Friday Fictioneers – Never forgetting

~ neilmacdon
PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

I will never forget you, I swore: my first encounter with death. One day she was there, and the next, incomprehensibly absent—a silly fall from a mountain.

A memory of us lying together on the narrow single bed. She was propped on one elbow. “I don’t mind leading you down the garden path,” she said. I didn’t understand what she meant—she was two years older than me, and knew things I didn’t.

Yes, I can remember my adoration. But not the face, the shape, the smell. Those have vanished. Also, her name.

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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

70 thoughts on “Friday Fictioneers – Never forgetting”

  14. A fascinating story. Is your protagonist suffering from early dementia, or are you suggesting most people experience the loss of detailed memories of loved ones? There is a ring of truth about this story that makes me wonder whether it’s autobiographical – or whether you’ve just used excerpts from your own life rather more expertly than most of us manage! I’m thinking particularly of “A memory of us lying together on the narrow single bed.” That sounds like the voice of experience to me!

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    1. I didn’t imagine him as suffering anything other than the way time ravages and rewrites our memories. No, it’s not autobiographical, though I did have a girlfriend who died falling off a mountain. Her name was Nora

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      1. I had moments where I thought there was something wrong with me when others could describe, down to every detail, a memory. Then again, maybe it’s an embellished “remembery” 🙂

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    1. If we weren’t able to forget, we’d never be able to recognise things like loved ones’ faces because each time we saw them they’d be a little different. Quite a lot of remembering is about forgetting

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  23. Very thought-provoking. I think we remember what is important to us at the time and that changes with age. He remembers the ‘feeling’ of her, and you described that feeling nicely.

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