Friday Fictioneers – Walker

~ neilmacdon
old-shoes-cobwebs
Photo Prompt © Sarah Potter

You reckoned I’d spin you a sob-story with these shoes, didn’t you? Like Hemingway’s “baby shoes, brand new, never worn”.  Or like the boy got his feet blown off in the war and never wore them again. I’d have thrashed him if he’d been that careless.

Liked to walk, my lad did, and he were a good strong walker. One day, he walked and walked, and walked right out of these shoes. Where did he go? Dunno. This story’s a mystery, not the tragedy you was expecting. The shoes live under his bed still, but the boy never came back.

 

Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here.

Fancy sharpening your skill with writing exercises? The Scrivener’s Forge offers a new exercise every month to hone one aspect of your craft. Take a look at this month’s exercise on reveals.

87 thoughts on “Friday Fictioneers – Walker”

  28. Like the spin you put on this one, Neil. I thought along those same lines when I first saw the pic. But, alas and anon, I haven’t the time this week to think on such thoughts. 🙂

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  29. The character of the father is striking… Seems to be a man who wanted things done right and thought it is not ok to be open with your feelings… Is that why his son left? Had he ever been told that he was loved?
    Very poignant one – this story.

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  38. The last line in the first paragraph reveals a man who would “thrash” a handicapped son. I’m thinking that the fact that the son left may not be as much of a mystery as the father believes. Well done; you tell it all without telling it all. 🙂

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  42. Pingback: Friday Fictioneers – The Walker’s Tale | Neil MacDonald Author

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