Splitting Heirs

Frayed oraange rope, writing prompt for flash fiction
Photo by Wynand van Poortvliet

She always said family is strengthened by sticking together through life’s twists and turns.

As the matriarch, she’d kept us close with her stories, recipes that could not be recreated by anyone else, and hugs that spoke volumes where words failed to capture the nuances of shared joys, sorrows, or more often, everyday moments that would have otherwise gone forgotten if not infused with her love.

Now her home spun twine is unraveling, edges frayed from the tug-o-war over everything she’s left behind.

a life quest of love

ties woven in her heart’s loom

pulse of the bloodline

cardiac arrests the rein

a legacy unravels

 

Prose inspired by Sonya’s Three Line Tales, Week 17, tanka inspired by RonovanWrites’ Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge #98 (quest, rein).

After coming up with the title, I looked it up to see if one of the other 7billion people on the planet had thought up that combination. Yes, apparently not much original thought remains (I’m kidding), there is a film of the same name that has received an 8% rating on rotten tomatoes, ouch! Have you seen it?  Would that rating stop you from watching it, or would you happily put aside 1 hour and 27 minutes of your life for a little Rick Moranis?

37 thoughts on “Splitting Heirs”

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  7. Of the topic but still within the context, I would say, the heirs were selfish as they would stick along as long as she was there to provide them with her unconditional love, but they couldn’t learn what she lived by. So sad that sometimes people and their qualities fail to inspire even though their qualities attract like shining light.

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    1. Thanks Sandeep. I always welcome off topic comments, but yours in fact is very much what I was trying to express with ‘legacy unravels’. They missed the true treasures that were theirs and instead squabble over ‘fool’s’ gold. I feel you’ve restored depth to this post that my title might have take away 😂

      Really like the ‘Sun Sand Sea Sandeep’

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      1. I can only smile heartily to your comment. :). Will go through the ‘Legacy Unravels’.. I love the mornings on the beach.. All 4 of us meet there.. Yet, the greatest meeting is yet to happen. So, that is the story behind S S S S ! 🙂

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    1. Thanks bikurgurl. I think understanding what truly matters is a way to keep it from happening. When a person dies, it’s ignoring one of the most literal reminders- that life is so short, to then squabble over material possessions of the person who has just died. I think greed and a sense of entitlement are the issues…

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      1. …coupled with misplaced feelings of sadness and hurt that present as controlling and vindictive when some people try to stuff the sadness down deep inside. Of course, the greed and entitlement are true of far too many as well. I’ve seen both of these reactions – in the end they fracture families forever.

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      2. That is a compassionate perspective! I hadn’t considered it as misplaced sadness and hurt- maybe some truth in that? Now you got me thinking- perhaps also a distraction from thought of their own eventual death? Avoid talk of death by focus on worldly ‘stuff’…

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      4. Yes, true. Thanks for shifting my perspective on it. It is always a pleasant surprise when you take a position as being immovable and then something (or someone) shifts it. 🙂 I was wondering- what does your blog name mean?

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      5. I’m happy I could help you see a different perspective. Having had many great family losses, seeing the pain and suffering reveal itself in many ways, I try to give people the benefit of the doubt…

        My blog name? Often it’s assumed that I ride motorcycles, which I used to do but is not my story. I bicycle – and have for most of my life – thanks for asking 😉

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      6. Ha- my assumption was that maybe you were from central asia and the teeny weeny profile pic that comes up when you comment suddenly morphed into an indeterminate central asian face by the power of my assumption. I love cycling too, but haven’t done much (aside from stationary spin) since having a baby.

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      7. I totally understand! I’ve been out of it for the last year since my surgeries – slowly getting back into the groove – a work in progress (like myself)! 😉

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      2. I’d like to think they squabble over money, but decide to quickly off load what they perceive as junk from household contents and some stranger somewhere uncovers some priceless treasure at a flea market one day…

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