#Fiftywords: "Stay Safe, Papa" (Flash fiction)

in #fiftywords • 6 years ago

"Stay safe." She had the most impossibly bright smile. Naive enough to warm the coldest man. Yet... The story isn't about her.

AhmadmangaCovers0530.jpg

Welcome to my new entry to #fiftywords, a challenge started by @miniature-tiger and is currently managed by @jayna... This week's prompt is "Bait." I was free today so I took the last hour writing and improving this, and I'm glad I did:

"Stay safe, Papa"

"Don't worry my love."
My brother almost cried, as I bid my little girl goodbye.

'They' gave me a spy mission.
But considering where I'm going to; who I'm tracking...

"Hey Bro!" I pat his shoulder. "Take care of her, until my return."

I assumed the role of the bait.

[The End]

Aaaaand quote marks in the title, Am I brilliant or what?

Maybe it was cheating to make the title part of the story (it'll be 53 words if you count it,) but it can read without it so it can still be considered 50 words. But hey, isn't doing art in the title is part of #fiftywords challenge too?

As for the story, I had the last line in mind before I started. At first it had only the main character, it was less than 40 words and he was 'only' freaking about how hard the mission will be, but then I was like. "Why not give him a family?" then one thing led to another.

I didn't write it with a certain setting in mind,
so this can be a fantasy world, historical story or even real world military.

The only sky is your imagination. (wait?)
The imagination is your only limit. (this one seems wrong too.)
Well,
I guess I'll stop here.

What are Your Thoughts? All (non-spam) Comments are Appreciated.

Cover made using photo by Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash. I wasn't sure which photo to choose to keep the setting ambiguous.
#flashfiction #shortstory #war #isleofwrite
6 years ago in #fiftywords by
$1.80
  • Past Payouts $1.80, 0.00 TRX
  • - Author $1.39, 0.00 TRX
  • - Curators $0.41, 0.00 TRX
12 votes
Reply 3
Sort:  
  • Trending
    • [-]
     6 years ago 

    interesting brother

    $0.00
      Reply
      [-]
       6 years ago 

      I enjoyed reading about how you wrote the story, @ahmadmanga. I often come up with the last line first, or just a line somewhere in the middle. Or it might be a very brief scene. And then I build around it. The creative process is so interesting! Anyway, I enjoyed your story. Thanks for sharing it, and I apologize that it took me a few days to get to it.

      $0.00
        Reply
        [-]
         6 years ago 

        Yeah, for short stories like these I often come up with one line then build around it too. But only for short stories (less than 100 words) my longer stories are always come up by imagining a scene or a temporary title (yeah, I usually change the title after I finish writing them.)

        Sorry for the late reply, very busy these days.
        $0.00
          Reply

          Coin Marketplace

          STEEM 0.21
          TRX 0.13
          JST 0.030
          BTC 67334.64
          ETH 3519.34
          USDT 1.00
          SBD 3.10