Why do I find it hard to write the next line?

[venta]

Every so often, walking about, I see things which catch my attention. I want to know how they came to be there. I want to know the story behind them.

By which, of course, I mean I want there to be a story behind them. Why was the guy in Reading station clutching a handful of tall red roses (bare stems, no wrapping paper or cellophane) and staring so anxiously at the escalators? Nervous first date? Waiting for a partner after an argument? Would the lady (or gentleman) he waited for be pleased to see him? And where did the roses come from?

This morning, on a garden wall on my walk to the station, there was a bottle of cava. It was Freixenet - not top end, but decent stuff. It was open, and only an inch or so from the top.

What set of circumstances, or curtailed celebration, causes someone to leave a barely-touched bottle of pricey cava in the street?

Fans of flash fiction-writing are invited to explain either circumstance in <100 words :)

Comments

[condign.livejournal.com]

I wanted her to know: to know exactly how I loved her, but how she hurt me, and so I stood there at the bottom of the escalator that I knew she'd descend, waiting, clutching the stems of the stolen red roses in a hand white with tension, feeling them bite into my palms. [1]

I'd come up with the idea while Mike and I were drowning our sorrows next to Ms. McClintock's rose garden. He'd splurged on some upmarket fizz, and we'd only started into the bottle when he said, "That b---- is like these flowers. Pretty, but you can't touch 'em." I don't know whether he was talking about his dame or mine, but either way, it's no way to speak about a lady.

So I punched him out. Funny how the brain works: as the shock ran up to my elbow, I realized he was kind of right. And that she needed to know. So I grabbed a handful of stems, tipped my hat to Ms. McClintock as a gesture of respect, caught a cab to the station, and began a long night of waiting.

Pity I forgot the bottle.

Not great prose, but might as well give it a try for you.

[1] This sentence should be an entry in a Bulwer-Lytton competition.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Your ability to rise magnificently to any given occasion or challenge is why I miss you ;)

[condign.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I indulged in 200 words, since I was dealing with both parts of the story, so sorry for cheating.

I've been trying to weave together a book out of the crazy things I've seen on this trip. Not easy, but I'm working on it.

[glittertigger]

Excellent effort ;)