The Coat
Frank hurried along the street with arms crossed and back to the wind doing his best to ward off the cold. The calendar said spring, but it was still a cold hell most nights for those who made their beds on the streets.
The wind picked up the corner of a coat sleeve on the sidewalk ahead, mimicking a wave of invitation. Ignoring what appeared to be bloodstains, Frank slipped the coat on and watched in astonishment as his surroundings shifted to a scene fifty years in the past. He tried to make sense of his sudden displacement, calculating the approximate date by the movie title on the theatre marquee and the make and model of the cars parked along the street.
A knife flashed in the gleam of the streetlamp as Frank turned, raised his arms in an attempt to ward off the blows, and looked straight into the eyes of his murderer.
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Written in response to this week’s Six Sentence Stories challenge, hosted by Girlie on the Edge. Each week writers are challenged to spin a tale in just six sentences.
This week’s cue is COAT.
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Featured image by Bob Williams from Pixabay
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14 Comments
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Excellent…I’m wanting much more of this story
Paul, me too! I may run with this one to something bigger because I have SUCH an idea in my head. Had a very hard time whittling this into six sentences.
Nicely done! I’m with Paul. Wanting more 😀
Haha. Thanks!
Time loop Six! Like an edible Faberge egg* very cool.
Will watch for further installments.** There is some about time travel stories that is all the difficult aspects of maintaining a narrative while everything changes…even the characters.
(I have a movie recommendation. ‘Predestination’ Starring Ethan Hawke. It is based on a story by Robert Heinlein, who besides being a giant of the Golden Age of Science Fiction, was a master of the time travel story. Will say no more. The cool thing is that the reaction (to the movie) extends well past the time normally associated with movies we enjoy.)
* no, I have no idea
** its no secret that a part of what I enjoy about the Six Sentence Story bloghop is the learning/skills-enhancement opportunities inherent in the weekly collection. Reading good Sixes such as this and trying to figure out how it was done.
I think I know that movie – going to Google now to see if it’s what I think it is. Either way, that’s a definite watchlist item!
WOWZA!!!
Now that’s a comment! Thank you, Rhen! LOL
Oh my! I want more too. Excellent six!
Thanks, Susan!
This is excellent, chilling, and dark. Bravo for trimming it into six sentences that capture much mood and intrigue. Love the idea of a ‘time travelling coat’. I wonder what the film was being shown? And the picture you chose is very atmospheric too. Top stuff!
Thank you! You know, the detail about the movie would be important to show the specific time frame. Definitely. I was hurrying to finish and did not go that far. Good note for what to include when/if I take this story further.
Hi Lisa. You welcome. By not giving the detail (because of word limits) it gives a cool extra layer of mystery! I love that. Sometimes having limits forces you to create more mystery than intended, if that makes sense.
True enough! And personally, I love that kind of story best!