
I found Christophe’s little repair shop tucked away under the railway arches. There was nothing he couldn’t fix. Springs and gears cluttered his bench, bits of old toasters and gizmos whose purpose I couldn’t imagine.
“I need these words repurposed,” I said, dropping the Gladstone bag on his counter. Some tarnished verbs slipped out.
He picked one. “Flense,” he said, turning it over and examining it with a jeweller’s loupe. “Tricky”
While I waited, I leafed through an antique volume, became lost in the tale.
“Where was I?”
“Working a story,” he said. “I’m afraid I involved your body in slaying some dragons.”
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
I love how your stories always make me look sideways (if that makes any sense). I really enjoyed reading this!
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Yup, sideways is exactly where I wanted you to look. Thanks, Susan
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I love that there’s nothing Christophe couldn’t fix and so he used the narrator’s body to ‘fix’ the dragons. Great story!
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Thanks Edith.
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Someone who can fix anything, even words? I love that, and I want his address. Very clever, Neil!
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Thanks, Jan. There’s no amount of money would induce me to give another writer his address. But if you look under the right railway arch you’ll find him
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This just makes me smile and feel good all over 🙂
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Yeah. I don’t usually write feel-good pieces, but hey, it’s Spring
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Better than being the body slayed by dragons.
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Much better, But he ached. I didn’t have enough words for the ache
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Perhaps it’s time for a whaling story. If Mohamed won’t go to the mountain…
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Call me Ahab?
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Dear Neil,
You have a way with words. Very clever.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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That’s the best praise a writer can get. Thanks, Rochelle
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I love the tarnsihed verbs. Though personally, it’s the state of the gerunds that always interests me. Love this.
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Thanks, Sandra.
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Aren’t we all just recycling the same words, putting them in different orders, only perhaps we’re not all as good as Christophe.
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Christophe is a master
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“repurposing words” Love it! Being one who has a tendency to repurpose old words myself, I j ust have to share this one with you “disembodied”… I was at the bank yesterday, dealing with a stolen card, and out of the silence I hear a voice. I jump, mid-turn to see a sheriff’s deputy at the next teller. I gulped. ‘Scanner.’ I identified the sound. He looked at me odd. ‘Sorry, I just heard a disembodied voice, and turned to see where it was.’ His response ‘Hearing those voices in your head again?’ I laughed… if he only knew…. Honest this convo really did occur. He’s a good friend so he was joking.
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It can be tough. Those characters whispering their stories in your ear all the time
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What a great take on the prompt, Neil! And, of course, I had to look up “flense” – always a good thing when a new word is added to my vocabulary.
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It’s a lovely word, but you don’t get much call for flensing these days
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No, definitely not… And they probably don’t even use it in the whaling industry!
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Super imagination in this story, and beautifully constructed.
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Thanks so much, Penny
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I admire the complexity in your stories. A good exercise for me 🙂 Thank you for ‘ flense’ .
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Thank you for the compliment
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Love this metaphor. Words become characters in their own right!
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Thanks so much
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I love to blur the real world with my fiction. Good and cleverly written.
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These days the real world does a pretty good job of blurring itself. Thanks, Tracey
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That’s for sure.
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Beautiful story Neil. I love the idea that words need a bit of a brush up and polish now and then. I know mine certainly do! 🙂
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Thanks so much. Burnishing our words never hurts
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A very engaging read.
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Thanks, Lisa
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Christophe was indeed a Renaissance man. Multifaceted story Neil!
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Thanks, Roy
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What a clever little story. So he did get lost in the book 🙂
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Thanks, yes. Literally
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Great – your oblique look at story telling reminds me of Neil Gaiman. Must be something in the name!
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What? He’s been stealing my stuff?
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I love the idea of refurbishing tarnished verbs. Such an imaginative story.
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Thanks, Jilly, See you this afternoon
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Repurposing words and tarnished verbs slipping out – brilliant!
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Thanks Clare. A whimsy
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Oh! This is so good and clever. I need to pay Christophe’s little repair shop a visit.
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LIke the A Team, if you can find him
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Hahaha omg words need repurposing! This repair man would have some fabulous stories to tell. I actually want to read about his adventures now 🤣
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Shall I bring him back? I try not to write series
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Please do! 😁
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I love this! Really original.
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Thanks so much, Louise
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Brilliant idea – love the idea of words that need ‘re-purposing’, and that the man’s body was off slaying dragons. Good story.
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Thanks. I’m glad it worked for you. I didn’t really have enough words to do the idea justice
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I love the idea that a repairman can fix a manuscript.
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Thanks, Anne. I was quite tickled by it too
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I love this. Very amusing.
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Thanks, Dawn. I had fun writing it
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What a wonderful way with words. I was in the bag with them 🙂
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Be careful. You may be upcycled along with them
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Nice one! The image of tarnished verbs slipping out of the bag made me smile.
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Thanks. It made me smile too when it came to me
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Ah, the power of words. I like the idea of a workshop that moulds words into stories.
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It would save us a lot of work
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Great piece to get you thinking and it had me looking up flense. (Which I notice spellcheck doesn’t recognise)
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Thanks Michael. It’s astonishing how many words spellcheck doesn’t recognsise
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I’ve noticed that and normally blame it for being American 😊
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Such a wonderful piece. If only we could take our tarnished and stale words to be respond and polished.
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Thanks, Sarah Ann. Maybe that’s what editors are for?
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Wonderfully playful, Neil. That idea of repurposing words, giving them a polish. Lovely. Must go and look up flense now
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Thanks, Lynn, I had a lot of fun with this one
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You can tell! 🙂
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Once again so imaginative and creative – thank you Neil for this wonderful piece.
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Thank you once again for your appreciation
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Definitely interesting. I think I need to visit Christophe!
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Thanks,Sascha
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