 |
This week's writing challenge from
Five Sentence Fiction
( Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt:
Travel
|
We're having a 2-for-1 sale this week...
Transcendental Medication
Logan loved the mountains. The crisp air, the vistas, the feeling of peace and solitude that came over him as he followed the paths through the steep valleys. But it was getting late, and the orderlies were turning out the lights in the rehabilitation center for the night. He closed the book, laying it on the stand next to his wheelchair, his finger sliding across the glossy cover. He would go back again tomorrow, if only for a little while.
Escape
"Come with me," the girl pleaded, a warm smile on her face.
"I-I don't know if I can," the old woman said, her voice expressing a fear she could not speak. "It's so far."
"I promise you'll be alright."
The old woman peered out of the door, one eye spying the sign of a store nearly a block away, then reached for the young girl's hand and took her first step to freedom.
For Transcendental Medication: Image "travel-switzerland-jungfrau-railway" courtesy of loomagoo.com / loomagoo.com
For Escape: Image "Senior Woman's Hand" by Photokanok / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved
I work in long term care and have since the late 1980's. I think that things are getting somewhat better in the way older people are treated, although there are, sadly, still plenty of facilities that are more warehouses than places of caring. I work in one of the better places.
ReplyDeleteSome people--the ones with severe Alzheimer's disease, for instance--really do need to be in a locked wing to prevent them from wandering in their confusion and becoming hurt. The facility does try to provide activities for the residents, however, sometimes people become locked within themselves because of depression when they can no longer do the things they used to. It's a challenge.
Obviously, this post inspired some thought on my part. Well done!
That sounds like a difficult job. And I'm glad to hear things are getting better.
DeleteMany years ago, I had a job that required me to work in various institutions – prisons, psychiatric hospitals, and homes for the disabled – some of which were long-term facilities. While not quite the same, there were things in all of them I really didn't want to see.
Anyway, I'm glad you liked the stories. Please come back again!
Both were quite wonderful and inspiring, glad I stopped in
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm not sure where these stories came from - they just sort of popped into my head. But please feel free to stop by anytime and have a look around!
DeleteThese are wonderful takes on the prompt! Well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Now I have to find the time to read all the other posts!
DeleteLovely! I could really identify with the first one, since I lose myself in a good book only too easily :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! It can be really easy if it takes you someplace you'd rather be - or that you really want to visit.
DeleteAs so many people in the world, at least I like to think there are many people in the world that can lose their surrounding into the pages of a book, I do lose myself into them.
ReplyDeleteEven in your short thought provoking FSF I can be lost for a long while!
Thank you for such a beautiful opportunity!
And thank you for taking the time to read my little stories - and to comment on them!
DeleteIt's lovely to be in the company of another booklover. Getting lost inside a book is the first thought I had with this prompt and was delighted to find yours took me to a mountaintop. Then I was doubly glad for the way books can bring the world to our doorstep when your story revealed the reader was in a rehabilitation centre.
ReplyDeleteAnd your second take... beautiful. I want to know more about her!
I started out writing both of these at the same time not knowing which would work out. As you see, I ended up with both of them posted here.
DeleteI was hit with the idea of travel that really didn't go very far. The first, sort of a virtual trip due to physical limitations, but still able to experience distant places through a book. The second was from seeing some older people not wanting to leave the security of their home out of fear, and being helped by someone to take that first little journey outside their comfort zone. It's difficult to say what experiences may have caused their fears, but that's another story!