Two Flash Fiction Stories and A Poem
Between what goes on in real life and what Substackers post every day, inspiration abounds.
On a Mission
Two sinuous shadows undulated along the roadside near a vacant field of sagebrush. She realized they were a pair of black cats. One explored holes among the roots of a huge cottonwood while the other, whom she presumed was its mother, meowed urgently for the youngster to follow. The anxious cat was on a mission. She herded her curious offspring until they disappeared around a warehouse’s corner. This mystery haunted the woman as she finished her errand and drove off. A block away, she saw the "cat rescue," weed-choked and derelict, and in the opposite direction of the fleeing cats.
Dirt Roads
Inspired by a writing prompt from Justin Deming. He wanted a fifty-word story, but I just couldn’t bare to leave anything out.
We live at the end of the pavement. It doesn't take long to find a dirt road to take us into the back country where wild horses graze; where tribal groves of pinions have fed Washoe families for millennia; where springtime blossoms blanket the land between sage and juniper. It's also easy to follow a road until we don't really know where it ends up and panic creeps into our hearts. Dirt roads challenge our orienting skills and broaden our mental maps of the world just beyond the fence. Spotting old miners’ shacks and corrals spins stories inside our imaginations.
Assessment
A flutter of wings A branch sways under weight Cooper's hawk peers down Inspects a pair of creatures Upon the garden swing. It tilts its head, red eyes cold, Checking angles of approach And departure Too close? Too big? What struggle Would ensue if caught Not enough distance for speed And that final thrust Of talon into flesh. The prey stares upward Silent and still Knowing it's there Oblivious to their fate. A spread of wings A branch shakes with lift Cooper's hawk springs away Hearing only gasps Of wonder and awe. Also appeared July 27, 2023
If you enjoyed this post feel free to explore other poems, essays, and stories in the Ring Around the Basin Archive. I also love to read your comments, so please share your thoughts. Let’s start a conversation. And if you wish to support my writings, please consider subscribing or upgrading to a paid subscription. It’s now only $50/year. Even better, I would appreciate it if you could share Ring Around the Basin with your friends. Thank you!
All my books, Paradise Ridge, When the Horses Come and Go, and Ghost in the Forest are currently available on Kindle. Ghost in the Forest, is also available in paperback for ten bucks. Paradise Ridge is out-of-print, but the Kindle version is re-edited and better quality. Hard copies of “When the Horses Come and Go” are gone unless that dusty box in the corner still has some.
Book Review of Ghost in the Forest:
"Ghost in The Forest" is a great read! Take note People. If you love stories about environmentalism and nature, its clash with urban mindsets, as well as personal transformation, this is the book for you!
"Ghost in The Forest" is a quick 126-page read. It's the story of Dori, a woman trapped in a mix of grief over parental loss and refusing to accept how her hometown and her friends have changed over the years. Because of this, Dori has become a recluse and a self-imposed misanthrope who finds more comfort amongst the hiking trails around her hometown of Morristown than in her dealings with the raw reality of other humans.
The book, in some ways, resembled Edward Abbey’s “Desert Solitaire” in that the story follows a protagonist's love of nature and angst about humans encroaching on it. In this case, it’s how Morristown is transforming into a mountain biking destination where cyclists run rampant on trails and nature.
However, a tragedy involving said mountain biking becomes a major pivot point for Dori, leading to a series of events that eventually bring about personal evolution and discovery.
If you're a nature lover, this book is a must-read. It beautifully portrays the clash between environmentalism and urban mindsets and the journey of personal transformation. The book's vivid descriptions of nature and the protagonist's love for it will surely intrigue you.
Paradise Ridge Review by western author D. B. Jackson:
If you draw circle roughly around an area that includes northern Nevada, southern Oregon, and southern Idaho, within that circle exists a culture and people who live a lifestyle largely untouched by modern values. These are the "buckaroos" and Basque characters author Sue Cauhape brings to life in her literary novel, "Paradise Ridge".
Leandro, the illegitimate seventh son of patriarch Xavier Arriaga and his mistress, Gisela, is at the center of this intriguing story that travels exceedingly successfully at both the personal level of the characters, as well as the compelling level where the story is told.
Cauhape writes in a literary style that reminds me of Annie Poulx. Paradise Ridge, on the surface, appears to be an upscale Western novel...once inside the pages, you will soon discover a potential classic waiting to be discovered.
I rated this book a 5...because that's all the stars there were.
These stories were so nice to wake up to. I have very little experience in the landscape where you live and you always take me there with all my senses. Thank you! Cats on the lam! They were out of there! Poor babies. Then this: "... to follow a road until we don't really know where it ends up and panic creeps into our hearts." Oh, yes! Scary! And gorgeous Cooper's hawks! We spot them every once in a while by the sea here. A pair of them dance together in the sky and make a sound that is at once shrill and joyous. A lovely little three part journey.