Lady Liza

by Christine Walker
28th June 2016

Lady Liza had given up the ghost a day after blowing out the 96 candles on her three-tier birthday cake. It was the last adventure on her bucket list, we heard, therefore she went home to be with her husband, Alistair after waiting Thirty-three years.

On the day of her funeral, it was revealed that Lady Liza, like we all thought, was not an actual lady with a proper title and that in fact she was the only child of a humble fishmonger on Tib Street. This new revelation kept us neighbours talking all summer until the autumn leaves floated down from the trees. It took us a while to get over the misconception and the misunderstanding of Lady Liza's name.

Shortly after her burial, her three-bedroom cottage was gutted like a sad fish and placed on the market after a brisk makeover. Then in mid autumn, a tall stranger turned the key in the front door and it was love at first sight for us.

We spent all weekend baking pies and biscuits, for the way to man’s heart is through his stomach. Inevitably, a queue of sweet smelling optimism quickly formed at his front door. Lady Liza had been forgotten.

Our new neighbour greeted us with a wide smile and introduced himself to us as Fred Albert Cougar. Now, this will have us talking all winter.

Comments

Hello Lawrence,

Thank you for your feedback.

I do agree with you regarding the ambiguous 'we' within the text, which has to do with the narrator and the neighbours, indeed.

However, it is not for me to explain what the text is about except that it is a completed Flash Fiction, which reflects a transitory moment of the author's thoughts.

Also, an author's role after composing a text becomes redundant, metaphorically dead and therefore, it is up to the readers to decide what the story is about.

Thanks again.

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Christine
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Christine Walker
04/07/2016

Hey Christine, this is obviously a part of a much bigger piece. It's difficult to judge as it's out of context here, but the 'we' you refer to throughout could do with some clarification - just a line or two perhaps. That it's probably the neighbours is eluded to, but I felt it needed a bit more explanation. Just a thought :) Post a bit more of the story if you're happy to.

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Lawrence
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Lawrence Ham
30/06/2016