The Friday Fictioneer Challenge: Write a 100-word story based on the photo.

Photo copyright Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

The Maze Runner

Mario didn’t see the people who passed him. His eyes were full of memories: him chasing his brother Luigi down stone streets, their laughter echoing skyward. They loved surprising each other, popping up from behind, vanishing down an alley seemingly without exit. The maze they called a village held no secrets for them. A day of skinned knees and ragged shoes was a day well-spent.

Luigi was gone now, fighting in the war. Mario discovered life was itself an unmapped maze. With one deep breath he stepped out of the shadows, deciding there was only one direction to go: forward.

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This week the photo is from our host, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Check out her story here.

To read other Friday Fictioneer stories based on this photo, select the smiley blue frog.

The Friday Fictioneer Challenge: Write a 100-word story based on the photo.

Photo copyright Ted Strutz

Two Universes

Mark drove his car onto the ferry, the last one to board. They pulled away from the dock as the engines revved up. Those powerful rumblings always brought him peace, allowing him space and time to hear his own thoughts.

He wondered if the other passengers appreciated this sliver of time between two shores; a time of transformation. He agreed with Heraclitus: Rivers and men are not the same from day to day, regardless of the appearance of similarity.

Mark believed all lives embrace two universes: the one behind, the one ahead. He was grateful for this safe passage between.

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This is my 150th Friday Fictioneer story. Thanks to Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for all her time and effort in facilitating this online community of writers.

To read other Friday Fictioneer stories based on this photo, select the smiley blue frog.

The Friday Fictioneer Challenge: Write a 100-word story based on the photo.

Photo copyright Dale Rogerson

Wishing

Sara wished she was anywhere other than here. The music was too loud, people too drunk, courtyard too crowded. She approached several people to ask the time. Looking up, she saw a woman on a top floor balcony. Oh how Sara wished she could trade places with her.

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Sarah leaned against the balcony railing, listening to the party, recalling the laughter of old friends, all gone now. Time will do that, she discovered: catch up to you when you least expect it. Sarah looked down, saw a woman standing apart. Oh how Sarah wished she could trade places with her.

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To read other Friday Fictioneer stories based on this photo, select the smiley blue frog.

The Friday Fictioneer Challenge: Write a 100-word story based on the photo.

Photo copyright Sarah Potter

Unfinished Business

The desk. It was still there after all these years. The young girl who had sat for hours at it spilling out her heart, it was that Louise who looked at the desk through adult eyes as though time had stood still, commanding her to return.

Even her jar was still there. She remembered a menagerie of pens standing in it, each one waiting to be chosen, eager to create words that created sentences that created paragraphs, gushing out pages at a time. Oh, yes, Louise had a lot of unfinished business to attend to, now that she was back.

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To read other Friday Fictioneer stories based on this photo, select the smiley blue frog.

The Friday Fictioneer Challenge: Write a 100-word story based on the photo.

Photo copyright Karuna

Memory Maker

Putting on her gloves, Ida wondered how the family was coping after the fire, especially the children.

Oh, the agony of a child whose favorite toy was lost or damaged. She remembered being devastated when her favorite doll, Sally Sue, finally fell apart. Young Ida vowed never to let that happen again. And she didn’t. She learned to clean her dolls, repair the rips, sew their clothes.

As a professional doll restorer, Ida now helped others recover parts of their childhood. She smiled at her next three patients, knowing they would soon be reunited with those who loved them most.

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To read other Friday Fictioneer stories based on this photo, select the smiley blue frog.