RENEWAL

 

NOTE:  To anyone who’s interested, a good website to find markets for short stories is Ralan’s Webstravaganza.

This story was written for Sunday Photo Fiction–July 3rd, 2016. Each week the host, Al Forbes, provides a picture prompt. The challenge for each member of the group is to write an original story or poem with no more than 200 words, not including the title and inspired by the prompt.

To read the other stories written by group members, just click on the link below, then on the little blue frog in the blue box.

The link to the other stories this week is as follows:

https://sundayphotofictioner.wordpress.com/2016/07/03/sunday-photo-fiction-july-3rd-2016/

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 200 Words

RENEWAL by P.S. Joshi

It had been a difficult winter. Julie had lost her mom and her dad was sad and failing. He was 70 years old and still mourning for his wife of 50 years. Spring meant little to him now.

Julie felt it might not be long before he’d be buried there  in the cemetery beside her mom.

On Sunday there was a sermon about renewal. She didn’t feel the same about the subject as she usually did. She was expecting a child late in her life. All she felt was sadness and loss when she knew she should be feeling joy.

Her great aunt came for a visit and spoke of renewal. Julie told her aunt about her feelings. The old woman thought about it and decided to talk to her.

“Julie,” she said, looking straight into the woman’s eyes, “what do you think renewal means?”

“It means happiness and new life,” Julie remarked looking down. “I know I’m expecting new life, but Mom died before she saw my child and Dad’s so unhappy.”

“Julie,” her aunt said, “the child isn’t to blame. You must welcome it with joy, not sorrow. I’ll speak to your dad.”