Friday Fictioneers is hosted by the wonderful Rochelle, the undisputed master of what I call Sound Bite Fiction.
She sets the weekly challenge, and the standard.
Today’s spectacular photo is by Lucy Fridkin, who apparently has been a friend of Lady R for over a century.
The idea, as always, is to write a story of around 100 words based on the picture, below.
© Lucy Fridkin
Click here to hear me read this one-minute story:
I am a rock
You can’t do this, she says.
Do what, I ask, although I know.
Go through life as though you’re a wretched Paul Simon song, her voice rises.
What do you mean, I ask, enjoying her aggravation.
She is my best friend, but we have very different philosophies of life.
You are not a flipping rock, she snaps, or a flipping island.
She does not say flipping.
I’m whatever I choose to be, I say, I live my life my own way, hurt no one.
She growls, marches off.
And a rock feels no pain.
And an island never cries.
Yeah, right.
Sound Bite Fiction 
Somehow I missed this one…
I know you play all hard and edgy but.. deep… DEEP down you are a softie!
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Loved it very much.
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Thank you, your words are very much appreciated
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Finally a glimpse of the softie 😀 Very nicely done 🙂
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Laughing.
I say I am a rock, you say I am a softie.
Well spotted.
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🙂
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Lovely story. Wonderful dialogue.I like how you’ve used the song – it’s a great song. I think we all retreat into our little islands from time to time; perhaps the secret is in knowing how long we need to stay there.
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Thank you, Margaret, glad you enjoyed my little ruse.
And yes, for some 5 minutes is enough, for others 5 years is just a start.
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I think this is my favourite among your stories (that I’ve read). Emotion, denied, bubbles under the surface and can’t get out. It’s difficult for people who love the rocks to deal with the apparent coldness. The last sentence is gut-wrenching.
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Thank you, Gabrielle, for understanding so much.
Hugs, dear lady
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This is such a lovely piece of writing. Very clever and very emotive.
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And comments like this make it worthwhile, Clare, thank you so much.
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I enjoyed the depiction of pride and independence your narrrator showed, but then the loneliness and pain kept secret. I think many could relate to this. well done
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I am happy that you grasped all the nuances, sir, thank you for taking the time to read and comment, very much appreciated.
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IF I must have a song stuck in my head, this is a good one to be stuck with CE! This is one of my favorite things you’ve written. Wonderful pacing; gorgeous phrasing, and it works perfectly with the analogy. Love it!
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If I must have a quote stuck in my head, this is it.
This is one of my favourite comments ever.
Love it!
And seriously, thank you, I mean every word
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And so do I… mean every word.You are sincerely welcome. 😉
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The song played in my background from the moment i read the title.
Very enjoyable.
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How cool, I love that, Dawn
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Absolutely loved this. The tension, the denial and the hurt. Great line about being a Paul Simon song.
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I am very glad you enjoyed it so much.
Thank you for your kind words.
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Again, a great reading by you. I always enjoy reading the story and then listening to it.
Thank you for adding the audio, CE. 😉
I enjoyed the dialog. Couples can have differences and, yet, be harminious.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Isadora 😎
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I am happy that it all works for you, Isadora, your praise is music to my ears.
And speaking of ears, have you visited the site of my alter ego this week to hear the reading there?
https://anelephantcant.me/2016/12/10/schools-out-forever-2/
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HAHA …. When I touch-up my blog after, the holidays, I plan to add a blog list. I do forget the ones I like. An Elephant Cant is one I always enjoy. But, thank you for reminding me. I enjoy visiting his great blog. Your both superior writers that are a pleasure reading. Have a super day.
Isadora 😎
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I hear the defense mechanism working!
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Clang!
And it shuts down.
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I kind of guessed she didn’t say “flippin”. Good tension between the two in this story, C.E. I could see her storming off. Good writing. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Thank you, Suzanne, if I can communicate without swear words then I don’t see a need for them, quite honestly.
And this way it adds a hint of humour.
