The photograph looked gloomy, grubby and dog-eared as she held it up and matched it to the scene before her. A wedding is supposed to be the happiest day of your life. Given the divorce statistics, you really want to go into it looking happier than the crowd in this photo.
You could see the photographer had tried their best, arranging everyone on the curved staircase down from the front of this grand country house. It was a hotel now, of course, bought up by some large Chinese conglomerate and pimped to the max. Lawns dug up for a golf course and spa built over the kitchen garden.
The bride looked beautiful in her white gown, holding a small posy of fresh flowers and a staged smile. The groom by contrast has a smile far too broad for his face as if he’s desperately trying to prove how happy he is. Both sets of parents gaze on, the brides with a look of sadness and the grooms with a sense of resignation. The vicar stands to the left an example of ethereal indifference, white dog collar over black robes, bible in hand, like he’s the operator of the celestial switchboard, phonebook in hand, who can connect you to God, for only a small donation.
It was a different world back then. Life had a different rhythm.
Sapphire wonders why she came. Why is it so important to her? Why she had to see where they were married. Her father ..and that woman. This was his last day of freedom. The last day he was truly happy.
If you looked closely in the bottom left of the photograph you could just make out the shoes, not of the photographer or a member of staff but of the Police Sergeant who had come to arrest him and graciously allowed one last photo before taking him to the cells.
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316 words
Entry for competition as below. 500 words max.
Welcome to NOVEMBER FURIOUS FICTION!
Here are this month’s tabulated and tallied criteria:
LOCATION: Your story must take place at a HOTEL.
OBJECT/PROP: Your story must include a PHOTOGRAPH. (In the story itself – do not send us a photo!)
WORDS: We had a set of ‘red’ words and ‘blue’ words ready and have chosen the blue-themed set. So, your story must include the following words: COLLAR, GLOOMY, POLICE, RHYTHM, SAPPHIRE.
