This is where I grew up. The house, once holding victims of alcoholism, now the victim of age and the elements. Once an entanglement of chaos, violence and alcohol is now overrun with tangled vines and other plant life. The exterior splintered as if it can no longer hold the secrets that once were within its walls. Heartache and fear have burst through the siding like the screams years before. The home a tattered reminder that those closest to your heart never understood your suffering. The white picket fence, a symbol of an all American home to many, a symbol of imprisonment to me. A symbol of a family lost.
This is fiction written for FRIDAY FICTIONEERS
THE CHALLENGE:
Write a one hundred word story that has a beginning, middle and end. (No one will be ostracized for going over or under the word count.)
THE KEY:
Make every word count.
Join the fun!
Mind of Shoo 
Yes…trips down memory lane conceal badly hidden realities behind shining facades…
So very true. Realities only known to a few.
this is so powerful. and i can relate to this very very much. this line right here is beautiful : “The exterior splintered as if it can no longer hold the secrets that once were within its walls. ” well done
Thanks for the compliment. I like that line too. 🙂 TY
wow- You ARE getting better and better- clean, concise, powerful, gripping emtions
So kind. TY Melanie.
Very sad, nicely done. Not all memories are good ones.
Thanks Sandra. Not all memories are good ones indeed. Not all are erased either.
Sad, those feelings of lost and hurt.
Indeed very sad. Thanks for dropping by and reading this piece.
We can never truly know what happens to our friends when they enter the sanctum of their home. We see the truth in the stories where lives are lost literally or figuratively with years of abuse.
So very true Joe. If only wall could speak. TY
I like the way you used the fence, usually as you say, a symbol of positive family times (except to Tom Sawyer, maybe) to show how we never know exactly how others see things and how their lives really are.
(BTW, only one “t” in picket.) 🙂
janet
Glad you enjoyed how I used the fence…and TY. I fixed picket. 🙂 You are right, we never know what happens on the other side of that fence.
Heck, we’re lucky if we always get what’s happening on our side!! 🙂
Exactly! 🙂
Heart wrenching. Terrific job writing the emotions.
TY 🙂
Thank you for writing this down so beautifully. Some things are best left on the other side of the fence, you are right.
You are very welcome. And thanks for the compliment and taking time to read my little writing. TY
Dear Shoo,
Obviously you’ve written from a deep place. Hopefully this piece is cathartic for you. I know from experience, the more you expose the beast the weaker it becomes.
shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks Rochelle. I appreciate your observation and advice. I suppose it’s nice that people understand the dept of ones writing. Or is it a curse?
Toss a coin. 😉
Tails 🙂
What a nice job on the perspective! I felt a lot of pain, in the ways you intended I’m guessing.
Thanks for the kind words. I think we always want someone to feel something about your writing. 🙂
strong — the image we present and the image we live can be so different. I really enjoyed this.
I am glad you enjoyed it. TY
Strong story.
TY
Aw, sad and touching… So well told.
TY
White picket fence – ‘a symbol of imprisonment to me..’ it says so many things..well written
Awe TY. I appreciate the kind words.
if houses could talk, and your did in this piece. great take on the prompt
Thanks…glad you enjoyed it.
Nice job Shoo…It’s odd how the simplest thing like a fence can remind someone of an event or events in their life…For me fences always remind me of my grandma’s dog, racism and school district lines…Speaking from the heart is the best thing a writer can do and you have done that here…That takes courage and I applaud you for having it, well done.
Tom
Thanks for such kind words Tom. I am humbled. Objects certainly can bring back powerful memories. For me I saw the picture and these words just flowed. Just from a deeper place on this occasion. TY
Another great emotional story. Awesome.
Awe…thanks for the compliment. TY
Wow, I love the end, the way you turn around the meaning of the white picket fence! I didn’t even notice the fence until you mentioned it…
TY. Great Observation. Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate you taking time to read this.