PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot
Genre: Fiction
Word Count: 100
Yes. It’s me again. Double dipping. It seems my first story is only understood by a few. So I decided, by divine right of flash fiction queens, I’d write another. Thank you for understanding. 😉
AUTUMN HOUSE CLEANING
“I’m not a hoarder. I’m sentimental, that’s all.”
True to her words, Carolyn kept a clean, albeit, cluttered house.
“You could eat off my floors.”
“If we could find it.” Megan rolled her eyes as she rummaged through her mother’s kitchen cabinets. “Maybe. But baby bottles? What do you need with these?”
“Mama?” The towheaded toddler in the high chair reached out his arms and whimpered. “Ba-Ba”
Carolyn patted his hand. “Aaron. You’re too big for a bottle. Megan get your baby brother his sippy cup.”
“Mom. Stop!” Megan’s tearful voice startled Carolyn. “Aaron died fifty years ago.”
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple 
Oh, what a heart-wrenching final twist
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Mission accomplished. 😉 Thank you, Neil.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A heart-wrenching story based on the picture, Rochelle. The poor woman is slipping into senility. My mother asked me when we visited her at the nursing home where my dad was. He had died over ten years before. I told her he was on a fishing trip. The Alzheimer’s caught her up in a time warp. She was in her 90s and told people she was in her 30s. It happens.
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Dear Suzanne,
We just lost my mother in law to the disease this winter. However we lost her long before that. 😦 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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So sad. I remember reading how Margaret Thatcher, towards the end, had to have the news broken to her every single day that her husband had died. Can you imagine the suffering on both sides of that particular conversation. Well done, Rochelle.
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Dear Sandra,
It got to the point we just agreed with my mother in law. When she laid in the hospital bed and apologized for not fixing us dinner, we just consoled her and said we understood. Very hard indeed. Thank you. .
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Hard to read😞
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Dear Genia,
Hard to read and hard to live through with a loved one. Thank you for taking the time. 🙂
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Very sad story, but too common. Well done.
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Thank you, Trent. Too common for sure. 😦
Shalom,
Rochelle
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OH! Oh, dear. Poor Mama, poor Megan.
I just read a book by Dan Walsh (“What Follows After”) about a man whose son died, so he kidnapped another boy to take the child’s place. Grief does terrible things to us.
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Dear Linda,
The book sounds like a gut-wrencher. Thank you for your affirming comments on both of my stories.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Oof, ouch, what a twist.
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Dear D,
Thank you for your affirming ouch. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A story so close to home. Senility and Alzheimer’s is such a terrible disease. It effects everyone in the circle of family and friends.
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Dear Jan,
We know this intimately, don’t we? Thank you, m’luv. ❤
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Well done with the double dip. This story wouldn’t have happened if we all understood the first.😀 Life can be so cruel. Is there anything worse than losing one’s mind? Maybe but it’s on the top of the list.
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Dear Tanille,
This story downloaded with amazing speed. Would that they all did. 😉 Having recently watched my mother in law and a friend fade away, it’s on my top ten. Cruel disease to all. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Ouch!
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I’ll take that ouch as a compliment. 😉 Thank you, Rowena.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yes. Very much so. Felt the punch of that one.
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🙂
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Sort of the anti-Kando! I like going through thrift stores and looking at all those precious mementos stripped of their context. The objects are unchanged, but without the stories they are just things. Even the photographs. Well done.
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Thank you, Josh.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A familiar scene. I have a friend named Frances. She has outlived two husbands and two of her three children. Her stories are often laced with interchangeable names and events. Her grandson, a dear, sweet man, patiently lives many lives by other names in her stories which he has begun preserving on video. Rochelle, you brought the stark reality this week. Nice!
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Dear StepHonie,
It’s such a horrible disease, isn’t it? Thank you for your kind and affirming comments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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The ending caught me completely by surprise, Rochelle: a domestic conversation, suddenly taking a tragic turn. You engineered that very convincingly. By the way, thanks for letting us have two tales for the price of one this week! 🙂
Shalom,
Dora
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Dear Dora,
Thank you so much for your affirming comments. It’s not often I’ll write a second one…and on short notice. Glad you enjoyed. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Oy …. and how odd that we both went that way … in a way …
Well done, you!
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Na’ama Y’karah,
We did go in similar directions. This one downloaded so quickly. Alas i’m not as quick to reply to lovely comments like yours.
La Shanah Tovah (and as they say in the Old Country, “Gut Yontif”)
Rochelle
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I’m behind on reading and commenting on most myself. Between the holiday and the realities of loss and hope and activism … it’s been hectic. We all do what we can. Never pressure on my end. Read when it works out for ya.
Shana-Tova, and may it be a year of healing.
Na’ama
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amen.
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xoxo
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I’m so glad you double dipped! This is really good. You show Carolyn able to keep a clean and tidy house, and yet delusional as to the loss of her son. Wonderful writing.
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Dear Penny,
This one came to me so fast. I’m glad you enjoyed. Thank you for your kind words that make writing so worthwhile.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You’re very welcome, Rochelle.
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Unfortunately that’s quite a real problem. Some people never recover from loss like that
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True story, Larry. Thank you for coming by.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Ouch! That one stings. Perhaps the loss of Aaron led to Carolyn’s hoarding. Sometimes a psychological break can lead to it. Great story Rochelle, though it was a strong punch in the gut.
