Z is for ZENAIDA DOVES

Welcome to Day 26 of the Third Annual A to Z Challenge! This is the final post for the challenge!

My theme my 26 fiction posts will revolve around something musical – it could be anything, as long as it's musically-related… maybe a song title, an artist/band, musical terminology, musical instruments, words relating to sound/rhythm/movement/dance etc.

MUSICAL ASSOCIATION/CONNECTION. ZENAIDA DOVES – the mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) is a member of the dove family; this species' call is a distinctive, plaintive cooOOoo-woo-woo-woooo, which is how it got its name.

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Every year, November is the unwelcome guest. The party pooper. She erases the laughter and sunshine.  Shoves it into the memory box.

Alters the landscape with her riotous collection of reds, browns, yellows, golds.

Lengthening shadows. Shorter days. Cooler nights. Fleecy rugs. Steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Mourning doves.

Reflections.

The doorbell…

A uniformed officer, glum and intrusive…

Loaded silence. The tableau imprints itself upon his mind.

A heavy mood descends… hovers… and settles.

Some attempt to swallow the last few morsels which lodge in constricted throats.

Sausages and eggs congeal on plates. Neglected toast burns to a crisp cinder. Coffee in familiar hand-painted mugs, forgotten and cold.

November.

The plaintive cooOOoo-woo-woo-woooo from a mourning dove perched on the window ledge as the last batch of Zenaida doves prepare to migrate…

The close of another chapter. Another year.

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GENRE: FICTION

22 Comments

  1. Elise Fallson on April 30, 2012 at 8:54 pm

    And the close of a great challenge! You did an awesome job with your theme, truly. I loved learning all the musical terminology and enjoyed reading your flash fiction. I don't know how you did it, (I couldn't) but I'm glad you did!  (:
     

    • michelle on April 30, 2012 at 10:02 pm

      Thank you for your faithful support. I did plan my posts in advance, and pre-wrote about half of the posts… towards the end, when things got tough, I relied on old posts…

  2. Alex J. Cavanaugh on April 30, 2012 at 9:43 pm

    You've made the coming of winter so sad…

    • michelle on April 30, 2012 at 10:04 pm

      Sorry Alex :(… anyway, it's 100% fiction!

  3. The Golden Eagle on April 30, 2012 at 10:02 pm

    Beautiful writing!
     
    Congratulations on making it to the end of the A-Z Challenge. 🙂 Your theme was excellent!

    • michelle on April 30, 2012 at 10:06 pm

      Thank you Golden Eagle. I will visit your place to check out your Z-post! 🙂

  4. mshatch on April 30, 2012 at 11:19 pm

    wow! great piece! I really liked it.

    • michelle on May 1, 2012 at 7:01 am

      Thanks mshatch…  🙂

  5. debra on May 1, 2012 at 3:36 am

    congrats on finishing the A-Z. Great posts.

    • michelle on May 2, 2012 at 4:30 pm

      Thank you Debra. I'm glad it's finally over… 🙂

  6. Julie on May 1, 2012 at 7:39 am

    This is such a brilliant ending for A to Z!  I've really enjoyed your creative stories woven into a musical theme! Thanks so much Michelle!

    • michelle on May 1, 2012 at 8:26 am

      Thanks for visiting my place during the challenge. I really enjoyed your company and special brand of humour! 🙂

  7. Anjali on May 1, 2012 at 3:25 pm

    Hey Michelle! What a lovely way to end the challenge. I loved the melancholic tinge to this post. The close of another chapter indeed.
    Also thank you so much for your encouragement. I’m glad we connected too! Will go through your blog whenever I get some time off. Lots of love!

    • michelle on May 2, 2012 at 4:25 pm

      Thanks Anjali. I really loved your "musical" posts as well – refreshingly different! Keep on writing!

  8. Susan Kane on May 2, 2012 at 12:43 am

    What a tense piece of fiction! 

    • michelle on May 2, 2012 at 4:27 pm

      I think it's a case of tension just before the "final curtain"… thanks for visiting my place during the challenge!

  9. mary aalgaard on May 2, 2012 at 1:21 am

    Well done. You made it, and were amazing with this theme. Encore!
     

    • michelle on May 2, 2012 at 4:29 pm

      Mary, you have been such a gem throughout this challenge… a real source of inspiration! Thank you for your wonderful comments and daily support throughout the challenge! 🙂

  10. Leslie Rose on May 8, 2012 at 3:31 am

    Hmmm, November – is the pesky visitor Nanowrimo?

  11. michelle on May 8, 2012 at 8:42 am

    No… I haven't attempted a NanoWriMo…  I've heard lots about it…… seems terrifying and makes the A to Z Challenge sound like child's play… I really don't think that I am cut out to produce such large volumes of writing under such pressure. 🙂 Have you done NanoWriMo?

  12. Debbie on May 10, 2012 at 4:20 am

    Another great story and a great ending for A to Z blogging.  I am going to miss your daily tales.
    -Debbie
     
     
     
     

    • michelle on May 10, 2012 at 8:50 am

      And I am going to miss your daily visits and wonderful comments that really kept me going… thank you Debbie! I'm so glad I met you through the challenge. Please keep in touch. Okay? I will. 🙂

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