Free Write - An Alpine Scene

Todays prompt was a tiled coffee table, the scene almost identical to a village next to a chalet where we all have spent time.

D-L's Free Write

Why can't we live like this all the time, Ellen wondered. "Bobby wait for me," she called to her eight-year old son galloping across the bridge over the creek.

Next week would be their last week before going home. She was trying to make every minute count. Today they were going hiking up the mountain to where the wild asparagus grew. She'd serve it for supper.

She turned to look at the creek, the trees, the cows. Well, their smell was less than wonderful.

She and her husband had escaped the hectic rush of jobs in Boston with too much to do. Not that they were work-free here in this Alpine paradise. They still spent hours working via the internet. That was the price of being able to do the hikes, sit among the garden flowers and breathe the clean, sweet mountain hair.

Jason, her husband, caught up with her and Bobby. "Thank goodness for the time difference. Fred will be able to get my stuff when he wake up."

Ellen didn't want to go back home. "Do you think . . . work . . . full time from here . . . It's just so . . .

Julia's Free Write

What a lovely day it was!

High summer, and they had taken a few days to head for the mountains.

Stayed in a cabin, enjoyed the fresh air and being away from “normal” life.

That last hike saw them truly out and about. Rivers in full spate, they came to a clearing where there was not only a wooden cabin, but totally unexpected, also a church. What was it doing so far from any village? Any city? It didn’t look abandoned though. Still, as it was mid-afternoon, they didn’t have time to linger and explore.

They were faced with another more difficult challenge: crossing the river! Fortunately, there had been other hikers who had built a very rudimentary “bridge”. It certainly wasn’t the beaver standing there watching them.

And there they were: 70 years later, approaching 100, both in comfortable chairs, flipping through old albums of their youth… Thank goodness they had kept the photo!

It brought back wonderful memories.

Rick's Free Write

Switzerland, oh Switzerland.

It really is a postcard. Everywhere.

The snow-blanketed Alps, of course. But also the mountain streams, placid lakes, centuries-old glaciers (sadly receding).

The cows in the meadows, bells tinkling in a pleasant cacophony.

Vine-covered slopes.

And the cities. Vibrant. Large enough to be significant, compact enough to be comfortable.

Chocolate. Cheese fondue. Rosti. An abundance of homegrown foods – just around the corner – fresh.

A proud history. Independent. Neutral. A mediator for the world.

I was not born here. I did not choose to live here. It chose me. And made me one of its own.

An immigrant. I learned the language. The customs. The laws. The culture. Visited every canton. Became a citizen.

Switzerland, of Switzerland.

Home.

Rick Adams is an aviation journalist and publisher of www.aviationvoices.com, a weekly newsletter reporting the airline industry  top stories . He is the author of The Robot in the Simulator. AI in Aviation Training.  

Visit D-L.'s website  https://dlnelsonwriter.com, She is the author of 15 fiction and three non fiction books. Her 300 Unsung Women, bios of women who battled gender limitations, can be purchased  at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/300-unsung-women-d-l-nelson/1147305797?ean=9798990385504 

Visit Julia's blog. She has written and taken photos and loves syncing up with friends.  Her blog can be found: https://viewsfromeverywhere.blogspot.com/