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
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! (:
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…
You've made the coming of winter so sad…
Sorry Alex :(… anyway, it's 100% fiction!
Beautiful writing!
Congratulations on making it to the end of the A-Z Challenge. 🙂 Your theme was excellent!
Thank you Golden Eagle. I will visit your place to check out your Z-post! 🙂
wow! great piece! I really liked it.
Thanks mshatch… 🙂
congrats on finishing the A-Z. Great posts.
Thank you Debra. I'm glad it's finally over… 🙂
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!
Thanks for visiting my place during the challenge. I really enjoyed your company and special brand of humour! 🙂
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!
Thanks Anjali. I really loved your "musical" posts as well – refreshingly different! Keep on writing!
What a tense piece of fiction!
I think it's a case of tension just before the "final curtain"… thanks for visiting my place during the challenge!
Well done. You made it, and were amazing with this theme. Encore!
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! 🙂
Hmmm, November – is the pesky visitor Nanowrimo?
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?
Another great story and a great ending for A to Z blogging. I am going to miss your daily tales.
-Debbie
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. 🙂