© Claire Fuller
Building Bridges
by Miles H. Rost
A bell jingled flatly.
Gerald the storekeeper looked up, noticing the teenage girl spying different products on the shelves. He opened the window to let the sea air fill the tiny shop.
The girl kept looking around, and when Gerald got a good look at her, he smiled.
“Ophelia Krain! What are you doing here?”
She looked up and crinkled her eyes.
“Tryin’ to find a special lure.”
Gerald stopped for a second. Why would a pretty girl need a lure?
“Any reason?”
“Dad’s coming to visit”, she beamed.
Gerald frowned at her.
“I hope he’s not going to stay long…”, he said, grabbing the brass knuckles under his cabinet.
Music and Fiction 
I smelled the sea air
Nice story, but I’m a bit confused…why wouldn’t a pretty girl need a lure?
Assumed that she’s probably not someone who fishes…and he’s an older guy who calls all the gals pretty girls.
Ah, poor girl…desperate to please her father. I guess Gerald is well acquainted with her family history. You packed a lot in 100 words, nicely done.
Poor girl. Her father is obviously not a nice man!
Or it could be that her father was a nice guy, but ran afoul of people within the town for some reason…
Now I wonder why her father awakens such reactions of human kindness into Gerald. 🙂
Funny… I also wondered what the big whup was that she needed a lure. I would think it was to spend quality time with his daughter…. I didn’t feel any reason to be apprehensive.
I wonder what has happened in the past… so many alternatives
My heart dropped when I read the line about her father. Great take on the prompt.
Sounds like her Dad isn’t a pleasant man, I hope the daughter is safe from him
From your title, it sounds as if the rift between father and store keeper might be fixed?