Ladies!
Gentlemen!
The power of the mind is greater than anything in the material world. The material world, what we call ‘reality’, is just an illusion. A projection of our minds. A limitation we place upon ourselves.
Understand this, believe it, and it becomes possible literally to step beyond the physical world. Believe you can do it and you can walk through walls. Dive through pianos.
My assistant will demonstrate. Henry, if you please.
(Ready?)
Breathe. Believe. Concentrate.
(By the way, I’m sleeping with your wife.)
Go!
Oh dear. Something must have broken his concentration. Henry! What a tragic end.
The above was written for the Friday Fictioneers flash fiction forum. The prompt: the legs of a man projecting from the body of an upright piano. I’m proud to say this week’s photo was one I took myself, but in keeping with the style of this website I choose to reproduce it here as a doodle. As ever the Friday Fictioneers target is 100 words – and this week (for once) I hit it on the nose!
To see a list of links to all the responses to this week’s Friday Fictioneers prompt, click here.
Wonderful, lovely, witty, funny and utterly bonkers!
I needed something to make me smile today and this was it.
Cheers Mikael! Glad I raised a smile.
Well done! A very funny piece to go with a highly entertaining photograph.
Thanks, Sandra.
Dear John,
That would certainly break someone’s concentration. I daresay when he extricates himself from the piano he’s going to break something else. 😉
Well done and great photo.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Yes indeed!
It was a pleasant surprise to see you using my photo, but at first I thought I didn’t have anything to come with. Knowing the circumstances in which I took it seemed to drain me of inspiration. But, see, a good night’s sleep and – presto!
Terrific drawing, time after time. That’s one way to take care of marital “discord.”
Thank you, Perry.
Good one, Perry. I wish I could have said it first. And John, stop showing off by always reproducing the photo as your wonderful art! You’re giving me a complex. 🙂
janet
Curious about “the circumstances in which I took it” (which came first: the photo or the sketch?). Great prompt and accompanying story, with a unique method for eliminating the competition.
The photo came first by a long stretch. I took it during an open-air children’s circus performance in a Gothenburg park, summer 2012. The story came after Rochelle published the photo on Wednesday – that is I realised she had chosen to use my photo when I checked in Wednesday afternoon. I slept on it and had the story when I woke. I wrote the story, then drew the picture. Ta-da!
Not the wife, anything but the wife!
I know it’s a cliché, but with only 100 words to use one must take advantage of all pre-existing tropes. (Do my pretensions look big in this?) 🙂
Loved this – and the sketch too. Brilliant.
Thanks, Freya!
Thanks for the interesting picture and the wonderful story.
You’re very welcome.
Oh! The timing. That’s gotta hurt. Loved the story. Great job!
Oh, poor Henry! At least he knows his wife will be taken care of 😉
funny 🙂 and a great sketch
Cheers, Shreyank!
Thank you for the intriguing prompt, and thank you for the smile that your 100 brought!
Most welcome, troy!
Love your doodle. Makes it even more playful. Thanks for sharing the photo!
That was so wrong. Way to go on you take from this Photo Prompt. The illustration is nice too.
Ha, a wonderful sad end to poor Henry.. and thanks for the photo… what a nice surprice it must have been
If you mean seeing my photo come up as this weeks prompt, yes. Very nice surprise. 😀
Great take on the prompt. The story on the actual photo would be interesting – but I like the doodle just as much, maybe a bit more! 🙂
Thank you, Allison. For a little more on the original photo, see my response to vb holmes below.
so much for Henry’s concentration! poor fellow. i love your funny story and thanks for the photograph this week. ☺
ouch! awesome story ^^ thanks for the cool photo prompt. your doodles are awesome ^^ great blog!
Thank you kz
Bastard. Poor Henry. Bad wife. Gullible audience. Uncooperative piano. Great little number.
Thanks 🙂
Thank you for the great photo. That was not a nice thing to do to Henry. I’d have liked an audience reaction. Oh well, that’s the problem with only 100 words.
That’s such a crafty way to remove an obstacle! Very clever. I wonder how he’ll dispose of the wife when he tires of that distraction? I’d be worried if I was her!
I loved the photo, and I also like your drawing a lot. Great work.
Awww…that was dirty. Poor Henry.
John, I enjoyed your photo immensely, although had my trouble with it. It was more of a springboard for me I guess. I really enjoyed your take. The new information about the wife, yes…that might cause a mental ripple!
Amy, One of the fascinating things with Friday Fictioneers is the range of response to the same prompt: some very literal, some – perhaps – clichéd, others jumping off the springboard at all sorts of angles. This week (I hope you won’t mind me saying) yours was one of the more unusual angles. I’m glad you liked the photo.
That’s a cruel trick. I’m guessing there was some conflict between them anyway. Nice story and I like your drawing.
Terrific doodle, terrific photo and hilarious post.