Adam stood at the boundary between wadi and desert, one boot dipping into the gritty sand, the other in the grass.
The view summed up his family.
There was the desert, the grey gold dunes, the lush but hardy date palms, that blend of beauty and toughness – that was his Saudi wife, Cala.
Then there was the agricultural land. The swathes of emerald grass, the sorghum and millet sprouting in the fields, the non-native trees that were scorched by the sun but wouldn’t survive at all without the wadi. That was him.
And the narrow path between them both, that was their daughter Bibi. She had a fall of black hair like her mother, his snub nose – though the crease between her eyes was all her own.
He wondered how long she could walk the narrow path between the two worlds.
***
Written for What Pegman Saw, the prompt that uses Google Street View as its starting point. This week we visit Wadi ad-Dawasir in Saudi Arabia. See here to join in.
Word Shamble 
For some reason, that sent a shiver through me.
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Ooh, good! Maybe that’s my suggested problems ahead? Perhaps always difficult to place yourself culturally when your family comes from such different worlds. Thanks for reading Crispina
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You make it so easy to get in the skin of your protag…
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Thank you 🙂
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🙂
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Stunning. It’s full of possibility, yet is ominous. I was struck by the contrast in the wadi as well. Great writing.
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Thanks ever so much Josh. Glad you liked it
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Really wistful piece. Beautiful.
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This is such a good one! Great depth in a few phrases. Exactly what flash fiction should be.
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Thanks so much, Jane. That’s a really lovely thing to say. I appreciate that
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Just the truth.
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🙂
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You use a lovely metaphor for Adam’s family. I love how you make space to squeeze in the family descriptions, especially Bibi – “though the crease between her eyes was all her own.” I wonder how Bibi will fare. Will she have the expectations of her mother or her father, I wonder? And will her expectations be met?
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It must be tough, growing up in such a culturally diverse family, with such string influences on both sides. You must be torn all the time. Thank you very much for your kind compliment, Penny. So glad you liked it
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An unexpected direction for the story there – didn’t expect that- clever and touching and a hint of foreboding for the future
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Thank you Alyson. And thanks for reading
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Dear Lynn,
This is such a perfect story for the photo. As always, you packed a beautiful punch in a hundred words. Hopefully, Adam and Cala can guide Bibi and together they’ll find the balance they need. Lovely storytelling.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you so much Rochelle. Yes, a difficult path, that walking between both worlds. Hopefully they’ll find a way. Thanks very much for reading
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You do these shorts to such perfection, Lynn. Small details that bring the whole thing to life. I, ever the optimist, am hoping they will find balance…
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Thank you Dale. I hope that too and some people do. Of course, coming from two different cultures can cause its own problems, but it must also give those people a unique insight into other worlds.
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It is no easy task to mesh two cultures – the respect needed, the additional understanding. It’s a lot o work.
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You’d hope that these days we’d appreciate the differences, try to work with them. Not always the case, of course.
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You would…
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