Each week a photo is used, donated by one of the participants of Sunday Photo Fiction, and the idea is to write a story with the photo as a prompt in 200 words or less.
Sunday Photo Fiction 6-11-2017
He stared at the confusion of chess pieces scattered across the floor like the somethings broken inside him. Wished he knew what the broken bits were, where they had come from, why they had invaded his life. No, that wasn’t true. They had always been broken, ever since he could remember.
They’d had another fight; she’d screamed how fucked up he was, how stupid, how hurtful. Didn’t she know that stupid and hurtful could be turned against himself as well?
No, she couldn’t know. He’d never told, never let her that far inside.
She wasn’t coming back. She was as free to forget as he wasn’t. Not every moment they’d spent together, every word, every touch, every damn thing about her. Alone with his fears and pains and failures.
At dusk, he walk to the sea, shards of brokenness cutting him with every step. One by one, he took the chess pieces from his pockets, throwing them far out beyond the thundering waves. Out to where she was now.
Pockets empty, he walked home.
A Writer's Life 
Rituals sometimes help one to relieve pain. Like burning letters and albums, or giving away things that belong to someone. This reminds me of a Hindi lyric, which (translated) says …
‘Some of my things are lying there. Return those
Some memories, some dreams
Some parts of me that reside in you … Return those’
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Beautiful lyric and so true. Thanks for your words.
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He needs to purge all the negative elements out of his life and start anew. The emotions were well and truly captured, Athling.
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Thank you. Yes, I just hope he can do that before he goes insane:)
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Throwing away, cutting out, burning, ripping up…anything that works to bring relief and start the journey of moving on. The image of the chess pieces being thrown is an interesting one. Did he throw the Queen farther than the Pawns?
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Good question. I’m not sure if he threw the Queen further. That could be one of the keys to understand the story. Thanks!
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I wanted to know more, to understand. You had me hooked
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Thank you. I’m glad your enjoyed the story.
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That took quite the turn at the last moment there. I like it. No wonder she isn’t coming back.
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He’s a strange one, for sure. Thanks for reading.
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Being he threw the chess pieces “Out to where she was now,” I’m wondering if he put her out there. If so, he might already be beyond healing. Good writing, Connie. —- Suzanne
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I wondered if anybody would pick up on him throwing the pieces out where she was. I was surprised when he came up with that:) And, yes, he is beyond healing.
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It’s unfortunate to say the least. Things we do with others we love a lot but hurt us and leave are never the same without them. She ruined chess for him. The emotions came through really well and it seems she doesn’t see or never did see a part of him.
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So true. We do hurt those we live the most. Thank you for your kind words.
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