Thursday 23 April 2015

T is for Troublous


For this year's A-Z Challenge I have selected a word from the dictionary for each day and written a story around it with a 100 word limit. For extra interest I have chosen words that are unknown or unfamiliar to me. All definitions are from the Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus 2007 Edition. Today's word is: Troublous.

Troublous: (old use) Full of troubles.

Panning for gold was a troublous occupation. You had to find an unexplored spot. Then, there was the risk of bear attacks if you were in their fishing patch.

Jeremiah had almost given up for the day when he stirred his pan one last time and something glinted at him. Not just a flake, but a gold ring! He could pawn it.

He froze. This was his mother’s wedding ring, which she never took off even though Dad was long gone. How had it gotten here, seventy-five miles downstream?

Jeremiah pocketed it and bolted. He had to get to Mom.

35 comments:

Heather R. Holden said...

Ooh, troublous is a fun word. You wrote such a great story for it! I can't help but worry about the mom now...

Blogoratti said...

That's a nice tale, wonder how it ends!

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

Here's hoping there is an innocent explanation.
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

Sarah Foster said...

Uh-oh...seems like things are still troublous at the end! That's a fun word, though!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That's not good!

A Tarkabarka Hölgy said...

Uh-oh. That can't be a good sign... I wonder what happened!

@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary

Unknown said...

Ouch. That's an unfortunate turn of events.

Sara C. Snider said...

Troublous indeed. Doesn't sound good for poor Mom.

Chrys Fey said...

I really like that word.

I sure hope his mom is okay.

Annalisa Crawford said...

Oh no, what's happened to Mom? I'm a little bit worried about her now!

Annalisa, writing A-Z vignettes, at Wake Up, Eat, Write, Sleep

Cherie Reich said...

Oh no! I hope she just lost the ring instead of something bad happening to her.

Peaches D. Ledwidge said...

A troublous outlook.

Bish Denham said...

Jeremiah's troublous problems seem to have only just begun.

Anonymous said...

Yikes. I think he may be heading for more trouble.

~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

jaybird said...

Oh no! Don't pawn your mamma's ring.

diedre Knight said...

Cool word! I hope his mom is okay.

Elizabeth Seckman said...

oh my. That is a very bad sign.

J.L. Campbell said...

Yep, you learn something new everyday.

Tara Tyler said...

pettifog - love it! using it! i like quire too!

stay out of troublous!
happy a to z-ing!

Jennifer Hawes said...

Cliffhanger! My post is about my troublous boys:-)

Cortney Pearson said...

Ooo, intriguing! And troublous--so cool!

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Sounds like more trouble than he knew was in store for that day.

Tamara Narayan said...

A ring traveled 75 miles without being snatched up by another gold miner? Cool.

I read Overcoming Adversity last week. What a fantastic collection! The writers (and editor) really nailed it.

Nick Wilford said...

Thanks, folks! Troublous sounded like a Wild West word to me, so this story suggested itself.

Tamara, thanks so much! Hope you enjoyed it. :)

betty said...

Oh my gosh! Makes you want to hear the rest of the story! Hope mom is safe!

betty

Keith's Ramblings said...

Quite a clumsy word I think - the sort of thing a child might say by accident! Nice story - has he gotten to Mom yet?!!

Shell Flower said...

Sounds like it's a troublous family indeed. I hope Jeremiah's mom is okay. Maybe she let it float downstream just to get him to come visit.

Stephen Tremp said...

My wife's weeding ring has been missing for years. Such a mustery.

Truedessa said...

Ok, now I am wondering how that ring got there..maybe, she tossed it there herself.

djinnia said...

Hmm, maybe she lost it washing clothes. I mean a washboard and slapping them there clothes on the rocks, it could happen.

Liz A. said...

Uh oh. That was quite the find, though. What are the odds?

Kern Windwraith said...

Oh, dear. Sounds like things might not be too idyllic upstream...

Troublous is a great word--not one we hear too often.

Unknown said...

That's a cute word...I'm so going to use it! :P
Nice story...hope the mum is ok.

Sanch @ Living my Imperfect Life

Michelle Wallace said...

Ha! What were the odds of him finding the ring?
And where's mom?

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Nick - a troublous explanation coming up I suspect ... while here's the start to a great mystery story ..

Cheers Hilary