Walk the Plank on Vacation

The YA Buccaneers are throwing down the gauntlet again with another flash fiction challenge. Flash fiction is a great way to hone your writing skills, helping you to cut unnecessary words, find ways to say a lot in a short space, and dabble in different genres and styles without the huge commitment of a novel. This challenge is on through the end of the month, so check out the YA Buccaneers blog for details of how to join in the flash fiction fun.

The theme for this month’s challenge is “Destination: Vacation!” Here are the rules:

• The story must be 200 words or fewer (excluding the title)
• It must be on the month’s theme

For a further challenge:

• Begin with the words “I’ve always wanted to go” (included in the word count)
• End with the words “I’m so glad I went!” (included in the word count)
• Use exactly 200 words

Here’s my 200 word contribution:

A VACATION TO REMEMBER

“I’ve always wanted to go to–” followed by the name of the sun-kissed destination. This was Julie’s mantra every day during the winter. Why do they always show these vacation commercials when there’s ten inches of snow outside? Rhetorical question.

After the fourth ad for Jamaican resorts, I booked the tickets. Two weeks of golden beaches, palm trees, and friendly smiles. Fourteen days of sipping rum punch to the lapping of the waves, watching the sun set like an orange slice on the horizon. The chill of ice cubes the only reminder of home.

We arrived late on Saturday night to a full hotel, and ended up in a dive with paper walls and broken window screens. Sleep surrendered to humidity and mosquitoes. We took our romantic evening strolls by the shore with half the island. On the third day, I lost my wallet to a smiling local. He brushed past me, then melted into the crowd.

 After four days we returned to the frigid climes of home, our smiling neighbors, our heated home, our comfortable bed.

 Now when those commercials come on TV, Julie is silent.

It was the vacation from hell, but I’m so glad I went!

Check out the other entries at the YA Buccaneers blog.