I’m as shallow as these waters. Jewel squeezes my hand. He loves me. I’m supposed to love him. Daddy did — his dying wish that we don’t wait to marry.
The wind suddenly changes directions when Reverend Jacob holds the urn over the ocean.
My dad settles in my hair, and I shake and pull and rake, and fall hard on the rocks, and all Jewel can do is pull me into him, promise he’ll take me away from here. He needs to be my savior — that’s why I can’t marry him. I want to hurt. I want to cry alone.
word count: 100
—Nortina
Friday Fictioneers challenges you to write a story in 100 words or less using the provided photo prompt as inspiration. Click the froggy icon to read other stories and add your own.
Lovely Curses 
So sad.
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The ashes in her hair was really a strong image and maybe symbolic of feeling tangled between love and grief. That is what it made me think about. Really nice work.
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I think you hit it spot on. She definitely is going through a deluge of confused emotions, and the ashes in her hair is a culmination of all of that.
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This is really lovely – allowing herself to be free of her father’s dying wish, knowing for her it’s the best. Brilliant!
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Right! Even if he thinks it’s in her best interest, she can’t be confined.
Thanks for reading!
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You are so welcome 🙂
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A nice contrast of love and grief. And while it was certainly intended to be somber, the part of having her fathers ashes in her hair reminds me a bit of the ending of the movie “The Big Lebowski”. Really nice work, Nortina.
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I’ve noticed that the ashes mishap is used a lot for comedic relief, especially in films. I wanted to change things up a bit. 😉
Thanks for reading!
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Great piece. I loved it. Such an accurate portrayal of grief and wanting to hurt. Her father’s expectations and dying wishes cling to her like his ashes and feel just as unpleasant.
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A great analogy! It seems that with the death of her father, she’s lost control over her own life.
Thanks for reading!
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This story moved me so much! These lines, especially, evoked a strange emotion: “My dad settles in my hair, and I shake and pull and rake, and fall hard on the rocks, and all Jewel can do is pull me into him, promise he’ll take me away from here.”
And that ending, “I want to cry alone,” is heart-breaking and sounds real.
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Thanks! It’s a very unsettling situation — first losing her father, and then losing her freedom, in a way, with this marriage she’s not sure she wants. With the ashes in her hair, you see her just completely break down. A sad moment.
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You’re welcome!
And it was very sad, indeed.
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Hurting can last to long, hope she finds someone to help her leave it behind.
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And with his connection with her father, maybe Jewel isn’t the best person to do that, but hopefully she’ll find that peace, if not in someone else, at least within herself some way.
Thanks for reading!
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Full of many confused emotions.
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Confused emotions often come with the death of a loved one, especially a parent.
Thanks for reading!
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Heart wrenching!
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Thanks for reading!
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True sentiments!
Agony of the moment!
We don’t want anyone but the one we lost!
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Exactly! And it’s even more agonizing that it’s the one person we know we can’t have.
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Dad may have seen what he wanted to see between them and not what was actually there. I’m far surer more than wanting her to marry thus guy, he’d want her to be with the person she likes to be with and loves.
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Dad may also be thinking about who would take care of her now that he’s gone — not that she needs any taking care of — sometimes Dad worries too much. Nothing wrong with that though. 🙂
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A story that is both lovely and saddening. If only her father had realized that her heart didn’t belong to Jewel 😦
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Yes. It’s a sad story of miscommunication. If only she had the courage to tell both of them the truth too.
Thanks for reading!
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Sometimes we just can’t go for people who would be good for us. And dad should’ve seen she wasn’t drawn to Jewel. Let’s hope she can get through the hurt and live again. Nice story, Nortina 🙂
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The pressure is definitely weighing on her. Hopefully she doesn’t feel forced to accept a new normal just because it was her father’s dying wish.
Thanks for reading!
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Pleasure 🙂
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What a wonderful and disturbing image. of her father’s ashes clogging her hair
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Very disturbing. And with all the emotions she must be feeling — on top of having her father’s ashes in her hair — one can only expect her to completely break down.
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What a moving story you have written on so many levels. Well done.
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Thanks for reading!
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