Friday Fictioneers – Hospitality

~ neilmacdon
Bokeh-Priya-Bajpal
Photo Prompt © Priya Bajpal

The unmistakeable sound of young men behaving badly drifting across the water. Robert was drawn to investigate, and wandered round the bay.

He accepted a can of tasteless fizzy warm beer, declined a spliff, and answered questions about his trip and how he liked the island.

“What do you do?” he enquired of one man.

“I drink,” The reply came with a grin. “In my spare time I’m a policeman.”

The others, all of whom seemed to speak some English, chuckled, exposing teeth and gums stained bright red by betel nut.

 

Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here

90 thoughts on “Friday Fictioneers – Hospitality”

    2. Back when I was a kid and knew people who smoked spiffs, some of them used the term, pronouncing it “spleef”. Looking it up, “spliff” is British, so maybe the kids I knew read the term and invented their own pronunciation? not sure.

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  18. The betel nut reference was something I could relate. Yes, there are men like that in certain parts of the country I come from, but thankfully there are good ones too. The vivid descriptions helped in creating the dismal mood here.

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  36. Neil, I’ve just returned from a week up around Australia’s Byron Bay which used to be hippy central along with an inland town called Nimbin until the 90s set in with its mantra “greed is good” and the yuppies and older folk took over. I didn’t come into contact with anything along those lines on this trip and was personally seeking out great coffee and cake, which has always been my thing.
    BTW you captured the scene well although I had to look up a few words to find my way and received a bit of an education.
    Best wishes,
    Rowena

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  37. So much conveyed in just 100 words. Loved the setting and characters. I almost feel for Robert, stuck in a place like that.
    A very relatable story.🙂

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  39. This is a great setting with intriguing and vivid descriptions. The young men seem to understand each other and there is hospitality and a bit of pulling the leg of the stranger. My idea of travelling well is to get involved with the locals. I don’t find the scene threatening, but maybe I misunderstand it.

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