Image courtesy of J S Brand
There’s a dark, empty space inside me that six months volunteering in a Nepalese orphanage does not fill. I’d hoped the wide, bright, smiles of the too thin children, the fierce hugs and the progress we have made would make me feel whole again. It doesn’t.
The summer is spent in the USA teaching sports to disadvantaged children. There’s no ‘I’ in team we chant, and yet I’ve never felt lonelier.
In Cambodia, I dedicate myself to Wildlife Conservation. The elephants stride, trunk to tail.
‘Beautiful, aren’t they?’
I turn towards the voice.
Clear amber eyes lock onto mine. My pulse flutters. This time, I might just stay.
Hurrah – I’ve finished book 4 and while I’m waiting for the edits from my publisher I can’t resist FF. For 48 hours only my latest psychological thriller, The Surrogate, is part of a flash sale across all digital platforms for £0.99/$1.38 – you can grab it on your local Amazon here.
Pop over to Rochelle’s blog and join in with Friday Fictioneers. Post a 100 word story inspired by a photo prompt.
Is this a new direction for you? Romance?
My psychological thrillers all have a really emotional side to them too. We all need love!
Indeed we do
Nice – Full of melancholy and intrigue…
Thanks Martin.
Ooh, you softie!
Yes – nobody died this week!
Dear Louise,
And now I want to know who belongs to those amber eyes. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Probably someone horribly unsuitable she’ll fall in love with and then have to bump off in FF next week…
Nice. I think she’s finally worked out what’s missing. And well done on book 4, I’m just starting out.
Ooh good luck Claire. I’m putting off starting no. 5. Urrgh – those first drafts…
Oh, God, yes. Awful.
It was worth all the travelling – seek and ye shall find 🙂
That’s a nice thought!
Have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince… who hopefully does not turn into a toad that you kill off next week! 😉
Hehe – there’s always a chance!
I know. I had to! 😉
I wonder if it happens like that for some people, or if hey decide to stay before they leave?
Possibly.
I love the way you’ve structured this. It’s beautifully paced and really grabbed my attention.
Thanks very much Penny.
Some of us take longer to find our thing than others and I remember that sense of missing something when I was younger. Haven’t felt that way for a long time. Now, probably hankering for a bit more time to myself.
Well written with food for thought.
xx Rowena
It took me years to find my thing! Thanks for reading Rowena x
She stops looking and finds him, I think. Lovely happy ending, full of hope.
Me too! Thanks Jilly.
Lovely story – I hope she found what she was searching for.
Congratulations on finishing your fourth book.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
Thanks very much Susan.
Congratulations on your success.
Thank you James.
Amber eyes, , , ,my first thought was of a lion, so I hope this guy is as exciting and untamed as a lion 🙂
Ooh lucky her!
Such a lovely story, Louise. So melancholy, I’m wondering why she was so empty and lacking hope. Lovely ending though – love stirs us anew. Well done on finishing book 4 and so lovely to see you here
Thanks Lynn. A happily ever after I hope.
And they both lived happily ever after – hopefully. A friend I traveled around Cambodia with went back to work with street children, and she met the love of her life there! Delightful Louise.
That’s fabulous Keith!
Searching for the things that work can take some time… an online friend found it in Nepal like the first one you wrote.
I love stories like that!
A bleak scene with hope at the end. I like it! 🙂 ❤
Hopeful! Thanks for reading.
i wanted to believe he’s not an ax murderer. 🙂
I do hope not 😱
Emptiness all consuming, until something different clicks – it’s the moment when it is least expected and isn’t being sought.
Sensitively written. And I loved the introduction of the elephants – the walking trunk to tail. Very vividly imagined. 🙂
Thanks so much. Pleased you enjoyed it.
Ah, she was looking in the wrong (metaphorical) place to fill that void inside 🙂
Easily done!
An intriguing end to the story! And I like the elephants… they remind me of the song, where they go marching two by two.
Thanks 😃
Love the delicacy in your writing. I hope the one with those amber eyes is the missing linking she had been subconsciously searching for.
Congratulations on finishing book 4.🙂🙂
*link. Sorry.🙂
Thanks so much 🤗
Congratulations on finishing your 4th book, Louise. 🙂
Hope her patience is rewarding to her.
Thanks so much Norma.
First, congratulations on finishing your fourth book. You are on a roll.
This is a lovely piece, full of great descriptions, angst with a topping of hope.
Thanks Alicia. We all need a topping of hope!
Oooo.. a love story!
Congrats on your book…four…wow!
Thank you Dawn.
I know about those dark empty space. I hope she found something fulfilling. Sometimes those who wander.. are lost. Loved the happy ending too 😊
Me too. Thanks for reading Fatima.
You just can’t run away from yourself can you? Beautiful story. Thank you
Very true. Thanks for stopping by.
Why is it more difficult to stay than to move on some times….even when it might be the perfect life if we stayed. Beautiful piece!!
Indeed. Thanks for reading.
Congratulations on the book. I missed the flash sale but got the Kindle version. Anything to help out a fellow FF writer, plus i am really into psychological thrillers. This piece was lovely. We all search and hope we find what we are looking for
That’s so kind of you Susan. Thank you. I do hope you enjoy The Surrogate.
So far so good.
I’m a hopeless romantic. Here you’ve showcased romance for us in a very unexpected way, Louise. Love at an older age can be more intensely felt than when one is younger. Bravo … for her for continuing to seek what, in actually, was unexpected.
Isadora 😎
I’m a hopeless romantic too – not that you’d guess from the number of people I kill off in Friday Fictioneers…
LOL