A grey day, cloud lowering, lines of pigeons brooding on the wires above the blank eyes of empty windows. A glum prospect Harve had viewed a thousand times as a child. Yet something was missing, something not right about the photo.
“What is it? What’s different?” he asked Peter, but Peter couldn’t answer, He had never visited Harve’s home town.
Perhaps it was simply that the picture didn’t capture the bicycles, the laughter, the hopscotch, and Mrs. Brown’s washing hanging from her window. Images and memories are different.
But you know what’s missing, don’t you? Will you ever tell Harve?
Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find It here
Neil MacDonald Author 
Dear Neil,
It looks like Harve will have to visit to see that there’s more to Peter’s hometown than gray clouds and pigeons. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks Rochelle
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I really liked the line, “Images and memories are different.”
I can definitely empathize with the character’s frustration that a photograph can’t portray things the way you see them, if that makes sense.
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They say pictures never lie, but they do
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Lovely story, and so true.
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Thanks Etienne
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I feel I may be missing something here – that you may be expecting me to notice something wrong. But if I did, I’m not sure I would share it with Harve. We each have our own memories.
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Poor Harve. He may never know
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I like it. Somehow it reminds me of Bicycle Thieves. I think the choice of words setting the scene.
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Thanks
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With your direct question to the reader, you make her part of your tale.
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Yup. Will you tell Harve or will I?
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Pictures can also be deceiving..does Harve really need to know? 🙂 well done.
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No, he only thinks he does
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I’m not sure what’s missing, unless it’s the smell of damp leaves, diesel of the river boats wafting up on the breeze or the impossibly fresh scent of Mrs. Brown’s fabric softener. Sweet story.
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Ah the river boats, yes, that could be it
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This photo does seem to be missing something, I would call it life, even the birds seem stuffed
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Yes, that’s exactly what I thought. I was more struck by what was missing from the photo than what was in it
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I really like this.. it made me think.. and I guess that poor Harve will never know unless he go there.
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He may figure it out, if I do
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Intriguing, drew me in so now I need to know what Harve knows 😉
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The point is that Harve doesn’t know. But you do
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I read it too quickly the first time, like all good stories it tells more with each reading 🙂
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They say “a picture paints a thousand words”, but it’s not always true. The photo certainly doesn’t reflect the life Harve remembers.
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you’re right.Maybe Harve will figure it out
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Harve can’t see the soul of the place only the greyness of the moment. Is that it? That’s what I’ve decided it is and I’m sticking with it. 🙂
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your guess is as good as mine, maybe even better
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I think it’s Harve himself that might be missing from the picture – his relationship with the town has atlered because he looks from the outside now, not the inside. A great response to the prompt – and lovely to write something that stirs so much discussion. You’ve created an enigma! 🙂
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I think that’s got to be the winning entries, Lynn. You could well be right
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Haha! Thanks, Neil. Wonder if poor old Have will ever complete the picture? 🙂
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It’s missing joy, soul, people. A picture does not capture the reality of things, and yet, it can bring back a whiff of that reality.
Beautifully written, Neil! I loved this line:
“A grey day, cloud lowering, lines of pigeons brooding on the wires above the blank eyes of empty windows. “
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Thanks, I did wonder if that might have been over-written
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It was atmospheric, and I always fall for metaphors.
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Like Sandra, I feel left out of some inside joke. I also agree with you that pictures indeed lie–often more successfully than prose.
Cheers!
MG
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Sorry
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As an amateur photographer, I can relate to the sentiment. It is challenging to catch life with your camera.
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Awesome, Neil. Who knows what else is in pictures that don’t get captured? Very cool story!
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Thanks so much
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Sometimes nothing changes as time goes by except the way you look at things. Maybe Harve has changed more than he knows.
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I’m sure that’s so
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I really like this, the way you draw us in and set the enigma. The observation that pictures cannot show the life of place is a good one, only memories can do that. But I think what Harve doesn’t know is that what he liked about the place is gone, and that the picture actually is true.
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I think that’s another strong candidate for what’s missing
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As your story tells us, it truly is all about perspective.
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Guess photos trigger memories. They can’t recreate them!
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And the scenery is always better on the radio
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Here’s what struck me: Peter is Harve’s son, but died (that’s why he can’t answer). What’s missing is Harve being able to take him to his home town to show him where he grew up. Missing memories.
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Now that’s definitely one I hadn’t thought of
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Good ending. Nicely done.
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What I take away is the thought that an image often doesn’t do justice to the experience, especially if it does not reflect the experience as a whole. Maybe in this case, the picture is just a slice of what he remembers and no where close to the complete experience. Nice story.
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Thanks Amy
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I don’t know what’s missing but I’m intrigued!
Lily
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There are some very good suggestions among the various comments
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I very much liked your direct involvement of the reader. The effect it had on me was not so much to concern myself with what was missing from Harve’s picture but to think about what is missing from some of the photographs from my own life. A poignant reminder of the passing of time.
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I really like that response it provoked in you
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Your story made me think of a topic I taught a senior high school English class once, based around Mark Raphael Baker’s book ‘The Fiftieth Gate’. It’s a book about the author’s holocaust experience, but our focus was on comparing what history (including photographs) preserves, and what memory preserves. I love where you went with your story, Neil. And I was glad to have my own little trip down memory lane, missing bits and all.
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Thanks so much, Margaret. I’m very interested in the distinction between images and memories, so your class chimes
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Interesting! This definitely makes me want to know more. I can easily relate to Harve’s longing for an answer. Nicely done.
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Thanks, Emily
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