AnElephantCant say he enjoys shopping
This is not too hard for him to admit
He can never buy shoes
Or pants that are loose
And it is impossible to find a hat that will fit
Once again it is Friday Fictioneer time.
Our inspirational guide Rochelle encourages quality chronicles from talented tale-tellers.
And AnElephant.
The idea is to write a very short story, circa 100 words, based on this picture prompt (below).
That’s it.
© Kent Bonham
The Mall
I work security here.
This is The Mall, a cathedral to consumer greed.
During the few hours each night when it is closed, I patrol inside.
There are only six of us, and we are unpaid.
We do it for love.
Because this place is the lifeblood of the district.
People flock from distant parts to spend here.
Or, at night, to steal.
The Security Manager turns a blind eye to us.
We are very unofficial.
But we do benefit from a unique bonus system.
We give him the stolen goods from whatever thieves we catch.
And we keep them.
Sound Bite Fiction 
well that was interesting
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AnElephant hopes that interesting is good.
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Eek, there’s a side of the elephant I wasn’t aware of. Great build-up of seemingly harmless reflectionon human consumerism only to be followed by some, err, different consumerism.
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AnElephantCant always write sad little poems.
Sometimes he likes to introduce a little sadism, just for fun.
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My dear AnElephant, what a creepy little tale you’ve served up for us this week.
Cheers!
MG
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AnElephant likes creepy.
Cheers.
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Oof. I’ll stay away from that mall after hours. Lovely piece of horror.
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Thievery is bad for your health.
Thank you.
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I think they work at a mall here too!
DJ
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Maybe word gets around.
The interwebloghyperthingy is a wonderful means of communication.
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Nicely done. “Lifeblood of the district”…very clever!
I would not want to be caught by your crew!
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AnElephant is sure that dear Jan is quite safe here.
Thank you.
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Your security guards sound very effective – and very scary, vampires or not. Gripping story. Great ending.
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They are effective, thieves do not come back.
And not!
Thank you, very happy you enjoyed.
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That just went to a very dark place.
So, obviously, I enjoyed it!
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AnElephant enjoys a little dark.
He is happy Francesca does too.
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Turn about is fair play. Well done!
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Thank you, dear lady.
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You have convinced me NOT to take up a life of crime stealing from any cathedrals to greed! Thanks for the warning! The last line is a “killer.”
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AnElephant – AMissionary.
Who would have thunk it!
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Ah.. yes there is always some way to benefit.. greed is ever present.
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Cheers, Bjorn.
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Now that’s a volunteer job with great fringe benefits!
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Yes, if gratuitous violence is your thing!
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It’s not…
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What an enterprising lot! Did they steal any garlic?
Rosey Pinkerton’s blog
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What garlic?
Everyone keeps mentioning garlic!
No vampires, no garlic, just a wee story.
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Dear Elephant, So Management turns a blind eye to the declining thief population – well that works for me too! And the added bonus is they get their merchandise back! Great tale! Nan
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Thank you, Nan, my favourite gran.
AnElephant is happy that you enjoyed his little tale.
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Not vampires but seemingly with an equal taste for blood.
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Apparently not nice chaps, Dawn.
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Apparently not.
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I guess it is win-win. Well, except for the thieves, of course!
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Yeah well, them’s the breaks, huh?
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so much for the 3 strikes you are out rule! I guess I better stay away from the mall at night
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AnElephant did not know lovely Samantha was a burglar!
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oh dear, I wasn’t supposed to let that cat out of the bag
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Ah, Samantha is a cat burglar…
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well, they are so cute and fluffy. One can never have enough cats!
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Killer last line; I like it!
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Then AnElephant is happy, he has accomplished his goal!
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Like cats with a mouse.
‘We do it for love’… brrr.
A little torture before they bleed to death?
Chilling last line.
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Just boys having fun?
Glad to chill.
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So ordinary an start, so extraordinary a twist at the end. AnElephant has given me shivers yet again, and here I am without my settee. Tip of my ill-fitting hat to you.
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AnElephantCant stop himself asking, how did you manage to lose a settee?
Have you tried looking under the cushions on your …
Oh, okay, no more ideas here!
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A little something for everyone! Well done!
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Thank you, Caerlynn, that’s what makes the world go round, the world go round, the world go round
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Looks like a win-win situation to the security managers of the mall. Great twist at the end there!
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Glad you liked the twist, and thanks for taking the time to say so.
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I always suspected Mall Cops weren’t upstanding citizens.
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Unlike those nice chaps we keep seeing on the news these days?
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Poor thieves… if only they knew. If only…
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Well, they’ll just have to learn a lesson, as AnElephant’s Mummy always says.
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It’s an ill wind that blows bad for everyone.
good piece.
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Thank you, sir, especially for not mentioning vampires!
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Ah! Vampires! But so discreetly executed. Did I spell that correctly, I wonder? And cathedrals of consumer greed is such a wonderful description.
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Yes, your spelling is impeccable.
As for vampires, not AnElephant’s intention.
Please see reply to Rochelle below.
Oops.
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Dear Elephant
Cathedrals of consumer greed. I like that. Dare I guess that these “security guards” of the night are vampires?
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Um, somewhat embarrassingly, AnElephant did not recognise anything in the photo as being garlic, which he now sees mentioned elsewhere.
So no intention to suggest vampires, just not very nice chaps.
Looks like AnElephant misled himself this week!
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Oh dear. I saw the garlic on the sign and jumped to an erroneous conclusion. Sorry about that.
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No, that’s okay, my dear lady, perhaps the corn got in AnElephant’s eye!
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