PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson
The lights of the Ferris wheel reminded her of happier times: laughter, companionship, love. The echoes of the past stifled her and she wished for the strength to end her life. Hugging her wasted body, she turned away from human contact and shuffled towards the empty shell of her home. She had to find a way to lift herself out of this depression and the constant thoughts of her loss. Her husband had been her anchor and without him she felt adrift. What she needed was a reason to live, to get up everyday. What she needed was a child.
© Colline Kook-Chun, 2019
(This post was inspired by Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle. The challenge asks for bloggers to write a story in 100 words or less in response to the photo prompt.)
Nice.. Saddle a kid with the responsibility of making its mother’s life worth living. Sad to say I think this happens way too much, this seeking redemption at all cost.. Very well done.
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Thank you Violet.
The upside is that having a child does give a mother a reason to push through the day and to see the positive side. Though, as you suggest, it doesn’t always happen. 😔
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Interesting story. If you’d had more words you could have indicated what she thought she might do to get a child.
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I agree. I had a few ideas in mind that I could have explored.
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I think she needs to get her mindset right before even considering caring for a child. This could be the start of a novel about child abduction. 😳
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Especially if her husband is alive and has sole custody of their child 😉
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Dear Colline,
I’m not sure I agree with her reasoning. The question is, with her husband gone…Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you Rochelle.
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Oh, how sad – although I’m not sure if a child wouldn’t create more problems than it would solve if she has to raise it on her own. 🙂
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Many single parents do manage – and often with support from family and friends.
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Well written story, Colline. I always wonder how people manage to put all their reason for living into another. It is a concept that shall always remain foreign to me.
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I guess it is because they do not believe that they themselves can be the author of their own happiness.
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You described the woman’s grief and pain clearly. I would hope she would find some other avenues of help before she decides to–adopt? Or is she pregnant? That’s a huge burden to put on a child.
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To find out, I would have to continue with the story. And no, none of the options you suggested were in my mind when I wrote this 🙂
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That’s a lot said in 100 words. Sad but sounds like light ahead.
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There always is if you remain positive.
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Loneliness can be awful. May be she should look for a companion.
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I think that is what she intends. And she has chosen her companion to be a child.
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Beginning of an interesting story, with a future to be discovered and a past to be explained, could be a great three part series running down a couple of generations to a finale, great beginning Colline.
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So true. There is so much more to this story Ian – and it is a story that would require more than 100 words to tell it.
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It’s primordial to want a child.. if not society would cease to exist.. great paragraph.. 😉
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I agree. And I have seen some women go through terrible things but focusing on their children’s well-being has given them the strength to get through it.
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