“Lorna, we need firewood tonight, go gathering for driftwood, girl.”
Lorna, faces her father, fists clenched.
“I have this washing first, the calico you brought last week has to be sold”
“Lorna, I saw sails at the horizon, another ship will seek shelter at our shore tonight”
“I don’t want to live like this any longer”, Lorna meets his gaze.
Tom, as so many times before, takes a few steps closer, fists prepared for persuasion, but Lorna isn’t unprepared.
“No more sailor’s death or pillaged goods”, a knife protruding from her father’s ribcage.
“Tonight, only lighthouses will guide the sailors”
A place reminds me of the fine tradition of wrecking, to light misleading lights on high places, luring ships ashore, killing the sailors for the goods. I think Lorna is fed up with this, and wants to be an actress instead.
Friday Fictioneers is a group of bloggers writing stories to the same pictures every week under the firm rule of the our mariner sweetheart Rochelle, come and join us, and skip the turkey indigestion.
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November 25, 2015
Björn Rudbergs writings 
Tremendously moody piece. Every word so appropriate for the times and the activity. Well done, Bjorn.
Thank you, and a wonderful picture where I can imagine false lighthouse fires to be burning in the night…
Great story as usual, Bjorn, but you seem to be deeply into your dark place recently.
That is working well for your writing.
I will do a romantic comedy one of these days…
Lorna , despite being born to and raised by a bad person, chooses the high path. Good story.
Thank you.. yes it’s a kind of redemption…
It’s a realistic story, life is how we make it. Great story my friend!
Cheers.
Oh thank you.. this was a fantasy.. but living on piracy was once much more common.
It takes courage to challenge our parents, It takes double courage to challenge their misdeeds. Lorna is very courageous.
I think she is.. and I hope there is a future for her somewhere else.
I hope so too…
Brave girl – I hope she finds good things in the future.
I hope so too…
I love the part about his fists being prepared for persuasion. Also the siren-story undertones.
Ah.. a siren… that’s genius.. I think the lure of the wreckers is even more dangerous.
Were there wreckers in Sweden also?
I think so, at least on the west coast,
Dorset was infamous for it.
Dear Björn,
I guess you could say that Lorna got her point across. (Yeah, someone had to say it.) Well done, if not dark and bleak, piece of writing.
Shalom,
Rochelle
😉 yes Lorna really made her point in the end
Wow that was right to the point!
Indeed… very sharp
Good for her for standing up to her father for what she feels is right. Not an easy thing to do.
Maybe it was her only option.
… Lorna wanted to be an actress instead … brought a smile.
🙂 or maybe a chambermaid
Good piece of historical fiction – wrecking was an awful practice.
She wants to be an actress?? Or a fashion model?
Or a chambermaid maybe.
Lorna takes a stand for what’s right. This was quite atmospheric as it played out in my head. Ideal title!
🙂 thank you… I tried a lot with the title.
I often find the title one of the trickiest bits, but it can really enhance the story if you get it right (as you did).
I find that puns work really well in titles, even if the story is tragic. Also standard poetic tools like meter, alliteration etc. make the title better. I think a title where the full meaning reads different after you have read the story than before is good.
Was murder the only way out?
Probably not… but that is what she did…
Stand tall and be strong Lorna, no matter what.
I hope she did to save the sailors…
Without a doubt the strongest piece in this week’s collection. Great job!
Thank you.. 🙂
good for her. she finally found the light.
And I’m happy for the sailors too.
Sometimes one has to do the right thing, even if it was the wrong but maybe only way. Good for Lorna.
Lily
Good for Lorna, even better for the sailors on the ship.
Bravo Lorna! Great piece.
A happy end for all except Tom.
Well told tale, Björn. What a crazy business… wrecking… almost as bad as pirating…
Very little difference with wrecking and piracy…
They do seem to go hand in hand…
Have I told you before that I just love your stories?
I think you might, and I like yours as well 😉
This works really well and I love your feisty heroine!
I think she has the right attitude…
Let’s just hope she doesn’t become a writer. She might take up murder mysteries, and we all know where that path leads.
To fame and money?
Whew! A lot of drama in such a little piece. Good job — and good for her!
Good for her, better for the sailors on the ship…
Lorna made her stand in her father’s rib cage. I love the dark story accompanying this idyllic setting Sandra gave us in the photo. Excellent take on it.
See. Now had I read this earlier I would have stuck with my original pieces. This reminded me of all the legendary “Lover’s Leap” when two lovers want to be together but aren’t allowed so they hurl themselves over a cliff. That was my original idea. Instead I made it humerus about that Turkey. It did taste delicious, though.
Lorna’s being proactive. Good for her.
This is different! Murdering the father for stopping his crimes–may have been the only way out in her situation. I wonder if the anger remains, or if regret follows later. Great piece, I love the ambiguous morality here.
Fists prepared for persuasion. Very sad. She must do what she had to do. Dark and moving, Bjorn. Well done.
Poor thing! It’s time she stood up for herself. Nicely done.
A suspenseful tale with a very brave protagonist.
I enjoyed every word, Bjorn.
It’s sad that Lorna was forced to go to that place.
Many women are taken there and suffer greater consequences from the law. Let’s hope she escaped on one of those ships following the lighthouse.
Isadora 😎
Very interesting story and what a scene between Tom and Lorna. A sort of coming of age amid rough circumstances.
Excellent dialogue tells a powerful story – one that rings true of times gone by.
Very good dialogue and Lorna grows up and doesn’t see any way out. Maybe she learned from her father how to kill. 🙂
And so Lorna becomes the Lady of the house. I hope she is better than her father.
Good story, Bjorn. Thanks for the added explanation of the old practice of waylaying sailors. Well done. 🙂 — Suzanne