19. The Bend in the River

*Context*

Here's my submission for the first round of the NYC Midnight flash fiction competition.

24 hours to write 250 words given a particular genre, action and word assignment.

Genre: Ghost story (Super coincidental but I'd practiced on one last weekend - see post #18)

Action: Inflating an air bed

Word: Eye

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Shadows danced across the grass as the setting sun flung its waning beams over the horizon. Herb looked at his watch and shook his head, “Late as usual”.

It was twenty years now that he and his son had been coming down to the bend in the river.

Herb crouched, reminiscing as he began inflating his air bed.

They’d spent their first visit fishing off the rocks. The river was in full flow and pulsed with fat spring trout. Herb had let Tom wander, youthful exuberance taking him just out of reach.

A subtle foot-sized depression near the air bed’s valve caught Herb’s eye.

“Must be the fourth time I’ve fallen for that?” he chuckled. The evening breeze carried with it a child’s laughter as the imprint lifted, the valve opened, and the aged plastic finally filled.

A familiar figure was perched on a log in front of the crackling fire.

“Hi, Dad,” Tom grinned, swinging his legs from his usual spot. Tom’s hair was still slick as if they had only just pulled him from the river. A lump caught in Herb’s throat as the tears started streaming down his face.

“How many times do I have to tell you,” Tom smiled softly, knowing what his father needed to hear: “It wasn’t your fault.”

Herb nodded; he’d promised that tearful apologies were for years past. These days, they laughed together and told stories around the campfire.

For one night a year, the void in Herb’s heart didn’t consume him.

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Update:

This little fella placed second in my group of 50 writers from around the world! Onto the next round :)