A Ways To Go

On May 10, 2021 By magarisaIn Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Stories30 Comments

Photo Prompt ©Ted Strutz

REALISTIC FICTION

The Olympic torch relay has started.

Hope lights our way—a clever slogan. My own hope is dim, lighting only one step at a time. When the government stopped paying subsidies, my daughter and I were forced to come home. They say we’re safe from radiation, but I don’t trust them.

My husband didn’t evacuate with us ten years ago. Evacuation will do more harm than good, he said.

Since returning, I’ve been using a dosimeter to measure our daughter’s external radiation exposure. If he calls me “radiophobic” one more time, we’ll never find our way back to each other.

Word Count: 100

Written for Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Friday Fictioneers, 7 May 2021

To read other writers’ stories on this photo prompt, click here.

Sources:

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/03/physician-has-studied-fukushima-disaster-decade-and-found-surprising-health-threat

https://ourworld.unu.edu/en/fukushima-evacuees-face-forced-return-as-subsidies-withdrawn

https://www.vice.com/en/article/ypa8ey/atomic-divorce-how-japans-nuclear-disaster-is-breaking-up-marriages

https://www.dw.com/en/six-years-after-fukushima-women-and-children-still-suffer-most/a-37871135

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/01/fukushima-residents-exposed-far-less-radiation-thought

Straight and Narrow

On April 13, 2021April 18, 2021 By magarisaIn Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Stories23 Comments

Face flushed, Chin-Mae answered the teacher quietly, trying to soften his North Korean accent. His classmates exchanged smirks. One of them, with his square jaw, reminded him of his friend Ju-Hwal back home.

Chin-Mae had last seen Ju-Hwal at the weekly criticism session* in school. At these meetings, all the students were smothered by dread and distrust. Though most of them criticized each other for trivial misbehavior, serious accusations would occasionally surface like a bloated corpse, leading to dire consequences—not just for the accused but his family.

Now, with his peers in South Korea, Chin-Mae carried fear alone.

Word Count: 99

Written for Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Friday Fictioneers, 9 April 2021

*Starting from middle school, weekly criticism sessions (also called self-criticism sessions or saenghwal chonghwa in Korean) are mandatory for all citizens in North Korea. During these group meetings, people must criticize themselves and others, admitting their personal failings—how they fell short of the Ten Principles—and pointing out those of others.

Sources:

Welcome to North Korea’s political shame circles, where self-criticism is taken to a whole new level

The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee

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Holding

On March 8, 2021 By magarisaIn Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Stories26 Comments

Photo Prompt © Roger Bultot

REALISTIC FICTION

After months of visiting the clinic daily to take methadone¹, my brother has earned the privilege of take-home doses. I’m so proud of him! Last year, he scared me to death overdosing on Fentanyl² with his deadbeat ex-girlfriend.

I park my car a few blocks away from his place, walking the rest of the way. Too bad it’s smack in the middle of junkie central. At least he now has a roof over his head.

Who’s that leaving his apartment?

I hold up my arm to block his ex. Grabbing the plastic bag from her, I look inside. My brother’s methadone³!

Word Count: 100

Written for Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Friday Fictioneers, 5 March 2021

For other writers’ stories on the above photo prompt, click here.

¹Methadone is a synthetic opioid agonist used for maintenance therapy in opioid dependence and for chronic pain management. In maintenance therapy, methadone is administered over a prolonged period of time as treatment for someone who is addicted to opioids such as heroin. It has been used to treat opioid dependence for more than 45 years (invented in 1937). Methadone maintenance makes possible a first step toward social rehabilitation because it allows addicts to avoid the withdrawal symptoms that result from complete abstinence. It’s normal for a practitioner to prescribe daily on-site consumption before allowing take-home doses, but it’s at the sole discretion of the practitioner when and if take-home doses are allowed. (Source: Wikipedia)

