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.
This week’s prompt is provided by J Hardy Carroll, and made me think of moving house. I sometimes try to remember how many homes I have had in my life.
The last time I counted I lost track around thirty, when I realised I had forgotten a whole country from many years ago.
The idea, as always, is to write a story of around 100 words based on this picture, below.
© J Hardy Carroll
Click here to hear the writer read his words:
Moving, again
I have been in this apartment almost four years.
And I am moving, again.
It is strange to put your life into boxes.
Some stuff is still boxed from last time.
Clothes lie untouched in a suitcase.
Will I need them again?
Only if I return to those northern climes that I now find intimidating.
I have rented for the past dozen years.
And had seven different homes.
I own no TV, no furniture, no white goods.
No material possessions.
Except for some pieces of art, gifts from friends and former lovers.
They are my memories.
Everything else is irrelevant.
Nicely paced, and so much back story between the lines, The last two lines are powerful and the pathos of the piece makes me wonder if the narrator truly believes this, or if they are what he tells himself to justify the circumstances his travel-light renter lifestyle dictates
You have this spot on, sir, there is always a struggle for balance between freedom and security, in love as in all things.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments.
you took your story outside the “box.” There’s a lonely tone in it and a tone of satisfaction. Nicely done.
Thank you, Alicia, I think you picked up exactly on the inner conflict that I tried to hint at. Happy you enjoyed.
Possessions are just items but memories are treasures of the mind no one can take from you and you can take anywhere.
Loved listening to you read your words, CE. As always, thoughtful inspirational writing.
Isadora 😎
It is always a joy to read your comments, Isadora, you are so kind and thoughtful. Thank you, I am happy that you enjoyed this so much.
I appreciate your inviting me to visit and read your profound words. Have a wonderful week.😎
I totally get where he is coming from.
So much less to dust also!
A very relatable story.
Well thanks, Dawn, you sure killed off any romance in the story!
Story of my life…. lol
Ha! What a delightful reply.
I somehow feel a restlessness … somehow there has been no friend or lover that is anything more than a memory…
Drifting from place to place and person to person…
Your narrator sounds like a hoarder to me. I keep all my stuff in a matchbox.
Judging by Connie’s comments, there is plenty of space left after you shove your stuff in a matchbox.
Hmmmmmmmmm.
Don’t know if she sounds fatalistically or not.
Guess she has come to terms with her life!
Interesting that you read it as a woman.
That had not occurred to me.
Thank you for reminding me that every reader has her/his own eyes and mind.
👌👍👍👍
Oh, your narrator is so much at peace with himself and his belongings or no belongings. Moving is a pain…boxing… unboxing but if there are no boxes that would be light and easy.I read this twice and then thrice with the audio on. Sometimes simple is the best.
I am smiling now, Norma, thank you.
Multiple reads and listens make the writer’s efforts worthwhile.
Hugs
🙂
Having had to move so very many times in my married days, I do understand. Not looking forward to moving again in the coming months, but one must go where one must go… this move is something Hubby wants.
The less you carry, the easier it becomes.
It is perhaps more difficult when it is another’s choice.
Agreed. I’m at a point where I just want to stay put. Tired of packing, moving, unpacking 99% by myself while he works.
Lovely sentiments – seven homes eh! Got to keep looking.
Seven in the last 12 years, over 20 in the preceding time.
Glad you enjoyed.
Great atmosphere, and tge narrator really seems to be at peace with his life choices, which is so rare.
Thank you, sir. Yes, peace of mind at long last, perhaps.
A transferable job unless he is a nomad at heart. Good portrait of a man who probably finds comfort in moving on.
Basically nomadic, I think.
Or perhaps just likes to be a moving target?
Nice portrait of a man(?) attached only to his memories. Such a sadness to his tone…is he lonely? Why must he always keep moving? Intriguing character.
Yes, a man.
Interesting that you read sadness in the words, not everyone does (see below).
Not necessarily lonely, I suggest, but alone, perhaps because of his innate restlessness.
Alone because if his restlessness makes sense. It is interesting how differently people can interpret a piece. There are as many different interpretations as there are readers, I’ll bet.
Indeed.
Envy (Neil), true freedom (Willow), sadness and acceptance (Gran), straight priorities (Lynn), untouched and rare (Moon).
Sascha is miffed that no one died and Penny just enjoyed it!
Not bad for 100 words.
Have I become jaded?
I read: no white goods…because they would show the blood, wouldn’t they?
Yes, Sascha, it appears that you have!
There has not been a death in my FF stories for over 4 months.
?
What happened to the good ole days?
I guess I just ran out of victims!
Next country, please. 🙂
Four months? Seriously? So there is a whole cast of characters from that period who owe their life to your changed nature 😉
You people are savages!
The lightness of offloading pointless possessions is great but I know I would find myself wishing I’d kept the washing machine. Also if you haven’t opened a box for four years maybe you don’t need what’s inside it?
There is always a laundrette, Jilly.
The box contains papers, just a backup.
It is hard to find a man/ woman who is untouched by materialistic pursuits. He is rare, I must say.
Rare, perhaps, but in this case true.
Almost like living out of a suitcase.
Two suitcases, a carry-on bag and a box of papers that were shipped separately!
As one who is preparing her house to move, though not often enough to not be able to count, it makes me think what do I really need to keep?
Less than you think, usually
I would tend to agree.
Nice your narrarot has his priorities straight. A few personal momentoes and memories that’s really all we need in the end. Beautifully told with a deft touch. Lovely C
Glowing at your praise, Lynn.
Thank you
My pleasure C
It’s like reading someone’s diary or personal journal. Such a sense of sadness, but at the same time this character seems to have accepted life as it come. Good one.
Is that not all any of us can do?
Thank you for reading.
That’s a very interesting contribution. It has no plot; no description; no dialogue; almost no characters, for the narrator is self-effacing. And yet it’s fascinating. I’ve read it several times, for enjoyment as much as education. I suppose it may be the intimacy with which the narrator is sharing something of his life. Nice work, CE
I have read your comment several times, Penny, purely for enjoyment.
Thank you for this.
I can so identify with this, after 19 homes in 23 years and 5 countries. All except the television and white goods, that is. 🙂 This was crisp, terse and concise, but said such a lot. And no one died. Good one.
It is not often I laugh aloud at a comment, Sandra, but your parting shot got me there! The nomadic life is not for everyone, but it does provide so much material, doesn’t it!
It’s sounds idyllic, but there are some possessions that I would loathe to give up.
There are no rules, Iain, I am not selling a lifestyle!
In the stripping down, one discovers true freedom in living without clutter and the ability to pick up and move. Gypsy lifestyle or the irony of minimalism – the bite of loneliness and emptiness?
Perfectly, crisply penned.
Nomadic and free, or just alone?
Good questions, Willow, I’m just happy to have provoked a thought.
Thanks for kind words.
my pleasure
Dear C.E.
Such a feeling to this one. Beautifully constructed with a perfect ending line.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thank you, m’lady, always too kind
I envy your narrator
There is much to be said for the lifestyle!