Another short story for Friday Fictioneers. This one’s a little sad…
The workshop once had been busy. Now it was bereft of all but a sole individual, a weighted-down man with no care for his appearance. He carved, hands moving roboticly. He stopped only to drink from a stained cup or half-eaten tasteless noodles. The framed photo of a child stared at him from the desk; he slapped it face down into the newspaper clippings. Sombre silence accompanied the wooden creation taking form on his bench. In that silence the doll of a child was born. The man looked at the empty doll he created, and shed his first tears.
Next stop: The End. 
Comments on: "Not Pinocchio: Friday Fictioneers" (20)
Yes it’s a bit dark.
Guess they can’t be all light and fluffy… I do wonder why I took a dark feeling from this particular photo though.
Almost everyone did. And fire everyone zeroed in on the no smoking sign and based their stores on that.
The no smoking sign does kinda lend well to a dark humour set-up. It’s interesting from a social science point of view the theme consistencies there are in fictoneer responses.
Perhaps now he’ll be able to move on from whatever has been bothering him. I like the image of hand moving robitically.
janet
True when I first saw the photo I wanted to do one with smoking, fire and death but as I started writing I went a different directioñ.
This story was a sad but creative slant on the picture prompt. It’s a good thing we each create in different ways. Variety is necessary to life.
Dear Penshift,
Apparently this was his child that was lost. Nothing sadder than that. On a technical note I think you mean “half-eaten” not “half-eat.”
shalom,
Rochelle
Ah, thanks for that. Fixed it now, but the whole sentence still feels wrong. Ah well.
Yes, an attempt at portraying the complexity of grief – a whole book would not suffice though.
It is sad. Poor man. Bereaved father?
i agree that this photo tends to inspire dark thoughts, but it’s all good, i liked your story. you did a great job in expressing the character’s grief. 🙂
This was really affecting. Thank you for sharing it.
How very sad-sometimes grief is difficult to express-possibly his craftsmanship acted as the catharsis ?Very evocative piece:-)
The act of crafting was meant to be an act of of catharsis while being symbolic of denial/desire to rebuild whats lost. Although that’s all my interpretation – which means nothing if i’m not effectively communicating that. Thanks. ^_^
🙂
I felt this in my heart.
It is sad, and very beautiful.
Thanks ^_^ I’m not gonna argue with praise. It will do my confidence in my ability some good. 🙂
Definitely! Confidence in myself is something I’m looking for as well,and hey we all like to be appreciated. You wrote a wonderful story, you deserve the praise 🙂
Good story – he is using the doll making as an outlet for his mourning process, I think. I hope he finds some peace eventually. Thought-provoking!