²Fentanyl is an opioid used as a pain medication and together with other medications for anesthesia. It is also used as a recreational drug, often mixed with heroin or cocaine. In 2016, fentanyl and analogues were the most common cause of overdose deaths in the United States at more than 20,000, about half of all opioid-related deaths. Most of these overdose deaths were due to illegally made fentanyl. In recent years fentanyl has disrupted the North American drug market, capitalizing on pre-existing demand for opiates such as heroin and prescription pharmaceuticals. In 2017, it was the 250th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 1.7 million prescriptions. Compared to heroin, it is more potent, has higher profit margins and, because it is compact, has simpler logistics. It can be cut into, or even replace entirely, the supply of heroin and other opiates. (Source: Wikipedia)

³Drug diversion involves the transfer of any legally prescribed controlled substance from the individual for whom it was prescribed to another person for any illicit use. (Source: Wikipedia)

Methadone: Controlled doses sold for cash on the streets (2012 article from New Tribune)

Target

On January 18, 2021January 19, 2021 By magarisaIn Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Stories39 Comments

Photo Prompt ©Dale Rogerson

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Before unpacking her suitcase, Mom sat down at the kitchen table and switched on her tablet while I brewed her favorite coffee.

She kept tapping the screen.

“Ugh! It’s not working.”

I suppressed a chuckle. “Mom, you need a password for my wireless connection.”

***

I stared at the photo of my newborn nephew posted to Mom’s social media account, captioned with his full name and birth date.

“Mom! You shouldn’t post such personal stuff!”

She laughed. “It’s just for family.”

I checked her account — it was set to public. Sighing, I changed it to private. Time for a serious talk.

Word Count: 100

Written for Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Friday Fictioneers, 14 January 2021

To other stories on the above photo prompt, click here.

Sharenting is the overuse of social media by parents to share content based on their children. In extreme forms, parental sharing of their children’s information has led to a phenomenon labeled “digital kidnapping”, whereby children’s photos and details have been appropriated by others who promote such kids as being their own children. Research has shown that millions of innocent photographs end up on paedophilic and hebephilic websites. (Source: Wikipedia)

Barclays Bank says parents are compromising their children’s future financial security with so much online sharing. The bank is warning that parents might be “lulled into a false sense of security” and fail to realize they are making their children “fraud targets” in the future, by publishing so much personal information which will remain online. Parents can reveal names, ages and dates of births from birthday messages, home addresses, place of birth, mother’s maiden name, schools, the names of pets, sports teams they support and photographs. Barclays warns that such details, which will still be available when young people are adults, could be used fraudulently. (Source: BBC)

Other interesting and helpful articles about the danger of sharing personal information online (particularly on social media), online privacy and data leaks:

Unsecured Facebook Databases Leak Data Of 419 Million Users

Facebook Photo Leak: What To Do Now

Should You Enable Geolocation On Photos?

How To Remove Geo Location And EXIF Data From Photos On iPhone and Android

Could you fall victim to crime simply by geotagging location info to your photos?

high places

On January 5, 2021 By magarisaIn Non-Fiction, Poetry27 Comments

Photo Prompt ©Na’ama Yehuda

Genre: Non-Fiction Poetry

from hundreds

she was chosen

first woman to soar

above the skies

captured in bronze

still perched on high

in her golden years

she stands by the one

with the iron fist

some threaten to tear her down

or send her back to space

and keep her there

Word Count: 48

Valentina Tereshkova (born 6 March 1937) is a member of the Russian State Duma (the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia), engineer and former cosmonaut. She is the first and youngest woman to have flown in space with a solo mission on the Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963. She orbited the Earth 48 times, spent almost three days in space and remains the only woman to have been on a solo space mission. Before being selected for the Soviet space program, Tereshkova was a textile factory worker and an amateur skydiver. (Source: Wikipedia)

In 2020, at the age of 83, she became a hate figure for putting forward a constitutional amendment that could allow President Vladimir Putin to stay in power until 2036. (Source: Reuters)

https://www.rbth.com/news/2017/03/06/putin-congratulates-first-woman-in-space-tereshkova-on-80th-birthday_714563

Written for Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Friday Fictioneers, 1 January 2021

For other writers’ stories based on this photo prompt, click here.

