Margie sat stiffly on the bench, her satchel placed beneath it, under a cloudless summer sky. Sparrows splashed in the fountain directly in front of her, but her glazed eyes never saw them.
A gloved man in a fine black suit came around the fountain to join her. He took note of her eyes and bare hands. It took all of his considerable will not to pull away.
“Do you have it?”
“Yes,” Margie replied standing and swaying as she found her feet.
She had disappeared before he carefully took the satchel in his gloved hand and left the park.
WC: 100
For the podcast episode that goes with this story, click here! That link will take you to Anchor and this one episode. Not an Anchor fan? No problem, just click on over to the Podcast Page to see all the platforms you can listen on!
#FridayFictioneers is a weekly blog link up hosted by Rochelle over at RochelleWisoff.com, where our gracious host challenges us to fathom a story based on that weeks photo prompt in just 100 words. Thanks Rochelle! You should totally check it out and perhaps try your hand at your very own 100 word story!
You can post your very own 100 work story here!
I don’t feel so weird now that everybody’s germaphobic. Welcome, everyone! People are gross. I had a lady in her 60s tell me that she never shakes hands because “you never know who has the ‘dick-hand.'” She meant people who don’t wash after going to the bathroom.
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I’m with you! I’ve never understood when people don’t wash after vistiting the bathroom. It seems like such an easy thing to do, considerate of others, and just common sense.
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It? What? You jut leave us to wonder what the hell is in that satchel? Meanie…
Good one, though.
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Thanks Dale! I was going for a germ warfare spin on this one. Poor Margie smuggled it out of the government facility, but maybe she wasn’t too careful about it. Sucks for her.
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No kidding. Poor fool
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An interesting portrait of how mores change when we feel under threat
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Thanks Neil!
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What was in the satchel? Does it matter? I wonder if we will ever go back to the way things were – will we ever shake hands when greeting someone again!?
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Think nasty germ warfare smuggled from some black budget research lab for what’s inside the satchel. As far as going back, I think we will. Humans seem to have a very short memory, for better or worse.
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I think we’ve all got germs on our minds lately. Nice take on the prompt.
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We sure do. Thanks Sandra!
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Dear Russell,
I have a feeling that nothing good’s coming from that satchel. You left me wondering if “Do you have it?” might have a double meaning. Good one.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I think you’re right about that satchel. Nothing good’s coming out of that thing. Thanks Rochelle!
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Was it an antidote? Was she already sick? Does he ever wash his gloves, after all the things they’ve touched 🙂
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Oh, I imagine he’ll be burning those gloves.
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Even the spies are keeping a distance, the whole world will stop turning at this rate. Great take on the prompt, we wait to hear what’s in the satchel
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Thanks Michael!
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I like the way you left questions. The double meaning of “do you have it?” and where she (and he) went after they parted. Seems like none of the possibilities are good…
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Thanks! Oh, and she definitely has “it,” and in more ways than one, like you say.
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You’re welcome!
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Intreguing story! Feel like I want to know more.
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Thanks Tanille!
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Clever story, Russell, and beautifully written. I like the double meaning. I wondered whether the man in the suit was blackmailing her until I read your comments.
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Thanks Penny! I agree that the story was a bit vague, but 100 words, you know? Glad u liked it.
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Not vague, Russell. You allowed your readers to write their own back story! Nice work!
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Yes, I got it, it’s toilet paper in the satchel. Good one.
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Thanks Susan! Oh, how I wish I’d thought of that. It could have been a different kind of story for sure, lol.
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