Publication: “The Pilgrimage”

Posted on by Liz Gauffreau

I am pleased to share the news that my short story, “The Pilgrimage,” has been published in the Vol. VII #9 issue of The Woven Tale Press. (See page 55.) In addition to publishing fiction and poetry, The Woven Tale Press features a good selection of contemporary visual art. I’d encourage you to check out their website: https://www.thewoventalepress.net/.

“The Pilgrimage” is that rare breed of story for me, a serendipitous what-if story.

The serendipity arrived with my becoming the keeper of The Family Archives after my mother had finished writing her family history. As I was idly going through the photographs, documents, and ephemera, just to see what I had, I ran across the above photograph. The girl is my mother, flanked by her Great-Aunt Etta and her Great-Aunt Jenn.

At around the same time, while family history was on our minds, my husband and I took a trip down to Cambridge, Massachusetts to look for the Brown family plot in Mount Auburn Cemetery, where my mother’s parents are buried.

When we returned home and I went back to the picture of my mother and her great-aunts, the pillar they are standing in front of reminded me so much of Mount Auburn that I wondered:

What if this young girl’s mother told her to drive the two elderly women to Mount Auburn Cemetery for their annual visit without telling her the purpose of the visit?

What would happen?

Why did the two old ladies insist on going to Mount Auburn Cemetery once a year, no matter what?

And what did they do once they got there?

Et voila: “The Pilgrimage”!

115 thoughts on “Publication: “The Pilgrimage””

  6. A fun read, Liz! I’ve been to Mount Auburn in springtime. The landscaping is very beautiful. I can easily picture this trio making their way through the cemetery on a hot July day. As always, your writing is full of evocative historical details.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. It works and I LOVED this short story. I was at Marian’s side all the way through the cemetery. I can imagine all the questions in her mind as she drove the great aunts back home. Everyone has their secrets. It is the seemingly insignificant things in life that are very significant. They become the stuff of legend.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  20. Another well-deserved feather in your writer’s cap Liz, and another opportunity to be congratulated once again on publication. Well done. ‘Tis a great way to start the New Year.

    Might it be that as keeper of the family archive there will be further tales inspired by these historical records? I also wonder how far back the archive goes and whether as ‘archivist’ you have intention (or perhaps a responsibility) to maintain it and expand it further?

    Wishing you a very Happy New Year! Best wishes,

    DN

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you very much, Dewin! Yes, I expect that there will be further tales inspired by my family history. The records I inherited go back to 1633 (or thereabouts). It is my intention to maintain the archives. As for expanding them, that will have to be a retirement project!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  23. Wonderful start to the writing year!! I wonder how many stories — real ones — are hidden in family archives? I’ve found a couple of quirky ones in my grandmother’s papers. Photos and documents do tell tales! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  25. Wonderful story, Liz, and I’m delighted it’s published in an accessible format. A young man recently trifled with the affections of my youngest daughter and broke her heart, and her older sister is furious. I can hardly wait to share the link with the protective, loving older sister, which I wouldn’t do unless it was also beautifully written and very engaging—which it is. She’s going to love it as much as I did.

    What a timely publication for the women of my family. And it’s great to see your talents becoming more recognized all the time. (P.S. The lushly verdant photos took my breath away.)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much, Ranee!! I hope your daughter enjoys it, too–although I’m sorry that your youngest daughter had her heart broken. GRRR. I’m also gratified that you appreciated the Mount Auburn photos. It’s a beautiful place.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  30. How exciting! What a great idea for a story. Congratulations, Liz. I downloaded the story but the print is too tiny to read on my iPad. Looking forward to reading it soon on my computer.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  47. Just read it. Loved it. A short, “simple” story, straight to the point. 🙂 One can very well imagine all the characters. And the education in those days… “Children” could drive but not express an opinion. Well done Liz

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  49. I read and loved your story, Liz, even though I had to get the magnifying glass out to read it onscreen. That magazine looks interesting. What nice company to be in. Congratulations of being published. Well deserved.
    You must tell us more at some stage, and let me know when you do so that I can come and check it out. Regards. Tracy.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Thank you for stopping by. I would love to hear your thoughts!

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.