Every now and again, you get a glimpse into how the illusion is achieved. When the light falls just so, when the air holds a tinny reverberation, you can spot the apparition and hear the clanking of great gears. For a while, for a lifetime, for an epoch, the set captivates us. But then we see the flats vibrate and the backdrop flutter. In a moment, it will all be different, the prince will kiss the sleeping beauty, and the world will wake into a new story,
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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
Neil MacDonald Author 
Perfect take for the year-end!
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Thanks so much, Reena
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Dear Neil,
May Sleeping Beauty awake before it’s too late.
Shalom and Happy New Year,
Rochelle
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Thanks so much, Rochelle, and Happy New Year to you too
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Interesting on a small and global scale. I wonder if seeing the machinery behind the illusion is good for us – the Matrix movies suggested not in the short term!
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Seeing the machinery work is the temptation of Faustus
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A new story awaits.
What happens next?
Hope the Prince & Princess are happy 🙂
Best wishes for New Year 2024!
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You’ll have to wait to the end of this world to find out. Thanks Anita
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I truly hope so, Neil. Our current world’s trajectory is not promising — of anything good anyway.
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Oh, I don’t know. Maybe,when a major city is under water, we’ll realise there’s a problem
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I lift a glass to this flash which made me think. Happy New Year
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And to you, Michael
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If the illusion is captivating, why shatter it or look behind it? I like the metaphorical take on the prompt.
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Thanks so much. Blue pill or red pill?
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Mystic and beautiful. Well done.
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Thanks so much
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I love this for the end of the year. All the world’s a stage, right? I wonder if the coming year will be still be a horror/ fantasy or if it will become a scifi… ha!
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Thanks so much, Laurie
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It seems like a long time since I’ve heard someone say “What a great year this was!” Hopefully 2024 will bring about some long-overdue, positive change. Nicely done write, Neil. Happy New Year!
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Thanks so much
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Magical and eerie atmosphere wrapped into one. Thanks Neil.
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Thanks so much, Susan
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I love the concept here. Excellent story, as always.
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Thanks so much, Linda
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A new year for some new stories. So, what is in store for us in twenty-twenty-four? 🙂
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The hottest year on record
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A lovely mix of practicality and fairy tale – reminds me of an episode from BBC’s recent History’s Secret Heroes which describes how film set designers were co-opted during the second world war to create all sorts of illusions. I really like the sense of hope at the close of your story.
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Thanks so much, Jilly. There’s always hope
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