Homecoming

david-stewart-house

PHOTO PROMPT © David Stewart

“Home.”

Gerald had dreamed of going home for so long. He’d had an idyllic childhood. From the white picket fence, to the front pouch where Grandpa would swap tall tales with neighbors, to the family backyard barbecues.

He stood outside drinking it all in. His dress uniform was crisp, the duffle he’d been carrying which rested on the sidewalk had been light. Gerald tried to breathe a sigh of relief.

But he was sixty years late. Instead of coming home from Nam, he was still buried in an unmarked grave thousands of miles from home. Now he could only dream.

It’s Wednesday and once again time to participate in Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ 4 July 2025 edition of Friday Fictioneers. The idea is to use the image above as a prompt for crafting a poem or short story no more than 100 words long. My word count is exactly 100.

I know this would be more appropriate to Memorial Day than Independence Day, but my tale is where the muse led me when I saw David’s photo. While we enjoy a day off, family barbecues, and fireworks, remember that the cost of our freedom came in blood. So many of our fathers, our brothers, and our sons went off to war and never returned.

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Cover art for “Dames, Derringers and Detectives: Moggie Noir”

Gerald’s wandering spirit took sixty years to come back from Vietnam, but he could have as easily been killed during World War Two, the Gulf War, or in Afghanistan. Regardless of your politics, you are still free. Remember who bought us that freedom.

To read other stories based on the prompt, visit inlinkz

My crime noir short story “Last Wish of a Dead Man” is now available in the Raconteur Press anthology Dames, Derringers and Detectives: Moggie Noir. The story requirements included a hard-boiled detective, a murder, and especially a cat. The third in my “Margie Potter: Haunted Detective” series made the cut.

Also, my horror short story “Haunting Chloe” is now available in the ghost story anthology Haunted Places (universal link) by Blackbird Publishing. Pick up a copy of each, give them a read, and don’t forget to leave honest reviews at Amazon and Goodreads.

41 thoughts on “Homecoming”

  1. Amen. Your commentary is a good reminder, ‘regardless of politics’ appreciate freedom and those who gave their lives to maintain it and their families who lost loved ones.

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  7. Your story had a nice lead into the spooky ending – with the memories flooding and that porch does look like a place for tall tales!

    – and then I really liked the reminder about how freedome is not free and as you noted, “remember that the cost of our freedom came in blood. So many of our fathers, our brothers, and our sons went off to war and never returned.” And I think the 4th is a REALLY GOOD time to remember this – every day is. 🇺🇲🇺🇸🇺🇸

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