Letting Go Bloghop
Today is the Letting Go Bloghop, hosted by Kyra Lennon. For more info and to check out all the participants, go here.
Rules: the participants are invited to share some stories about letting go. Was there a time when you had to let go of someone or something? How did it make you feel? How did you handle it? Or if that's too personal – which I completely understand – how about writing a piece of flash fiction?
Roz Summers let go, for just one minute.
A bad decision.
But that's all it took.
One minute.
Screeching tyres. The little girl disappeared beneath the bumper of a 4X4, with an ear-shredding scream. She was alive. Barely. Disjointed words lingered in Roz's mind. Stabilised vital signs. ICU became a second home. Life settled into a blur.
———————————————————–
Lacey Summers had to let go.
She had no choice.
The tiny lips on the 5-year old pixie face quivered between moments of confidence and terror, eyes wide and imploring… At the end, it had been too much for the little body. She had let go… just closed her eyes… drifted off and never returned.
The mother adopted a two-worded, get-out-of-bed-in-the-morning-mantra. Hang on… hang on… hang on. She hung onto the image of the pixie face lying on the pillow. It kept her going from second to second.
The days passed.
Eventually, summer turned to autumn, the days grew cooler and shorter… the two-worded mantra grew weaker and weaker…
———————————————————–
Roz Summers had to let go.
AGAIN.
Doctors said there was nothing more they could do. There was no hope of recovery. She had to pull the plug. Move forward. Pick up the pieces. Move on with her life.
Inside the hospital room, a solitary tear rolled down her face as an intense emptiness seeped into the lonely spaces of her existence… and settled there.
Outside, a single pink helium balloon rose into the air… it soared higher and higher… until it became a distant speck in the azure sky.
Great imagery and something, as a mom, I never want to face.
I agree… this is a mother's-worse-nightmare-come-true!
Ooh, for a short story, that really clawed at my insides! Great work!
Thank you very much for being part of the bloghop! 😀
Thank you for hosting this wonderful blog hop. I really enjoyed it! 🙂 And good luck with the novella!
Oh, that is so sad!
🙁 🙁 What can I say? Thanks Alex!
That is so moving and powerful.
Thanks for the visit and comment L.Diane!
Very powerful, it had me gulping.
Thank you Sally! I'm glad you were affected in that manner.
Powerful entry Mich. This is twice now I've cried reading these entries.
I'm just thinking that this bloghop should have included a warning: box of tissues compulsory when reading the entries… or something to that effect… I've read some really intense and moving entries!
That made me teary. Nicely written story.
Thanks Mary! Glad you enjoyed it.
Very sad and powerful. Thanks for sharing. 😀
Thanks Jaycee. 🙂
Talk about tragedy!! yikes.
Recently I went to a wake where we released pink balloons, so this reminded me of that.
Sad story 🙁 But very well written!
Thanks Trisha. I really enjoyed your "first-car" letting-go poem. Very refreshing. And original too 🙂
Deeply moving and painfully realistic. What an emotionally charged ending!
I'm gad you were moved by the piece, Julie. Yes, this could be a snippet from a real-life situation… but it IS fictional. 🙂
You are able to evoke emotion in a few short words. That's a gift. The story is sad.
Thank you for the wonderful and inspiring comment, Mary! I really appreciate it. 🙂
Heart wrenching story 🙂
Thanks Suzanne. I enjoyed your poignant semi-fictional/semi-factual story! 🙂
This is so powerful! It made me want to cry!
Ah, thanks Sherry!
Oh, so sad! Nicely written, I could visualise and it made me teary.
Thank you Nas… if the reader is moved by my piece, it gives me the satisfaction of knowing that my job has been done!
I love how the piece is not incredibly detailed but still manages to convey strong emotion. Very sad!
Thanks A.J. I enjoyed your evocative "lunar-inspired" poem. It was full of longing… 🙂
This was a powerful piece. I felt all the emotions.
Thanks Medeia. I enjoyed your letting-go poem. It was full of great imagery! And I think only about 3 bloggers wrote poems for this bloghop.
chilling.
Letting go, in any way, is one of the hardest things in life.
Yes, letting go is difficult, especially in the above scenario… 🙂 but there are instances when we NEED to let go and embrace something new, but are afraid to do so, because we are trapped in a "comfort zone" and too afraid to venture into the unknown… thanks Sara.
Wonderfully written and so sad.
Thanks Christine. I can remember your factual piece because it touched on the subject of patriotism… 🙂
Beautiful! The detailed images were amazing.
Ah, the lady who featured orchids in her letting-go scenario… thank you Jackie!
How sad and you have presented it in such powerful way!
Thank you Carolyn. I must say that I admire you for sharing a personal story with your readers for this bloghop… 🙂 I don't know if I would be as brave as you…
WOW!
🙂 I love your wow… it speaks volumes…
Wow. I was blown away by this. Well done. Thank you for sharing this piece.
Thanks Lynne. Your piece was very intense… very personal… and heart-wrenching too.
Oh, that was sad and very well written.
Thanks Tonja!
A devastating piece, which you handled with aplomb. Stopped me in my tracks. Well done.
Nick, thank you for the generous comment, it put a huge smile on my face! 🙂
Wow. Powerful piece.
Good job! 🙂
Wow. Super powerful. Very well done!
Thanks Kelley Lynn!! Thanks for popping in.
Thanks Melissa! 🙂
Powerful. Thank you for stopping by my blog and your comment. It is still painful to write about.
Thanks Debra. Letting go of a parent/child has to be the most painful type of letting-go…
This looked lik fun and a little inspiring. I'm going to try to join in next time. Thanks, Michelle.
Joylene, these flash fic challenges/bloghops are the ideal way to keep the creativity flowing, when you take a break from the WIP… 🙂 You should try them from time to time…