Flash Fiction – Special Places

In her final moments, she clung to the happy memories this special place held for her—the vibrant parties, the infectious laughter, the shared joy, and the wonderful people she had connected with. Their smiling faces flickered in her mind, a bittersweet reminder of the past.

She remembered the day she’d lost the ring her parents had gifted her on her 21st birthday. Her future husband had found it and, at first, declined the reward her father had offered for its return. She was speechless that he had never proposed, but she’d been given away.

As she lay on the floor, her happy, special place slipping away, the recent memory of losing her tongue, a punishment for the incessant accusations, was excruciating. This place hadn’t been happy or special for all of the time, just most of the time. She needed to find her next happy, special place again.

Soon, a new special place will bring her happiness and peace.


Written for Esther Chilton’s writing prompt – Special Places

The featured image in this blog post was created using AI.

I’m taking a proactive approach to comments to keep conversations meaningful. Constructive feedback is appreciated. Short comments like ‘Nice story’ do not help!

Click the buttons below to follow Hugh on Social Media

Copyright @ 2025 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.


Discover more from Hugh’s Views & News  

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

35 responses to “Flash Fiction – Special Places”

  1. Marsha avatar

    Did I read this right, Hugh? She literally lost her tongue, had it cut out, and now she is lying on the floor dying, trying to think happy thoughts? I’m queasy, if I am reading it all right. I’m assuming by this wonderful man who returned her ring, and later became her husband is the surgeon who removed her tongue? A man with whom she had spent mostly happy times until she started making accusations? Wow. No, I didn’t see it coming.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Yes, her tongue was cut out by her husband for the accusations she was making, Marsha. There are no hints of if these accusations are true, but she was never happy in the arranged marriage she was forced into by her parents. There may have been some happy moments, but love did not live there after the marriage.

      1. Marsha avatar

        Yikes! OMG! What a story. I hope there was no truth in it!!!

        1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

          All fiction, but I’m sure it’s also true, Marsha.

          1. Marsha avatar

            Let’s hope not!! Abuse is permanent, but that is irreparable! Great story, though!

Feel free to leave a comment. Engagement helps keep blogs alive and forms community.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

I’m Hugh

Welcome to my blog. I’m delighted to have you here. This is the place to discover tips on blogging and WordPress, flash fiction, photography, and more. I enjoy engaging with my readers, so please feel free to explore, join discussions, and contact me. I’m happy to assist! Find out more about me and my blog by clicking the ‘Meet Hugh’ button.

Let’s connect

Subscribe to Hugh’s Views And News

Latest Posts

  • Sunday Stills Photo Challenge: Capturing Ephemeral Moments
    Explore the beauty of what doesn’t last: double rainbows, coffee-foam creatures, funhouse-style mirror reflections, beach footprints swept away by the tide, and fireworks fading into the dark. As your temporary Sunday Stills host, I explain how to join this week’s “Ephemeral” Sunday Stills photo challenge and share your own creative take.
  • Stop Spam Now: How To Clean Spambots Off Your WordPress Blog Fast
    Spam comments and bogus followers don’t just clutter your blog; they can damage your blog’s rankings and put your readers at risk. Learn how to recognise suspicious comments and Gravatars, spot ‘like’ button abuse, and use the improved Jetpack Subscribers page to block and remove spammers for good.
  • The Writing Slump That Led to ‘The Most Beautiful Woman in the World’
    What do you do when struggling to write a blog post or piece of fiction? I turn to writing prompts or photos, but a vivid memory from the 1980s of a stylish young woman in a London department store has also recently helped me. That decades-old image has now become a haunting new tale featured on Marsha Ingrao’s Story Chat Digest. Have you seen the most beautiful woman in the world recently?
  • From Fear to Fix: Letting AI Redesign My WordPress About Page
    Your About page might be one of the most visited parts of your blog—so why is it often the last thing we update? In this post, I share how I overcame fear of “breaking” my ‘Meet Hugh’ page by letting WordPress’s AI assistant suggest and implement layout changes, saving me hours of frustration.
  • Nine Questions That Got My Readers Talking — Which One Would You Answer?
    A conversational roundup from Hugh’s Views and News, using thought‑provoking questions on blogging, engagement, myths, likes, QR codes, ghosts, and loneliness to spark debate, encourage comments, and nurture a stronger blogging community. Which question will you answer?
  • How I’m Using August for Blog Housekeeping and a QR Code Boost
    August for me means blog housekeeping — QR codes, tag audits, a new theme polish, and finally tackling that neglected About page. What’s on your blogging to-do list?

Looking for your next quick read? Try my books

An image of book covers, book, tablet and mobile phone, for the book Glimpses.
An image for the book More Glimpses - showing a book cover, tablet and mobile phone.

Follow Hugh in the Fediverse

Hugh's Views & News  
Hugh's Views & News  
@hughsviewsandnews.com@hughsviewsandnews.com

WordPress & Blogging tips, flash fiction, photography and lots more!

316 posts
10 followers
A widget with the words 'Team Effort - Story Chat Digest - Where Authors Meet - Author'

Most Viewed Posts & Pages Over The Last 24 Hours

Recommend Blogs To Follow


Roaming About
A Life Less Ordinary

Second Wind Leisure Perspectives
Second Wind Leisure Perspectives
Fun, Photography & Friends

Spo-Reflections
Spo-Reflections
To live is to battle with trolls in the vaults of heart and brain. To write; this is to sit in judgment over one's Self. Henrik Ibsen

Boomer Eco Crusader
Boomer Eco Crusader
Live Green | Declutter | Simplify Life

SONGS AND SCRIPTS AND DUNKING BISCUITS
Every day tales of a winging-it creative

Jacqueline Lambert
Jacqueline Lambert
Award-Winning Travel Humour Writer

Anne R. Allen’s Blog… with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.

Fancying France
The musings of a ‘femme d’un certain âge’ who divides her time between SW France and SE England

Marsha Ingrao         Always Write
Marsha Ingrao Always Write
Having fun blogging with friends

Curiosities, Castles and Coffee Shops
Curiosities, Castles and Coffee Shops
The musings of a curious mind

WrookieSchU
WrookieSchU
Live life 🙌🏼

WPcomMaven
WPcomMaven
Helping you make the most of your free WordPress.com website since 2011

Share Your Light
Share Your Light
You are a miracle – Let it happen

No Facilities
No Facilities
Random thoughts, life lessons, hopes and dreams

Esther Chilton
Writer, Tutor and Editor

Saying nothing in particular
Saying nothing in particular
Jan … JT Twissel

The Chicago Files
The Chicago Files
A Canadian Perspective on Living in the Windy City!

Thank you to all my visitors

491,988 hits

270,629 visitors

Scan the QR code to follow me on Bluesky

Copyright Protected Blog

COPYRIGHT ©2011-2031 Hugh’s Views And News BLOG – All Rights Reserved.

This work by Hugh W. Roberts, and/or Hugh’s Views And News blog, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material (text and images) without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. If you want to use posts, excerpts, photos and links, you may contact me first. You must give full and clear credit to Hugh W. Roberts and Hugh’s Views And News dot com with links to the original content.