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CE,
I was hoping the find the body of the blind girl from Kent’s story. The one who was supposed to show up for a date with John (isn’t that the name they all use?). I expected to find her rotting carcass here. What have you done with her?
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Turns out she wasn’t blind after all.
I just sobered her up and sent her to get a shave and a new cover for her tail.
And I hear that the waitress dumped him for the Albanian dwarf who was driving the cab on the way to the cinema.
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That’s understandable. Those Albanian dwarfs have a lot of sex appeal.
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Love the take on the song, and the way you incorporated the lyrics. Love the song’s flow of sound and lyric together, though islands are pretty lonely places. the song depicts that well.
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Thank you, dear lady, the song is so beautifully crafted that it lends itself to this sort of analysis.
Glad you enjoyed.
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Great construction, can’t help enjoying the song as I enjoy the story.
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Thank you, it is a great song.
I can imagine you and Graham as a duet, he having the Garfunkel role, of course!
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lol
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I could have read pages and pages of this! Really enjoyed it.
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What a wonderful comment.
I am grinning like an idiot here!
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I like the line ‘ she does not say flipping’ 🙂 Good story and believable dialogue.
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Yes, sorry, but no sweary words here!
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Well captured exchange, I particularly like his enjoyment of her aggravation.
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That’s what friends are for!
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Right, like getting blood, or tears, out of a stone.
Well done bittersweet tale.
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Thank you, Lorraine
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Ah. what a perfect melancholy… you can just imagine a rock can feel.
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Indeed, Bjorn, sadness is at some level universal.
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Bitter sweet. I have know people who stand alone. Some even like the loneliness.
I really liked this piece.
Tracey
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Thanks, Tracey, some of us need a measure of solitude to think and to breathe.
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This is a marvelous piece! Great writing, lots to think about here.
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Thank you.
When a story causes a reader to stop and think, then I am happy.
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Sweet and poignant, C. I like the intimate feel to this, the feeling that your character can’t help but behave the way he does, even though it hurts him and does him no good at all. Sad, but easy to see how someone becomes like this. A really strong story
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Thank you, Lynn.
We all eventually create our own pattern to life, I think, sometimes for self-protection.
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You’re right. There are always reasons people draw away from others – usually because they’re been wounded in the past. Not a healthy way to live though
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‘She does not say flipping’ – I can imagine. Nice story.
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This is a rude word free blog!
Thanks. Iain
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Dear CE,
There’s so much packed into your 100 words. Well done. There’s a real sense of inner mystery there with two people trying to nut out the intricacies of intimacy and solitude.
xx Rowena
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There is so often an imbalance in relationships, with one party needing or wanting more, of time, affection, commitment, whatever.
I am happy that it gave you pause for thought.
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Dear CE,
This was a perfectly constructed story, short by design, sweetly written and so to the point. Very well done, sir.
Yours,
Doug
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Thank you, Doug, your kind words are much appreciated
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Nicely done
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Thank you
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Great story Mr C. I love his attitude lol
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Cheers, Al, but I often think he could be nicer to his friends
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He could but probably won’t lol
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I admire the way you give us a sense of fullness with so few words, including the luxury of repetitions and comments
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Thank you, sir, sometimes the picture draws itself.
But it is rewarding when the reader joins the dots and sees the whole story.
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Dear CE,
I had this selfsame conversation with a friend not too long ago. The construction and wording of this piece is pitch perfect. Love the song, love the story, although it hurts a place deep inside. “I have no need of friendship, friendship causes pain. It’s laughter and it’s loving I disdain.” Really?
As for Lucy being a friend…only half a century. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Don’t be so modest. My favorite line was in regard to the century old friendship with Lucy.
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She can’t fool us, Russell!
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Thank you for your kind words, m’lady.
The song is a poem, with a million great lines:
‘And I won’t disturb the slumber
Of feelings that have died
If I never loved, I never would have cried’
But even the poets can’t agree, compare to Tennyson:
‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
I confess that I agree with his Lordship.
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