Photo prompt: © J Hardy Carroll
She always loved that skylight. The one thing she’d insisted on when they’d rebuilt the old farmstead. Every day since, the sun streamed in or the rain puttered on or clouds swam above, transforming the indoors into a moving tapestry.
They’d kept the bones of the building, but the roof had been rotten. It needed redoing.
Like her bones.
She lay on the flagstone floors, sauce dripping onto her from where she must have upset the pot as she’d slipped and fell and something in her broke.
The skylight her only companion. The light fading. The day still long.
For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers
What a story, Na’ama. The light fading says it all.
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Na’ama Y’karah,
I love your descriptions of the light through through the skylight. I could see it. I hope someone finds her before it’s too late. Nonetheless, there’s a peaceful feel to the story. Well written as I’ve come to expect.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you, Rochelle! That photo has a real ‘feel’ to it, doesn’t it? Great choice of prompt! (BTW, do you want/seek/need/wish for ‘donation’ for FF photos? I should have some I’m happy to share). Yes, I hope someone finds her. And if not, that it is as peaceful and painless a transition and as painless as possible.
Thank you for the kind words!
Na’ama
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As Dale can attest, I’m always trolling for good photos for FF. Send them to runtshell@gmail.com. Todah ahead of time. 😉
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🙂 Will do! Gladly.
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And sometimes she just filches them 😉 Then asks…
Or she sees one on Facebook, compliments you and then says ‘thank you’ 😉
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LOL! I sent her some by email, Right Rochelle? 😉
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😉
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She doesn’t seem too worried by her situation, so I won’t worry either
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Sometimes nature/God/spirit intervenes to make an injury dim one’s perceptions and distance them from fear or pain or distress. May it be so for her.
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I hope someone was coming round for dinner who might find her…
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Yes, me too …
This is such a reality for so many … especially older persons, though not only. In my mind’s eye, she’s older and had lived life long and well.
I hope she’s found soon, and in time to aid with healing. And if not, I hope it is a soft and painless transition, free of fear.
Thank you, Iain!
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That is so visual in every aspect.
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Thank you, Crispina! The prompt photo is a great mood setter, isn’t it?
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It is, indeed. 🙂
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🙂
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This something I dread… It must be very lonely, lying there, not knowing what will happen next…
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I’m sorry … I know this can be something people fear, and that people worry about their elder parents, and that it can be especially apt a worry for those who live alone. Life Alert (or the equivalent) are good things to have for any who are at a higher risk than usual for falling or for not being ‘found’ quickly. At the same time, for the freak possibility that something might happen – which can to anyone – I hope that if it ever happens, the person is at peace and not in pain or afraid.
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I hope so too…
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Me three … 😉
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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Awesome! They do indeed go together well. 🙂 ❤ That is so cool when that happens!
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Isn’t it?! 🙂
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Love the descriptions. Can really visualize the scene.
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Thanks, Shelley!
I’m so glad you found it vivid — it was such a vividly expressive photo prompt to start with! – Thanks for reading and commenting and I hope you stop by again!
Na’ama
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Thanks Na’ama! I will for sure.
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🙂 and as you can see, I took a peek around your website … (how I found your name … 😉 )
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I figured that. And I appreciate it. I followed you, so I’ll be reading your words as they appear in my reader. 😊
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Yay hurray! 🙂
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Wonderfully, done, Na’ama.
And she does seem so very calm that I can’t help but feel she’s going to be alright.
The descriptions brought us right there.
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Thanks, Dale! I would like to think that she’ll be okay, too. Glad the descriptions worked — it was such an evocative photo, it “took me there” …
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You went “there” very well!
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Thanks, my friend!
I was also thinking about the reality of people who live alone and have a bad fall, and of elderly whose risk is even higher, and who don’t seem to think of the possibility of being hurt and alone until AFTER something happens (or if a persistent family member manages to persuade them to have a safety device like Life Alert or something similar …).
And yet, there’s also the (perhaps fatalistic) reality that sometimes things happen, and sometimes it can be time, and sometimes (say, if someone fell VERY badly) help would not necessarily mean comfort but may mean that last minutes are spent in hectic noise, rather than letting go. So … whatever will happen with the person in my story, I hope she is at peace.
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Yes. All that!!
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I hope she died quick. Sounds like she’s been there quite a while. Great imagery!
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Such a hopeful beginning to your story… I can imagine her fading away watching the rain hitting the skylight. Nice one!
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Thank you! However this story ends for her, I hope it does so peacefully.
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Your story started so beautifully, then the mood changed and deepened until it finally hit the floor. Superbly written.
Here’s my story.
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Thank you, Keith! It was a very moody photo, beautiful and evocative … and this was where the vantage point took me … I’m glad it was communicated! Thank you for reading and for your thoughtful comment. 🙂
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A realistic and good story, Na’ama. I also hope she’s found in time. I’ve suffered a couple of serious injuries where there was no pain until afterward during the healing. That pain wasn’t severe. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Thanks, Suzanne, for the kind feedback! Yes, I hope that she’s found in time and that all ends well for her. I was aware that it was a realistic possibility for some and I was hoping that it would not be distressing to anyone. Injuries can be tricky, can’t they? Sometimes one doesn’t know how seriously one is injured till later – be it because of adrenaline or endorphins or the realities that the treatment (though necessary) sometimes hurts more than the injury itself … I hope she’ll do well, too … 🙂 Na’ama
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Beautifully written, Na’ama. I loved the way you gave the skylight such good connotations.
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Thank you, Penny! Sometimes it is the very small things that make all the difference, isn’t it?
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“something within her broke” fills me with dread. Poor lady 😦
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I think dread is justified in this case …
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Nicely described changing tapestry in the room as the day changed. Hope someone will come and rescue her and take to hospital.
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Thanks, Abhijit! And … yes, I hope someone will come in time to rescue her …
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Powerful, and sadly faced by many isolated individuals
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Thank you, Michael, and … yes … I had in my mind some people I’d be worried about in that regard … Though, I hope the story itself did not distress, and that we can all be more aware of the needs of those who may not have anyone to ‘rescue’ them if they fall.
Great comment!
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I understand, sadly I have family and friends who have suffered in this way.
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Thank you, Michael. And … I’m so sorry. I hope my words did not add pain. It would not be my intention. Na’ama
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No pain Na’ama,
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Whew … For I would not want to add to anyone’s pain.
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