“Tell me about this,” the detective said, handing her a photograph.
The woman in the hospital bed studied it, then handed it back.
“I dunno. Just a car,” she replied, and pronounced it “cah.”
“Boston?” the detective asked.
The woman scoffed. “BAH-stin? Gawd, no. That’s not Massachusetts!”
“I was trying to guess your accent,” he replied. “Boston?”
The woman shook her head, trying to remove her confusion with a vigorous shake. When she spoke again, the twang was gone. “No,” she said,”I’m from…” Her voice trailed off.
She looked at the photo quietly, then asked, “Where am I?”
“You’re in the hospital in Glasgow, Scotland.”
“That’s not the driver’s door open, right?” the woman asked, staring at the picture.
“No, it’s the passenger door.”
“Was I driving?” the woman asked.
The detective hedged. “What do you remember?”
She furrowed her brow. “I… I… I don’t remember anything.”
Her English was clipped and clean, practiced, so as not to reveal anything about her.
“What’s your name?”
The woman raised her eyes from the photograph and studied the detective’s face.
“I don’t remember,” she said finally.
“Who were you with?”
“Where were you going?”
“Where are you from?”
“Why are you in Scotland?”
He peppered her with questions; her answers were all the same. “I don’t remember.”
After the nurse left the room, he shut the door and leaned in close to her face. “Listen,” he said, “I know why you’re here, but if you want protection, you’d better start talking.”
This is my response to the Unicorn Challenge. 250 words on the button.
I don’t know why I’m struggling so much with these photographs lately. I kept looking at it and looking at.
I thought about the time I was driving home and had to pull over to throw up (stomach bug). My two youngest daughters had been with me and for months after that, whenever we passed the spot, one of them would say, “Remember that time?” Yes, I remembered.
I didn’t want to write about vomiting though. Instead, I thought the fact that I just started Season 19 of Taggart. I started at Season 1 some months ago. It’s on Brit Box.
Hot Dogs and Marmalade 
I can identify with you on how some photos are more difficult than others. I would go as far as to say that, by and large, photo prompts can be more challenging that word prompts.
that said, I had nothing this week until the idea of AI popped into my mind.
Easy-peasy! 250 words on a talking car!
…or something like that
(favorite saying about writing, forget who said it, Emily Post…Amelia Earhart… one them…. ” I hate writing. I love having written.”)
Interesting that you find a photo more challenging than a word, Clark, although it is supposed to be a Challenge!
There are a million elements in a photo, you can write about any one (or more) of them.
agreed.
However… (what’s the expression… ‘an embarrassment of riches‘ might apply if we’re to get technical.)
Damn, the lure of a discussion of writing has me forgetting my manners!
er… Sally? I trust you don’t mind my ‘thread-jumping’ here with a rigorous counter reply to ceayr’s comment. promise to keep it less than, “omg. are those two still arguing?” lol
As I said, I agree. For me personally, unless I get all kinds of lucky with the image prompting a story in my head all Athena-istically, then I’m forced to work.
this week’s image was a good example, wait, I’ve told the story in my original comment. The thing that makes the ‘corn enjoyable for me is that it’s always a pop quiz. Sometimes I’v done my homework and the answer comes easily other times, it’s work.
but fun work.
This whole writing fiction stuff is new to me — and that may be some of my struggle. I can write factually, even poetically on what I see and know. This making stuff up, though? A challenge!
I love your quote at the end, too.
I enjoyed this little flash fiction! I may need to think about incorporating something on that order for Detective Evans! You have inspired me!
ooh! I’ll take that as a HUGE compliment!
Your story doesn’t suggest that you’re struggling, Sally, but if you really ‘kept looking at it and looking at’ maybe you’re over-thinking it, no?
The prompt is just that, something to spark a thought, however tenuous.s
Your writing is always enjoyable, but I’d hope you are enjoying it too.
Overthinking? Maybe.
I start with looking at the picture and find something I KNOW to “hang” my story on. However, this one, and the lighthouse one both left me a little stymied. As silly as it may sound, I kept having to remind myself with this photo prompt that it was the PASSENGER door open, not the driver’s. I was somewhat relieved that you had to remind yourself of that, too. That one detail could lead to two very different stories.
I really do enjoy the writing (Thank you for the Unicorn Challenge!). These fiction exercises are still new-ish to me, so it’s sometimes a struggle, but I like to see where they take me. I’m so glad the story worked for you.
Laughing here.
‘kept having to remind myself with this photo prompt that it was the PASSENGER door open’ – still over-thinking it!
But as long as it’s fun, and your stories invariably are, none of that matters.
‘There’s been a murdur’ (sic) – Glasgow code for Taggart, the original series with Mark McManus. Now THERE’S an accent to struggle with.
Great wee story, Sally, with, as C. E. says, no hint that you struggled with the prompt. Your tale is very visual – I can see her in the hospital bed, ‘remembering nothing’. And the policeman leaning in at the end, not at all fooled.
I’m struggling with the prompts just now as well – and I choose them! Overthinking? Definitely. How to free up the imagination? All hints gratefully accepted. 😄
.
Honestly, I watch/listen to Taggart FOR those accents. I think I could listen to Scottish accents all day. Hence — a trip to Scotland next summer.
“How to free up the imagination?” Now, there’s a great question! I think I need to change my diet of barbed political news to something more inspiring. The US is just full of nasty these days. I’ll be glad when the election is over.
There’s lots left to the reader’s imagination in this, and I like that. Who is she? What does she know? Who is the inquisitor? The stakes keep getting higher as the story progresses, and the ending ramps it up very successfully. Serious business afoot here.
250 words doesn’t give much space for answering questions, does it? It does, however, yield itself quite nicely to raising lots of questions. Thanks for your encouraging words.
Definitely have more questions…..intriguing tale, Sally! 💞