I love getting inspired by other writers. Erica Drayton has written a 100-word story every day since mid-May. I don’t have that kind of ambition, but it’s a good discipline to practice new things. August 15th - August 31st is Erica’s “Substack Publication Name Challenge.” Every day will feature one Substack fiction publication name used as the prompt for a story. I thought I would give it a go, so here is mine:
If not, Paris
It was the train. She was sure. A lonely wail of a horn, a rhythmic beat of wheels on rails, chugging through the countryside. Through the vineyards, past the sea, over the mountains, there was always the train. She set her watch by the train. It came at 10. Always on time. Wherever she was.
But today, at dawn. The time was wrong. Through lace curtains, she saw only the vineyard, busy with workers. But she smelled the tang of hot metal and knew it had come twice. A warning. She had to flee again. Senlis? Perhaps. If not, Paris.
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