Calvin pocketed his hands gazing at his sneakers.
“Weed? donnu ma.”
Sybil couldn’t believe how quickly her bright-eyed son had transformed into this gangly teenager. Welcome acne, welcome worrying.
Gone were chess tournaments, gone were music classes.
Every night she listened for the door before she fell asleep.
Every morning she went to work with Calvin still asleep.
Gone was school as well.
The last year she had barely seen him, but now the time had come to send her son away. Selling at the schoolyard had been the limit.
Far away she heard the sirens from approaching squad cars.
The first thing I thought of with this picture was weed, and then the story wrote itself. I missed last week primarily because I was busy at work, and I still a, so it might take a while for me to get around and visit your stories. This weekend we are having a book release for our anthology where I have contributed one short story. The electronic release will come later, but if you are interested in updates like our Facebook page..
Friday fictioneers attracts some of the best flashfiction writers on the internet. Each week we struggle to find a story in the same picture in 100 words. Rochelle choose the picture and set the example, come join this fun.
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😦 This hits home for me, Björn…I’ve gone through some version of this with my boys.
(you might want to change the wheres to weres (gone were chess….)
I hope you never had to send your boys to jail at least… the text is now corrected.
No. Not that far…
You have to wonder what decision you would make for your own. That takes some thinking about. Well done, Bjorn.
Probably not an easy answer… but I guess we all have limits.
whew. with teen sons, I feel this one ~
I can understand that… teens can do a lot of stupid things… but most don’t.
Our son ran away at 16. His friends hid him out, he slept in attics, etc. Now, he’s got 3 kids of his own. The oldest is 9. I fear Jesse will get a dose of his own medicine in a few short years.
Good to know that there is a way back even when taking a wrong turn.
Here was I thinking she was sending him to live with a strict uncle or something until that last line. Nice one!
I think that uncle is far worse than any prison
Dear Björn,
I’ve raised three sons. How they do change when they hit puberty. It sounds like the decision has been taken off her hands. Good job.
Shalom,
Rochelle
I hope there will be a coming home as well.
I thought of weed this week, too, but not with such seriousness. Some kids dabble with drugs without too much lasting harm, but some need a sharp wake-up call, especially if they’re breaking the law or damaging other kids’ lives. When I worked as a psychiatric nurse, I looked after quite a few people with drug-induced psychosis and some of them had only smoked what they called “a harmless bit of weed”.
There are so many ugly parts of drugs… but apart from the drug induced effect the criminal part might be even worse.
Yes, I agree with you. If people want to risk harming themselves, it’s one thing. But if they corrupt others by offering them drugs, then that’s of far bigger concern. I once met a lovely, talented girl who had been given LSD by an older sibling, after which she became a full-blown psychotic who needed monthly depot injections for the rest of her life. Such a tragedy.
Nicely done, Bjorn. I can truly relate to the mom, even though I have no children. So – well done.
I don’t have kids either, but sometimes you have to let others help you.
I loved this Björn, it was excellent. It also struck a little close to home for me too. These things are more common than some people imagine. Great story. 🙂
I think it is… and I have heard enough stories too.
Wow dark take on the prompt. You skillfully drew me into this parent’s nightmare.
I think there are lot of nightmares from a story like this.
Nicely written! I have a pre-teen boy -parenting has it’s fair share of struggles.
I hope your struggles have not extended into this.
The older they grow, the words “weed in his pants” takes on a new meaning. Fun story.
Maybe ten years from now it will be fun…
What a good story and too close to reality! How I worried about my kids at that age…they are definitely more strict than I was….of course they experienced so much ,ore than I ever did.
I think mostly you can trust the kids… they do behave more often than misbehave.
I believe that too. I tried to do what my mom did with me…she would just tell me, “I trust you” and that was enough to make me want to behave.
The eternal question – how long is a mother’s patience? Good luck with the launch.
I think it would end at selling for most people.
Oh oh oh!
I have two sons and can empathize with the transformation.
I would have cried, but you penned it!
I think she will cry afterwards… but she will visit often.
I can’t imagine how that must feel. An excellent and totally different take.
‘Look at it now’ My story.
I do think that she feels that it was her only choice.
That’s scary. Kids change as they grow up. But to this extent! God knows what’s in store for Calvin.
I think Calvin will reform and come out a changed man.
True heartbreak, but Mom did the right thing.
I think so too… just hope that prison will do good (often it makes matters worse)
Wow! A whole slice of life in 100 words. Terrific, Bjorn! Amazing stuff.
Thank you… I think the trick is to put everybody in a familiar mode… I notice that many sees themselves in a story like this.
Having had teenagers, I know the changes that can happen from one day to the next. Fortunately, drugs never were the issue but alcohol and skipping school were. I’m so happy they survived, are married with children and I can sleep once again. GREAT story … current in it’s subject matter. Bjorn, well-done.
Isadora 😎
Glad that your children made it through… most do, but I understand the concerns of parents.
😎
i think she made the right decision. only tough love can work this time around.
A very hard decision for any parent to make.
Brilliant writing Bjorn, you encapsulate the whole thing perfectly in just a few words
Very well written, Bjorn, though as the mother of a thirteen year old, the very idea fills me with dread. You captured this so well – those parental feelings, the thought of that small child slipping away to be replaced by an adult that you’re not sure you really know. Well done indeed
Great story and writing, Bjorn. It makes me so glad my kids are grown and settled. To my knowledge, they never were into drugs. It was bad enough then and seems to be much worse now. All the best with the anthology. 🙂 — Suzanne
This must have been so horrible for the mother. Well written. A touching story.