Through cobwebs of lingering sawdust he saw opportunities gone. Once he had hunger for success, for business innovation, for being an encouraging father and a caring husband. Now it was gone in his daughter’s overdose, the car-wrecking suicide of his drunken wife and the foreclosure of his carpentry business. For the first and last time in his life he lit a cigarette, and dropped it on the sawdust-covered floor. He watched as the tangerine tongues licked the remains of his dreams into charcoal and ash. Mathew Johnson found his last relief in burning gases from his own pyre.
To this picture copyrighted by Claire Fuller, I once again came back to my dark mode. I’m currently working a few days in California, but will be traveling back tomorrow. I hope to catch up a lot during the weekend.
Friday Fictioneers is a group of bloggers writing fiction on the same picture every week. Rochelle guides us all into this, and every week I fin pleasure in the brilliance of 100 word stories from all over the world.
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January 29, 2014
Björn Rudbergs writings 
OMG!
Tragic indeed.
truly tragic. i love the “tangerine tongues licked the remains of his dreams into charcoal and ash” a beautifully written suicide. 🙂
I’m concerned with myself with always seeing suicides in pictures… I need to be morbid.. Hmm
i tried writing a happier piece too but it didn’t work.lol just go where the muse takes us, i suppose 🙂
‘tangerine tongues’ was a fantastic line. Well done Bjorn.
So tragic. But your poetic writing made it beautifully so. 🙂
A terrible story about a sad life beautifully told. Safe travels.
janet
Tragic and heartbreaking, but well-written. I love the image painted by the last two lines.
That created such a picture, really great job 🙂
Nice one…
“Through cobwebs of lingering sawdust….”
“the tangerine tongues licked the remains of his dreams into charcoal and ash….”
Lovely lines, Bjorn, attesting to your poetic nature. Good story as well.
WOW! That’s dark. Great post
Bjorn you did indeed go dark and very tragic.But the way you poetically wove his woe I could understand the impulse.
Nice voice in this story of being defeated by life.
Wow Bjorn very powerful story, and very sad. Well done.
Wow. Such a powerful take on the prompt.
Wow, so dark and yet so filled with beautiful imagery.
‘tangerine tongues licked the remains of his dreams into charcoal and ash’ – an amazing line. Wonderful piece.
Amazing! I like how you really capture his disappointment with so few words.
So strong and bleak. I love the ‘Through cobwebs of lingering sawdust…’ and the use of the cigarette to end Mathew’s dreams/ nightmare.
sad story.
Oh, Bjorn!! So much tragedy! But you do it so well, so I’m not complaining…
I’m not writing this week, but I’d love it if you’d drop by my blog for a second anyway, I posted a big announcement today
I will do that – still in the US and leaving tonight
Great story and I especially thought the last two lines were awesome.
Wow, deep, dark and gloomy…I loved the way you started with his dreams, hopes and aspirations and showed that we need more than those for life to go the way we want…beautiful 🙂
Wow! How sad that his entire life went up in flames. It was as though someone carelessly tossed a lit match onto a patch of dried grass, which slowly grew into a wild fire. One that even killed firefighters.
And then things got worse.
DJ
You’ve captured that poor man’s despair so heartbreakingly. Well done, Bjorn.
Nothing wrong with a dark mood…
“The tangerine tongues licked the remains of his dreams into charcoal and ash. Mathew Johnson found his last relief in burning gases from his own pyre.” Great writing! (Teach me how to do it?)
This was fabulous – You are really good Bjorn! Such a sad, tragic, story well told – tangerine tongues – super description! Excellent!
You know Bjorn,your poetic soul shines through even in your prose-what an evocative ending to such a tragic tale!
Dear Björn,
Your poetic skill shines in this bit of prose. I felt his despair as his dreams literally went up in smoke.
Shalom,
Rochelle
My oh my…so many sad stories this week…well written though a bit disturbing. A good usage of so few words!
Tragic, but beautifully written. Welcome to California! North or South? I hope you have a good trip.
Tangerine tongues… wow! Beautiful piece Björn. Pulled me through start to finish.
They say the good Lord only gives you what you can handle. We see what a crock that is!
What vivid imagery. Simply…wow.
Bjorn,
What a great contrast between the No Smoking sign and the ending. How tragic though. I guess you are in a dark mood.
-David
Maybe he should have moved to Colorado. Very vivid and well written.
That’s so well told. How sad. Things can go wrong for people. Shame he had to end it. No support?
How much can a person take, how many times can a man get back up again after being knocked back? We all have our limits, we all have the tether’s end that can be surpassed and then find ourselves in a void. Well-written, Bjorn. It makes me ask myself questions about where we derive our strength – from within, or without, and which is stronger…
Great imagery and a superb finale!
Those tangerine tongues – delicious! And it’s a great contrast – a zingy orange that brings darkness.