Demolition Day

Friday Fictioneers is a weekly blog link-up led by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields at Addicted to Purple. The Challenge – write a one hundred word (plus or minus) story with a beginning, middle, and end inspired by the picture*. The Key – make every word count.

The picture is worth a thousand words. Below are my one hundred.

Image © C.E. Ayr

Sue shook her head and said no a hundred times over, her dreams demolished like half of the building.

Joe, her not-so-trusted agent, said, “You said sight-unseen wasn’t a problem.”

“I thought it would look more like the pictures.”

“You agreed to as-is.”

“I expected as-is to be intact.”

“Your unit is fine,” Joe said. “Structurally sound. Hardly any dust.”

Sue stood almost still—arms crossed, lips pursed, eyes narrowed—shifting weight from right foot to left. A wind whipped a leaf down the sidewalk.

“I suppose you’ll be negotiating on rent,” Sue said.

“I suppose I will,” said Joe.

*****

100 words. Fiction, and I hope it stays that way. I am moving. To another state. In a month. I may be signing my new lease at this very moment. I have not seen this house. I’ve seen it, but I have not seen it. I’ve seen pictures. I know square footage and floor plan. I’ve driven Google Street View. There’s a lake across the street. I’ve mapped the neighborhood. I’ve checked out its walkability. I’ve researched its life. I have stalked this house. This is not the first time I have done this. I will curse the day if this house isn’t what the internet has given me.

Feedback is always appreciated. Click below to read other creative contributions to this week’s Friday Fictioneers photo prompt.

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