Tag: #unicornchallenge

Posted in #unicornchallenge

The Glory Days – Unicorn Challenge March 28, 2024

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

She liked bars. She didn’t drink or smoke. She didn’t go home with strange men. She was simply a people watcher and some of the best opportunities were in bars, but these were the boring 2020s. Everything was so politically correct, so sanitized that nothing was fun anymore.

Back in the 70’s, when rock and roll and women’s rights were shiny and new, everything was fun. There was no such thing as political correctness. Men and women were busy experiencing live music in bars and relating to each other in a way that had never been possible. They were high on life. The downside was that they were high on other substances too. They didn’t know much yet about the downsides of those substances, including liquor. Those were the Glory Days.

She looked around this bar stuck in a corner of the airport. Bright lights, men only except for her. She couldn’t hear the music over the intercom because it was too soft. The men were quietly talking to each other, but certainly not to her. They even looked like they were practicing political correctness. She preferred to laugh. She didn’t think she’d have much fun people watching in this place. 

Even people her age had bought into the whole new sanitized world notion, except when it came to politics. That was where you found the passion, but none of the fun. The entire world was at stake. 

Time to go. She would put on her headphones and drift away.

Thanks to Jenne Gray and CE Ayr for hosting the Unicorn Challenge.

Posted in Challenges, Fiction, Flash Fiction

The Memories – #The Unicorn Challenge March 22, 2024

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

The island’s biggest harbor was one of her favorite places to go. Every winter, she and her husband visited that magical island in the sun. The harbor to the west that faced the sound was the most fun. She loved to look at all the boats and feed the pelicans who seemed to have an innate sense about when the boats would arrive and fish scraps might be available. They flocked to the pier. 

The island was surrounded by mangroves and there had only been one big harbor built. In the evenings during the warm winters, many of the seasonal visitors gathered at the harbor since it was one of the best places to watch the sunset.

Tonight, she had a special purpose to be at the harbor. She was boarding a dinner boat where she would meet her love. They would cruise around the island and she would get to luxuriate in his company for a few hours. As she boarded the boat, a wave of happiness enveloped her. Dinner was calamari and grouper and they thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful food and conversation.

As the boat pulled into the harbor, she turned to him but found herself alone. It had happened again. They had taken this cruise so often in past winters that she kept imagining he was with her, not only on the cruise but everywhere. She had lost him earlier that year and now she remembered. Being accompanied by memories, she supposed, was better than being alone.

Thanks to Jenne Gray and C.E. Ayr for hosting The Unicorn Challenge