And for Christmas Eve, a final visit from writer Jacquie Pearce, who offers a cosy story for reading by the fireplace. Jacquie writes fiction for children and teens, as well as very short poetry and prose for adults. She can often be found wandering Vancouver, collecting photos and story ideas. You can find out about all the cool books she has written HERE, and you can follow her on twitter @jacquieink.
Tonight I’ll put up a tweet-run of the entire Festive Advent, and tomorrow Santa will be here, in the form of an A-Z story from the amazing Lee Edward Fodi.
But now, from Jacquie ….enjoy!
Yarnbombing
After work, the woman sank gratefully into the last empty seat on the bus and took out her knitting. As the bus made its way out of the downtown core, she set down her needles and fingered the finished rows. It looked like a giant multi-coloured scarf. The blue wool had been unravelled from a long-outgrown baby sweater she’d knit for her daughter. The red, from a sweater she herself had worn until the elbows had thinned to holes.
The bus turned a corner and slowed down as it passed through her old neighbourhood. A block later, she pressed her face against the window and peered out at the dark hole where the small house she’d lived in with her daughter had stood until just a week ago. Now, there was a large wooden sign advertising the presale of new condos. The only thing remaining of their old lives was a small oak tree she and her daughter had planted together in the front yard.
She pulled the cord and got off the bus at the next stop. She’d be a bit late to pick up her daughter, but that would be okay. She buttoned her coat tighter against the autumn chill and walked back to the spot where the old house had been.
She dropped her tote bag to the ground at the base of the oak tree and took out the wide multi-coloured length of knitting. The headlights of a passing car cast a brief light over the woman and the tree, moving their shadows along the sidewalk as she wrapped the scarf around the oak’s narrow trunk and stitched it in place.
***
For the month of December, my goal is to post a piece of festive flash fiction here to the blog every day. Twenty-five stories, each 250 words or fewer — a little fictional festivity to brighten the darkest month of the year. For readers, I offer these stories as a moment of peace within a hectic month of busy. And once in a while, as with today’s entry, you’ll get a flash of fiction from one of my writer friends!
More soon…
~kc