Flash Fiction for your coffee break (and other jottings from my notebooks)
As fast as technology moves us forward, some things never change. Take me for example. I have the latest ear pods plugged into my head but I listen to works by a composer who died over 300 years ago. I am a writer by trade and although I have the option of dictating my scripts to a software program that can transcribe what I am saying, I am more productive and creative when I use a notebook and pen.
She came to life, emerging from the picture and mingled with the crowds who were gawking at the paintings by the great man. She smiled as she listened to the stories that they were telling. “She was his lover/muse/illegitimate daughter”. You could fill in the gap yourself.
“Let me paint you” he had said ”and you will be immortalised. You will live for ever.”
He hadn’t meant it literally.
Or had he?
It had taken two years of assiduous online searching before I found her. Her electronic profile was gaunt, in fact, almost non existent but I knew that she could provide the answers that I needed. I hoped that the fact that I had tracked her down would be sufficient introduction and would not scare her away. It was almost a shame to disturb her as she concentrated on an old style paper book with what I guessed was an espresso coffee in front of her. She had cut her hair short since the single blurred image that I had unearthed had been taken but I was certain that it was her. It was time to introduce myself.
OK - I admit it - Call me a geek, a nerd, whatever you want but ultimately it hasn’t helped me at all. I’m a gamer, a fanatic even and so far I have lost three jobs succumbing to my addiction. I live at home with my mother and her cat and as you can imagine, she seriously disapproves of the hours that I spend in my room shooting, problem solving or just randomly wandering through worlds that are infinitely more colourful and interesting than our own.
It’s always a tragedy when books are destroyed but a bookshop on the edge of a Venetian canal is always at risk from ‘Acqua alta’. This exceptional peak tide is becoming increasingly common because of climate change but now named as one of the top ten quirkiest book stores in the world, Libreria Acqua Alta has a constant flood of visitors. (Ouch). Books are kept in bathtubs, boats and even a gondola. They have even repurposed the damaged books to create a stairway and terrace which looks out over passing gondolas. Definitely a place to visit.
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