Company

by r.a. kukkee

*Conefower (Echinecea

Her knees creaked almost as loudly as the rocker when she got up to answer the door. She shuffled across the waxed hardwood, pausing to peek through the Irish lace at the side window. 

  "I hate company" she whispered to herself.

 She could not see his face.  The visitor studied the pink Coneflowers  by the step.  She hesitated, then opened the door cautiously.

"Why hello there, Sarah, ", the old man said, "the butterflies love your Coneflowers"

She gasped and clasped his hand to her breast.  Her hands trembled as she smiled.

 "Robert, oh, Robert...I thought you would never come!"

" I got your letter a few weeks ago, I was in England,  I knew you would change your mind and marry me."   He put his arms around her.

"No, Robert....it's the cancer, my time has run out. I...need you to help me die."

He cried.

#

"Company"  was inspired by the M3  Flash Fiction challenge. The word limit is 150 words. 

 "Company" is 147words.

Is that Incoming I hear?

*Photo by r.a.kukkee

Bits and Pieces

Bits and Pieces

by Raymond Alexander Kukkee


I  am getting that  uneasy feeling ---again. It is that time of year.  It happens every year up here in NW Ontario, but somehow, it seems to have arrived earlier this year.  
Evenings and early mornings are becoming cool, dew is heavy.   Yes, it is a welcome relief in some ways-- from the extreme heat--most people will agree.  No matter,  I get the same feeling every year. ...Summer is ending, the end is in sight--even if it's still a few weeks away, the feeling that fall is already upon us has arrived--at least in the mind. 

Out there in the reality of the back yard, some leaves are indeed turning dull.  A few are even yellow.  Is it because of the stress from excessive heat all summer?  The land is dry in spite of rainfall. We thereby reason, but do not satisfy the uneasy mind.
 
Is it the imagination, or is it just  a perception, a 'feeling'?   Are our instincts that good?
Is it worry about woodpiles that need to be collected?  The sudden race to rescue and collect the traditional garden and field harvests from inclement weather on the way?  
Is it about survival? Is it fear of change, or is it about self-preservation?
 The urgent need to complete a building project?  Could it be buried echos of  dreaded school days surfacing from long ago, the  torture of school about to start again, the loss of idyllic summer freedom? That's a stretch, --albeit genuine stress recalled in the past.

 Is this year different, somehow?  Is the Mayan calendar of doom  right?   Do you know what I mean? 

The beavers down the road have build a huge dam on the creek to store food. Is that a sign of a difficult winter on the way?  Are we like other creatures in nature, like honeybees that instinctively must store food, in  bits and pieces?

--And by the way,  here's an interesting aside,  no wonder honey is good for the common cold.  Honey bees seem to love the lowly Coneflower, also known as Echinecea as much as butterflies do.  How about that?Are they stocking the medicine cabinet for the winter?

A honeybee on Coneflower (Echinecea)

Do you suppose honeybees get 'the feeling' as they go from blossom to blossom too?  

Perhaps  'the feeling' is just one of Mother Nature's unique, persuasive methods--to get us to work harder--and survive, -making us stronger.  NOT a bad thing.


Is that Incoming I hear?