PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

“Dad?” Rod turned to his front door as his Dad Frank walked in. He was expecting him to bring the pumpkin pie, but the old man had something else.

“Happy Thanksgiving, son,” said Frank. “Where are Holly and the kids?”

“Kitchen and the backyard respectively.” Rod’s mouth was agape. “What’s that on your face?”

“These glasses?” Frank chuckled and looked around the living room.

“What was your ophthalmologist thinking?”

“Ever see the movie ‘They Live,’ Rod?”

“Yeah, but…”

“I can see you’re real. I just want to make sure about the rest of my family.”

“You’re off your meds, right?”

It’s Wednesday and time again to participate in Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ 28 November 2025 edition of Friday Fictioneers. The idea is to use the image up top as the prompt for crafting a poem or short story no more than 100 words long. My word count is exactly 100.

It didn’t take me long after seeing Roger’s glasses to think of the 1988 John Carpenter film They Live! starring Roddy Piper, Keith David, and Meg Foster. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. It’s the sort of film that challenges your perception of reality and what’s important in life. It also highlights how victimized we are by marketing, even when we don’t realize it.

Cover art for the anthology “Fantastic Schools Familiars”

I even managed to work in Thanksgiving, which in the U.S. is tomorrow (as I write this). Maybe Frank’s off his medication or maybe he and his ophthalmologist are onto something.

To read other stories based on the prompt, visit inlinkz.

Fantastic Schools Familiars is available at Amazon in Kindle and paperback formats. It contains my short story “Dead Cat Fever.” If you like fantasy stories about all manner of animal and other familiars serving (or not serving) masters and amateurs of the occult, this one’s for you.

In addition to my latest science fiction novel being accepted for publication, another short novelette was just picked up (I haven’t signed the contract yet, so I can’t give out details) which is exciting.

Plus, I’m still editing my fantasy novel diligently to make it submission ready. I’ve read the first two chapters to my ten-year-old granddaughter and she likes it so far. I’m encouraged.

2026 should be a lot of fun.