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23.2.17

NURSE FIONA - flash fiction

NURSE  FIONA

Fiona settled at her desk to complete a job application, and was dithering over the question, Why are you leaving your present job? when she heard a faint sound from the corner bed.
She soothed the old woman’s restless hands. ‘Are you in pain, Mabel?’
‘No, dear. Just sit with me. I see it’s snowing – like when I met Arthur.’ She giggled girlishly. ‘I threw a snowball to catch his attention.’ Suddenly her head lifted. ‘Arthur?”
Fiona caught the briefest glimpse of an old man before Mabel’s hand relaxed in hers.
After completing the formalities she tore her application into tiny pieces.
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This week's lovely photo was taken by Sarah Potter and reproduced as a prompt on Rochelle's blog https://rochellewisoff.com/ . From there you can follow the Blue Frog trail to read other interpretations of the picture.
I would like to thank the 25 other writers who commented on my blog last week - the most I have ever had for one story - most of whom liked the photo of mine which Rochelle used.
If you like my writing, you can find another of my stories on this site  http://visualverse.org/  which also uses a pictorial prompt,, but although the word limit is greater there is a time limit of an hour - one hour!


45 comments:

  1. Aww, how sad, Liz, and how gently told.

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    1. Thanks Helen. I hope I go that peacefully.

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  2. Dear Liz,

    It seems that Fiona has found her calling. Poignant story. Nicely written.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

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    1. Thanks Rochelle - despite their low pay, most nurses are dedicated to their calling.

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  3. Sad and at the same time uplifting that she sees the value in the job she does. Touching piece Liz, well done.

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    1. Thanks Iain- all we can ask at the end of our lives is someone to hold our hand.

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  4. It's such a shame that the hardest and most needed jobs like nurse and care taker aren't valued more. Fiona has found her calling. A beautiful story, Liz.

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    1. Yes, they should be paid more - as should teachers, not footballers!

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  5. Beautiful, sent chills up my spine, in a good way :-)

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  6. I didn't feel sad at all. I love that she realised she was where she belonged... beautifully told, Liz

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    1. I'm glad you saw my point, Dale - I didn't intend to write a sad story.

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  7. Such a beautiful story, you handled your characters with such care.

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  8. Another good one, Liz. Do you ever revisit any of these short shorts and let them develop into bigger stories?

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  9. Fiona is a jewel, with a job that is both draining and rewarding. I hope she finds balance.

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    1. I admire nurses enormously, from experience as a patient and also because there are several in my family.

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  10. This is quite moving, even to a grizzled old devil like me!

    Click for my Friday Fiction

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    1. Grizzled, eh? Me too, Keith! Thanks for commenting.

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  11. That was absolutely beautiful. My favorite this week!

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  12. I was touched by how sweet this was. I hope Fiona gets shown appreciation in other ways too; she deserves it.

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    1. She does, and I'm sure her devotion to her job will be noticed.

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  13. Sad, but it showed Fiona the way forward.

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    1. She's clearly never goint to leave her calling.

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  14. I agree with Dale. I found no sadness to this tale. It's not uncommon for those passing to see loved ones who've come to help them cross over.

    I have a lot of admiration for those who work in hospice. Touching story.

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    1. Thank you Russell. I hope my father and my brother will be there to meet me.

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  15. I think it takes very special people to be able to do that... and if they do I think it is hard to leave. Actually many of my poet friends have are have been working at hospice.

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    1. My sister, sister-in-law, neice and daughter-in-law are all nurses, and my nephew is a doctor. They are indeed special people.

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  16. And she stayed true to her calling. Narrated with sympathy and sensitivity.

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  17. Very well penned - it reaffirms my faith in the goodness of people :)

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    1. Most people are good - the others will always be in the minotiry, we hope.

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  18. This reminds me of our hospice nurse when my dad was ill. I wondered how she could do that job but was so thankful that she could.

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  19. My Pa had a less fortunate experience in hospital, but when I was ill last year the service was first class. It is so dependent on the character of the nurses.

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  20. She found her passion! I'm really glad. No more dithering questions in her head!

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    1. I hope tearing up the form was a final decisive act.

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  21. I work at Hospice, Liz, and this story really captured some of the deeply moving moments I see each week. Really touching.

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    1. Thanks Dawn - for commenting on my blog but much more, for doing the work you do.

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