NOVEMBER INTERLUDE…

Once again, here is Victoria's Monday Morning Writing Prompt.

Here in the northern hemisphere, November is a peculiar month. I often think of her in tones of gray, monochromatic, uninspiring. This year, however, autumn dwaddled, could not commit to color or cold until, at last, November charms.

For today’s prompt, let’s write to a November prompt. What does she bring to mind in your corner of the world? Weather? Elections? Boredom? Thanksgiving? Cold? Warming?

                                               November

And this is my flash fiction response to the prompt.

     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Every year, November is the unwelcome guest. The party pooper. She erases the laughter and sunshine. Shoves it into the memory box. Alters the landscape with her riotous collection of reds, browns, yellows, golds.

Lengthening shadows. Shorter days. Cooler nights. Fleecy rugs. Steaming mugs of hot chocolate.

Reflections.

The doorbell…

A uniformed officer, glum and intrusive…

Loaded silence. The tableau imprints itself upon his mind.

A heavy mood descends… hovers… and settles.

Some attempt to swallow the last few morsels which lodge in constricted throats.

Sausages and eggs congeal on plates. Neglected toast burns to a crisp cinder. Coffee in familiar hand-painted mugs, forgotten and cold.

November.

The close of another chapter. Another year.   

Check out the prompt at: http://liv2write2day.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/monday-morning-writing-prompt-november/

 

20 Comments

  1. Shelly on November 8, 2011 at 11:36 am

    As always, you wrote another great piece. I live in Florida so everything stays pretty much green all year round unless we have freezing temps for weeks. But I don't like the shorter days. I get sleepy way too easy.

    • mish on November 8, 2011 at 2:46 pm

      Thanks Shelly! 🙂 I’ve never been to the U.S.A, but Florida sounds great. We are heading for summer now… the days are hotter… the humidity levels are rising fast!

  2. Bodhirose on November 8, 2011 at 4:38 pm

    Another Floridian here.  It's still warm but the nights are cooling and it's becoming less humid here–yay!  The cold brings melancholy to me so the longer it stays at bay the better.
    Gayle

    • mish on November 8, 2011 at 5:32 pm

      Wow! Two Floridians in one go… 🙂 🙂
      Because I live on the east coast, which experiences a sub-tropical climate, what I regard as cold, would probably be not-as-cold for you…
      Thanks for popping in Gayle.

    • Bodhirose on November 10, 2011 at 5:42 am

      I forgot to say how I enjoyed your creative take on the unwelcome guest called November.  There are some things I do enjoy about November too, Thanksgiving with the family and my mother and brother-in-law's birthdays–shared on the same day.  ðŸ™‚

      • mish on November 10, 2011 at 1:16 pm

        Let me set the record straight – I love November… the weather is divine this time of the year (well, it usually is… don’t know what’s happening this year with the erratic weather conditions)
        Thanks for checking in again and leaving a second comment, Gayle. I really appreciate it!

  3. J. A. Bennett on November 8, 2011 at 9:54 pm

    That was vivid, it made me not like Novemeber even though I've been having a good month. giving me feeling is better than nothing. Great job!

    • mish on November 9, 2011 at 12:52 pm

      Sorry to dampen your November mood… at least it did something for you… that’s important to me. 🙂 Thanks J.A.

  4. The Golden Eagle on November 8, 2011 at 10:53 pm

    November never really bothered me much, and I live someplace relatively cold in the winter . . . but your writing made me feel like this was the worst month of the year. 🙂

    • mish on November 9, 2011 at 12:54 pm

      I’m glad that the piece had that effect on you – great response! 🙂

  5. Victoria on November 9, 2011 at 2:58 am

    Wow, Mish…you''ve really caught the feeling of November in this, and considering where you live, that tells me you are able to write about any place and give a good idea of what it's like. Your flash fiction is so good. I want to know more! But that's how you planned it, isn't it. Love it, and thanks for joining the prompt.

    • mish on November 9, 2011 at 12:55 pm

      That’s a great compliment, Victoria! Thank you. And yes, that’s how I planned it…

  6. Arlee Bird on November 11, 2011 at 5:50 pm

    I think you portrayed November well for certain parts of the country for certain ones at certain times.  Great imagery.
     
     
    Lee
    <a href="http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/">Tossing It Out</a>

    • mish on November 12, 2011 at 2:31 pm

      Thanks. I tried to imagine what it would be like on your side of the globe, bearing in mind that different parts of your vast country experience autumn slightly differently.

  7. Karen @ Time Crafted on November 12, 2011 at 7:31 am

    While I love the colors bursting in, I loved your word choice, "riotous collection"!  On this coast, we're short on seasons & I have fond memories of autumn in New York as a kid and it's probably why it's my favorite season to this day. :>

    • mish on November 12, 2011 at 7:40 am

      I’ve always associated autumn with the colourful leaves that one sees in pics from your part of the globe. Thanks for visiting.

  8. Galit Breen on November 12, 2011 at 1:34 pm

    I love the way that you captured November from the inside out!

    • mish on November 12, 2011 at 2:26 pm

      Thank you for the visit and comment!

  9. Melanie @ M&M on November 12, 2011 at 1:53 pm

    Intriguing. I'd like to know more.

    • mish on November 12, 2011 at 2:27 pm

      Well, I will be incorporating certain flash fiction ideas/themes into a WIP… still in the preparation stages.
      Thanks for swinging by.

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