“They destroy those who become obsolete,” Chandler says.
We’ve taken this same path home for the past twenty-nine years.
“But they don’t understand how much I’ve sacrificed.”
Tears are boiling behind my eyes.
“It comes down to numbers…That’s all.”
“People used to mean more than numbers!”
“They won’t change their minds…” Chandler sighs.
“No, but they need to realize they’re not the only ones who hold power.”
In my pocket, I caress a serrated switchblade. Spinning on my heel, I head back toward the embassy.
“Robert….What are you doing?”Chandler calls out, his voice saturated with fear.
Well, I’ve returned from the complete chaos for this week’s Friday Fictioneers. I’ve been gone from WordPress for roughly two weeks, and I felt hesitant to post again. Though, with all of your support and encouragement, I decided to dive back in. Thank you so much for reading and for the wonderful comments you’ve left me. Also, please forgive me as I take a while to get caught up on all the wonderful posts I’ve missed from you!
And don’t forget to read other fabulous flash fiction from fellow Friday Fictioneers!
mmmm! dramatic twist!
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Thanks, I’m glad you like it! I know this is supposed to be fiction, but between you and I, the story came from my frustration with my boss that morning…Though, I wouldn’t take revenge like this 🙂
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I would never suspect you 🙂 you have too beautiful a soul..! cutbacks are a nasty corporate thing for sure though :-\
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Ah but this shot is too cute 🙂 lol
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lol well, the hat and the frilly dress kind of overshadow the seriousness of my anger 😀
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lol you really didn’t want to wear that dress huh! 🙂
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Lol. I didn’t appreciate looking ridiculous for the Easter bunny! 🙂
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Did you least get the chocolate?? lol
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Lol, oh I’m pretty sure I got the chocolate. Chocolate and I have a very dangerous relationship.
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lol one hard to resist? 😉
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Hah. Exactly- the CHOCOLATE!!!!! 😀
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And then my being 5’11 comes in handy and I take it all from you! >:)
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Oh, your height doesn’t scare me. You’d be surprised how high I can climb!
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I imagine you were a handful as a kid like that 😀
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lol surprisingly, I was a little angel….who frequently snuck into the cookie jar and had a stash of candy in the back of my closet!
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All the best of luck on one switchblade against an embassy. Jack Bauer might be behind him.
Good to see you back. I hope the lyric challenge didn’t cause you too much grief.
Nice job again!
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Thank you so much for reading, and I’m also not quite sure what the outcome might be against the embassy. I’m glad to be back and just putting the finishing touches on the lyric challenge. I feel it’s still missing something, but we’ll see. I intend on posting it within the next day or so!
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I can tweak, worry not.
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As a teacher who dealt with idiotic public school bureaucracy, I’d say the switchblade wielder has a point (sorry). Nice job.
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I was slightly worried about crossing the line with vengeful violence, as it seems to be a daily occurrence anymore. But like you, I was on the side of the wielder. Not that violence is ever a solution, but I made sure to mention he’d been working for 29 years, implying that instead of enjoying his retirement, he was dumped unexpectedly. I’m really glad you enjoyed it!
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A lot of anger here. I’m not surprised she’s turned back. Probably little hope for her anyhow.
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Yeah, I figured the character didn’t have much else to lose. It can be dangerous when we don’t have lives outside of work. Thank you so much for reading, and I apologize for the delayed reply. I responded a few days back, but there must have been a glitch!
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The powerlessness of the people against bureaucracy. I enjoyed this.
One little niggle though – I’m not sure about centring the text – for me, it makes the story much harder to read. I’ve seen it done on a few blogs here and there and find it distracting. It’s ok for a short poem, but for a piece of prose it distorts it somehow. What say you? Am I right or am I just a moany old bag?
Nice to see you back – whether you agree with me or not 🙂
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Hello! Thank you so much for reading and sharing your thoughts. You know, I went back and forth with the alignment. I ended up centering it because when I had it aligned left, it put a couple of words on a separate line, and I felt like they lost their power. I honestly wasn’t happy about centering it, because I agree, it’s more appropriate for poems. I’m sure there would have been a magical solution to this; yet, I’m not tech savvy enough to be aware of it! Thank you so much, again for reading, for taking the time to share your thoughts, and for the wonderful welcome back! 🙂
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I’m not sure Charles will make much headway with a switchblade. Good luck to him, I’ll look for hi on the news.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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We’ll see about Charles. Maybe he’ll just be able to scare them a little. Thank you so much for reading, Rochelle!
