Photo copyright Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Svetlana had high hopes when she signed up with the agency in St. Petersburg. A rugged American farmer was intrigued by her profile, and after only a few brief meetings, her vision of a new life materialized in the form of a one-way airline ticket. However, not even eighteen years in the orphanage had prepared the new bride for the loneliness she’d found in this isolated Iowa farmhouse with the dodgy electricity. The dreams she’d thought she’d captured in the thin gold band on her left finger now dissipated as elusively as smoke from the glass chimney of the oil lamp.
As long as St. Petersburg counts as one word, this is exactly 100 words for this week’s Friday Fictioneers challenge! 🙂
Things I See and Know 
Janet domino
April 1, 2013 at 4:58 PM
Leaves me wanting to hear the rest of the story!
dreaminofobx
April 4, 2013 at 7:33 PM
Svetlana may have more to say in the future…
elappleby
April 1, 2013 at 5:32 PM
Lovely writing – the last line especially, I love the thought of capturing dreams in a wedding band. Very nice 🙂
dreaminofobx
April 4, 2013 at 7:33 PM
Thank you!
Lora Mitchell
April 1, 2013 at 9:28 PM
One can’t help but feel sorry for these poor foreign child brides brought over with the promise of “gold growing on trees” but instead ending up with nothing but a thin, gold wedding band. Well done.
dreaminofobx
April 4, 2013 at 7:33 PM
I can’t imagine coming from nothing, thinking your prayers have been answered by an American “hero,” then finding out you have just as little (or less) in the Promised Land.
sustainabilitea
April 2, 2013 at 12:30 AM
Besides enjoying the story, I was so relieved she didn’t end up in prostitution!! 🙂
janet
dreaminofobx
April 4, 2013 at 7:27 PM
No, broken dreams was bad enough. I couldn’t heap that kind of abuse on her as well.
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
April 2, 2013 at 9:41 AM
Dear Michelle,
Beautifully written. Poor Svetlana, a disillusioned stranger in a strange land. Bravo!
Shalom,
Rochelle
dreaminofobx
April 4, 2013 at 7:20 PM
Thank you…it’s sad when long-held dreams that seemed to be realized turn out not to be fulfilled. It’d have to be even more difficult to realize you’re at a dead end with limited options and resources in a totally foreign land.