Fat raindrops rolled down the window pane accompanied by the ever present haze of city living. Ghosts of years gone by stood silently silhouetted against a dark, starless sky.
Lights from the spire sprinkled to life in a dazzling glaze. A gasp caught in her throat. The sign she had been waiting for.
Her Prince Charming casting a wide arching call for her to come.
At last.
She shoved the suitcase closed around three stuffed animals and a bag of Cheetos.
Fading photos, her momentos of a life forgotten, would have to stay behind.
The nurses quietly blocked her door.
PHOTO PROMPT ©Jill Wisoff
A special thanks to Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for wrangling in Friday Fictioneers.
I did a few of these then stopped for several weeks due to my work load (at my actual job and my grad school work). Luckily I’ve found myself with a slight bit of breathing room … or the possibility of killing men just watch them die if I didn’t get a chance to space out soon … So here I am.
Heartbreaking. My great-grandmother used to place 2-3 playing cards in her purse and tell us she was going for a walk…
Absolutely beautifully done, Kelley!
Thank you so much! Once my grandmother’s husband took the car to drive around the corner to the store. The police called her 2 hours later because the car was on fire on the side of the interstate (he was fine and not in the car). It’s such a fragile situation and one that people don’t necessarily want to acknowledge, especially those going through it.
Holy moly!!! Thank goodness he was ok… She must have been worried sick.
It is most difficult. My mother-in-law (whom I have inherited after the death of her son, my husband) has been placed in a home as she has started dementia. She is at the point where she occasionally “gives me shit for putting her there” – I did not. The hospital did. She is slowly losing sections but recognized me and my boys though we can see her slipping with each visit.
That has to be so hard, *big hugs from me to you*
Thank you. It sure is not easy… Hugs accepted and sent over your way!
After days of getting my sister all set up in her new managed care apartment, my other sister arrived the next day to find her all packed up and ready to go home agaih. Yes. Heartbreaking.
It definitely is. Being independent for so long doesn’t come with a want to no longer be unfortunately.
A sad story. The soft toys and the Cheetos got me. Very well written.
Thank you for reading, I appreciate it
Oh my goodness, I wasn’t expecting that last line! So sad! Thanks for surprising me.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
I’m glad I could surprise you! Thanks for reading
Dear Kelley,
Lovely, funny and sad all at the same time. Glad you took some time off from work. I’d hate to think of you killing men to watch them die. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thank you Rochelle. I’d definitely hate to do it! 😂
In the nursing home context they saw this “eloping.” Poor thing is living in a different time and place. Beautifully written.
Call, not saw 🙂
Thank you so much for reading
You’ve written that beautifully, Kelley. You take us on an upward arc of hope, that her waiting for her beloved is coming to fruition, and then you gently show us that it’s all an illusion. You managed the tempo of the story really well.
Thank you Penny! I appreciate your comments!
Very well written and something I can relate to at the moment with my mother constantly confused about what is happening and where she is
Thank you for reading! I’m sorry you are having to go through similar, it sucks.
Thanks