Who won....

the Great Imagination Award?

As you know, I posted all the entries last week and you voted in your hundreds tens, deciding that this was the entry you liked best.



Dolly continued to work at the diner, waiting for Geoff to return. He sent her an occasional letter, which she cherished. She wrote him back, and sent letters much more frequently than she received them. He spoke about the strange places he was visiting, and about how much he missed her. She spoke about how nice it was to hear about such things, places and customs that she never dreamed existed, and told him about life there in the hills and about how much she missed him.


Although he had said he would be back in a short time, months passed and then years, and still she waited. The hill people were starting to feel sorry for her, she knew, but she still kept waiting. She even turned down the men who wanted to date her. As time passed, her brothers and sisters grew up and all got married. Still she waited. Finally a man came in, a stranger, who still looked somehow familiar. Then she realized it was Geoff, years older, his hair streaked with gray.


"I'm sorry it took so long," he said. "I meant to come back earlier, and almost did several times, but I was afraid that if I did I couldn't bear to leave again. I was trying to save up enough money so that I could retire and stay here with you. We could still travel sometimes, but then it would be for fun, and we could go wherever we wanted."


She looked at him, wanting to hug him, wanting to throw her arms around him and never let him go, but somehow reluctant to make any move toward him. She said, softly and with a little sadness, "Did it really have to be so long? Couldn't you have come back at least sometimes? You did get vacations, you know."

He looked back at her, then turned his face to the side. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't. I couldn't bear to come back and then have to leave again. I thought of you almost constantly, though." He turned his head toward her again, fear and pain showing in his eyes. "There isn't someone else, is there? Someone who has taken my place?"

Several seconds of silence passed between them. She almost started to say something, but then stopped. Her face was unreadable.

Then she finally said, "There is someone else, but he has not taken your place. Come in Tommy, and meet your father." A little boy came in, who looked like both of them, and they all hugged each other, tears of happiness running down their faces. He had come home, and he would never leave them again.

And the winner is............
 
 

Stephen (Stephen's Thoughts)

 
for the second time!    Stephen's ending was almost as long as the story I'd written.  You can read the story here. 
 
You will notice the Award says #2 - it is not an award to be passed on and can only be awarded by me, so it's very exclusive SwitSwoo!
 
 
Well done STEPHEN and to everyone else who entered the competition - all the endings were brilliant!   I hope you'll all play again next time, whenever that is, and thanks to all those who voted.