PHOTO PROMPT © Rowena Curtin
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“There’s no going back.” Leonard sat on the metal chair opposite her, casually running his index finger across the symbols etched on the tabletop. It was a public garden, quite lovely. The summer morning was humid but still cool.
“I didn’t say anything about going back, just reliving the experience with a different outcome.”
“It’s a fantasy. I wouldn’t be able to save them.”
“But you’d be able to see that their deaths were not your fault.”
“And this disc will do that for me?” He waved his hands over the table’s surface.
“Let’s begin the ceremony and find out.”
Once again it’s time to participate in Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ 16 June 2023 edition of Friday Fictioneers. The idea is to use the image above as the prompt for crafting a short story or poem no more than 100 words long. My word count is exactly 100.
To read other stories based on the prompt, visit inlinkz.
Promotional poster for PTSD Awareness Month
The month of June is PTSD Awareness Month. You could hardly be blamed for not knowing that, especially with other events dominating news and social media. I loosely used that as the theme for today’s story.
About 6 out of every 100 people (or 6% of the U.S. population) will have PTSD at some point in their lives. Many people who have PTSD will recover and no longer meet diagnostic criteria for PTSD after treatment.
About 5 out of every 100 adults (or 5%) in the U.S. has PTSD in any given year. In 2020, about 13 million Americans had PTSD.
Women are more likely to develop PTSD than men. About 8 of every 100 women (or 8%) and 4 of every 100 men (or 4%) will have PTSD at some point in their life.
Find out more at The National Center for PTSD.
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I’m in! I think he should give it a go and find out if he’s responsible or not. Sounds like he’s already found himself guilty, but maybe he’s not.
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Sometimes it doesn’t make much of a difference. Even if the world forgives you, your toughest judge is yourself.
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Truth
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I hope the ceremony helps. Thanks for raising awareness of PTSD.
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You’re welcome and me too.
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A clever weaving of the scene.
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Thanks.
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Learning to forgive oneself is hard, especially if one chose wrong.
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The power of unwarranted guilt. I hope he finds some relief. Thanks for the statistics.
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I see you have brought out the mystical supernatural in the story–fantasy perhaps.
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Well, I had to do something to spice things up. 😉
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If he doesn’t give it a try he’ll forever wonder if he should have. Intriguing!
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At this point, he has nowhere else to go, Keith. Thanks.
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Would be nice if it worked. Well done.
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Thanks. Yes, it would be nice.
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I like how “the disc” of the tabletop has symbols in it and a magic that can help heal. Personally I think the PTSD numbers are much higher than those. Thanks for the PSA on it.
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You’re welcome. I liked the idea of hiding a magical icon in plain sight.
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Ah, well done! And, there are also more ways than one to find solace, to walk through the process, to find meaning, to find hope. Re-visiting doesn’t need to mean re-traumatizing, we know that now, even when re-experiencing was thought to be the “right way” for a time. Healing is ALWAYS worth it. Sending hope and strength to any who need it.
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This one definitely left me wanting more! What happens next? And I didn’t know it was PTSD month – I appreciate you bringing attention to that.
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Thanks and you’re welcome.
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ohhh I like this! I was thinking the table was a portal, perhaps? It holds secret powers…like my table story…But I have portals on my brain as I’m watching Outlander. Still, it could be…
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Thanks and good luck with your portals.
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You’re welcome 😊
We are catching up with Outlander…only up to the start of Season 4. Such a brilliant series, so unpredictable. So yes, portals, coming and going through a stone…through the centuries. It’s influencing my writing a bit lol
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