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Dear Eric,
There’s a lot left up to the reader in a hundred words, isn’t there? Thank you for your comments/compliments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Querida Rochelle,
Su cuento es muy triste. My heart aches for her denial. Many find it hard to face the death of a child in their lives. A gripping tale this week, mi amiga.
Abrazos y Carino,
Isadora 😎
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Querida Isadora,
Si. Es demasiado triste. I can’t imagine that kind of loss. One doesn’t get over it. Gracias para sus palabras amables.
Shalom y abrazos,
Rochelle
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Ooh, I got chills. I’m glad you decided to double-dip, by divine right. I also enjoyed the irony of the last line of your introduction as you only wrote this story since people didn’t understand your first.
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Dear Nobbin,
We run into those disconnects having such a diverse community (which is what I adore about Friday Fictioneers). One never knows what made it across the pond all those years ago. I once did a story involving Chicken of the Sea tuna and no one but the Americans got it.
Your chills are my compliment. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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😦 So sad
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Yep. 😦 Thanks for coming by for a second, Lisa.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Rochelle, you’re welcome.
Shalom,
Lisa
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Touching story. True for many, Rochelle…
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Thank you, Anita.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Oh, you got us with that heart-wrenching last line. Well done.
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Thank you, Iain. 🙂
Shalom,
Rochelle
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It is a very cruel disease,, I am glad however that you double dipped.
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Thank you so much, Michael.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Such a sad story but it is beautifully written.
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Many thanks, Anne.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
Oh, that one smarts! Some people never get past a tragedy like this. And if there is any dementia, it is so much worse. Reminds me of when I visited my mother-in-law and she’d ask me how Mick was. Funny she didn’t ask why he wasn’t there with me. Can’t help but wonder what was going on in there.
Beautifully and tragically done.
Shalom and lotsa unforgettable love,
Dale
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Dear Dale,
I remember what a time you had with your MIL. Perhaps on some level she knew why Mick wasn’t with you. At any rate, thank you for so grand a comment that I’m finally getting around to answering.
Shalom and lotsa long-lasting hugs,
Rochelle
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It was a time alright! I often wondered. Maybe she was looking for confirmation, that I did not have the heart to give (I’m not THAT mean)…
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Whoo. Cutting. Sad.
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Sad indeed. Thank you, Trish.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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And with the other hand you write something so sad, brilliant as ever Rochelle! Had to look up Towheaded!
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Dear Shrawley
Your comment makes me blush. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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i didn’t see it coming. i’m lost with words.
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And with that you said enough. Thank you, Plaridel.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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So sad. She never recovered from such a great loss and it resurfaces during her vulnerable time in life. Beautifully written!
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Dear Brenda,
I hate dementia. Such a cruel thief. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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So sad. I’ve experienced this, my mother-in-law used to ask my wife about my wife’s brother who had passed away. After a while we stopped trying to explain that he had passed away and said he was fine.
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Dear Subroto,
My husband used to get so flustered when he kept having to explain things to his mom. At last he realized it was pointless. You had to “play along.” It was very sad. It was hard to see the matriarch of the family fade away so pathetically. Thank you for your comments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Oh WOW! Well done!
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Thank you so much, Dee.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Poor Carolyn – such trauma. I liked how the story changed at the end with a sudden shock.
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Dear James,
Thank you for such affirming comments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Poignant for sure! I never saw Little Rascals, but I still understood the last story. 😀
Shalom,
Ronda
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Dear Ronda,
Your comments, as always, are affirming and much appreciated. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Oooooooo spooky and terribly sad. Memories mixed with memory loss is so heartbreaking. It’s true to them in that moment. And do you break it to them gently over and over or let them live with the moment in time possibly breaking your own heart with the lies you tell. Beautifully written.
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Dear Laurie,
It’s a tough call, isn’t it? I see this as the moment Megan realizes her mother can no longer live alone. Sad rite of passage for too many families.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Oh, Rochelle,
I sit stunned. Great second dip.
Peace,
Bill
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Dear Bill,
I can’t ask for a better comment. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Of course (smiles and nods).
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Very poignant, Rochelle.
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Thank you, Colin. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Her mother was happy in her own little world – did she have to tell her?
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Dear Liz,
Perhaps she didn’t have to tell her. On the other hand, I think Megan was as startled as Carolyn.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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That was a sucker punch at the end! But well done! It is a heartbreaking situation that so many have to deal with as their parents age. Really well written.
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Dear Inga,
We’ve recently been there with my mother in law. Hard to watch. Thank you for your kind comments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
PS I commented on your story and now the comment doesn’t show up.
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Unexpected and heart-wrenching.
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Dear Sascha,
Happy to catch you off guard. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
This was so heart-wrenching. My heart goes out to both mother and daughter.
Shalom,
Adele
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Guess both of them were pretty startled. Good FF Rochelle.
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Dear Neel,
Yes, they were both startled. A sad epiphany for both mother and daughter. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You snook up on me!
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😉 Mission accomplished. Thank you, Rob.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Hi Rochelle, that hit me right in the face. Well done as usual. Happy to know that at least some things haven’t changed. Am trying to pick up the threads after a long time. Or perhaps I will just hang around and read, if that’s ok.
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Dear Dahlia,
It’s so nice to see your flower back here. Of course hanging around a reading is quite all right. 😉 Thank you for your affirming words. No plans to let FF go anytime soon.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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🙂
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