
He waited. Of course, I knew the answer he wanted to the question, but I wasn’t going to offer the satisfaction.
“Eyes,” I said.
“What?”
“All of them have eyes.”
HIs sigh gave me huge pleasure. With a mouth drawn into a tight line, he said, “That’s just a trick of the light.”
The lips, or lack thereof, were the thing you noticed first about him. Mother had always said to never trust a man without lips.
“So, what I see is an illusion, but what you see is real?” I knew this would drive him crazy.
.
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

Dear Neil,
This one made me just a little crazy, too. 😉 You definitely can’t trust a man without lips. He talks out of both sides of his face.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks so much, Rochelle
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I see the eyes! A perfect commentary on perspective.
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Thanks so much, Claire
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The eyes were the first things I saw! And a lipless man is typically an angry man, sardonic and hurtful.
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Thanks, Linda
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Neil, I read the story twice, once fast and once slow. I experienced something similar yesterday while reading my granddaughter a counting book about turtles. She kept counting one less than were there. Finally I said, “are you playing a joke on gramma?” She got a twinkle in her eye and said, “yes.” At the end of the book all of the animals were gathered to point at and name. I pointed at a deer and said, “chicken.” She looked at me and I said, “Now gramma’s playing a joke on you.” This delighted her 🙂
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Sometimes I think the whole universe is just someone’s joke
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Ooooo hahsha I love her attitude… and actually, I complete agree about the no lips thing. Sooooo true. And now that you point it out… I see eyes too
🤣
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Thanks so much, Laurie
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Ha! Well, two can play the game, eh? Well played!
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Thanks so much
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i see them eyes too. what’s wrong with me? 🙂
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Be afraid. Be very afraid
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Hehehe! This is hilarious and maddening and a perfect commentary on so many aspects of life… And I absolutely love this quote: “The lips, or lack thereof, were the thing you noticed first about him. Mother had always said to never trust a man without lips.”
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Thanks so much, Angela
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I think we all agree on the eyes and the lips. Well played, Neil!
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Thanks so much
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The no-lip people are usually all mouth. That’s why you can’t trust ’em.
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Sounds reasonable to me
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Am I the only person who didn’t see the eyes? A great little take, Neil.
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Thanks so much. Keith
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A very clever reaction to no-lip man.
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Thanks so much
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Great use of the prompt! Loved it!
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Thanks so much
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Fun perspective. I like how the protagonist seems to enjoy giving him little digs.
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Thanks so much, Dawn
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