The Leave-taking
The summer, which had seemed so long in coming, now seemed so quickly over. Tomorrow they would have to close up the cottage and drive back to the city. Tuesday, the kids went back to school. But right now, they had promised themselves one last campfire.
Before long, the neighbors joined them, and even folks from around the lake. Children played, and built S’mores. People sang campfire songs, and the adults relived the happy season. Eventually, silence reigned, and people quietly contemplated the leaping flames.
Finally, the fire burned out. Somberly, but not sadly, everyone departed, looking towards next year.
Go to Rochelle’s Addicted to Purple site, and use her Wednesday photo as a prompt to write a complete 100 word story.
Archon's Den 
End of summer… always a bittersweet time. Your story sums up the feelings of not wanting it to end. I feel it.
LikeLike
Thank you. 🙂
LikeLike
Short, simple and great emotional content. Nice job, Archon.
LikeLike
I’ve been exposed to some of the best, you included. Thank you sir. 😀
LikeLike
I remember those days. My remedy? Now I live at the lake/cottage. 🙂
LikeLike
I was born and raised on Lake Huron. Sadly, jobs were a hundred miles away. 😦
LikeLike
I liked that bit ‘Somberly, but not sadly’. It shows that this is not the end but a new beginning. Lovely drawing of the scene.
LikeLike
I always hope and aim for a new beginning. I’m happy you see that.
LikeLike
Dear Archon,
You’ve captured that certain twinge felt at the end of summer. Nicely crafted.
shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
I lived at a beach for 18 years. If only I could have incorporated the smell of the wood smoke. Thanx. 😆
LikeLike
Nice metaphor of the fire with the ending of summer.
LikeLike
The medicine bottle says not to operate heavy equipment – nothing about metaphoring. Okay, I’m good. Glad you liked it. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ve captured the bittersweetness of ending time in a place you love and aren’t in the entire year. I feel that yearly when we leave the cabin in Wyoming. Good job.
janet
LikeLike
Oh that I could share that tristesse with you! It must be magnificent. The closest I get anymore is when they shut down the drive-though Dairy Queen for the season. 😉
LikeLike
Love this happy post. Friends, food, laughter. You captured the way people, at the end of a bonfire night, tend to go into a trance and watch the embers die.
LikeLike
It seems, like many others, you’ve also mesmerized yourself at many a campfire. Thanx for bringing the marshmallows. 😀
LikeLike
I really like this. Fall makes for some awesome campfires too. Summer doesn’t get to have all the fun.
LikeLike
My Dad built a fire-pit at the house I was born in. If the temperatures were decent, we could enjoy it well into October. Hardly anyone has bad campfire memories.
A teenaged friend was forced to wear unwanted eyeglasses, and complained when his mother paid an extra $20 for “accidental loss” insurance. He jumped over a huge beach bonfire, and lost the unfamiliar specs at the top of the arc. He dug through the cooled ashes the next day, presented the molten lump to the Optometrist, and got a new, free pair. 😕 🙂
LikeLike
Archon, Lovely story. When I was nine, my dad rented our house in the city–eventually selling it– and moved us to our cottage near a small lake about 15 miles from the city. It was in northeastern Ohio. He started fixing it so that it was a year-round home. He and my mother lived there for the rest of his life until he passed at the age of 83. He was able to make his dream come true. I never enjoyed living out like that as much as he did. It was a beautiful location though. Well-written story. 🙂 —Susan
LikeLike
Thanx for the visit. It’s so nice that your Dad got to enjoy life on his terms for so long. I’ve thought about moving back to my Lake Huron home town, but prefer the, as yet unneeded, immediately-available nearby medical facilities, as I approach 70. I appreciate the supportive review. 😀
Would you reveal, to the map-nut, precisely what lake? 😕
LikeLike
Sure. It’s a small private lake that’s actually part of a club that has 30 members. It was named Comet Lake as a comet had at one time passed that area. It was man-made, and near a tiny cross roads named Comet, Ohio, about 15 miles south of Akron, Ohio. It’s very near Nimisila Reservoir which is very large and also man-made. Nimisila is used to refill the Portage Lakes when they’re low. They’re all in Summit County Ohio, south of Akron. You have to look close to see Comet Lake. —Susan
LikeLike
Such a lovely story. Reminding us of good times we so quickly forget.
LikeLike
So tied up with the stresses and aggravations of life, it is often nice to just sit back and enjoy, whether at a real campfire, or just with the fond memories. Thanx for sitting in. 🙂
LikeLike
A lovely way to mark the end of summer
LikeLike
Squeeze the last little bit, and enjoy it right to the end. Carpe diem! 🙂
LikeLike
Very nice. This, sir, is how one properly does a short flash… 😉
LikeLike
Born and raised in a tourist, beach town, I’ve seen my share of these. 😀
LikeLike