, moved the few steps to its summit. They stood in companionable silence as they watched the simple beauty of an imago dragonfly pair making a heart shape with their bodies as they mated.
The synchronicity of that moment made Betty oscitate before inexplicable sorrow flashed through her. She was astonished at the strength of her urge to anchor Albie to her side forever. Turning to look at him, Betty’s eyes prickled then brimmed with tears.
‘I loved you with every beat of my heart.’ Albie reached out to her, his hands dissolving on contact with her body.
***
Betty’s eyes snapped open to reveal the duck egg blue walls of her room instead of the sight of Albie that she had been enjoying seconds before. Focusing on the urn in front of the mirror on her chest of drawers, she forced a brave smile and said ‘Good morning my darling, I still love you with every beat of my heart.’
Gee, you had me all poised for some lover’s suicide tryst LOL!
Sniff … pass the tissue.
Yes, please pass some tissue over here too…. *bawling eyes out!*
Take care
x
Great description. Loved the story. How sad. Where’s my Kleenex? You got me with “focusing on the urn in front of the mirror.”
Awww, so sweet and so sad.
Oh my — that tore at the heart! Well written.
Very nice! I like the visual of this part- “simple beauty of an imago dragonfly pair making a heart shape with their bodies as they mated.”
Thank you so much for your comments everyone. I’ll be round to visit your blogs at some point today or tomorrow.
This was so sad, and touching. You got the challenge words in seamlessly. Great job!
Mine is #3.
Nice work! I’d like to know the rest of that story.
Bittersweet story! I liked the description the dragonfly.
That was so good. I’m off to vote now. x
That’s so sad. I liked that they were companionable and now they’re apart? Darn. Mine is #29
The mark of a good writer is that their story connects with people…you do that brilliantly!! C x
Thank you so much. Nice to see you on here, will pop over to yours to see if you have started blogging again…
How sad. Very beautiful imagery in her dream though, I really felt like I was there in the dream with her as he vanished.
Also, being as that I’ve visited here a few times now, I have to say your theme is absolutely beautiful.
So poetically written! Beautiful! ; )
Very touching and lovely imagery.
So beautiful! Reminds me a little bit of The Notebook.
I read your story but couldn’t see where to leave a comment on your post. I thought your story was very clever and I liked the twist at the end 🙂
Awww….so sad. That ending made it all the more poignant.
Thank you so much for all your wonderful comments! I am still making my way around to all your blogs but a work day has come along to spoil my fun. So I’ll have to get back to blog visiting and story reading after work today 🙂
Yay! Have voted. Good luck.
Excellent story, DJ, beautiful turns of phrase.
(Only problem was, I needed a dictionary…)
Thank you! Set a date for your book launch yet? Hurry uuuup!
painful, sadness, sweet melancholy.
i love dragonflies and that you connected her memory to them.
beautiful!
You had me at urn. What a sweet and sad entry. Loved it all the same.
Great job, D.J.! 🙂
Thank you everyone, for taking the time to read my story and comment on it.
Too sad, you lulled me into a false sense of security. Very nicely done. 😉 Have voted, good luck.
Thank you so much for voting for my story.
I really liked this piece. It put me right there. My only problem is with some of those words, particularly “oscitate”, which jarred the writing a little bit. I blame the exercise for this, not you, as those words are a bit obscure for me. I had to look up all four in the dictionary. In fact, “oscitate” was not even in my OED.
Do marsh plant pollens have an oppressive smell? I didn’t know that.
Some do, particularly in some of the places I have lived in Canada. Got right up my nose….though that may have something to do with autism and my hypersentitivity to smell…
Oh that was so bittersweet. Great work getting the challenge words in there!
Thank you!
It is sad, but it’s a lovely dream with which to start a day.
Captain Black is on the button! What blogger has ever used ANY of the challenge words (miasma excepted, possibly) in their writing/blogging/conversation? Result . . in pretty well every entry they stick out like sore thumbs. And many entries have not even taken the trouble to check their meanings – unless those bloggers have dictionaries very different from mine. I found a solution to this problem, which of course was pure cheating . . .
Crying now. I’m a sissy. Really a beautiful tribute to love lost.
“Good morning, my Darling…”
Just had to go and make me all misty-eyed, didn’t you?
Nice job. Very moving.
That’s a good piece of writing. Praise well earned. My mouth oscitated in awe of your story and it’s surprise ending. As a young widow the dream rings true.
Mine is #62
What a sweet, sweet story, D.J., nicely done!
Thank you for your comments! I will be around to visit those of you new to here in the past 24 hours at some point this weekend.
Aww, that’s so sad. Great imagery though.
How lovely and so sad! Very well written 🙂
What a wonderful piece full of longing and acceptance. Fantastic job!
#189