Friday Fictioneers – Close to the Wind

Every week, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (thank you, Rochelle!) hosts a flash fiction challenge, to write a complete story, based on a photoprompt, with a beginning, middle and end, in 100 words or less. Post it on your blog, and include the Photoprompt and Inlinkz (the blue frog) on your page. Link your story URL. Then the fun starts as you read other peoples’ stories and comment on them!

FF - Close to the Wind 180103

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

Close to the Wind

“Gonna wipe you out today!” Sue grinned at Adrian in the next dinghy.

“Get away! Women can’t sail!”

The cannon boomed. The race was on.

A gentle breeze blessed the sapphire water of the estuary with diamond waves. Golden brown cattle grazed peacefully on the lush pasture of the south bank. Woods on the north bank perfumed the air with pine.

Two boats converged, too close, for the first turn.

“Keep away!” Sue yelled at Adrian, as he drew level on her windward side. Her dinghy shuddered as it lost speed.

“You bastard, you stole my wind!”

Adrian just laughed.

89 thoughts on “Friday Fictioneers – Close to the Wind”

    • Dear Alice
      Thank you for reading and commenting. I’m delighted that you enjoyed the juxtaposition of bucolic and dynamic. That was one of the main aims of my story. It was my emotional response to the photoprompt, the mix of tranquillity and activity.
      With best wishes
      Penny

      Like

    • Dear Justjoyfulness
      Thank you for reading and commenting. Sneaky Adrian, yes, but he and Sue are two of a kind. They might well become a couple; and that could be a nightmare, or it could be bliss. One thing it wouldn’t be is dull!
      With best wishes
      Penny

      Liked by 2 people

      • haha, a nightmare when the fight continues? I think such fights only last until the rules are clear and they know each other.

        Like

      • you think an anchor would help? I think the opposite will happen…they just go on fighting. Nono, she will just let him win and win his heart…the most logical and worthful way…he won the race and she got even more with his heart…..

        Like

    • Dear Christine
      Thank you for reading and for your kind comment. The prompt made me think of sails, and feel a mix of exhilaration and tranquillity, so I tried to capture both in my story.

      Like

  16. What an authentic story. Sailors always insult themselves in competition, and more if they are in one boat and even more if they are couples. But after the race, they are again a heart and a soul! And with getting older there will be no races and competitions anymore and they can enjoy this beautiful nature!

    Liked by 1 person

      • hahaha, no. But I’m from a water sports family. We all grew up with windsurfing, swimming … and our summer holidays were geared accordingly. Watersports competitions were the order of the day. In my 20s I sat the last time with my father in a yawl in such a club competition, but I left the boat on the high seas and swam ashore, because these “insults” were too stupid ….:) .. .from so, I know what ambition makes of otherwise gentle people …; )

        Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Anie
      You are so spontaneous! I can just imagine you leaping out of the yawl – and the stunned look on your father’s face. I hope you were wearing a lifejacket!
      I don’t sail, but I’ve seen how competition affects human relations in many pastimes. It can be very entertaining!
      With best wishes
      Penny

      Liked by 1 person

      • yes, it is indeed it can be very entertaining …; ) … but I am not spontaneous, I have to disappoint you. I had already told my father 5 Wends before, that I would go ashore if he does not stop stressing. He knew I was jumping and still could not stop, because my dad is so ambitious about something like that.

        Like

    • Dear Kelvin
      Thank you for reading, and for your very kind comments. I’m glad you felt I used a simple style. I usually have so many things in mind I want to convey that I don’t achieve simplicity.
      With very best wishes
      Penny

      Liked by 1 person

  20. I loved the picturesque descriptions of water and waves and surroundings. Absolutely gorgeous!
    I loved how you have showed the two sailing and their competitive spirits. I could almost see them in action. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Moon
      Thank you for reading, and for your very kind comments. I’m glad you could almost see the two sailors. I had a very clear picture of them as I was writing, and I could hear their voices distinctly!
      With very best wishes
      Penny

      Like

  23. I could smell the pine and see the water as if I was right there. I’d love to compete and then sit back and enjoy the surroundings! Adrian and Sue seem to have some hidden feelings burning in the background in the heat of their competitiveness, I wonder? Enjoyed this story very much, Penny. Take me to the outdoors anytime. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Fatima
      Thank you for reading, and for your perceptive comments. I certainly imagined Adrian and Sue feeling strongly attracted to each other, and hiding it with very competitive behaviour. I’m glad you enjoyed the story!
      With best wishes
      Penny

      Liked by 2 people

    • I also have the feeling that it’s not about the competition. At least not for the woman. If you do something like this with family, friends or acquaintances, it is always the women who lose “voluntarily”, so that the mood is maintained …; ) … it’s definitely something else!

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Dahlia
      Thank you for reading and for your thoughtful comment. You’re right that the personal rivalry between Sue and Adrian means more than winning the race. What I had in mind was that there is a strong physical attraction between the two that they can’t admit even to themselves as yet. Because they can’t admit it, they have to deny it, hence the aggressive competitiveness.
      With very best wishes
      Penny

      Liked by 2 people

      • Oh, that’s interesting, but it should not last long. Such attractiveness is noted by both of them relatively quickly when they are together. We used to always say “what loves that teases itself ..” (“The quarrel of lovers is the renewal of love”)

        Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Linda
      Thank you for reading and commenting. Adrian and Sue are both showing off to each other. Underneath I suspect they’re falling in love! As regards the sailing, I tried to describe a situation where right of way was in doubt. Adrian arguably was too close, I think. If you’re an experienced sailor I’d be grateful if you could set me right!
      With best wishes
      Penny

      Liked by 1 person

  26. Love the sandwich nature of this – the challenge, the bucolic scene, the denouement. Adrian really is a bastard. She’ll know better next time she takes him on.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Varad
      Thank you for reading, and for the approving comment. The scene I described is a river estuary close to where I live. The characters Adrian and Sue felt very real and alive as I wrote about them. I could hear their voices!
      With best wishes
      Penny

      Like

    • sometimes it is better not to be Suzanne. I was when I was young, because I did a lot of sports competitions. but with having kids and stopping competitions I learned, that often you win when you loose. ( let your kids win a point in tennis, and you win a smile, a motivated and a proud kid…; )…)

      Liked by 2 people

  34. Pingback: What Pegman Saw – Proposal – Autumn Leaves

Leave a comment