Likeness

On December 6, 2020December 6, 2020 By magarisaIn Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Stories25 Comments

Photo Prompt ©CEAyr

“And the third runner-up is… Priya Gupta!”

Vijay’s 21-year-old daughter’s hands flew to her mouth as she took her place next to her fellow Miss India finalists. He stared at the beaming young woman. Except for her name, she bore little resemblance to the little girl he’d known. Instead, she looked uncannily similar to all the other light-skinned finalists. She was naturally much darker.

Turning away, he grabbed a framed picture from the night table. Five-year-old Priya smiled back at him. He recalled how she’d held her skinny arm next to his and exclaimed, “Bapu! We’re the same colour!”

Word Count: 99

Miss India contest: Why do all the finalists ‘look the same’?

Written for Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Friday Fictioneers, 4 December 2020

For other writers’ stories on this photo prompt, click here.

no more pull

On November 29, 2020November 29, 2020 By magarisaIn Musings, Poetry19 Comments

i’ve pulled myself back

from pushing you out

lest you rebound

and strike me down

you want to stay

so follow my lead

don’t you dare pull

on the leash again

Just a Trifle

On November 22, 2020November 23, 2020 By magarisaIn Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Stories31 Comments

When the restaurant’s door swung open, Nick’s eyes darted towards the entrance. He stopped laughing with his colleagues around the table. It was her… again. His chest tightened.

He sprang up from his chair and strode towards her. Her eyes lit up.

“Hi Nick!”

“Lia, I’ve told you to stop following me.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. Marco invited me.”

***

“Did you invite Lia?”

“Kinda. I said we were coming and she asked to join. What’s the big deal?”

Nick looked away. “She’s… stalking me.”

Marco laughed, giving Nick a pat on the back. “In your dreams, buddy. She’s hot!”

Word Count: 99

Written for Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Friday Fictioneers, 20 November 2020

For other writers’ stories based on this photo prompt, click here.

Too Long

On November 15, 2020 By magarisaIn Poetry14 Comments

I shouldn’t have let you crawl

On the racetrack for so long

Now I’m rushing you along

Towards the finish line far off

You grit your teeth and hobble on

Having just learned how to walk

Settling

On November 7, 2020November 7, 2020 By magarisaIn Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Stories45 Comments

Rabha unloaded her donkey, putting the canisters of water aside. Seeing a man approach her home, she shooed her children inside. He wore a thick coat over his djellaba¹, unaccustomed to the cool mountain air.

“Assalamu’alaikum,” he said.

“Wa’alaikumussalam.”

“200 dirham² for your rug – last chance.”

Faltering for a moment, she declined.

***

At the market, Rabha looked longingly at the live rabbits for sale. With no money left, she’d have to settle for cooking a tagine³ without meat.

Her smartphone beeped. Though illiterate, she knew what the message meant: someone had bought her rug online for 1,000 USD!⁴

Word Count: 98

¹The djellaba or jillaba is a long, loose-fitting unisex outer robe with full sleeves that is worn in the Maghreb region of North Africa. The mountain dwellers of Morocco call it tadjellabit, which is a Berberized form.

²The Moroccan Dirham (MAD), currency of Morocco. At today’s rate, 200 MAD is roughly equivalent to 22 USD.

³A tajine or tagine is a Berber dish which is named after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked.

⁴The Anou Cooperative is an award winning collective of over 600 artisans from cooperatives, associations, and workshops across Morocco. It selects the most motivated, brightest artisans across the country to help run the operations of the cooperative. This ensures that artisans have access to gaining skills mostly reserved for middlemen and foreigners. Although Fair Trade has existed for decades, real change in the artisan sector doesn’t happen by paying artisans a little extra money. For craft in Morocco to flourish, artisans need wealth, real skills, and most importantly, real power.

Additional source: The Kindcraft

Written for Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Friday Fictioneers, 6 November 2020

For other writers’ stories on this photo prompt, click here.