for Donna’s Foto Flash Fiction Challenge.
Quite a few homeless people sleep in the shelters along the promenade at night. Another joined them a couple of weeks ago. She had a few bulging plastic sacks in a supermarket trolley, presumably her worldly goods. The others didn’t know who she was. They didn’t ask, didn’t care.
One day last week, Thursday I think it was, a supermarket trolley appeared on the beach as the tide ebbed. It was empty but for a few scraps of seaweed.
One less person slept in the shelters along the promenade that night.
A couple of weeks ago, she’d gone missing. Missing from work, missing from home. She was a successful businesswoman in the City but of late, things had started going downhill. She had split from her husband, and running her business had taken a back seat. He was demanding a small fortune, so she needed to disappear straight away, become anonymous, invisible. And so she joined the homeless people in the shelters along the promenade that night.
But not for long. Just long enough.
Right now I’m enjoying my holiday on a remote sun-drenched island. Yesterday, while sipping my pina colada, I’m pretty sure I saw her. I recognised her from pictures in the newspapers. I’ll keep quiet, provided of course she agrees to my modest demands!
Photo courtesy of Morguefile
The poor woman…there’s always some little squeak somewhere. Though she may have hired some fellow to take care of those.
She’ll have a minder I’m sure! Poor me!
Just keep your knowledge under your hat and you should be okay. 🙂
I grew sad as I read…until the end. Thank you for a big smile and a HUGE thank you for joining in this week. I’m neck deep in the writing muck of my latest book and need to stay focused this month. Hope you join in next Friday (it’s my birthday) because I will probably miss that one, too. LOL! I’ll be back in October. Cheers!!
Thanks for hosting and taking time out to visit my tale despite being up to your eyes in it!
Give her a break. Sounds like she needs it.
Okay, if you say so! Thanks Denise.
It sounds like her life in hiding will be as difficult as ever. Sometimes people just need a break.
Sometimes there’s no escape.