Vacation ~ Flash Fiction entry ~ Write Edit Publish~ IWSG

Monthly Blog-hop hosted by Denise

I have chosen to do a Flash Fiction Slice of Life piece. 
Please note this is not the beginning of a story it is FLASH FICTION

The Vacation by Madeleine Sara             © Madeleine Sara Maddocks August 2013
Kate’s daughter had pronounced that she would never agree to a vacation. Then, on a whim, Kate decided to enter a competition, sitting between the boxes piled ceiling-high with her precious possessions, laptop on her knees. As she pressed the submit link on the web page, pure elation filled her cheeks like rosy helium balloons. ‘First prize: a holiday break for two in Mauritius’.

        Her rainbow smile rapidly deflated, as the late, spring sunshine made its way through the smallest chink of unobscured window. What if she won? What would she take? Could she find her swimming costume? Where was her passport and was it up to date? After all it was now some years since she had come to live in the UK. She closed her laptop and slowly squeezed out of the little nook; edging past stacks of novels she didn’t need to read. She reserved this space, because it was near to power and telephone sockets, but one day it might also be needed for more of her ‘finds’.
        Like a narrow cat trail in a lawn, she followed the strip of carpet she had left, along the landing and down the staircase. Between piles of papers, bags and stacked-up things she had found on her various forays into charity shops; she could just glimpse her front door at the end of the corridor. She couldn’t get into the living-room anymore and she had long since stopped cooking for herself, now that the kitchen appliances were no longer accessible.  Somewhere a letter from the council lurked; filed away in one of her precious piles. The dust, stale, musty smell and lack of space didn’t bother her, so much as when others tried to make her give up her precious possessions or suggest taking them away. A panic attack threatened to rack her body. NO she could not part with any of her things. She began to gasp uncontrollably.
          The doorbell rang, startling Kate. A welcome distraction from her anxieties and her breathing began to calm. She hurried to let her daughter, a regular visitor, inside, but it wasn't Claire.
    “Mrs. O’Donnell?” the official, suited woman asked, standing beside an official, suited man, with briefcase in hand.
     “Yes” Kate said swallowing the lemon drop of shock and disappointment.
    “We are from The Council” the woman began. “We arranged an appointment for this morning to visit you regarding 45, Bay View. I trust you received the letter?” a pause “As stated, failure to comply with the terms and conditions of your lease require you to vacate this property in fourteen days. May we come in?”
   Knowing how right her daughter had been about vacation, Kate hurried to shut the door against them. Predictably, it jammed; always hard to close these days with the hoards of belongings she had amassed. She looked down to see what could be causing the obstruction this time, when the official man thrust the eviction notice at her, his shiny shoe, wedged in the doorway.

(500 words)

Check out this link for more information about  compulsive hoarding. 

On a personal note: 
Please pray for my 84 yr old MOTHER, who has fractured her spine, has arthritis and an infection. So I will be offline a lot I'm afraid. Thanks
If anyone feels able to co-host my Novel Films II Bloghop, I would be very grateful
Thank you!