I’m back at Carrot Ranch, joining in the short fiction challenge. Thank you for having me 🙂
Thanks Charli Mills at Carrot Ranch for organizing and for for this week’s prompt!
Nutty Aunts
I used to have ten aunts. Now unfortunately only two are still alive. Although I was fond of all of them, I never had a very close relationship with any of them because I never lived in the same city, region, or even country as any of them. I used to see them mostly during the holidays.
The good thing about seeing relatives only during summer vacations is that we usually had fun and loving memories; picnics at the beach, sharing ice-cream for breakfast, outings to the nearby countryside, games in the evenings, and pillow fights with my cousins!
On the other hand there were also the typical family squabbles, tantrums, and skeletons in the cupboard that occasionally ruined the fun.
This might have happened, or I might have imagined it…
Aunt Lucy (99 words)
“Your sister should have married.”
“She’s perfectly happy on her own.”
“I suppose you can’t blame anyone for not wanting to live with her, can you?”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s as mad as a hatter.”
“What a horrible thing to say! She’s not mad. She’s just different.”
“Look at her clothes and her sixty-year-old hippy friends. They still smoke pot for crying out loud! Thank God we had the sense to adopt her child so she could have a normal life.”
The door opened.
“I wondered when you were going to tell me Aunt Lucy was my mother.”
Sorry it’s a little dramatic. I think it’s the winter that does it to me!
But fear not and remember Shelley’s words:
In response to Charli’s prompt over at the Carrot Ranch The prompt February 4, 2015 prompt:
In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includes a nutty aunt. What makes her nutty? Is it the situation she’s in or a quirky habit? She can be anybody’s aunt. Maybe she’s really somebody’s uncle but wants to be an aunt. Maybe it’s the name of a cowpoke’s horse, a hockey team or a village pub. Follow where the prompt leads.
Respond by February 10, 2015 to be included in the weekly compilation. Rules are here. All writers are welcome!
Rereading Jane Eyre 
A very good story.
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Thank you, Olga! I’m sure there are plenty of uncles and aunts who are much more to their nieces and nephews!
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I liked the ending! And the Shelley quote is now my mantra – I need warmth and sun!
Too bad I had only one aunt and she was definitely not nutty!
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One day at a time and it’ll soon be spring:)
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That’s a fabulous take on the prompt! Love the drama although I imagine Aunt Lucy might shrug it off and go hang with her hippy friends. Thanks for writing at the Carrot Ranch! It’s an honor to welcome you!
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Thank you, Charlie. I’m thrilled to be taking part 🙂 I’m sure Aunt Lucy wouldn’t care about his opinion of her at all! On second thoughts, I should have called her Augusta, like Graham Greene’s aunt!
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Ten aunts is a fair number. I only had two but I probably had that many great-aunts and like you only saw them on holidays or the odd visit to us in the country. Your flash was fantastic whether it be true or not and I loved the drama. I’m sure that this was not an uncommon occurrence back a bit and it must have been difficult for all involved. The actual mother, the adopted parents and the wondering child. To find out at an older age presents a whole set of challenges with a number of books written on the subject. Anyway welcome to the ranch Luccia, we’re going to love seeing more of you.
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Thank you, Irene 🙂 It’s lovely to be here! My parents had large families and lots of drama. They were Spanish civil war babies. I had a younger sister who died 25 years ago, so I’ve been an only child since then. Fortunately now I have three children, and three grandchildren, so I’d say it’s a large family. At least it keeps me busy, and I love it!
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That’s great. There is often an influx of children after a war or so they tell us with the baby boomers. I guess the Spanish Civil war was the same plus they were a good Roman catholic country. 🙂
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Nice dialogue in your story 🙂
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Thank you 🙂 I’m using more dialogue in my fiction lately. Seems to be better for showing rather than telling.
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