The Ladder – Friday Fictioneers

AnElephantCant tell you how sorry he is
His Windows appear to be broken
He is really annoyed
His sanity destroyed
He thinks some harsh words will be spoken

Sorry about the appearance here, don’t know what has happened.
Applies to everything on wretched laptop.
Any suggestions gratefully received.
So it is Friday Fictioneer time again.
Thanks to Rochelle, who rules with an iron hand and gives you a ticking off if you are naughty.
The idea is to write a very short story, circa 100 words, based on a picture prompt (below).
That’s it.

Copyright - David Stewart

Copyright – David Stewart

The Ladder

Are you sure this is a good idea?
Yes, look, there’s Jack now, sitting with Emma.
But ….
Relax, you know you want to be here.
Who else is coming?
Pretty much everyone, it will be quite a party!
We are awfully high up.
Don’t worry about it, you can’t fall off.
Why not?
Because Jack says so!
So when will it start?
When we get there. We are the last, except for Fred, with that plaster on his leg!
I can still hear the lovely music. What happens now?
I think we take off for the stars right away.

Unknown's avatar

About ceayr

A Scot who has discovered peace in a small town he calls Medville on the Côte Vermeille, C.E. Ayr has spent a large part of his life in the West of Scotland and a large part elsewhere. His first job was selling programmes at his local football club and he has since tried 73 other career paths, the longest being in IT, with varying degrees of success. He is somewhat nomadic, fairly irresponsible and, according to his darling daughter, a bit random. So, nobody’s perfect.
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50 Responses to The Ladder – Friday Fictioneers

  1. Dee's avatar Dee says:

    Read this two or three times as you are always very good hiding clues. Fred with the plaster on his leg made me think of the child unable to follow his friends when the mountain closed behind them and the Pied Piper. Loved this.

  2. Kalpana's avatar Kalpana says:

    Super! Well I read the comments and then got it… I must admit I missed the subtle allusion 🙂
    Interesting that we thought along the same track… a little.

  3. troy P.'s avatar troy P. says:

    “take off for the stars,” with Casey Kasem piloting, I presume?

    =)

  4. zookyworld's avatar zookyworld says:

    A lot of following Jack here… the guy better know what he’s doing. Especially if we’re going to take off for the stars!

  5. Dear Elephant,

    A party in the stars? Sounds like this could be fun. Imaginative piece. Glad you’re up and running and we got you linked. 😉

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

  6. Willow's avatar Willow says:

    Are they following the music or am I reading it wrong?

  7. nightlake's avatar nightlake says:

    Jack knows best. nicely done

  8. Penny L Howe's avatar Penny L Howe says:

    Well the upside is – if it’s the near future Jack will have already invented his time travel machine (or Emma wouldn’t be there) the downside is if it were a different time and place (from the near past) it would involve some rather silly people who had a very unfortunate outcome. Great story, well written. Thumbs up from the two young geniuses in this household! 🙂 xo

    • Ah, no, Penny, here Jack is just the first among the children to grok the situation.
      Seems AnElephant was just too obscure.
      See Willow above for more clues.

      • Penny L Howe's avatar Penny L Howe says:

        You’re right, I did miss it. since jack and emma were specifically named characters and it made reference to the stars (emma’s take on relativity), and in particular saying that jack said it was okay, I remembered a fun conversation shared about him building a time travel machine. You did give good clues, I just went the wrong direction (something I’m am very good at, lol). The music should have made it obvious to the discerning. Very clever! 🙂

  9. Ha.. love the take.. Could you say they are Hi-Jacked? as for windows.. I changed my old laptop to Linux and now runs like brand new 🙂

  10. Because Jack says so? Yikes!
    When all else fails..System Restore.

  11. Linda Vernon's avatar Linda Vernon says:

    Yay! I just love it! 😀

  12. I knew it! The aliens are coming to take us away, ha, ha. 🙂 As for Windows, I’m getting along with 8, but I understand from my husband, the computer guy, that an update is coming soon to help fix “issues.” May it be soon.

    janet

  13. Joe Owens's avatar Joe Owens says:

    Oh, no I am not falling for that or off of that. Jack don’t know jack about jack! 🙂

  14. Gabriella's avatar Gabriella says:

    For me the stars would be a nice reward; I am afraid of heights. Nicely-done!

  15. Alastair's avatar Alastair says:

    Excellent piece my friend

  16. Kwadwo's avatar Kwadwo says:

    Because Jack says so? That, to me, isn’t a good reason for them to stick their necks out like that.

  17. Sandra's avatar Sandra says:

    Nicely done. Sorry about Windows, no advice except don’t swap it for Windows 8. 🙁

  18. I think I’d be a little unsure as well. But, I guess if Jack says it’s all okay…

  19. lepirategunn's avatar lepirategunn says:

    “….fly me to the moon…”

  20. vbholmes's avatar vbholmes says:

    Now that’s a party–does it take place in the future with advanced propulsion technology? Or in the past, with Timothy Leary supplying the blast-off?

  21. That’s quite a part – grasping for the stars
    sorry about your windows

  22. What a beautifully put piece. I think the stars is a very viable option.

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