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2.3.17

BRIAN - 100 word flash fiction

BRIAN

‘Where have you hidden my glasses?’ Brian demanded.
Dawn sighed. ‘They’re on the table where you put them.’
Brian snatched up glasses and newspaper, but two minutes later he threw the paper down. ‘Bloody Tories! It’s your fault for voting Labour.”
Dawn chopped onions, trying not to cry. Everything was her fault these days. ‘How about a nice cup of tea?’
Taking his grunt as assent, she placed his mug beside him, but Brian deliberately knocked it over. ‘I’m not drinking that – you’ve poisoned it!’
As Dawn ran cold water over her arm she wept for her husband, lost forever in a cloud.

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I did try to think of a 'silver lining' story but this is what came out ! Thanks to Rochelle for the photo prompt and for hosting Friday Fictioneers on her blog  https://rochellewisoff.com/  from whence you can follow the link to read how other writers interpreted the prompt.

30 comments:

  1. Some days hold no silver lining. And I think that a day when a spouse is so gone that they can't see the suffering (physical and psychological) of the one they married, well... that day is pretty much all dark. I think your tale does a great job at showing the hurt.

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    1. Thank you Magaly - I know from experience how sad it is.

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  2. So sad what can happen to people... and to be mean and bad is not unusual... my mother passed that phase before she became worse.

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    1. Sorry if I opened an old wound, Bjorn - my father too.

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  3. She should leave, in theory, but often that's not possible, or easy. So many couples are trapped like this.

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  4. Dear Liz,

    It would be so hard to live with someone who is the same person and, yet, not the same person. Poignant and gut wrenching.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

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    1. Dementia brings a long slow grieving in its wake.

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  5. So very sad when the person you loved is no longer "there"

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    1. Yet the odd glimpses of who they were still hold you captive.

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  6. Oh, so sad. My mother was like this before she died. It's horrible to see the person you knew just gone and a stranger staring out of the familiar face. Gut-wrenching story, Liz.

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    1. Sorry about your mother, GaH - and thanks for commenting.

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  7. So sad. I hope she can get him the help she needs or save herself. Preferably both.

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  8. Your right - they both need help.

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  9. That is so, so sad. There are many people living out in the community, trying valiantly to cope in this situation and often not getting the support they need. Yes, there might be basic help with physical care, but I think that emotional support is not so readily available, especially due to financial cutbacks (at least, that's how it seems in the UK). Dementia is a devastating thing all round.

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    1. It is devastating, and so often hidden.

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  10. Nicely done. I can't imagine the life either the caretaker or the person with dementia must live. You really captured that in 100-words.

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  11. Well captured in so few words. Interestingly, I met someone on my travels recently whose wife has Alzheimers, so your story resonated strongly, Liz.

    Susan A Eames at
    Travel, Fiction and Photos

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    1. There are times when I feel pangs of guilt at using my own life lessons in my writing, but if it's true, I shouldn't feel guilty. At least, that's what I tell myself.

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  12. it must be alzheimer's. tough situation to be in.

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  13. It's hard to tell what exactly is fueling the man's paranoia (Alzheimer's, dementia or something else entirely), but it's clear the wife has lost hope of him ever emerging from that cloud. I hope she has someone to reach out to for help. I can only imagine the loneliness and anguish of having to face it alone.

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    1. Paranoia and irritability are signs of dementia, unfortunately.

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  14. That is so sad, entrapment for them both.

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    1. Watching someone gradually lose themselves in dementia is very sad.

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