PHOTO PROMPT © David Stewart
If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi.
Joel McIlroy looked at his packed boxes through harsh morning sunlight. The folding camera reminded him to take photos of his trip to send to his friends.
He said goodbye to them last night. His companions couldn’t help pack the trailer or see him off this morning.
He put on his sunglasses and got to work loading the truck.
Being cured of vampirism meant he was a “daywalker” for the first time in seventy years.
An hour later he was listening to John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane” as he left the House of Graves for a new life.
It’s Wednesday and once again time to participate in Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’s 13 September 2024 edition of Friday Fictioneers. The idea is to use the image above as the prompt for crafting a poem or short story no more than 100 words long. My word count is exactly 100.
Boxes and what looked like a Polaroid SX-70 folding camera (probably really a cell phone) sitting on top of one. They were made between 1972-81, so I created a “period piece,” the Amazon Prime package notwithstanding.
I didn’t want to do the typical “leaving for college” or “I just got a divorce so I’m moving out” story. I settled on someone who had lived communally with vampires as one of them until being cured. Now, of course, he has to leave and resume his life as a “daywalker.”
I suppose if you’ve been among the undead for seventy years, they’re the only friends and family you’ve had. It might be hard to miss that life, if only because you had been forced to become accustomed to it.
Oh, I mentioned the song Leaving On A Jet Plane, originally written by John Denver in 1966 because it’s (for me) symbolic of leaving one life and moving toward a different one. Joel could be thinking of the version most people know, recorded by Peter, Paul, and Mary in 1967, although given the stated time period, he also could be listening to the version Denver recorded for his “John Denver’s Greatest Hits” album in 1973.
To read other stories based on the prompt, visit inlinkz.
My short story “The Other Place” is currently available in the Raconteur Press anthology The Super Generation both in paperback and Kindle formats.
My wee tale “Wraiths” is now available in issue 13 of SciFanSat in viewing (I have trouble getting this one to behave), ePub download. and PDF.
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What a good halloweenie tale. To be mortal… what a concept. lol! Great spook here! He’ll see life through new eyes, now, for sure. Coming face to face with death will do that to ya.
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Indeed, Bon. Thanks.
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Wonderful take!
This must be the case with souls. There is rebirth after some time.
What do souls do during that time frame? Wonder if they make friends with other souls!
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Thank you, Anita.
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I like the foreshadowing that his friends couldn’t help him or see him off in the morning. He is one lucky (former) (blood)sucker to be cured of vampirism (other than by turning to ash with a stake.)
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Very true. Thanks.
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You’re welcome.
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Like Lisa said, nicely subtle that his friends cannot help him move. Should packed the truck at night! A fun take on turning away from immortality.
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I think he wanted to face the packing and driving away alone and start getting used to the daylight. Thanks, Dale.
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Yeah, I get that, too.
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A ‘daywalker’. Good twist. Your vampires seem like jolly fellows and good neighbours, helping their friend to move on.
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In this case, it’s sort of like “birds of a feather” or “bats of a…” Thanks.
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Now that is interesting. How does a vampire change, does he become a vegetarian? I like how you turn the genre on its head.
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Thanks, James. There are a group of vampire stories that regard vampirism as a disease that can be cured. Perhaps not all vampires are eligible for the cure and those few who are, can no longer live in that community.
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A form of rescue from an imposed life of ‘Bloody Marys”.
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What a transition to make!
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It sure would be, but then so is the transition from human to vampire.
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I didn’t know there was a cure for vampirism! What an adjustment he’ll be making, after 70 years of incredible changes in “normal” society! Fascinating idea, James.
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Thanks, Linda. Since this is fiction, I can cure pretty much anything. 😉
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Can you cure insomnia? 🙂
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No, not even my own, Linda.
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Fascinating tale. Made me think of the only vampire book I have read. A great one though. It is called ‘The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires’.
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I’ve never heard of it but I’ll look it up. Thanks for the tip, Meha.
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I’ve heard vampires suck, so I understand the desire to be cured. I still think he should pack heavy on the sunscreen. I doubt 70 years without sun left him much of a base tan. Fun story.
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Too true. Thanks.
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Changing your community is indeed a big deal, especially for a vampire. A very clever take on the photo!
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Thank you, Brenda.
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I really enjoyed this – the punchy writing and the story itself. (I must admit I hadn’t spotted the camera!)
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Thanks, Patrick. That’s because it was a cell phone, not a camera. When I first saw it, the phone reminded me of an old folding camera, so I went with it.
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I like where the prompt took you! So his friends truly couldn’t stay until the morning. I hope he adjusts well to life in the light.
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I hope so, too. Thanks.
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What a fun perspective!
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Thanks, Dawn.
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A very nice surprise ending, James. I enjoyed your story. 😎
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Thank you.
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