The children are hiding. Again. Perhaps they think if they can’t see us, we can’t see them.
Lily can’t crouch. Her rigid spine forbids it. And so, she will be taken first. The art of concealment is less about being invisible than about blending-in.
Kids like to stand out. But not in ways that make them different. Lily is too different to survive.
.
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
Neil MacDonald Author 
Dear Neil,
My heart breaks for Lily. Well told.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks so much, Rochelle
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There are so many Lily’s in this world. Beautifully told.
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Thanks so much, Sandra
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Grimly foreboding, Neil, and not just for Lily.
Masterful.
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Thanks so much
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Love this.
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Thanks so much
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‘They’ sound terrifying. Poor Lily.
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They can be a little stern
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What is out there? Scary!
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What indeed!
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Curious
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Seems many of us have seen Lily as an outsider. No hope, in your story, that she will survive. So sad.
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The different ones tend not to
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And so evil roams. Very ominous.
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Thanks so much, Dora
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Chilling! Great pacing, too.
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Thanks so much, Joshua
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A grim way of expressing a truth about childhood. Fortunately, being different isn’t quite such an automatic death sentence as your story conjures up, although – personal experience – it can be pretty tough.
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Thanks Penny
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Poor Lily.
The realities of survival, identity, and conformity are a torment to many. And children learn it from the adults around them. We have only ourselves to blame.
Well written!
Na’ama
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Thanks so much
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🙂
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Different has never been a good survival technique.
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Apart from being differently wealthy, of course
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Ominous and chilling tale. It doesn’t bode well for Lily. Poor thing..
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Thanks so much, Brenda
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WoW!! I didn’t expect that, after the first para, the story took an expertly crafted twist for the worst, poor Lily, this isn’t just a game of Hide and Seek…Well done
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Thanks so much
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A menacing tale indeed. I dread to think about who ‘they’ are.
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You know … “them”
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Poor little girl – she doen’s deserve this after living through all that hospital treatment.
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No, she doesn’t
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it’s survival of the fittest. like they say, the weakest go first.
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Though there isn’t necessarily consensus about who the weakest are
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that’s true.
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This gives me chills. No kids should have to hide at school. The mind of the child hunter here is scary, so matter of fact. Well written
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Thanks so much, Laurie
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😦 Poor Lily. The clinical intoning of her fate is truly chilling.
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Thanks so much, Jade
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You are very welcome, Neil.
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The pecking order of life. Well done.
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Thanks so much, Russell
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What a terrifying world! I only wish I couldn’t picture this – or something similar – happening in the real one. Well told.
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Thanks so much
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That last line is heartbreaking. Plenty to think about in this story.
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Thanks so much
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I was a Lily in grade school and it isn’t one bit fun. At least, if the cards are in our favor, we grow up and let it all slough off! Well done.
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Thanks so much, Alicia
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Poor Lily. A good story Neil.
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Thanks so much
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