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Dear Artful,
There is a phrase- “You must vote with your feet” – often used when an individual complains about an organization they belong to. In this case your protagonist is voting with a switchblade. I wonder of the Embassy will get the point.
Aloha,
Doug
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Dear Doug,
Thank you so much for stopping by and for sharing such intriguing thoughts. I’m less likely to vote with a switchblade. Walking out without causing ripples is my modus operandi- which isn’t quite as satisfying as the switchblade.
Thanks again,
Adelie
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“People used to mean more than numbers!” and that was long, long ago. Nice job! Thanks.
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Thank you so much for reading, and it’s unfortunate that that saying is quite true anymore. Though, there are still places that value people. Sometimes, we have to be a little crafty searching for them.
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Sometime loss give way to desperation.. but I guess being harassed for 30 years can change people.. great tale..
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Thank you so much for reading and sharing your thoughts! I agree that people can only take so much neglect from their organization before they become worn down.
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Passion and anger can make people foolish. You’ve captured that well.
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Thank you very much for reading and for your thoughtful reflection. Yes, I’ve learned that it’s most often a good idea to take a step back and cool-off before taking any action in frustrating situations.
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You are a wise young woman. I had to get old to learn that! LOL
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Lol, it still took me a while to learn it though. Not a pretty process!
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Good story and well written. That would indeed be a sad state of affairs. It would be a little like the thinking of the Nazis. It’s like the character is committing suicide.. —Susan
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Susan, I really appreciate you reading and leaving such thoughtful feedback for me to contemplate. While I was initially hoping my character might be able to convince them to reconsider his dismissal, I also realize that such outcome seems rather unlikely. I suppose he felt he had nothing else to lose.
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So much more than numbers…. ❤
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That is very true! Thank you so much for reading, Natti!
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I can share his frustrations, but I’m not sure about his plan!
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Yes, it’s somewhat rash. Let’s hope he doesn’t actually use the knife. Maybe he realizes that it isn’t the best way to express his anger, and he goes to get ice cream instead. :)Thank you so much for reading!
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Hi 🙂 He sounds like he’s had enough and had a mental ‘break’ because of it all…. I guess many, many feel that way at times…
I want to share a post with you. She [Lauren Sapala] is great at giving advice for writers and when I read this I thought you too might like to read some of her brilliance as she speaks to all of us who are trying hard in this writing game. So here’s the url:….
http://laurensapala.com/?p=2175
….. The title of the post is “How to Measure Your Own Magic” and it speaks so accurately as well as being a positive enforcement. 🙂
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Thank you so much for reading, Victoria! Also, a major thanks for sharing the article and the support. When I saw the title, I knew it’d be a winner. I just glanced at the article a second ago to see if it was short enough for me to sneakily read at work, and just the part “If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, even a Nobel Prize will only reassure you for a very short period of time,” caught my eye, and I teared up a little because it’s so comforting to know I’m not alone here. I just wanted to express my deepest gratitude before I read it. You’re awesome, and I sincerely appreciate you lifting me up! 🙂
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Didn’t it feel awesome once you hit Publish? Then… you realized the hesitation to post was so silly, right? Yeah……… me too 🙂
Way to come back strong! My favorite thing about your fiction is that the concepts are very outside the box & unique. As I’m new to fiction – I feel like I tend to gravitate towards the obvious – I admire your broad rage of ideas!
So happy you’re back!
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Thank you so much for saying such kind things about my writing. They’re much appreciated, as often times, I look back on my stories and think, “I could’ve done so much better.” I struggle with falling into the obvious, and I think that’s a very common occurrence. Honestly, it’s not necessarily a terrible thing either because we all have unique stories to tell. What matters is that we tell our own, for ourselves. When I see these prompts, I usually dismiss the first three ideas that come to mind because I want to throw in something a little unexpected. I still struggle to believe you’re fiction newbie because your stories are so richly evocative and flow so well. They’re artfully crafted and don’t show any signs of trepidation or struggle. You need to give yourself more credit! But you know this! 🙂
You’re absolutely right. The tension before publishing again was silly once I finally got it out there. See, we understand each other!
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PS…I love your blogs new look!!
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lol Well thank you. This amazingly talented and fabulous friend of mine suggested I fool around with Pic Monkey, and it just kind of happened. It feels more personal now, and I think it fits better. It’s nice to know that someone else likes it! 😛
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