Friday Fictioneers – Quiet Desperation

~ neilmacdon
PHOTO PROMPT © Na’ama Yehuda

Her parlour is crammed to overflowing. I perch uneasily on the threadbare chaise-longue, avoiding the broken spring. Charity-shop portraits, of people who are not her ancestors, glare at me from the flocked wall. Outside, a storm brews.

“Another cuppa, vicar?” she asks.

My eyes sweep the brocaded lampshades, the carved giraffes, and a set of faux-leather-bound books entitled “Great Novels of the Twentieth Century.”

I shake my head and can’t stop. The chiming of a clock, playing Edelweiss, wrenches my neck round, as if gripped by an assailant.

I stand.

“Do stay, vicar. It’s so nice to have company.”

.

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

66 thoughts on “Friday Fictioneers – Quiet Desperation”

  6. How very sad. A well written example of the sort of lives most people are said to live. Poor woman. I hope the vicar is inspired to start some form of social club centred on the church. They can be a lifeline, especially for the elderly.

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    1. Thanks so much, Anne. I didn’t have any supernatural themes in mind, just a desperate lonely parishioner and a clergyman who isn’t able or willing to help. But a story can take on whole new meanings when it leaves the author’s mind and enters a reader’s

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  18. I got an idea that the vicar might not be a vicar. I sensed disappointment that there was nothing obviously worth having among her possessions and I wanted him to overlook a priceless canvas in her collection of charity shop art. The Edelweiss clock chime is a delicious, masterly touch.

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  24. Love the title. Very apt.There’s a lack of authenticity in both of these characters, but there’s a chance for the vicar to get real, I think. Poor lady – she’s lost.A thought-provoking story.

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  27. I expect the Vicar had decided he had spent long enough on his visit or else he would become one of the collected nicknacks if he stayed any longer. I enjoyed how the atmosphere was built around the contents of the room.

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  28. I feel his pain, but as a vicar he should have a bit more empathy. The lady clearly is lonely. She’d probably find his taste boring. But with a lose spring threatening his behind, I can understand why he stands. 😀

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