The Sailboat

Prompt Words: Boat~ears~dark
"Daily Flash Fiction Challenge"   by Arakun the twisted raccoon



My ears were burning, and mama always said when that happens someone is talking about you. Out of the corner of my eye I could see them, whispering to one another, laughing and watching me. I shrugged it off and continued my journey, making sure my boat was set to sail. This would be my tenth attempt at trying to keep the sail upright when I turned the fan on. After the eighth shot failed, I realized that the leather cloth was too heavy and swapped it out for a piece of red linen. When the boat fell again, I knew the piece of metal anchored to the linen had to go.



I went back to the kitchen and grabbed a wooden skewer thinking this would be light enough to keep the front of the sailboat upright, and thick enough to secure the sail. Finally, everything was set to go. I placed the boat back into the pool and sat on the lounger. I turned the fan so that it would send optimal wind toward the sail, closed my eyes, said a little prayer, and hit the switch.



Excitement swelled as my little homemade sailboat whizzed around the pool and I jumped up off the chair squealing with pride.



“Yes!” The force of the fan kept the boat at the back corner of the pool, but I knew all I had to do was jump in and move it.



“Addi, it’s getting dark, time to come in.”



“But mama, I just fixed my sailboat.”



“You have all day tomorrow to play,” she said.



“But Kaci and her friends are still outside,” I complained. I knew that wasn’t get going to get me more time, but it was worth a shot.



WC: 290