“Memories of Colorado” (Short Story) A New Prompt by The Haunted Wordsmith

Teresa, of “The Haunted Wordsmith” is trying an introductory prompt.  Please read below if you are interested in writing the following prompt she has provided.  

My piece will be written below her instructions:

The introductory prompt is:

“Take a trip down memory lane and share your best vacation/trip/holiday memory.”

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I don’t know how this will turn out, or if you guys are interested, but I know I have many nonfiction writers who follow me and I want to encourage everyone to write.

If a nonfiction prompt is something you’d be interested in continuing, let me know in the comments 🙂

 

It was October of 1984 and I had saved all my monies to fly out to Colorado to visit my boyfriend at the time.  He was stationed at Peterson Airforce Base in Colorado Springs.  It had been the first time ever for me to travel by myself, let alone fly for the first time.

I was born and raised in New Jersey, and the most traveling I really ever did was with my family, going up and down the East Coast of the United States.  So, you can probably imagine how excited I was to make this trip.  Not only to see my boyfriend of four years but to actually travel to the Midwest.

When I landed in Colorado, it was late in the evening, so there really wasn’t much to see except lights from other cars and street lamps.

My boyfriend, Jim and I got settled in a hotel he booked and ordered food to be delivered.  Naturally, it was a wonderful reunion since we had not seen each other in over eight months. (Those details, I’ll leave out).  😉

The morning arrived and I dashed out of the bed.  I pulled the curtain rod to part the curtains… There they were, The Colorado Rocky Mountains in all their glory.  I felt as if I would fall backward because the hotel was so close to them.

I was elated and couldn’t wait to take a drive up into the mountains.  The crisp clean air, and the scenic views at every turn.  I cannot remember the name of the little mining town we drove into, but we pulled over to get out of the jeep to take a look.

Awestruck, is the best way to describe the feeling I had standing atop this mountain.  A couple of inches of snow on the ground, and tiny little flowers peeking out in all different colors.  Whisps of clouds going between the mountain tops and the freshness of the air was by far the best air I ever drew into my lungs.  I had never seen a sight so beautiful in my short life.

I was only eighteen-years-old and I felt this sense of freedom…I was this mere speck on the planet.  This was all so magical to me.  My boyfriend was enjoying my excitement and didn’t think he could compete with all that I was taking in around me.  That was up until he got down on one knee and proposed to me.

Nothing in the world could have been more perfect, or so I thought.

After a week of visiting with my “now” fiance’, and traveling all over Colorado within a matter of a week, the trip was coming to a close.  It was time for me to go back to New Jersey.

Within four months of me being back in my home state, I had started a new job and moved out of my parent’s house.  I thought everything was perfect as I began to plan our wedding.

All things do eventually come to an end though.  Especially, when you call him and his pilot buddy that he was bunking with asked if this was his girlfriend, Michelle?

I think for obvious reasons, I called off the engagement.  The funny part of it all was, I wasn’t all that heartbroken over it.  Everyone had warned me that long distance relationships were hard to keep going, I suppose it was better I found out then, then while I was married to a cheating fool.

At least I still have Colorado in my memory as being one of the prettiest states I had ever seen.  One day, I don’t know if it will ever happen again, but I’d love to go back up into the Rockies and breathe in that fresh air and see the tiny petals in many colors, peek again through the snow.

The End.

 

BC 2019

https://thehauntedwordsmith.wordpress.com/2019/05/18/a-new-prompt/