Mark entered the room to empty himself of Emily. It had been three months since the police came.
The pink wallpaper reminded him how insistent she had been for the elephant patterns, being just a little girl.
He looked into the empty eyes of teddy bears, he shut the cursed computer he gave her for thirteenth birthday. And he recalled the terrible pictures he had seen afterwards. She had been too “popular”.
He froze at her shelf of sweet collectibles when he saw the empty bottle of sleeping pills.
A father should never have to go to his daughter’s funeral.
On Wednesday it’s time to think about Friday and Friday Fictioneers. This week I write standard fiction. And a handkerchief is needed for this one. 100 words sharp. I love constructive feedback. Go to Rochelles page to get a proper introduction, and find links to great fiction and poetry.
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September 4, 2013

Very touching and sad as can be…a father never should have to bury his daughter.
Tom
It is way to sad to contemplate.. but suicide among young people is way to common.
That was heartbreakingly beautiful, great job 🙂 but think you meant reminded him, not remained him 😉
😉 to be corrected… of course.
My daughter is still tiny and I already have crazy nightmares like this. Great story.
It’s a tale repeated too often.. once would be to often.
Very sad, indeed.
Thanks for sharing.
Thank your for reading
Appropriate given the latest focus on the harms of social media.
Heart rending & I agree,this is any parent’s deepest fear & the cruelest blow that fate can hit a parent with!
SAD…
Beautifully written from a parent’s heart.
Heartbreaking, but very well done.
Heart wrenching / too many kids die too soon
A sad tale… A painful read.
I’m so amazed that this picture took you to a rather dark place as well. How interesting. Although sad, I appreciated your reference to current events and what I’m guessing is the extreme result of bullying through social media. Well done.
I thought more about grooming actually. We had a case like that in Sweden a while ago. Hence my reference to pictures.
That was so sad, I had tears in my eyes…no parent wants to outlive their offspring. Good job however.
I love that first line, really draws you in. And of course a tragic story. The word ‘he’ appears maybe a few too many times for me, could you put another couple of ‘Mark’s in there. I realise you need to say ‘father’ for the last line.
I think the repetitions give it a more poetic touch rather than prose… But I sure understand your point.
omg this gave me chills. heartbreaking, Björn, and very powerful.
Chilling, and all too real these days.
As a father with two daughters, I was hit by that last sentence. So true that a parent should never have to endure their child’s death. And how she went is heart-breaking. You wrote a seriously powerful story here.
Dear Bjorn,
Other commenter have said it best. Well written and ineffably sad.
Aloha,
Doug
Dear Björn,
Very touching. One of your best, sir. You made me ache.
shalom,
Rochelle
A world of wisdom there in the last line. well done on this.
Terribly sad, darling. I’m going to try to avoid anymore sad stories today — yours just took the prize for the saddest.
It’s so tragic… and a similar story that happened here in Sweden a year ago…
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Beautiful but so sad. Nicely done.
Excellent! I think the best I have read so far, though a lot have been really good!
Scott
Mine: http://kindredspirit23.wordpress.com/2013/09/04/friday-fictioneers-962013-bits-of-life-rated-pg13-genre-horror/
Thank you Scott.
You are, indeed, welcome.
How very sad – very well written, Bjorn.
It was hard to click the “like” button, but I want you to know I was touched by this powerful story.
You represent the pain of this piece well.
Your first sentence was absolutely wonderful – to empty himself of Emily. Really interesting way of putting it.
A sad flash – great depth given to the setting, the wallpaper.
I liked the twist – because it seemed that she was horribly murdered and then you reveal she took her own life.
True grief is a parent at their child’s funeral.
oh – oh – OH crying over this tale. you built up a well-written heartbreaking story.
Bjorn,my daughter just celebrated her 22nd birthday. At the age of 13, she took a bottle of pills and we entered a nightmare of hospitals and treatment for bipolar disease. Your story is a powerful vision of the alternate ending that story might have had, (I have been writing about that time recently – it’s amazing how revisiting it evokes so many strong feelings….)
I can understand… and it is a dangerous time when you are a teenager. A trifle of a mistake and you believe the world has ended… I have heard of so many cases, and I’m happy yours ended good….
Hi Bjorn,
Excellent reaction to the prompt and you created a lot of sympathy for this poor father. Ron
Chilling tale Bjorn. We all try and keep our children close, hoping and praying they will stay safe…
Well done
Dee
That’s pretty chilling stuff, even more so because it happens in real life. The phrase “cursed computer” say so much. I could see a parent being consumed with regret at giving their daughter something that ultimately caused them so much harm.
So incredibly sad.
I agree with the earlier comment about it being hard to hit “like.” Powerful story, Bjorn, and such a good reminder of the importance of connecting with one another. One never can tell what lies beneath the surface of another person, and it’s so very tragic when a young person – or anyone, really – feels death is the only out.
I knew this was going to end badly, but not that badly. Very poignant and terrifyingly real.
I also focused on the medicine bottle, or referred to that in my story, too. It’s that collective consciousness thing going on. A sad story, which, unfortunately, is all too true. Nicely written.
Your first line is very powerful. The use of “empty” and “Emily” was a good touch.
I know you were hoping for constructive feedback, bur praise is all you’ll get from me this week. Damn, friend, that was heart-wrenchingly good!
A sad but powerful story, Bjorn. Well done to convey all that history and emotion in 100 🙂
So very sad, Bjorn, and so very well written.
Oh my. Didn’t expect that ending at all. Such a sad piece.
Well-written piece, but so sad. And sadly, so true.
I am a tad behind on return visits …Thank you for visiting ‘In a Nutshell’
You have taken 100 words right out of the front page of the news and have given honor, depth and empathy to those who remain from such horrors.
Don’t know how I missed this one… glad I saw it, B.