The world carried on just as before. Only without him. Helga brought the mail to his bedside – a postcard with quaint conical rooftops of gaily coloured tiles. He didn’t need to read it to know the sender – Donald. Donald was travelling again.
Rage filled him. Without legs he would never travel anywhere again. After the rage came despair.
“Take it a day at a time.” Helga patted his hand.
A groan welled up like a retch from an empty stomach and he turned his face towards the window. A sparrow on the sill cocked its head in reply.
Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here.
Neil MacDonald Author 
From the title and timing of the piece, I expected this to go very differently haha. Good work!
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Thanks, Nick
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Dear Neil,
The world does go on…and on…and on…I could feel his frustration. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks, Rochelle
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And so we go on. Well written Neil.
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Thanks so much
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Nice take Neil – I thought from the title this was going to be about a certain election result! Much better than that, a powerful piece.
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It is about that election
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I picked that up.
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Great! It works, then
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“Day at a time, I suppose.” Omar, The Wire. Nicely done.
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Thanks so much
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I wonder how many of us are going to have that sad, frustration that your man in the bed has, today? Beautifully written. Sad and angry.
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Thanks Claire. I’m pleased you spotted the “subtext”
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And there are a lot of angry, scared people out there. Social Media is on fire.
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Nicely captured frustration and despair.
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Thanks so much
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I wonder if the world will carry on just as before with the two recent unexpected election results in USA and Britain! You portrayed the frustration very well.
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Far from just as before I think, but it will carry on when the anger fades
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From what I saw on Twitter, India also elected a hardliner, and France has a number of hardliners running. However, the hardliner lost in Pakistan. Plus we have Putin in Russia and Erdoğan in Turkey!
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Please do not use the expletive “Donald.”
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You got it
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Totally can imagine his frustration… and ours.
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Thanks, Dale
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If Donald is abroad, (in the classical sense) then bed might be the best place for your character. The world will go on, though part of it has just shifted slightly on its axis. Well done.
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Thanks, Sandra
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Yes, the world keeps turning and yes we are still here – feels a bit odd, doesn’t it? Great take on the prompt and on recent events. Love the analogy between us, the legless, helpless and the postcard sending Donald – very clever
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Thanks Lynn. Yes I’m feeling a bit adjacent to reality today
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Know how you feel, Neil. Surreal days
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It is but a moment in time. Thanks for the reminder.
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Loved the last para. Big fan of that sort of ending where you switch focus onto something else other than the main char i.e. the weather, a bird etc. Tiny crit….I was a little bit surprised to see such a literal take on the picture. For me the “conical rooftops” bit felt forced, almost clunky, didn’t really feel like a necessary part of the story. Could have been anything on the postcard.
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Thanks Paul, you may well be right about the conical rooftops
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I think many of us feel “cut off at the knees” right about now. I love the sparrow on the sill. Perhaps a ray of hope.
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Yes, the sparrow is a ray of hope
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Pathetic. Yet I wonder if he will start to read about Paralympic Games and know that the world is still there for him to make his mark!
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He may, but he’ll first have to pass through all the phases of grieving
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Yes. The dark before the dawn
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Quite a situation when something so life-changing has happened while the world just moves on, largely unknowing and uncaring. Well written!
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Thanks so much
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How sad. At least he has someone who cares about him to be his caregiver. Skillful description of distress. Good writing, Neil. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Thanks, Suzanne
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Yes, the sense of having something precious, something taken for granted, amputated comes through loud and clear. Somehow it must go on. Vivid, angry, timely and great writing.
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Thanks so much
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A great piece of writing Neil. The feelings of frustration and anger are portrayed well.
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Thanks, Mike
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Well done, great sense of frustration and helplessness
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Thanks Laurie
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Great take on the prompt. It is a harsh reality that no matter what happens to you the word does indeed carry on. Nice writing, loved the phrase “A groan welled up like a retch from an empty stomach and he turned his face towards the window.” The sparrow was a nice touch.
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Thanks so much
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We do carry on, and so does life. But Donald… Ah, I feel that rage too. 😉
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Nicely captured the mood.
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Thanks so much
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I think you captured the zeitgeist. I hope the sparrow is Hope.
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Yup, that’s who the sparrow is. Thanks, Lousie
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Love this Neil… so well written, rich, profound but that glimmer of uplift at the end. Fab!
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Thanks so much, Poppy
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Timely piece indeed. Very, very, very well done. Great writing, great connection to current events.
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Thanks so much
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It’s a theme this week, isn’t it? Excellent writing.
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Thanks so much
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Life will go on, the sparrow, the little man will carry on, probably oblivious to any massive change or what could have been
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Perhaps not oblivious
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The image of the sparrow ties it up so well.
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Thanks Bjorn, I was very pleased with the sparrow
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Your character’s in a bad way. I hope he can find a little bit of rage again. Despair will get him nowhere and Donald can’t keep travelling forever. Interesting story. And I like the sparrow too.
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The sparrow’s going to cheer him up. Thanks, Margaret
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Nicely done! Congrats!
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Thanks so much
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