So Not Ready

B&W-1

She drove as fast as she could. Her heart racing as fast as the car, the terrifying phone call replaying itself in her mind. As she checked the rear-view mirror, she lost focus for a second and the car swerved dangerously close the edge. She was close to tears, her mind working overtime, thinking of only the worst possible scenario.

She took a deep breath, tightened her grip on the steering wheel and also tightened her resolve. She couldn’t change anything now. She focused on the steep and winding road ahead of her and surged ahead, ready and yet so not ready for what she would find at the top.

 

This photo is my 4th submission for the 5 Stories / 5 Days Black and White Photo Challenge, as nominated by afairymind at The StoryTeller’s Abode. Make sure you check out her blog for some great stories and photography.

The rules of the 5 Photos-5 Stories challenge are:
1) To post a photo every day for 5 days
2) To write a story to accompany your photo for 5 days (this can be fiction or non-fiction, a page, a paragraph or a poem)
3) To nominate a different person each day

 

Today, I’d like to ask Loretta at Safari of the Mind if she would like to join in this challenge. Loretta posts wonderful photos of food and great recipes that even I can follow 😉  I know that she is keen to do more with her photography, so I would love for her to join us in this fun challenge.

This photo was taken in Queenstown (New Zealand), on the way up to the Remarkables where my friends were going snowboarding. Taken from a moving vehicle (you can see the blurred grasses up close) with my Olympus OMD EM5, 17mm lens (35mm equivalent), f/16, 1/60s, ISO400. I’ve posted about Queenstown a few times, what an amazing place!

As I usually do, I want to submit this photo to Lucile’s Photo101 Rehab Clinic – I’m so grateful that the amazing Lucile re-opened the clinic for us, the coolest photo nerds in town 😉

x desleyjane

 

 

 

Comments

38 responses to “So Not Ready”

  1. luciledegodoy Avatar

    Omg you got me with this one; my heart beating fast, fearing the next lines. Great! Loved it.
    The photo is excellent too. Beautiful.
    Thanks, lovely.
    Xxx

    Liked by 1 person

    1. desleyjane Avatar

      Aawwwww, thanks Lucile. And good morning x. I really enjoyed the evening when this photo was taken, just a few weeks ago in Sydney.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. luciledegodoy Avatar

        You’re welcome, DJ!
        And it’s almost good afternoon…
        You really have so much variety in nature to visit in your country that is amazing. Envy you… A good one though.
        Xxx

        Liked by 1 person

        1. desleyjane Avatar

          Ah yes, it is too. It’s 9pm here, just finished dinner. I agree, we have some photographic places here!

          Liked by 1 person

          1. luciledegodoy Avatar

            Ready to sleep? Did you get milk this morning?

            Liked by 1 person

            1. desleyjane Avatar

              Oh I’ll be up for a while. Scheduling some posts, watching some trashy tv. Oh yes, I dashed to the shop, and had 3 coffees before lunch! Such an addict….

              Liked by 1 person

              1. luciledegodoy Avatar

                Lol! I’m procrastinating today!

                Liked by 1 person

  2. desleyjane Avatar

    Is this your lunch break?

    Like

  3. Sam Rappaz Avatar

    Again, great pace! You amaze me!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. desleyjane Avatar

      Thank you Sam!

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Mara Eastern Avatar

    You do have a great potential for the dark and the gloomy! A powerful piece of writing, very condensed and effective.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. desleyjane Avatar

      It seems I can only do short bits though. I need to make an effort at something more substantial. Thank you!

      Like

      1. Mara Eastern Avatar

        For me short pieces work the best; blogging for me is a fast-paced activity and I usually don’t prefer to read too much at once. I think you’re developing a great trademark style!

        Liked by 2 people

        1. desleyjane Avatar

          Oh thanks! I think you can pack a lot in to the “short and sweet” style….. But maybe I will commit one day 😉

          Liked by 1 person

  5. LifestyleswithLia Avatar
    LifestyleswithLia

    Wow!!! Another edge-of-my-seat story! And breathtaking views that you captured in your photo!! Brava!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. desleyjane Avatar

      Oh thank you Lia. Yes it was a spectacular place! X

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Terri Webster Schrandt Avatar

    Wow! Love this photo (and story)! What makes it scarier for me, is that you drive on the wrong side of the road!! Such a strange perspective for me to go UP a hill on the outside. Spine-tingling!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. desleyjane Avatar

      LOL thanks Terri. Yes and the other side of the car as well I think!

      Liked by 1 person

  7. afairymind Avatar

    Brilliant picture, Delsey! That’s a pretty spectacular view. 🙂 I love your little story. You capture the emotions of the driver perfectly. My heart was in my throat when she started to lose control of the car! Really well written.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. desleyjane Avatar

      Oh thanks lovely. Need to work on making these little snippets into something bigger now….

      Liked by 1 person

      1. afairymind Avatar

        Snippets are good, though. I’m quite into my flash fiction at the moment, which generally has a limit around 100-200 words. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

        1. desleyjane Avatar

          Yes I quite like it! X

          Liked by 1 person

  8. jacquifool Avatar

    Queenstown is so beautiful isn’t it? The moment I saw the photo I was like ‘I know that place! I KNOW THAT PLACE!’
    I really like your short stories. They’re long enough for you to get into the characters but short enough to keep you thinking.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. desleyjane Avatar

      Oh thanks Jacqui, they are super-short, aren’t they?!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. jacquifool Avatar

        Yes they are quite short! I like them that way though. You include just enough information that it makes me think of all these possibilities.
        I was thinking ‘why is it so important for her to get up the top? Is she going to kill herself or has something happened to someone she loves? There was a phone call so it obviously happened to someone else.. What’s happened? Who is it? Her son? daughter? best friend? There are sooo many possibilities.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. desleyjane Avatar

          Thank you, that’s what I was thinking while writing it. I appreciate you saying that x. How are you doing?

          Liked by 1 person

          1. jacquifool Avatar

            I’ve been really good, thank you. I’ve just gotten home from work and made myself a tea and I feel amazing. What about you? Is work keeping you hopping around the country or are you at home with Gidget?

            Liked by 1 person

            1. desleyjane Avatar

              Excellent, I’m glad! And a cuppa sounds like a great idea. Just got home from dinner with the family. Yes a, home for a couple of weeks – yay! MissG is curled up at my feet 😊

              Liked by 1 person

    2. desleyjane Avatar

      It really is gorgeous, can’t wait to go back there!

      Liked by 1 person

  9. gardentourist Avatar

    So exciting! The b&w makes it all very “Hitchcock”!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. desleyjane Avatar

      Oh thank you, that’s very cool!

      Like

  10. Faraday's Candle Avatar

    You really are a storyteller. Wonderful photo. how did you manage?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. desleyjane Avatar

      Thank you!
      We had a great time, playing in the snow 😄

      Liked by 1 person

  11. eclecticoddsnsods Avatar

    wow what happened next? perhaps this photo series should be a story series too hehe x

    Liked by 1 person

    1. desleyjane Avatar

      That’s the problem, I can’t commit to a longer story! I vow to try my best to do one sometime this year. X

      Liked by 1 person

      1. eclecticoddsnsods Avatar

        well we shall enjoy the short ones until then x

        Liked by 1 person

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