Slice of Life Story Challenge March 29 -A Fiction Fragment

It is said that fiction is merely reality with a twist, so today I present a deliberate piece of fiction. A piece that finds its origins in events witnessed during my regular summer walks. It is a fragment of fiction. Recently in my notebook I have trying to weave some word magic, turning fact into fiction under the heading, ‘Fiction Fragment.’

‘Luther Longhurst loved his front veranda. He felt free and in charge each time he parked himself there. As verandas go, it was a small space, pokey even, with room for a single fold away director’s chair and a planter pot holding some straggly, unloved geraniums.

 Each morning when the summer air was at its freshest and the moist scents of the garden rose form the earth, Luther would step out his front door and onto his humble little veranda. He unquestionably owned the space.

The foldaway chair vanished under Luther’s large frame. He owned it. Taking his seat the big man immediately highlighted the relative fragility of the chair.

Luther’s time in this zone followed well established patterns. His next move involved lighting up a cigarette. Following ignition, he would throw his head back, cough at the sky and exhale a plume of smoke towards the heavens. He would then open the newspaper conveniently tucked under his arm and commence reading. Starting with the front page, always the front page, Luther worked his way through the tabloid news only stopping when the back page was completed.

The act of reading and smoking were entwined in Luther’s mind. One couldn’t occur without the other it seemed. Sitting here, he enacted his morning ritual. A ritual involving, smoke, fire and words.

Luther Longhurst loved his front verandah.’

 

 

Comments

  1. Amy Rudd29 March 2013 at 22:56

    You described Luther so well, I could easily imagine him in that scene...actually, he reads like my grandpa...Grandpa used to smoke Lucky Strikes while he read the paper and sipped his Rolling Rock beer!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jackie30 March 2013 at 03:04

    Your first sentence made me think of a huge porch with tall white pillars....and then...you brought me to the fact that it was small...as was the chair...but that Luther was not...he was big...commanded that chair and the veranda. I liked the vision of Luther coughing smoke at the sky before he began reading the newpaper. And then I wonder....will this be lost....reading the newspaper while sitting on your porch....? We still get a newspaper and read it daily...but my nieces and nephews all read the paper on line. I really enjoyed your post today. Jackie http://familytrove.blogspot.com/

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